When they leave us..........................

Recieved this yesterday and had to post

She jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon come out of the
operating> room. She said: "How is my little boy ? Is he going to be all right ?>
When can I see him ?"> The surgeon said, "I'm sorry. We did all we could, but your
boy didn't> make it."> > Sally said, "Why do little children get cancer ? Doesn't
God care any> more ? Where were you, God, when my son needed you ?"> > The surgeon
asked, "Would you like some time alone with your son ? One> of the nurses will be
out in a few minutes, before he's transported to> the university."> > Sally asked
the nurse to stay with her while she said good bye to son.> She ran her fingers
lovingly through his thick red curly hair. "Would> you like a lock of his hair ?"
the nurse asked.> > Sally nodded yes. The nurse cut a lock of the boy 's hai r, put
it in a> plastic bag and handed it to Sally.> > The mother said, "It was Jimmy's
idea to donate his body to the> University for Study. He said it might help somebody
else. "I said no> at first, but Jimmy said, 'Mom, I won't be using it after I die.
Maybe> it will help some other little boy spend one more day with his Mom."> She
went on, "My Jimmy had a heart of gold. Always thinking of someone> else. Always
wanting to help others if he could."> > Sally walked out of Children's Mercy
Hospital for the last time, after> spending most of the last six months there. She
put the bag with> Jimmy's belongings on the seat beside her in the car.> > The drive
home was difficult. It was even harder to enter the empty> house She carried Jimmy's
belongings, and the plastic bag with the> lock of his hair to her son's room.> > She
started placing the model cars and ot her personal things back in> his room m
exactly where he had always kept them. She laid down across> his bed and, hugging
his pillow, cried herself to sleep.> > It was around midnight when Sally awoke.
Laying beside her on the bed> was a folded letter. The letter said :> > "Dear Mom, I
know you're going to miss me; but don't think that I will> ever forget you, or stop
loving you, just 'cause I'm not around to say> "I Love You" . I will always love
you, Mom, even more with each day.> Someday we will see each other again. Until
then, if you want to adopt> a little boy so you won't be so lon ely, that's okay
with me. He can> have my room and old stuff to play with. But, if you decide to get
a> girl instead, she probably wouldn't like the same things us boys do> You'll have
to buy her dolls and stuff girls like, you know. Don't be> sad thinking about me.
This really is a neat place. Grandma and> Grandpa met me as soon as I got here and
showed me around some, but it> will take a long time to see everything. The angels
are so cool. I> love to watch them fly. And, you know what? Jesus doesn't look like>
any of his pictures. Yet, when I saw Him, I knew it was Him. Jesus> himself took me
to see GOD ! And guess what, Mom ? I got to sit on> God's knee and talk to Him, like
I was somebody important. That's when> I told Him that I wanted to write you a
letter, to tell you good bye> and everything. But I already knew that wasn't
allowed. Well, you know> what Mom ? ;God handed me some paper and His own personal
pen to write> you this letter. I think Gabriel is the name of the angel who is
going> to drop this letter off to you. God said for me to give you the answer> to
one of the questions you asked Him 'Where was He when I needed him> ?' "God said He
was in the same place w ith me , as when His son Jesus> was on the cross. He was
right there, as He always is with all His> children. Oh, by the way, Mom, no one
else can see what I've written> except you. To everyone else this is just a blank
piece of paper.> Isn't that cool ? I have to give God His pen back now. He needs it
to> write some more names in the Book of Life. Tonight I get to sit at the> table
with Jesus for supper. I'm sure the food will be great.> > Oh, I almost forgot to
tell you. I don't hurt anymore. The cancer is> all gone. I'm glad because I couldn't
stand that pain anymore and God> couldn't stand to see me hurt so much, either.
That's when He sent The> Angel of Mercy to come get me. The Angel said I was a
Special Delivery> ! How about that ?> > Signed with Love from God, Jesus & Me.> > >
( Let's see Satan stop this one. ) Take 60 seconds and repost this,> wi thin t he
hour, you will have caused a multitude of believers to pray> to God for each other.
Then sit back and feel the Holy Spirit work in> your life for doing what you know
God loves "When you're down to> nothing, God is up to something.">

Ideas for Spreading Kindness

On one occasion, a family was at a shoe store where I was purchasing school shoes for my children. They had six children and were debating on which two children would get shoes, since they could not afford shoes for all six. I sought out the manager of the store and gave him enough money for the family to buy shoes for all of their children. I told him to wait until I left the store before telling them about the money. I did not want them to feel obligated to thank me or uncomfortable about accepting the gift. The family was then able to purchase shoes for all of their children. I did not care if the family knew me, however, I did want them to know WHY I was doing this. It was in memory of my beautiful daughter. This would have been the perfect opportunity to leave the Kindness card. Enter the "Random Acts of Kindness" card.
The family would never know me. Who I was is unimportant. But my child and her life is important. The first step in Project Kindness is to seek out ways, look for opportunities, to do something nice for someone. This takes very little creativity, as I have found kind deeds waiting to be done thousands of times. Here are some ideas of deeds for the Kindness Project:

Don’t forget to attach the Kindness Project Cards!! The best thing about the Kindness Project is the fun of anonymity. Be sure to leave the card and leave without being seen as often as you can! Do something kind every day! Share your loved one with the world!


