Playing for Preemies

One of the neatest things about starting Melissa's Fund is the people we have met.

Rusty Bates and his wife, Kristin, are two of those people.

Rusty is the Athletic Director and Assistant Principal at Ardmore High School. 18 months ago, his wife Kristin gave birth to their beautiful daughter, Lauren. She was 12 weeks early and weighed just two pounds. She spent a lot of time in a Giraffe OmniBed purchased by the Melissa George Neonatal Memorial Fund.

Lauren went on to spend 51 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children. She is now a very energetic and healthy little girl. And pretty adorable!



Last year, Rusty started "Playing for Preemies" at Ardmore High School. They sell t-shirts and raffle tickets - three lucky students get to the throw a pie at the principals! At the football game, NICU nurses are the honorary captains and get to go on the field. It's such a neat event!

Last year Chris and I went to the pep rally to talk to the students about the NICU and Melissa's Fund. We had such a great time, and decided we wanted to take the girls this year!





They had such a blast! It was their first pep rally and they loved watching the cheerleaders dance and listening to the band. And it was so neat seeing all of the cheerleaders and so many of the students wearing "Playing for Preemies" shirts with the Melissa's Fund logo.




But most importantly, I loved that they got to see *firsthand* how generous people are. I love that they got to see an example of how Melissa's Fund is helping babies. I just so love that they are now old enough to go on this journey with us!!

Thank you Rusty and Kristin Bates for your passion for our NICU!! And thank you students at Ardmore High School for supporting Melissa's Fund!

***A post on this year's Swim for Melissa is coming soon! I have been waiting for the official total - and it's so good!! Can't wait to share :)

Another Reason to Love Taylor Swift...

I have always loved Taylor Swift. After all, she's one of the few singers that I feel comfortable letting my daughters listen to. My girls love her!

Now, I love her even more!

This week, she signed a Yamaha dreadnought acoustic guitar, donated by AB Stephens of Huntsville, aboard her plane enroute to Philadelphia for the next stop on her Triple-Platinum-Plus Speak Now album tour. We will auction it off tomorrow night at Miracle Bash!!

To see pictures, click here.

Thank you, Taylor Swift!! And our NICU babies thank you too! One day, I'm sure they'll be fans :)

A Wee Dress to help Wee Ones!

One of the coolest things about planning Miracle Bash is coming up with fun items for our silent auction. Click here to visit the "Southern Matriarch" blog and see what she created for Miracle Bash.

Adorable!! I know one little girl who would LOVE it for her doll!!

To see some of our other awesome live and silent auction items, visit our Miracle Bash blog or find us on Facebook.

By the way, we are trying to get a head count for this year's Miracle Bash. If you are planning to come, we need to know by tomorrow!! You can RSVP by visiting our Swim for Melissa website and clicking on "Miracle Bash" or call Huntsville Hospital Foundation at 256-265-8077.

We hope to see you there!!

Rainbow to the Rescue

Milestones are hard for parents who have lost children.

Ann Catherine's first day of kindergarten last year was incredibly hard for me. I was fine in front of Ann Catherine, but I broke down when I left the school. I wasn't crying because Ann Catherine was going to kindergarten. I was crying because Melissa wasn't.

My parents watched Lily Baker that morning so Chris and I could walk AC into school and spend that time one-on-one with her. But as soon as we were finished, I could not wait to get to Lily Baker. Having her with me is what got me through the day.

This year, Ann Catherine asked if Lily Baker could accompany us on that first day of school. I said yes. After all, since AC attended full-time kindergarten last year it wasn't such a transition for all of us this year.

There was also another reason.

Lily Baker just always makes things better.

As most of you know, we call her our rainbow. Just as God sent the rainbow after that horrible storm to promise he'd never flood the Earth again, he sent Lily Baker to us with our own promise.

A promise that we would be okay. A promise that even after such a devastating less, we would survive. A promise that we would laugh again. A promise that Ann Catherine would finally have the sister we so desperately desired for her.



Lily Baker isn't a replacement for Melissa. Any parent who has lost a child knows that notion is just absurd. No one can replace your child. Melissa was her own person. She was uniquely created by God. She was my oldest, beating Ann Catherine into this world by one minute because her life was in danger and she needed to be rescued first.

Her short life changed me profoundly, in ways that I still can't fully explain. She made me a better person, a better wife, a better mother. She taught me that life isn't about how long you are here. It's about what you do with the time you are given.

No, Lily Baker isn't a replacement for Melissa.

She is a beautiful completion.

She completed a family who needed her more than she'll ever know. She brought laughter back into our lives. More importantly, she brought hope into our lives.

Lily Baker opened our eyes to the immense blessings that God wants to bestow on us. She reminded us that we have to be patient and trust that God has a plan for our lives, even when it makes no sense to us. She reminded us that sometimes you have to brave a torrential downpour before you can see your rainbow.



So as we walked Ann Catherine into school on her first day of first grade today, I was okay. Because Lily Baker was there.

It doesn't mean I missed Melissa any less. I would have loved to have watched my twin daughters walk into their first grade classroom hand in hand. But I know that wasn't to be.

But on this special day, Ann Catherine wasn't alone. Her sister was there. The sister God sent us to heal our broken hearts.

She did that today, just as she has countless times before.

How did Ann Catherine do? Oh, she did great. She is pumped to be in first grade!








I was grateful that this year was easier than last. And as we left school, I squeezed Lily Baker a little tighter - so grateful to have her with me. So grateful that on those hard milestone days, where the pain of losing Melissa threatens to engulf us, she is here with us.

