Body Donors

I just read the most interesting article in the newspaper this morning! I'm seriously swayed to donate my body to "science" now!

 

 

Arizona body-donor firms market their mission to the living

www.azcentral.com

Easter bouquet

Donate Life AZ Candlelight Vigil

Gavin wasn't a recipient or a donor...so we don't really fit in anywhere. But I'm going to light a candle tonight for him anyway.

 

 

Donate Life AZ Candlelight Vigil

Little Red Wagon

To whoever left this little red wagon ornament on our front porch- thank you so much! It was exactly what I was thinking of and it looks perfect on our tree. :'-)

Toys 2010

 

Can you spot your toy??

The cardboard box Evienne is holding is the portable dvd player we ordered with the cash donated.

 

We printed these labels to stick on all the toys.

Sarah helped us bring the toys in...she was Gavin's nurse a couple of times and remembered us. 

Thank you so much for all your donations! It was really special for our family to be able to give them to the Children's Hospital. They will help the babies and kids there SO much!

Gavin's 3rd Birthday

 Our Cub Scouts planting Gavin's tree! 

They did such a good job...they even dug the hole all by themselves!

 Yummy cookies...

...and milk!

 

Halfway to hitting our goal of signing up 15 people to be  registered organ donors.

 

Everyone who signed up got a green awareness ribbon for Organ Donation.

We hit our goal!!!
All of our Cub Scouts earned their Donor Awareness Patch! :)

 

All the toys donated!

Gavin's tree with yellow ribbons of remembrance tied on by our family & friends. It is a Flowering Pear and should be covered in white flowers in the Spring.

Thank you to everyone who came to Gavin's Party. It means so much to us. We only have one day a year now to celebrate our little man's life. Sometimes it feels like he was only here for such a short time that no one will remember him. So this is our way of saying he was here, he lived, he mattered and we love him and miss him still.

Donating Toys on Monday!

The portable dvd player we ordered online (from the cash donations) came in the mail today...so we'll take it and all the toys donated at Gavin's Party to the Children's Hospital on Monday. (thank goodness, because I'm tired of policing them from Olivia!)

If you didn't get a chance before, you can still drop off a toy donation this weekend! Just stop by whenever!

Even just one little baby rattle can make a WORLD of difference to a little child and their family that is stuck in the hospital for a long period of time. We used to anxiously await the Child Life Specialist's visit to Gavin's room so we could pick out a new toy for him to play with.

Its especially hard for babies and toddlers because they are stuck in their crib all day and all night. (you don't exactly want them playing on the FLOOR! ugh!) If they have anything contagious, they aren't even allowed to go to the playroom. And worst of all, most of the time you can't even go outside, either because its too hot, there isn't a child play area, or you don't have permission from the doctors.

We spent a whole week stuck in a tiny hospital room with Gavin one time...it was really hard. All he could do was watch dvds or play in his crib. (That's why wagon rides were the BEST- he could actually leave the room!!!) But unfortunately, most of the babies at the hospital don't have parents with them all day and night, so they are just alone in a scary, new place. The nurses can't be with them all the time, so they have to just leave them in their rooms crying. We would hear little ones crying all day and all night and calling for their Mommy and Daddy, and it just broke my heart.

So if you're able, we'd love to take your toy donation to the hospital when we go! :)