Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Capture Your Grief - 2014 - Day 1

Capture Your Grief. Day 1. 
SUNRISE

Well, I missed the sunrise today.  Noah was up at 3-ish a.m. and I fe1l back asleep in his bed with him until 7 & by then the sun had already risen high & mighty over the day.  :)  I did however, snap a picture of the sun beams through my window.

How appropriate to start the Babyloss Awareness month out with a picture of the sunrise.  How unbearable the grief without the HOPE of the sun rising the next day.  And the next...and the next...  The HOPE that life does indeed keep. on. moving. forward.  Not lessening the loss of a baby (or in our case, babies), but a reminder that there is still a great work to be done.  Here. 


#captureyourgrief  #whathealsyourheart

You can follow me on instagram too, @mccleskey1813

And, if you want to know more about this series, read here.

And, here are the prompts for the whole month of October.


Sunday, August 17, 2014

1826 days

Our sweet, beautiful, miracle baby, Rowan...  Miscarried at just over 13 weeks.  Caught in my hands early in the morning on Aug 17th, 2009.  All my breath sucked out and all my hopes of being a momma stripped away.  Slowly, and it's a struggle even now, the life is coming back to me...to us.  We live in the hope of seeing this precious one again in Glory.  We believe that God has Rowan close to Him and that we will see him again some day. 

Life did not go in the directions we had planned, or hoped for...but life is good & God is good....and we go on here...living & loving.  Praying that we will leave a legacy here that is better than the one we were destined for before Rowan came to us. 

My heart is forever broken at the loss of him (and Levi)...and I've waited a long time for the healing to come, to begin...but I think it happened when I wasn't looking for it.  I think in some ways the cracks & chips have become part of who I am now...and I'm better for it.  I am the mother to Noah that I wouldn't have been, couldn't have been if not for Rowan & Levi. 




It is a strange thing to be thankful for something lost....something torn from your heart...  But, this is where I find myself today.  Thankful to God for the gift of Rowan, Levi & Noah.  Thankful for the loss of one and the gain of another.  Thankful that no matter what happened then or happens now, I know full well that my God is good and that the saying "love is all you need" is not accurate.  It's hope too.  A great hope in a great God.

Saturday, June 28, 2014

4ever with me

Happy 4th birthday to my sweet angel, Levi Matthew.  Four is so many when you are counting years in little kid time.  I wish today meant cakes, candles & presents.  I wish so many things were different.  I know God has a plan and I know that life is so good & sweet...  None of that eases the ache of burying your child.  That doesn't mean I am lacking in faith, or belief in the power of Christ.  That means I am human and I am broken and I am hurting.  It means I have a greater need for Christ.  It means I have a stronger desire to cling to Him. 

I celebrate the life and death of my second son, Levi, today.  I celebrate because I know that he is with Jesus and that I will see him in Heaven.  I celebrate because when Levi passed away part of my heart was forever torn away and I became someone that I never knew I could become. 

We recently moved 500-ish miles from our home.  500 miles from where Levi & Rowan are buried.  It was my hardest goodbye.  I kept going by the cemetery, as if to explain myself - to make myself okay with leaving them.  I had to keep repeating to myself that they weren't in the cemetery - they are in Heaven...but the tangible cemetery plots --- those are really for me, for us, to mark as a reminder of their lives.  We have such great friends and family that have offered to visit and take flowers out for the boys.  We are blessed.

Happy birthday my sweet love.  I love you forever.



 

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

sort of a rant, I suppose

I have helped plan & been to 5 baby showers since last Wednesday.  Five. 
Of course, four of those were at one time!  :) 

I really, really, really want to have another baby.  We have been trying since Noah was about 18 months old (he will be 3 in July)  ..but I haven't been back on fertility meds, etc....  I just really, really, really wanted it to happen naturally. 

It feels like a metal baseball bat to the stomach every month that I'm not pregnant, every time someone else tell me they ARE pregnant...and every time I stop to realize that my body just can't/won't/doesn't do what it's meant to do...  Why do you think that is? 

And, while we are on the topic - why do people find it necessary to say things like "isn't it time you had another?"  "you're not getting any younger."  "noah needs a play mate, don't you want another baby?"  What ---  you don't know me --- this is what I really want to scream...but I politely smile & nod. 

And, in the last week I meet a woman who told me that she went the entire pregnancy not knowing she was preggo...went to ER with stomach cramping & back pain -- left with a baby.  Oy vey!! 

**My friends who are pregnant - I love you & this is nothing against you or your "condition" heehee -- I am just stuck in my feelings today & wanted to share a

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

International Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Day (October 15th)

Yesterday was a tough one.  I cried many times.  I squeezed Noah so hard he said, "ow".  It was a tough one.  But it was also a sweet one.

October 15th is International Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Day.  It's the day of the year that we ask everyone to light a candle at 7 p.m. (in their time zone).  Do you know what that does?  It means that for 24 hours there is a light burning all around the world.  :)

Our little family took part in an AMAZING ceremony last night in Navarre, put on by a local group of moms who's babies left too soon.  You can check out their Facebook page here, Wave of Light. "Like" their page so that you can be sure to join us next year if you are local.

At 7 p.m. we joined dozens of other families in lighting & releasing Chinese Paper Lanterns into the beautiful night sky.  It was overwhelming. The pain & grief hit me as I stepped out to light lantern. I burst into tears.  I'd held it together all day, and the days leading up to the event.  I didn't want to let them go...felt like I was saying goodbye again.  I would let go...and then reach out to grab my lantern back...until finally letting them go...both of them...watching them until I couldn't see them anymore...  Beautiful.  
















