New Memorial Garden Flag

I just bought this special garden flag for Graham.  It is beside his memorial water garden in our back yard. 

Annual Memory Walk, Picnic, and Balloon Release

Two weeks ago our local chapter of the Bereaved Parents of the USA had their annual Memory Walk, Picnic, and Balloon Release. My husband and I attended. It's always a very meaningful time. No words need to be said with other bereaved parents. Our hearts are connected in shared love and sorrow.  It means so much to have these special events to honor and remember our precious children. I read my Balloons of Love poem for the balloon release and our messages to heaven. I included a balloon for the children in spirit of the members of the facebook group I work with, Signs From Our Loved Ones.
 

Balloons of Love

Today under a clear blue sky,

Wiping tears from our eyes,

We will release our balloons,

Commemorating lives gone too soon.

On wings of love we set them free,

For our angel children to see,

Floating through space and time,

Past the staircase we wish we could climb.

A symbolic gesture that helps us heal,

From the sorrow that we feel,

Another means for us to say,

They live in our hearts every day.

Balloons filled with laughter, balloons filled with tears,

Balloons filled with memories for the time they were here,

Dancing in the sunlight on currents of air,

Brimming with thanks for all that we shared.

We imagine our children on the other side,

Catching the balloons as they glide,

Red and yellow, purple and gold,

They know which balloon is theirs to hold.

We know they are happy, they are dancing now too,

And we want to celebrate all that we knew,

Forever our daughters, forever our sons,

Only temporarily parted, our precious ones.

 

"Dance to the beat of your angel's wings."

 

My husband and I were in Barnes and Noble earlier today. I happened to see this in the store. I feel it was a message from my son. It brought tears to my eyes. I purchased it to have as a reminder every day. It's been a melancholy weekend. Thank you, Graham, I am listening. ♥

Memorial Water Feature One Year Later

Our memorial water feature that was installed just over a year ago is starting to look very pretty again.  The azaleas are blooming and the plants in the pond are coming back.  The four koi are happily swimming and appear to be healthy.  We are looking forward to seeing the 

lotus and the lilies bloom once more.  Graham cleared this area originally and planted the azaleas and day lilies for us.   It was a lot of work.  No one could have imagined it would become his memorial garden.  A beautiful spot of love, connection, and comfort with our treasured son.

Angel's Calling Card

I had a wonderful surprise today. When I returned to my car in a store parking lot I noticed something on the driver side rear door. It was a feather! I couldn't understand how it was able to stay on the door. It didn't rain today, there was no wind, and the car was in the middle of a bare parking lot. I had to peel it off of the door. I believe it is a mockingbird feather. I didn't have my camera with me. I brought the feather home so I could take a picture of how I found it. I just now tried to put the feather on the car door to take a picture and it wouldn't stick. I had to wet the feather to make it stay on the door. I love my feather sign and message today! Thank you, my dear Graham, and thank you angels. ♥
Here is a link you might find interesting about bird symbolism -
http://www.starstuffs.com/animal_totems/dictionary_of_birds.html

Mother's Day Signs and Messages

My husband and I were blessed with a series of signs and messages on this last Mother's Day weekend.  We were driving to my parents on Saturday.  As my husband was driving he happened to notice the tripometer reading, and told me that it was on 444.4!  I said that was a heavenly message.  The fours are always about angels.  My husband then changed the radio station and the song "Stairway to Heaven" was playing on the new station.  We thought that was interesting too.  About 10 minutes later as I was going through the news feed on my facebook on our smart phone I gasped as I saw the post I'm sharing here with the picture of the cat and the name GRAHAM!  Validations just kept on coming.  A little while later a song that I have on my itunes playlist for Graham, "I'm Going Home" by Chris Daughtry came on immediately followed by a Nirvana song, "Come As You Are."  Graham really liked Nirvana. We thought it a little odd that on the same radio station a country song played and then a rock song.  This all occurred within the hour and a half driving time.
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/s480x480/486667_10152455487775942_141296016_n.jpg

That evening we went out for dinner with my parents to celebrate Mother's Day.  When we returned to our car there was a Mazda Miata with pop up lights parked near our car.  That is an older model of the Miata and the model that Graham had. As we were driving back to my parents house we saw a rainbow in the sky!  When we pulled up to my parent's house there was a car parked at their next door neighbors that had the name of a car dealership on the back- it was STEVENSON!  Our wonderful son certainly wanted us to know that he was with us for this special day. Thank you, Graham, my sweet boy.  You show us that love is truly always and forever. ♥

Birthday Memories

This first picture of me with my son is from my birthday in 2007.   I love this picture - look at the joy on my face. Graham had come home for the week end from college for my birthday.  I never imagined this would be the last birthday we would spend together.
These other pictures are more from my birthday last week end with my parents and my daughter and her family.  I love my family, here and on the other side.  Always and forever.

Yellow Rose

This is my latest painting - a single yellow rose. I wanted to paint a yellow rose because medium, Pamela Marie Edmunds, said that my son was handing me a single yellow rose. I knew this had special meaning so I searched for some information on the symbolism of flowers. The language of flowers is known as floriography and has an interesting history; here is a link if you would like to learn more - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_of_flowers. These four lines came to me to use with the painting -

There is a language of flowers,
From which we can learn,
Messages and sentiments,
For what our hearts yearn.

The other words I added are key words associated with yellow roses.

I am so happy with the way this turned out! This is the first flower that I have painted. I also added some artificial greenery for a more interesting mixed media effect. The adventure continues...