Saturday Happy List

here i go again, forcing myself to be happy. for those who have just joined along on my blog, every weekend i will be taking part in natasha's saturday happy lists. this week, though predictably emotional since the 30th was Juju's 10 month birthday, there were quite a few "happy" moments.

1. journals. i packaged up the last box of journals for Jenna Journal Drive. because of all of my wonderfully generous friends we were able to collect 72 journals to send to franchesca!! i was hoping to send at least 20, but this far exceeded my expectations. a big thank you to everyone that sent/gave me journals. i am eternally grateful!

1 of the 2 boxes sent full of journals

2. mail. it seems like my dear friends knew i was going to need a bit more love this week. i received a few pieces of mail that lifted my spirits. one piece of mail was a wonderful card my dear IRL friend, rebecca, sent. it was just the sweetest card telling me that she was thinking of me. and it meant so much. i received another sweet card from trena, and she also sent me this adorable Juju bracelet. it has become another piece of armor. it actually moved me to tears that she sent it {it's actually not so hard to move me to tears these days}. it touches my heart so deeply to see that people are thinking of me and my baby boy. and of course, i love to see his name.

Juju bracelet

i also received a gift from a close friend whom i've known since kindergarten {thank you, smelly! i love you}. she sent me a wooden secret box and enclosed a very meaningful poem. again, moved to tears! we now keep Juju's secret box on his dresser, right next to him. i'm just so blessed to know so many thoughtful, selfless people.

my love next to his secret box

3. fundraising total. earlier in march in addition to the giveaway for the adorable stationery set from Thirty-One that was hosted by my dear friend, nikki, i also had a Thirty-One fundraising party at my house and online. anyone was able to order from the catalog {in person or online directly through nikki's site}, and nikki agreed to send 20% of the total sales to Juju's memorial fund at CJ Foundation for SIDS. well the party closed, and nikki sent me the final numbers a few days ago. there was over $1k in total sales made. and she will be sending $230.58 to his fund!!! thank you, thank you, thank you to all that purchased something through this event. my hope is that one day no other family will have to suffer the devastating loss of a child to SIDS/SUID/SUDC. so thank you for helping us work toward that goal. it means the world.

4. Juju's painting. i am so thrilled to announce that the custom painting we had done for our baby boy is finally done!! you might remember this post where i mentioned that my absolute favorite artist in the world, natasha wescoat, agreed to do a custom piece for us in honor of Julius. well this week she sent me a picture of it. when i saw it, it took my breath away. it's amazing! and the best part, well every part is the best part, but she did this thinking of him. she attached the pic via email and wrote the sweetest message:

"Hi Tiffany! I've completed the painting! Now, I've attached a photo. It was difficult as I wanted to make sure I put in as much details about his adorable face and his shining spirit in the piece. I hope that it looks like him. I made it bright and happy colors and in an impressionistic abstract style. Let me know if you would like anything changed or added?"

OMG, natasha wescoat said my baby boy's face is "adorable" {well, i know it is, but i'm his momma}!!! and she took her time with it and wanted to make it perfect, for us, for him. would you be surprised to know that i started crying when i saw it and read her email? probably not, huh? i think she perfectly captured his essence - happiness. i cannot wait to receive it so i can proudly display it in our home.

amazing, isn't it?

yes, though this week has been hard {well, they are all hard really}, i've received many comfort, and have quite a few things to feel "happy" about. it is these little moments of happiness that are sustaining me these days. it is these moments that are giving me the strength to try and make it to the next moment.