As a side note, I find it no "happenstance" or "chance" that I have heard this amazing song on the radio nearly every day this week... LOVE this song & the hope that it proclaims!!


"Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" <--click click--="" here="">


You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You've never failed and You won't start now

So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior
[x6]

I will call upon Your Name
Keep my eyes above the waves
My soul will rest in Your embrace
I am Yours and You are mine

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Four



Today I write to honor the life of my smallest son, my Rowan.  My FIRST son.  My heart was stolen on the day that pregnancy test was positive.  I fell to my knees in tears & humble thanks.  For years we waited, we cried, we screamed, we hurt, we laughed, we loved, we wanted, and we worked hard to make a baby.  And then, I peed on a stick & 3minutes later our lives were forever changed. 

I will NEVER forget the feeling of sweet relief and overwhelming joy at seeing the smallest flicker of life on that black and white ultrasound machine.  The immense, deep, never ceasing LOVE of Jesus flooded me so quickly in that moment & spilled over from Him to me and from me to the little spark within me.

And, then, my God, my God...5 weeks later and a heartbeat was heard.  A heartbeat that stopped all of time for a moment.  I didn't want them to take the wand away from my belly.  I wanted the sound to go on forever.  And the person growing within me, on the screen, small and perfectly at peace.  Only knowing love.

But, not all stories of becoming a momma & daddy end with a cooing, squirmy, love bug.  Some end with a worn out momma sitting down to use the bathroom and catching her 13 week old baby in her hands.  Some end with daddy's dropping to their knees and praying for a twin to be inside that no one noticed before.  Some end with momma's not having any contractions, without any bleeding and without any warning.  And some of the stories end before they even really begin.  But, I say it again (and I will continue to shout from the roof tops) you are (we are) all mommas & daddys.

Rowan came to us quickly, quietly and without pain.  I like to believe that is how he left too, how he experienced it I mean.  No pain, only love.  No pressure or harshness, only mercy and grace from Abba Father.  

Psalm 139:13-16  " For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,  your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."


 
If I allow myself to sit & think about all I felt and struggled to grasp onto as my life was spinning so fast in those moments after Rowan came to us...  I can feel the tiny weight of him against my hand.  I can remember the warmth.  I can recall staring at him, taking all of him in...fingers with nails, toes, a face that looked exactly like my husband, the cutest little teeny tiny booty.  All the things a momma would notice.  I would want Rowan to know that I noticed.  I know that he was 9 oz in weight.  I know those things because I am his momma.  He mattered, his life MATTERED, it matters still.  

My heart aches for Heaven to be with my boys, Rowan and Levi.  But, my heart also rejoices here to be with Matt and our little Noah.  The Lord is good and He will fulfill ALL of his promises.  What we think we know and understand of God's character is only a whisper of His glory and grandness.  And our small journey here is only a tiny speck in the grand scheme of eternity...but it matters. To us and to Him.  










Thursday, July 18, 2013

Living in the Promise

Happiest of birthday's to my little 2 year old, Noah.  



You are the perfect fulfillment of one of God's sweetest promises.  I love you with every fiber of who I am.  Truly I prayed for you and surely you were given as a symbol of God's mercy, grace & steadfast faithfulness.  You are a joy, Noah Reagan.  A gift given to me & your daddy, two so undeserving, yet so humbled and thankful.  You are the light of my life.  I am honored to be your momma and to call you my son.



You love to laugh and to be so silly.  You talk in funny voices, and make car, animal, etc., sounds all day long.  You almost never stop moving (and I think it's b/c you know you will fall fast asleep if you do).  You love to color, watch cartoons, talk about animals & cars.

Sometimes while playing you will come find me in another room and give me a kiss...then run off to play again.  I LOVE being your momma.  I LOVE being with you all day.  I LOVE being the one you run to, the one you hide behind, the one you want to snuggle and smooch.  It is particularly sweet when we lay in the big bed & you grab my hand and hold it tightly to your little chest.  I am here boy, I will not leave you...ever. 

You sure adore your daddy.  Each night you want him to be the one to put you to bed.  You walk around the house in the morning asking "daddy, are you?"  Then you wait by the door for him to come home.  It's so sweet & I pray you always look for & wait for your daddy.  I pray you grow to be sweet and thoughtful just like him.

I like to hear you talk about cars, trains, trucks, and animals. You really like chickens, dogs, cats, cows, horses and (oddly) peacocks!  Your little voice is so very sweet as you name all the animals you know.  Right now you cannot get enough of talking about fire trucks, airplanes, motorcycles, TRAINS, cars and semi-trucks.  You are so smart and it's so neat to watch you learning more and more.

Oh, and the beach (or pool). You really like to be in the water.  You get your little float and hop in!  It's really cute, although it sometimes takes my breath away how brave you are.  I have to be quick to keep up with you, especially in the water!!  :-)

momma & her big kid! 

I am excited to teach you new things this coming year and I am excited about what you will teach me.  I love to love you.  I hope you remember these sweet times we have together.  I hope I remember them too.
practicing our colors


Walking tall with daddy at the Zoo

I think he's ready for some lessons!

Noah Reagan, wild life explorer!

Blessed -- Easter 2013

Noah & Daddy -- LOVE








visiting his big brothers on Mother's Day 2013