More pictures of Amelia

This is a great storyboard of Amelia that Monica Carroll put together.

This is a wonderful picture of her holding her big brothers hand.

We have been getting some great photos from Monica and have finally gotten around to posting them here. Thank you for all of the prayers. We have definitely felt them and we will continue to need them. Also thanks to everyone that has decided to join us this Saturday for the race/walk to benefit the Amelia Center. We are definitely making a presence at the event in memory of our Amelia.

Update

This week has certainly had some ups and downs. Wednesday was my birthday so it definitely gave us something to focus on. Misty asked Ben what he wanted to get me and he replied some Goo Goo Car washes. It is a local place that you can buy a gift certificate to. Well they had just done that for Father's Day so she told him that was out. Recently I was installing a new drain line for a new laundry room. I had several different pieces of PVC and was connecting them all to our rain barrel outside so Misty can water the plants with our washing machine water. The entire time Ben was there with me probably causing me more trouble than help.

So back to the story when Misty asked Ben what else he simply replied "plumbing, you know Daddy likes plumbing. And let's get him a bunch of pieces!" So we went to Home Depot and I wandered around and he got to pick out 10 - 15 PVC connectors and he thought that was the greatest thing EVER. Then Misty gave me a choice of something or a Wii. I have really wanted a Wii but was hesitant because I didn't know if it would be too complicated for Ben just yet. I talked with the guy at Wal Mart for 20 minutes and we took one home with us. Well as I said earlier this has been something to focus on is really the understatement of the month. We had so much fun watching Ben playing the games! Now he is wanting to play it 24/7!

We also visited The Amelia Center this week and had a great hour with our counselor. He gave us a great analogy about this chapter in our lives. He said if you will imagine the grief and pain being a ball inside a jar. The ball will never shrink no matter how much time passes. But our goal is to make the jar bigger around the ball. In other words grow your world with experiences around the grief/pain. So the Wii definitely has helped us to start having some fun experiences together and "grow" our world around everything that has happened in the past 2 weeks.

We are also contemplating a short weekend trip for the 3 of us next month to Disney World. I think for us to experience Ben having the time of his life will do both of us wonders. Although he told me the other day "Daddy we need to go on vacation soon and we need to go to an island in the ocean." I guess we have spoiled him some already. Back in May I had a trip to San Juan and St. Maarten so Misty and Ben went with me. He has experienced a lot for a 4 year old, in fact he has had a passport since he was 2. So I hope Disney will suffice for him!!!

I can't say enough about the continued prayers and support that everyone is offering for us. We can definitely tell that God is with us as we continue to walk down this path.

The Amelia Center 5k Charity Run

The Amelia Center which has been such a fabulous resource for us over the past 2 weeks and will continue to be a dear resource to us is having a fundraiser 5k run/1 mile fun run!

We would love for everyone to join us on August 29, 2009. Misty, Ben and I are going to participate in the 1 mile fun run (well maybe it will be a walk too)! Please go to this link, http://www.ameliacenter.org/body.cfm?id=27&action=detail&ref=7, to find out more info about the event and this website, http://www.active.com/page/Event_Details.htm?event_id=1757989&assetId=3908DEF5-DEFA-4E00-AB9D-123D5FD5A4F8, to register. It is @ 8:00 am at Tannehill State Park. What an exciting way to raise money for an organization dear to us and a great way to start your Saturday morning!

We look forward to seeing everyone out there to help us remember our Amelia.

Post Doctor Visit

Misty had her post op visit today with her OB/GYN(s). We saw 2 because we feel like there are 2 doctors that have been involved in these past 2 weeks that are now very dear to our hearts. Dr. John Woods and Dr. Cynthia Lassiter have been more than Doctors to us in the last 2 weeks and made it extremely easy to come in today. They were very pleased with Misty's progress and sat down with us and chatted about the past week and what all we have been through. We gave them each a picture of Amelia and I think it really meant a lot to them that we remembered them. Dr. Lassiter is a real encouragement to Misty considering she had 3 kids after the age of 35 and never once did an amniocentesis! Not that we are even considering what our next steps are but I think Misty felt a reassurance to hear her say that. She also reminded us that she was so proud of us for making the choices for Amelia that we made last week. She strongly believes that it is best to bring the baby into the world and allow God to work his plan for the baby.

