Angelversary Pregnancy Loss Ribbon Garden Flags

For those who have lost a baby or pregnancy, our month to remember the dreams we had  is October. We also share this month with those who have been touched by Breast Cancer. Angelversary Pregnancy Loss Ribbon Garden Flags create awareness of  those suffering “silent grief”.

An angelversary is the death date of a much wanted baby. Miscarriage, molar pregnancies, cord accidents, incompetent cervix , stillbirths, and SIDS are tragic ways our children become angels.

Bereaved families of pregnancy and infant loss may not have a public angelversary get together, but they do acknowledge the day their world changed forever.

The angelversary garden flags can also be hung like a banner by inserting a hollow PVC pipe or dowel. If you know the gender of your baby, tie a bow of the appropriate color and adorn with remembrance keepsakes. If placed outdoors, use rust proof keepsakes.

If you do not know the gender of your angel, green or yellow ribbon can be used.

Your garden flags can also be placed into your memory gardens.

 Angelversary Pregnancy Loss Ribbon Garden Flags Please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery. A $20.00 check can be sent to:

Just a Cloud Away, Inc. Po Box 327, Julian, NC 27283,

The costs include shipping, handling and taxes. If you live out of the Continental United States, an additional fee may apply. If this is a sympathy gift, please include the mailing address of bereaved family.

PVC pipe and garden stands can be purchased at your local hardware or garden shops for under 12 dollars.

 Happy 6th Angelversary Baby Tanner-September 28, 2003

Peace Love and Hugs from Above

Diana 

www.justacloudaway.com

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Creating a Remembrance Gift for Grieving Parents

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Gifts Remembering Deceased Angels

When my baby Tanner passed September 28, 2003, sympathy flowers were delivered almost every day for a month. Scruggs Florist in Greensboro, North Carolina delivered the most because they were located less than a mile away from our house. 5 1/2 years later I am helping the florist create an appropriate sympathy basket for bereaved parents of baby and pregnancy loss.

The grief from pregnancy and infant loss is an overwheming sadness where parents often suffer in silence. If this type of loss hasn’t happen to you, it is difficult to understand. Acknowledgment of a much wanted baby is one step towards supporting bereaved parents.

Scruggs Florist now carries a sympathy basket for the death of a baby and for angelversaries. The sympathy gift includes:

1 Indoor Plant
1 Azalea Plant
1 Basket
1 Just a Cloud Away Remembrance Kit
1 Plant Care Sheet
1 Zodiac Sheet
1 Memory Garden Tip Sheet
1 Scrapbook Tip Sheet
1 Pamphlet-Ways to Comfort Bereaved Parents
1 Pamphlet-What not to say to Bereaved Parents

1 out of 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage and 26,000 stillbirths occur every year in the United States. If you know of a bereaved couple who has suffered the loss of their angel, you may want to think about sending a sympathy gift for the angelversary or death date. There are not too many loving parents that ignore this special and tragic date.

There are many supportive gifts included in the Scruggs Florist sympathy basket for grieving parents. There are also ideas for those supporting and comforting them.

Remembering all baby angels….

Peace Love and Hugs from Above

Diana http://www.justacloudaway.com

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Angel Memory Garden in Spring

My Angel’s Memory Garden starts to bloom just in time to wrap up the winter blues. The air is beginning to warm with a gentle fragrance of flowers and daylight shines a couple more hours.

The white daffodils, tulips, creeping phlox, helleborus or lenten rose, and candytuft are gracing us with whites, creams and colors of pale yellow. It is an amazing display, also in time for Easter.

When the children visit during the holiday, I always make sure there are some eggs hidden in Tanner’s memory garden. Having Tanner included in the holiday festivities are very important to me, even if it’s simply a stroll through his special place.

The weather is perfect for reflecting on my little angel in his garden.

The surrounding wildlife will now enter into Tanner’s memory garden by nesting, slithering through under the cool stones or the cows listening to the beautiful chimes blowing in the breeze.

I love spring and it is a wonderful time to start thinking about your angel and how to memorialize your child by creating a memory garden.
A perfect tribute for your baby’s angelversary.

Peace Love and Hugs from Above
Diana http://www.justacloudaway.com

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Tanner’s 5th Angelversary in Heaven

5 years ago was the worst day of my life when Tanner was pronounced dead at the hospital. I would have never thought I’d be acknowledging my sweet son’s 5th birthday in his memory garden.

When you loose a baby, these times are not easy to endure. Tanner would be going to kindergarden and making new friends, playing t-ball, and just being a beautiful 5 year old little boy. They are the same milestones parents of living children think about.

