Little Ones…
There is something crafty later in this post, but I wanted to chit chat for just a second before I get to that.
A little over a year ago I got on Facebook and, of course, started reconnecting with some old friends. I got a chance to catch up with one of my high school girl friends and her family over a Chuckee Cheese dinner. I had kept up with a few people after college, but then moved away and lost many of those connections. As most friends would, we talked about who was doing what and we couldn’t believe that so-and-so actually did whatever. Then, 2 very sad things came up…
One of our classmates had died of melanoma at the age of 28. She was one of the first people I met when I moved to a new high school and, as I remember, one of the nicest that I knew through high school. She was one of those people that everyone liked and had a lot to offer this world, so even though I had not stayed friends with her, it was difficult to grasp this terrible news. More about her and the foundation that has been set up in her name HERE.
The second bit of sad news that came up was one of the guys in our group of friends had a son, Dax, that had cancer. It seems like you always hear about this on the news or it’s a friend of a friend of a friend, which almost makes it not real. Having known the people in this story at one point in my life makes this real. This morning at 2:15 Dax’s 2.5 year old body could no longer fight this evil disease and he passed away. Read more about little Dax HERE. Don’t forget the tissues!!
Please remember to hug your little ones today {and everyday}! I can’t even imagine the pain that his family is suffering right now. I look at Ellie and am so thankful for what I have. I look down to my huge belly and am thankful for what I have/will have. In reading the Caring Bridge journal for Dax, I am amazed at the strength his mom has shown and even in the face of the death of her son she is so openly thankful for the St. Jude’s staff and continues to campaign to raise enough money to run St. Jude’s for a day {$1.6 million}. I hope that their family’s love will continue to keep them strong and that they reach their goal {ps…help if you can!}.
I did promise something crafty and it does still fall into the “Little Ones” category, in 2 ways actually. First it is sort of a mini “album.” I use “album” loosely here, because it’s not really, but it has pictures and does fold into a little book. Second, it’s all about Ellie…my little one. This is a kit that I created for my LSS, Scrapper’s Boutique. I couldn’t get a real good pic of all the panels together, so here they are in 2s…
The right panel is the front cover…
The left panel is the inside of the front cover…
The last 2 inside panels…
Back and inside center panels…
I need to go back to bed now! This “I can’t sleep” thing is driving me crazy…and something tells me that it’s not going to get better anytime soon! Ahhhh!! 
Love this mini album!!
Your mini-album is darling - and your empathy for the tragedy of others is evident. I do indeed “hug” my DD daily - as you said, these blessings should not be taken for granted!
Hugs.
I just read your post and it hits so close to home. We too lost our little boy this year in June. He would have been 5 this August. He had a form of cancer called Neuroblastoma. I had read Dax’s website before, a friend had a link to it on their caring bridge site. My heart goes out to this family. We are still grieving and yet so grateful for our 3 1/2 year old little girl and our newborn son. Thank you so much for supporting such a wonderful cause. One never knows when something like this is going to happen. I am from a town of about 600 people in west central Illinois and it happened to us. Hope you have a Blessed New Year.
one of the reasons I have chosen not to get on facebook is because of this sad news- no i am not burying my head in the sand - i had only been out of high school for about 3 years when i found out a very close friend throughout HS had committed suicide because he couldn’t stand the pressures of uni and his own sexuality- it haunts me to this day as had i kept in touch i may have been able to help him but unfortunaly we lost touch and i got married and moved in a totally different direction- i still think of him often and have helped others through severe traumas in their lives even suicides as well as other things. I am a volunteer in a few organisations - one being the fire brigade a volunteer for over 20 years now and we deal with trauma quite a lot especially at this time of year(it’s summer here) but i also have suffered as i nearly lost my daughter when she was 18 to meningiccocal she survived but lost both legs from mid shin down and she doesn’t have any full fingers to speak of but we keep saying she survived - we know of several others who have had this disease and lost their fight and others we have been able to help the families and victims through by supporting them- she is now a happy wife and mother with another on the way - due in April- but she has miscarried twice- we don’t know if it is related to what happened to her earlier or not-we are thankful every day to not have to go through the trauma of losing a child but i believe it has made us stronger people in a variety of ways
Jen, thank you for sharing the story of Dax. I went to the Caringbridge site and read several pages of the journal. It breaks my heart to think of such a young child having to spend his short little life battling cancer like that. I was trying to decide where to make my year-end donations and have just sent St. Jude’s some money in Dax’s name. Hope it helps a little. Thanks for sharing all your wonderful inspiration. Good luck with Baby Boy del Muro!
Thank you Jen for sharing Dax with us.
I look forward to meeting you and taking classes at Scrapper’s Boutique from you I just discovered that store yesterday and am in love with it.
Very personable owner and intimate space.
Mary B.