We also stopped by the Birthing Suites floor and handed out some pictures of Amelia to our nurses from last week. We also donated some more clothes to the NIC unit for babies born unexpectedly. They were so thankful for the clothes.

We also scheduled an appointment with The Amelia Center this afternoon. Our counselor there is a God send for us right now. I know I have praised them in a lot of our posts but I can't stop talking about what a great resource they are for us. After meeting with them we had a good understanding where we are and where we need to be. He gave Misty some very practical info for returning to work when she is ready.

I want to thank everyone again for their prayers and support. The food has been PHENOMENAL!!! You know that is very important to Ben and I!

Picture of Amelia

This is one of the incredible photos that our new dear friend Monica Carroll took for us as part of an organization named Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep. This is a national organization that professional photographers join and when called upon come to assist a family in need. I can't say enough about how wonderful it was to have Monica Carroll there with us. She took over 560 photos in the short 4 hours! You can also view her website at http://www.monicacarroll.com/. We really appreciate her and her work more than words can describe.

Amelia's Memorial Service 8-15-09

As Misty and I talked about what we wanted to do for Amelia we had decided on a small family only service there at the Cemetery where her mother is buried. The cemetery was absolute perfect and there is even a walnut tree covering the little area where Amelia's spot is. We have had many friends help us along the way but one that has done more than we will ever be able to repay him is Heath Bowen. He is the manager of a funeral home here in Birmingham and actually grew up with Misty. God placed his name on our minds on Tuesday for a reason. It was so much easier to walk in there Thursday knowing that he was a friend and that he knew what we had been through. Heath took care of us in ALL of the arrangements and that is exactly what Misty and I needed. He even gave Ben a little bear this morning and told us that he had placed an identical one in Amelia's casket. Ben had a teddy bear with us for the ride up there today and now he is calling his bear big brother bear and the new smaller one little brother bear.

So we asked Ronnie McCarty who is a dear friend to Misty and does a lot of preaching in his spare time to say a few words that God needed us to hear one more time. Ronnie did a fabulous job reminding us that all good and perfect things come from God. Ronnie is truly a man of God and said exactly what God had laid on his heart and nothing more. I appreciated that since it was 95 degrees out there and I was getting hot quickly! We then following the suggestion of the Amelia Center and allowed Ben to release some pink balloons to Heaven for Amelia. He thought that was the best thing he had ever done. He watched them until you could not see them anymore. In fact some of the adults were upset that they didn't get to release some too. This will be a yearly event for our family as go back and release some balloons on Amelia's birthday. After this we all had a good Southern meal at the church where Misty's sister attends. This was a good time to fellowship with family and explain further details of our journey in the last 2 weeks. Now we are back home and Ben is making all of his stuffed animals watch the Weather Channel! Thank God we have him to make us snap back into reality!!!

Even though Amelia was only with is for 3 hours 42 minutes on this earth she has a left a legacy much longer and bigger than that. Misty and I have already started planning some things in the next few weeks to help remember her. We will post some of the details soon.

As I close each of these posts I thank everyone for their prayers and support! That is what we need more than anything. So thanks once again for your continued prayers!!!

Memorial Service for Amelia

It has been a long night and morning as we prepare for a Memorial time for Amelia. We are going to have a small private service for her for our immediate family at the graveside. Misty and I both looked at each other yesterday and asked each other "how in the world do we involve Ben in this service." So I prayed about it and then once again God led me to the Amelia Center. I called and God allowed our friend there to be available to take my phone call and give me another crash course on the next chapter that we are facing. So he gave me some excellent counseling to involve Ben in this service. Imagine a 4 year old wanting to know why we are all gathered and crying over a box that we are about to put in the ground when he knows already that she is in Heaven. So our friend at the Center suggested we involve him by letting him release some pink balloons to Heaven to her. What a God send of a recommendation. So please know that we can feel every one's prayers during this time but are asking for some quiet family time tomorrow as we memorialize her.

A lot of people have been asking about sending flowers for the service. We appreciate the offer but ask in lieu of flowers please send any memorials to the Amelia Center in Memory and Honor of Amelia Nell Hillis. The web address is http://www.ameliacenter.org/ where you can find the information to make any memorials. The mailing address is 1513 Fourth Avenue South, Birmingham, Alabama 35233.

THANKS so much for the continued prayer and support as we go through this weekend. These next few days/months are going to be tough but knowing that we have so many people praying for us has made this walk easier.