My grief was not overwhelming this year as previous years. Maybe it has something to do with the medication I am on from being diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Whatever the case, I still couldn’t bring myself to attend church yesterday. That is a place where my grief creeps up on me and I am trapped within crowds of people with my eyes at full capacity with tears. We spent a quiet day at home.

It has been a tradition to fly a brightly colored balloon in Tanner’s Memory garden on his angelversary. I always wished that the store clerk would ask me whose birthday are you celebrating with this beautiful balloon. It hasn’t occured yet.

We also hung a beautiful blue angel ornament. The angel ornament complimented the beautiful blue sky and white fluffy clouds.

Since my husband and Tanner share birthday’s, my parents put a little extra cash in his envelope to purchase something for Tanner’s Memory Garden. My husband made a good choice with the ornament of an angel.

Every year my dear Uncle sends a birthday card addressed to both Tanner and my husband. Something as small as writing my stillborn son’s name is a great feeling of warmth.

Last evening my in-laws brought a metal flower to place in his garden.

Tanner is not physically here but his presence certainly is. Tanner’s Memory Garden was included in a SANDS newsletter in Australia………………on his 5th birthday. Thank you Pauline.

Happy Angelversary Honey

Mommy Loves You Always

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Memory Garden Butterfly Release for an Angel

My brother and sister-in-law were nothing but supportive after the death of my son. They did not think twice about flying to North Carolina from Buffalo for Tanner’s memorial service to comfort us. Still today, almost 5 years later they remember our baby in heaven with a special activity, a butterfly release.

My nephews purchased a butterfly kit to raise and release them. They were going to be visiting us at the exact time the butterflies were recommended to be set free. Ryan, my eldest nephew brought the butterfly kit into our house and said we should release them into Tanner’s memory garden. I did not ask if this was his idea or his parents because Ryan seemed very determined and willing to let the butterflies explore Tanner’s memory garden. I was incredibly moved by Ryan’s kindness and he probably didn’t know the effect he had on me. A nine year old now but just a small 4 year old when Tanner died, yet we always visit the memory garden when he comes and it is always referred to as “Tanner’s Garden.”

The butterflies needed a little help finding their way out.

and there they go………………

It was so sweet to see the expression of the boys.

If your sweet angel passed away during a time when butterfly kits can be purchased, I highly recommend it. Sometimes it is difficult to include other children in rituals for deceased babies, but this activity can involve everyone. An angelversary can be a special time to remember your angel baby and to release beautiful butterflies free to fly. This could be a new tradition if the butterfly symbolizes your deceased baby.

If your child’s angelversary tradition is a butterfly release, we would love to know.

Peace Love and Hugs from Above  www.justacloudaway.com

Diana

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Pregnancy Loss Traditions Remembering Angelversaries

The angelversary date has no rules. For us it is the day Tanner’s stillborn body laid in my arms (also my husband’s birthday), for my girlfriend it was the day of her D&C, for another, her child’s expected due date.

Once the month of August hits, my anxiety starts building. September 28th is Tanner’s angelversaryand for years I have become very tense beginning in August ending in October. Maybe because October 1st was Tanner’s memorial service and October 14th was his expected due date. Now that I am on Citalopram, anxiety levels shouldn’t be unbearable for my family.

Tanner’s first angelversary we had a few close friends over for cake. I had both Tanner and Todd’s name on the cake and we sang to both. My girlfriend brought balloons to tie onto Tanner’s memory garden cross which started this tradition. Even if we do not have a cake, it is a new tradition for my husband and myself to visit Tanner’s memory garden with balloons for his cross. I also like to bring his journal to the memory garden and write a letter wishing my angel a happy birthday in heaven.

One of my girlfriend’s started a new tradition for her baby’s angelversary by visiting her stillborn child’s grave bringing flowers and also placing flowers at the graves of other deceased babies. Another friend makes a donation to the pregnancy loss support group that was very supportive in her healing. Another tradition is assembling care packets for the homeless and inserting a small note- in loving memory of our deceased child.

What ways do you remember and honor your baby’s angelversary?

Peace Love and Hugs from Above  www.justacloudaway.com

Diana

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Anxiety Disorder & My Stillborn Angel

I am now on Citalopram, the generic form of Celexa and this is helping tremendously. When I first started taking this medication I was quite tired and zombie-like. For some reason that fatigue has subsided and I can multi-task like nobody’s business. Citalopram is the second medication my doctor prescribed, Lexapro being the first. $70 a month or $9 a month, I chose 9 (citalopram).

I am relieved of such intense bouts of anxiety and panic and did not know life could be this way. I am very confident that generalized anxiety disorder or GAD is a condition I’ve had most of my life and now can experience life with a calmer nature.

