Second Birthday Project

Elena's birthday is approaching again.  It is one month from today.  May 23.  Elena would have been two this year.  These milestone dates, such as her birthday, are especially difficult as they are such significant reminders of her absence...well, not so much her absence, really, as we are painfully aware of that every.single.day.  It's more of a reminder of how wonderful that day should be, the longing to celebrate her birthday with her, the desire to watch her grow up and to see her personality unfold.  It is another reminder of everything we are missing every day without her.

It is also a time for us to refocus on how we choose to remember her, on our commitment to making a legacy for her and ensuring that her life continue to positively impact others.  We know there will always be an Elena-shaped hole in our hearts, but we choose to focus celebrating the precious gift that our daughter is.

We are asking for your help again.  For Elena's second birthday, we will be hosting a teddy bear drive for Molly Bears.  Molly Bears is an organization that provides weighted teddy bears to bereaved families, to give families something to hold in their empty arms, a reminder of the weight of their baby.  We received our Elena Bear in September, and we hope to help Molly Bears send bears into the arms of other families since we know how meaningful it is to have our Elena Bear in our arms.  We are asking for donations of new teddy bears that we will be mailing to Molly Bears for Elena's birthday.  We will collect teddy bears now through the end of May.

If you are unable to donate a teddy bear (or even if you donate a bear and still want to do more), please consider doing a random act of kindness in memory of Elena for her birthday.  We love knowing that our sweet baby has made a difference in this world, and we post ways Elena is remembered on the page titled Elena's Echoes.  We were so grateful for all of the birthday tributes last year - it made her birthday a little gentler for us.  We still find comfort each time we visit the page and talk about and remember all of the ways Elena is remembered and all the ways her life has impacted others.  Please let us know if you perform an act of kindness in her memory so that we can add it to her Echoes page.

If you have any questions, please let us know.  Thank you in advance for your teddy bear donations, acts of kindness, and thoughts and prayers as we approach Elena's second birthday.

Precious Elena, we know your birthday party in heaven will be amazing.  We can't wait to celebrate with you, but until then, know that we love you always and miss you like crazy.  <3 p="">

Our Elena Bear