Annie's Birthday Dinner and Balloon Release

Many families who have lost babies during pregnancy will do something special on the day of their birth or angelversary. I wanted to do something really special, a lot like we spent her due date. Unfortunately, it was going to be a busy day and there wasn't time to spend the whole day in memory of her.

But then I thought how for our birthdays here on earth, we don't usually spend the whole day doing stuff for the birthday person. Sometimes we do, but mostly you do one or two things and the rest of the day goes as normal. So that made me feel a little bit better.

On her birthday, the boys were going to sleep over at Grandma Lisa's house so I decided to have a birthday lunch for her. Ryan had school until 11 and we had a doctor appointment in Riverton at 1:30 so that didn't leave us a lot of time, but it ended up perfect.

I picked up Ryan and we met Jared at Pizza Pie Cafe in Provo. He picked up the balloons and cupcakes for Annie. We went in and ate lunch. The plan was to write notes to Annie, but I completely forgot markers to make them all cute. We borrowed some pens and it turned out fine. :) So while we were eating, we wrote our notes to her for the balloons. My favorite part of the day is Ryan's note. He is such a sweetheart! Read what he wrote and drew on the card.

He wanted Heavenly Father to sing Happy Birthday to Annie, so he drew the music notes for him to know what to sing. It put me in tears. So thoughtful. And I had no idea he even knew what music notes looked like. I hope he never forgets how much he loves her and keeps talking about her.

Here is Brady's note.

Jared and I both wrote notes as well. In my note I asked her to say hi and give hugs to all our angel friends. There are so many mothers of angels who I have grown so close to after losing Annie. I love them all so much and couldn't help remembering them too.

I always say the balloon release is for the kids, but I quite enjoy it too. Watching the balloons go brings me hope. We released the balloons in the parking lot since we were short on time. Hopefully next year we can do it some where more peaceful.

It was the perfect day for a balloon release. They went straight up and seemed to float forever. 

Then we sang Happy Birthday to Annie. The boys love this part too. I loved the cupcakes that Jared got for our little angel, fit for a princess!

Watching the balloons. :)

I bought a lot of fabric (9 yards) because they were having a sale. I meant to only do a few blankets, but then I got caught up in wanting to make them and cut out all of the fabric and started sewing them. But with getting used to three kids, I totally burned myself out. My back was killing me and there was no way I was going to finish them all. In fact, I didn't even get the 8 done in time. But I finished them today. I want to always make these Annie blankets every year to donate, because serving helps us feel the love of Christ and it means so much to those who receive it.

My friend Kristin, who has her own angel Ruby, made 8 to donate as well. She is a great friend! And back in May when I donated blankets on Annie's due date, I got some fleece blankets in the mail from someone I didn't know. I got them after we donated the items and I sent them to the hospital today. I don't know how this person found my address, I only gave it to people who emailed me, but I am so grateful for their time and beautiful blankets. I decided that I want to learn how to crochet around the fleece so I can make some to donate every once in awhile. 

We had 16 Annie blankets and 8 fleece blankets donated for Annie's birthday. 

This aqua colored one is my favorite of the fabrics. So pretty. I truly hope who ever it goes to can feel peace and know they are loved.

It was a good celebration and I think it's good to look back and see how we've progressed and remember what we've learned. I wrote a lot about my feelings in a separate post here, so I will keep it short.

Happy Birthday Annie! Thank you for continuing to bless our family in so many ways. We love you so much!