September is my stillborn son’s angelversary (death date) and this will be the true test of the prescribed medication. I told my doctor that 1 month prior to Tanner’s angelversary and 1 month after I am incredibly tense and not fun to be around. So he scheduled another follow up visit for September to see how I’m doing.

I don’t know if I will be able to describe this to its fullest since these are just feelings where I have no control. There has been a pattern of high anxiety around Tanner’s death date that begins sometime around my birthday, August 23. I have a shorter fuse than usual and I do not get along with my husband and make it very clear to stay away from me.

I don’t know if its because Tanner and my husband share birthday’s or just the fact that we are approaching a bittersweet day, September 28. On the birthday cake it will always read “Happy Birthday Todd and Tanner” and sometimes it ends up being a very melancholy day with a great deal of silence.

I hope Citalopram will alleviate this anxiety and panic so I can enjoy my husband’s birthday and honor my perfect and beautiful stillborn son Tanner.

Peace Love and Hugs from Above  www.justacloudaway.com

Diana

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Angel Keepsakes for Angelversaries

This angel craft can be given as a sympathy gift on the deceased baby’s angelversary or death date. No parent will ever forget the day their child left this earth. This keepsake gift can be handcrafted by you because of it’s simplicity. Take the time to remember a child forever loved and missed with the bereaved parents on this day.

Materials you will need:

• A small glass plate
• hot glue gun
• magic marker
• tweezers
• elmers glue
• wax paper
• dried & pressed flowers & foliage
• pearl necklace or other
• decoupage
• gemstones
• engraving tool (optional)

Choose words for your plate and use marker and write. My handwriting is terrible but it is part of me, a mother of angels.

Take your engraving tool and gently trace over the letters then wipe off marker. This tool is inexpensive and can be foundat local craft stores. If you are not going to purchase this tool, simply take glue and go over the letters and sprinkle with glitter.

Now place pressed flowersand foliage around the plate the way you would like it to look. Flowers can be taken from your gardens, place between wax paper and put several books on top to flatten overnight. i have bought silicon gel to remove the water from the flowers, completing drying them. You can also do this isn a warm oven. Take the glue and adhere flowers with a small paint brush. Tweeters are very helpful to move your flowers.

Apply your angels gemstone to the center of the flowers and let dry for an hour before applying the decoupage substance. This will dry clear, so don’t worry that it is looking foggy.

Decoupage will form a protective seal for easy cleaning of your delicate flower blooms.

I chose hydrangea flowers, foliage from Russian Sage and blue gemstones for my son Tanner’s angel keepsake plate.

I have inherited many of my grandmother’s jewlery and used my hot glue gun to attach a broken strand of her pearls to the backside to hang Tanner’s plate.

These angelversary keepsakes can be hung from windows, on a wall or an angels shadowbox.

A lamp’s finial can even be the location for a deceased child’s keepsake plate.

Remember a friend’s baby on their angelversary, because parents do.

Happy Angelversary Sweet Babies

Peace Love and Hugs from Above

Diana  www.justacloudaway.com

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Stillborn 1st Birthday and Mothers Day

Last week was mothers day and my 4th without my stillborn son, Tanner. Ave Maria was sung in church and my tears came freely because it was sung at his memorial service too. The day was rainy but beautiful as well. All of his gardens were exploding with rose blossoms to brighten my mothers day.

For Tanner’s first birthday or angelversary, we received many gifts in his honor. My girlfriends living out of state gave me a gift certificate to a plant nursery to purchase what I thought was appropriate for him. We also received money for his birthday to purchase plants. I choose 3 “Little Gem” Magnolia trees, pale pink “Knock Out” roses and “Sissinghurst” verbena groundcover or perennials.

We live in the country with a great deal of land to erect several memory gardens for Tanner. The “Little Gem” magnolia trees were chosen because he is a little gem to us, the roses and verbena were selected because they are drought toloerate, bloom from May until frost and are very easy to grow.

The very first memory garden my husband and I created in Tanner’s honor has matured quite a bit. The roses are soft apricot in color and make for beautiful cutting roses. This variety is called “Pretty Lady”.

Mothers Day seems to be the perfect time to visit his garden to pull some weeds, reflection and cut beautiful roses to bring indoors from his special place.

I will plant more in the fall to fill in the spots where last years drought did a number on the plants.

It is never too late to give a gift in honor of a baby that has died. Angelversaries are usually grieved in silence and receiving a keepsake, gift certificate or memorial plant could help a bereaved parent on a difficult day.

To all the Mothers of Angels……………

Peace Love and Hugs from Above  www.justacloudaway.com

Diana

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