March of Dimes March for Babies Re-Cap

The walk went awesome, the weather was amazing and the crowd was immense like last year which always makes it feel so motivating. Our team managed to raise nearly $8000 and bested our record from last year.... I put my sister on picture duty as she is madly in love with my digital Canon (if I had the funds sis, it would be your wedding present!!), and she took some great shots of our fellow walkers and the kiddos as they were pushed about in their double stroller. I promise I'll post them as soon as I get a free moment... My time right now seems to be inordinately preoccupied with primping, something I'm not readily used to spending a ton of time on.... More on this later...

LUVS!

Last Call for March of Dimes Donations!

It's that time of year again! Last year I was invited to join Team Matthew to walk in the March of Dimes March for Babies here is Sacramento in memory of a mutual friend's baby boy who passed away in his sleep from SIDS. Here's a little background on baby Matthew, the motivation behind our team to walk and raise money for March of Dimes:




In January of 2007, we were blessed with the amazing news that we were pregnant and expecting our second child!

Kaitlyn was already 2 when we found out and considering how easy the pregnancy with her was, we expected nothing different. Boy, were we wrong!

At 23 weeks and 5 days pregnant, my water unexpectedly broke (preterm, premature rupture of membranes, pPROM) and we were given the news that survival was not likely since there was no fluid to assist with lung development or growth. We made the difficult decision to continue on with the pregnancy.

After 10 weeks of strict hospital bed rest, that tested our family time and time again, Matthew was born at 33 weeks gestation weighing in at a healthy 4 lbs and 14 ounces. He cried at birth.

Matthew endured a 26 day NICU stay before coming home to his adoring family. He spent the next 10 weeks being loved, spoiled, kissed, hugged, played with and adored before falling asleep on the night of October 14, 2007. Matthew never woke up, he passed away in his sleep and became a victim of SIDS.

Losing Matthew has been a tragedy to his entire family. He left behind parents who love him, a big sister who adored him, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.


In April of 2008, we started walking with March for Babies as Matthew's Team. It is a way we can not only honor Matthew, but we can also help raise awareness to prematurity and raise funds to help research find cures and screenings to prevent more families from suffering through this loss.


Please, if you can, donate to this extremely worthy cause in honor of Matthew and all of the other babies and families touched by the tragedy of SIDS, pPROM and infant mortality. The walk is tomorrow, and I'm so grateful to be invited to walk with this team in honor of baby Matthew...

LUVS!!

March of Dimes March for Babies Walk

It's that time of year again! Last year I was invited to join Team Matthew to walk in the March of Dimes March for Babies here is Sacramento in memory of a mutual friend's baby boy who passed away in his sleep from SIDS. Here's a little background on baby Matthew, the motivation behind our team to walk and raise money for March of Dimes:




In January of 2007, we were blessed with the amazing news that we were pregnant and expecting our second child!

Kaitlyn was already 2 when we found out and considering how easy the pregnancy with her was, we expected nothing different. Boy, were we wrong!

At 23 weeks and 5 days pregnant, my water unexpectedly broke (preterm, premature rupture of membranes, pPROM) and we were given the news that survival was not likely since there was no fluid to assist with lung development or growth. We made the difficult decision to continue on with the pregnancy.

After 10 weeks of strict hospital bed rest, that tested our family time and time again, Matthew was born at 33 weeks gestation weighing in at a healthy 4 lbs and 14 ounces. He cried at birth.

Matthew endured a 26 day NICU stay before coming home to his adoring family. He spent the next 10 weeks being loved, spoiled, kissed, hugged, played with and adored before falling asleep on the night of October 14, 2007. Matthew never woke up, he passed away in his sleep and became a victim of SIDS.

Losing Matthew has been a tragedy to his entire family. He left behind parents who love him, a big sister who adored him, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.


In April of 2008, we started walking with March for Babies as Matthew's Team. It is a way we can not only honor Matthew, but we can also help raise awareness to prematurity and raise funds to help research find cures and screenings to prevent more families from suffering through this loss.




Please, if you can, donate to this extremely worthy cause in honor of Matthew and all of the other babies and families touched by the tragedy of SIDS, pPROM and infant mortality.

Jared Boxes Delivered!

So, after much buying, packing, labeling and delivering(thanks daddy!), all of the Jared Boxes have arrived @ UC Davis into the arms of the very deserving Child Life Dept. Director who was absolutely thrilled to receive them. She mentioned that due to the H1N1 virus, there were plenty of children in mandatory isolation that would be overjoyed to get the boxes of goodies. Dropping those boxes off and knowing that something as simple as a box of crayons, a coloring book and a few toys would totally make a sick child's day made this one of the most fulfilling charitable acts I've been involved with. I'm hoping to make Jared Boxes again next year for the holidays and maybe make this something that my family does every Christmas.


Thank you again to everyone who donated time, money and supplies.

Luv,
Mommy D

Jared Box Build Day Approaches!!!!

I am so excited that our Jared Box build day is this Saturday! We gathered all of our goodies/toys/activities for the boxes and it looks like we will be able to build 50 or so for sure with the supplies we've amassed. My mom and sister, as well as Lukey Duke, will be helping me build the boxes this Saturday and we will hopefully be able to deliver them to UC Davis sometime next week. It's kind of amazing the amount of support we received from family, friends, and coworkers which is making this entire project possible.

What charitable deeds are you doing this holiday season? Has the economy greatly affected the amount of money you were able to raise to support your cause?

Good luck on all of your fundraising efforts!

Love,
Mommy D

The Jared Box Project

I have set myself a goal of making at least 50 Jared Boxes by Christmas that I will be delivering to a local hospital for children being admitted/receiving treatment. Please take a peak at the blog I created for the project. My only goal is to make kids smile a little while being faced with scary and sometimes heartbreaking situations. Thanks for looking and helping me reach my goal!



http://sacramentojaredboxproject.blogspot.com/

March for Babies

Thank you to everyone who sponsored me for the March of Dimes March for Babies last weekend. The walk went great (no blowouts, and mommy didn't keel over and pass out from lack of oxygen) and our team managed to raise an astounding $7800! Denise, the mother who organized the team in honor of her little boy Matthew Jackson Miller who passed away from SIDS last year, organized everything and made it all effortless. She's truly amazing in her ability to stay organized and level headed while organizing such a big event. I got very close to hitting my goal of raising $500 and am quite proud that I was able to complete the full 3 miles. Denise intends on doing the Walk every year and I'm going to do my best to do it every year with her team. It felt really good to raise all of that money for such a great cause...

March for Babies

Please help support me on reaching my goal of raising $500 worth of donations for the March of Dimes March for Babies that the munchkins and I are participating in this Saturday!!!! We're only $126 away!!!! Click the link to the right to donate online so you can print off your tax deductible receipt!


Thank you everyone!!!!