Buy a meal for a young couple or family sitting next to you at a restaurant. Leave the Kindness card with the waitress to give them after you leave. It is a nice surprise they will never forget. It may even make them consider the mortality of their own children and lessen what time they may take for granted.
Partake in a Christmas Angel Program. Leave the card so they know your motivation of love!
Buy shoes or clothes for a family in need.
Bake cookies for a neighbor or teacher, just because.
Order a subscription to Angels Magazine for a family member. Ask that the Kindness card be enclosed in the first issue. It will reinforce, even to family, that your child is never forgotten.
Help an elderly person with yard work or grocery shopping. Many elderly people have a story or two to tell about their own baby that died many years ago.
Visit a nursing home and bring cupcakes. Sit and visit with a few of the residents. You'd be amazed at the loving reception you will receive as many residents rarely receive visitors.
Leave a bouquet at another child's grave at the cemetery. Let them know about our Kindness Project and your child!
Most electric companies allow individuals to assist families who are struggling with their electric bill. If you partake in the program, send your payment with a Kindness card and let them experience the love of your child.
Sign up to participate in a program such as Feed the Children. Your Kindness card will tell them the story of why you are doing this.
Donate to your favorite nonprofit group on your child's birthday or death day. Ask family members and friends to do the same.
Volunteer your time at a local homeless shelter or a crisis nursery.
Buy a new calendar for a workmate.
Donate some grief books to the library or a local support group.
Leave an extra large tip for your food server!
Buy the meal for the person behind you at the fast food drive through.
Leave a bouquet of flowers on someone’s front door step.
Bake goodies and take them to the police station, fire station, or hospital.
Pay a local teen to mow an elderly neighbor’s yard.
Crochet a baby’s blanket and take it to the hospital nursery. Premature babies can always use tiny booties and caps.
Buy a balloon bouquet and ask the nurses the children’s hospital to deliver them to a child.
Make a memorial donation to honor your loved one and a friend’s loved one.
Take a box of doughnuts to an elementary school for a classroom.
Plug someone’s parking meter.
Go to the post office in mid December and ask for of the “letters to Santa” that they get every year. Buy and send the gift on Christmas.
Adopt a street or just pick up litter in the neighborhood.
Leave your change in the soda machine for the next person. It's a nice surprise.
Buy coffee for the person standing behind you in line.
Write to management at places where you get especially good service and commend them (specify names!)
Tape a quarter to a pay phone with a note welcoming anyone who needs it to use it.
Adopt a family through a social service agency, not just at Christmas. People go hungry all year.
Plant a tree or some flowers for a local church. Perhaps offer to “build” a Memorial Garden.
Volunteer at a local shelter, crisis nursery or soup kitchen. This will give more to you than you can imagine.
Volunteer to read to children at your nearest library.
Send your child a note in his lunchbox. Remind them how special they are to you.
Organize a large toy, clothing and diaper drive for a crisis nursery.
Pay for a small child's candy at a convenient store.
Pay for someone's toll and/or gas.
Look for opportunities to open the door for someone or give up your seat for someone.
Buy lunch for the couple or family sitting next to you as you pay your own. Be sure to be secretive!
Buy a toy for a child in the store and ask the clerk to deliver it after you’ve gone.

The list of possible kindnesses is endless. Every act you extend will amaze you! The healing, peace and satisfaction which is born from every kindness is undeniable. It is one of the gifts our children have left behind for us to discover. Please order some of our Kindness cards. We have made them very affordable so that everyone can participate. Then send us your stories. We will publish "Kindness" stories in our newsletter and here on the website. Share your ideas with others and talk about the wonderful and miraculous love your child continues to share within your community. Let them all know that your child lives within your heart, still and always.

Joanne Cacciatore,
Founder,
M.I.S.S. Foundation


My thank you to the M.I.S.S. for this informaton from their website
http://www.missfoundation.org/kindness/ideas.html

M.I.S.S. FOUNDATION

CHECK OUT THIS WONDERFUL ORGANIZATION

They Have been my backbone for the last six years.....Michael..


About MISS

More than 120,000 children die every year in the United States. Of those, more than 80% die before their first birthday...
The MISS Foundation is a nonprofit corporation committed to helping families discover hope and eventually heal from the trauma of a child's death.

