When we first got our boys we instituted the routine of taking a family walk around our neighborhood and to the park near our home. Mainly it started as a way to still give the dog his 10 minutes of glory in getting out of the house, but it also allowed us some time to have uninterrupted time as a family at the end of the day to talk. In those first walks I noticed something about the boys and it is a habit they've continued to keep. They have always been great at picking up trash or litter and putting it where it needs to be so that our park, the neighborhood around us, and Mother Earth can still look nice. I'm proud to say its a habit they developed on their own (not by our instruction or guidance) and it something they still do today.
When Jarrett and I were talking about ideas of things we wanted to do in honor of Noah, one of the things we talked about was doing something for the earth and to make something even a tiny bit more beautiful. For Noah was beautiful in our eyes and by making something else beautiful, we would be reminded that there is beauty all around us.
So hence our project number 8: Neighborhood Beautification. This is something that anyone and everyone can do. It doesn't have to cost anything nor take up a whole lot of time.
On Saturday, October 3, we hope you'll join us in finding some way to make our wonderful Mother Earth just a bit more beautiful. Pick your neighborhood park, or a ditch (those of you back in Iowa will know what I'm talking about), or an abandoned yard and spend some time making it look better. Paint, pick up trash, trim landscaping, plant some flowers or a tree... what ever it needs, please consider donating your time and energy to make a piece of this wonderful world nicer.
For our contribution we plan to spend some time sprucing up the Memorial Garden at our church. While it is already a beautiful and extremely peaceful place, we plan to spend a bit of time giving it an extra bit of TLC. The memorial garden is a special place for many people at our church and its also a special place for us. This is Noah's Final resting place.
When deciding where he should be laid to rest, we found the larger cemetery to be overwhelming and that he was just too little to be buried in such a large place. When our church shared with us about the memorial garden, (a place we didn't even realize the church had), we toured it and immediately knew... we had found the place for Noah to be. It is small, quiet, filled with beautiful trees and flowers, and a water fountain. It is private and only those with loved ones there are given a key to come and visit any time they would like (so much like the NICU). We feel thankful to have found such a nice place for him to be. And someday, when Jarrett or I are called home, Noah can be moved to be buried with one of us. Yet another nice option the memorial garden provides to us.
Thank you for joining us in donating a bit of labor and a lot of heart to make the world around us beautiful.
Until next time,
Angie
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