Remembering Shane

These are some of the things we have done over the past 2 years or so, to remember Shane. I will continue to post new things that we do for him!

• Mommy wears a necklace with 2 charms on it - one charm is from our friends Christie & Dan, and says "Mommy's Angel - Shane Michael - 11-8-07" and has his birthstone - and the other one is the symbol (figure 8) for "infinity".
• We hung a photo collage of some of the pictures from Shane's birth right next to our front door. This is where a ball of light showed up in our Christmas pictures of Miles.
• Mike and I got our matching memorial tattoos done on April 3rd & 4th, 2008. They were done at Wolf's Fine Line Tattoo in Joliet, Illinois by Doc.
• "Shane's Gang" walked the 6.2 mile March for Babies in downtown Chicago on Sunday, April 27, 2008! As a team, we raised an unbelievable grand total of $3,980 for the March of Dimes in memory of our precious baby boy, Shane. Thank you so much to everyone who made it such a successful day! We will never forget it!
• We threw a Luau at our home on Saturday, June 7, 2008 to thank everyone who walked or sponsored our team in the March for Babies, as well as many other family and friends to say thank you for everything that they did for us to help us deal with the loss of our baby boy! Our fundraising was a huge success thanks to everyone!!
• On Saturday, November 8, 2008, we celebrated Shane's 1st birthday. We had a family dinner that night with Shane's Grandma & Grandpa Theres, his Aunt Genia & Uncle Bill and cousins Izabella & Lucas, and of course his mommy, daddy, and big brother Miles. His Grandma Cindy said a beautiful prayer before dinner to help us remember him. After dinner, the boys blew out Shane's candle on his birthday cupcake, and then Miles took his balloon bouquet outside and let it go with his birthday card attached. Thank you to all the people who signed Shane's card.
• We try to remember Shane in everything we do. Our family took a trip to Florida in December 2008 to visit his Grandma and Grandpa Jeffery. It seems like everywhere we go, everything we do together, no matter where we are, butterflies seem to show up around us. We are convinced that this is Shane's way of visiting with us, and letting us know he's there with us and still a part of our family as he always will be. We saw butterflies when we were swimming together in Grandma and Grandpa's pool, when we were waiting in line at Disney for a ride, and even when daddy went fishing with Grandpa and his brothers! We also saw a ton of butterflies all summer long in our backyard, especially when we put in our pool and we were all swimming in it together! Thank you Shane! Keep on visiting!
• Shane was a part of our 2008 Christmas portraits. The little white teddy bear that we took home from the hospital was in all of our pictures.
• Once again, Shane's Gang walked in the March for Babies in downtown Chicago on Sunday, April 26, 2009. Although it poured rain all over us, we had a blast!! Thank you to Shannon, Joyce, Lyndsey, Amanda, & Mike, and of course to everyone who sponsored us! We raised close to $2000! See ya next year!
• In November 2008, I spoke at a Bereavement Conference at Rush Copley Medical Center about Shane. I was 1 of 3 parents who spoke about their experience. It was a conference for doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff, to educate them on how to handle these situations best (things to say, things not to say, etc.). I was so happy and felt so privileged to share my story with so many people who didn't know it, and so many who could learn from it! I plan on speaking at the conference again this year.
• Yearly in December, I will attend the Remembrance Ceremony put on at Rush Copley Medical Center by the Perinatal Bereavement Coordinator Peggy O'Connell. I attend as both a staff member and a parent who has lost a child at birth, and sit at a table to help facilitate conversation between families, hopefully helping them work through their losses. I also share the photo album of the pictures taken at Shane's birth.
• We will once again celebrate Shane's birthday this year, November 8, 2009. He would have been 2 years old. Sometimes I can't believe it's been this long. We still miss him just as much as the first moment he was gone, if not more.
• Mike and I have been asked to join the March of Dimes Family Team Committee this year. We would love to get Shane's Gang more recognized! Spread the word!!! Shane's Gang will be walking again in the spring of 2010! Stay tuned for more info.