More information on the MISS Foundation visit our information packet link:
http://www.missfoundation.org/news/mediakit/index.html

Vision

That our programs will serve to strengthen families and communities when a child has died, and that through education and research, we will help to reduce the number of child deaths. No family should have to endure the pain of a child family member's death alone: The MISS Foundation is committed to building interdisciplinary communities that provide long-term support to families after a child's death. We are committed to the memory of the children who lived, who died, and who continue- even in death- to matter.


"A community of sorrow is the strongest community of all."

Memorial Donations

You may make a memorial donation in memory of a child. Acknowledgements will be listed in the MISSing Angels Newsletter and acknowledgement memorial cards sent. The monies will be used for our Emergency Services program, which provides free literature, books, and support group brochures to families who have experienced the death of their child. You can sponsor an entire Emergency Packet. We will also include a Kindness Project card signed in honor of your child or grandchild.

Memorial Donations or Emergency Packet Sponsors can send their gift to:

MISS Foundation- Memorial Donations
P.O. Box 5333
Peoria, Arizona 85385-5333

Or Donate Online

All donations are tax deductible

To contact the MISS Foundation:

International Office
1.623.979.1000
1.623.979.1001 fax

Toll Free in the U.S.
888 455-MISS (6477)

Written inquiries:
PO Box 5333
Peoria, Arizona 85385-5333

Email:
info@missfoundation.org

About the Kindness Project
The Kindness Project began in October of 1997 as a way for families to honor their deceased child and to help themselves heal. Now, years later, more than 500,000 Kindness Project cards have been used around the world to perform random acts of kindness in memory of a child, parent, friend, or spouse who died before their time.
The idea is to perform random acts of, usually anonymous, acts of kindness in your community. A little card is left behind so that the person who benefits from the kindness knows that someone's life and death continues to matter. This beautiful movement has helped thousands of families to heal and find positive outlets for their overwhelming grief.

The History of the Kindness Project


The Kindness Project is a worldwide movement to share our children (or other loved ones) with those who never had the honor to meet them. Let me tell you why I am so excited about this project...

My daughter, Cheyenne, died in July of 1994. It was the worst day of my life. I never imagined myself laughing or ever experiencing joy again.

I began to seek out ways to keep Cheyenne's memory alive to my family and to the rest of the world: I wanted to create a legacy. I wanted people to know that she existed and, more importantly, I wanted to help change the lives of others because of her presence on this earth.

So I set out on various missions of random kindness. On a daily basis, I looked for opportunities to reach out and do something unexpected and unusually kind for someone else. Most often, strangers were the recipients of these good deeds. I began to feel a sense of peace in knowing that Cheyenne was the reason for my enlightening.

The Kindness Project blossomed out of the extraordinary experiences I had while doing things for others. Because truly miraculous things happen to our spirit when we reach out to help others, I sought a way to share that movement with others.

It is our hope that through the Kindness Project, we can make incredible transformations within our communities, in our families, and in ourselves. Just imagine if every person touched by death would participate in helping to transform the world into a gentler and more altruistic world! What an impact this would have on so many levels!

The Kindness Project reminds others that our children, and other loved ones, are so very important to us that we are willing to extend the life and love of our child and share it with others! It is a legacy that transcends death. It is a legacy of love.

Joanne Cacciatore
joanne@missfoundation.org







Kindness Stories Read stories about how others have used the Kindness Project to share their lost loved one with the world!

More Kindness Stories! Here you can read more stories of Kindness acts as well as post your own kindness story! Share *your* loved one with the world on the Kindness Project forum board.

Kindess Project Ideas The first step in Project Kindness is to seek out ways, look for opportunities, to do something nice for someone. This takes very little creativity, as I have found kind deeds waiting to be done thousands of times.

Kindness Cards Here are samples of the Kindness cards, available in two styles. Order yours today and start spreading kindness wherever you go!

Articles - Read articles that have appeared in local newspapers about the Kindness Project. Random acts of kindness are showing up all over!



"Above all we must realize that each of us
makes a difference with our life. Each of us
impacts the world around us every single
day. We have a choice to use the gift of our life to
make the world a better place - or not to bother."
-Jane Goodall

National Childrens Memorial Day...December 9 2007

Remember Dawn and All the Children on 12/9/07 ..Light a Candle or Attend Cerermony With me in Phoenix / Michael

This year's National Children's Memorial Day is on
December 9, 2007


National Children's Memorial Day happens every year on the second Sunday of December and is observed internationally. Families around the world light candles at 7 p.m. in their corresponding time zones. As candles burn down in one time zone, they are lighted in the next, creating a 24-hour wave of light that encircles the globe. This remembrance ceremony provides the world with lit candles for an entire 24 hour period in order to honor the children we have lost, the children who lived and died, and who, even in death, continue to matter.


This years candle ceremony in Phoenix will be at ...
Sunday 12/9/2007
Unity Church
1600 East Greenway
Phoenix, Az.
6:30 pm