So grateful for the rainbow. And so grateful for our promise.

Double Whammy!

It's my "double whammy" part of the year - but in a good way!!

We're four days away from the start of school and nine days away from Miracle Bash and Swim for Melissa.

I may need to be committed soon.

To say it's crazy at our house is an understatement. However, please don't confuse that with complaining. I am beyond humbled to be able to celebrate both of these milestones.

The start of school = celebration of Ann Catherine's life.

Swim for Melissa = celebration of Melissa's life.

If you haven't visited our website, please do! Just click here.

Here's some exciting news about this year's Swim for Melissa. Lily Baker is old enough to have a team. She named it, very appropriately, "Melissa's Rainbows." Ann Catherine is again team captain of "Melissa's Miracles." They are both so pumped to have their own teams.

To visit Ann Catherine's page, please click here. To visit Lily Baker's page, click here.

My friend and former WHNT co-anchor, Jerry Hayes, was in our NICU last week. He and photographer Gregg Stone are doing a story that will air sometime next week. I don't want to give it away yet, but it will be amazing. It was so good to see my friend!






Hope you can join us for this year's event! For more information on this year's Swim for Melissa and Miracle Bash, visit our Swim for Melissa website. You can also find the Melissa George Neonatal Memorial Fund on Facebook!

Time to Celebrate!

At last year's Swim for Melissa, Ann Catherine's team came in second place in fundraising. For the team prize, she chose a party at The Matrix Gym!

It's been hard to get everyone's schedules together. This past Sunday, Melissa's Miracles (and their siblings) FINALLY celebrated together!

The eight kids on this team raised $15,000 at last year's Swim for Melissa. I think that's just phenomenal! Each of these children understand WHY they are swimming - and I think that's the most important part.

My sweet niece and nephew even made it to the party. I see this picture of the four of them and I know that Melissa is so proud of her sisters and cousins for helping other babies in memory of her. The only thing that would make it better is if SHE was in this picture with them :)



AC is team captain of Melissa's Miracles. She gave each of her team members an engraved medal at the party as a way of saying thanks. I'm so proud of the young lady she's becoming. She has such a big heart and truly loves helping others. I hope that never changes!



This team will be back together in less than a month to Swim for Melissa again!! I'm so proud of all of them!

So Much Better

Lily Baker wanted a dog for her birthday. That was back in November.

Since her birthday is during the winter and since we thought we would get a puppy, Chris and I decided to wait until spring to buy the girls a dog. After all, taking a dog out to potty each hour during the freezing cold didn't sound too fun to us.

Spring rolled around, but our doggie plans got delayed. We went to Walt Disney World instead. So, we told LB to wait until summer.

Summer began and we had loads of stuff to do. Dance recital, AC's birthday party and a trip to the beach. No dog just yet.

When we returned home from the beach, LB looked at me and said, "Are we ever getting a dog?"

She had waited long enough. So the search began.

Chris and I decided we wanted to rescue instead. First of all, there are so many dogs who need good homes. Plus, we could bypass the puppy stage of chewing and pooping in the house.

Win-win for us.

I began searching Petfinder.com and found the most precious dog. It was a Saturday and the shelter was already closed. The following Monday, as soon as I dropped the girls off at Vacation Bible School, I drove an hour to the shelter to see her.

She was adorable. She was the size we were looking for. She seemed like she would be good with children (which was THE most important factor for us).

I couldn't take her home that day. We had a jam-packed week full of appointments and I had some shoots I had to do. I didn't want to get a new dog and then leave her alone in the house for most of the week.

I told the lady at the shelter that we couldn't get her until Friday. I came home and told Chris that if she was still there on Friday, then that was our sign that she was meant to be our dog.

I showed the girls a picture of her on my phone and they went nuts. They wanted to go get her that instant! I told them we couldn't, but we would get her on Friday.

That Thursday, I was getting my hair cut and decided to show her picture to my friend and stylist. I went to Petfinder.com and SHE WAS GONE!

I panicked! I called the shelter, but they were closed. I called Chris who told me to calm down because I couldn't do anything until the shelter opened the next morning. My friend tried to reassure me - maybe they had just moved her to another shelter?

But I knew. That dog had been adopted.

I was so sad, but I understood. After all, I had said that would be my sign. I was an adult. I could understand that.

But what about my girls? I knew they would be devestated.

The next morning, Friday morning, Ann Catherine woke up and came running out of her room. "Mommy! We get our dog today!!"

I just looked at Chris and didn't say a word. I took the girls to their last day of VBS and as soon as I got into the car, I called the shelter.

Yes, the lady told me, she had been adopted.

How in the world would I tell my girls? They had been so excited about getting their new dog. I dreaded it so badly.

When I picked them up from VBS, AC immediately asked if we were going to get our dog. I somehow ignored it and got her mind on something else. Later that day, she asked again and I sat her down and told her we needed to talk. I gently told her that another family had adopted the dog before we could get her. She broke down in tears. Actually, more like giant sobs.

I told Ann Catherine that this was a good thing for the dog. After all, she was adopted and that's the goal of every dog in a shelter. But, she couldn't get past the fact that the dog wasn't coming home with us.

I said, "You know what, Ann Catherine? Sometimes in life, we want something so badly and don't get it. It doesn't make any sense to us. But you know what? That means that God has something so much better waiting for us down the road."

I assured her that there was a dog out there waiting for us. We just had to find her. And Chris and I promised her that we would.

I continued to check the Petfinder website almost daily, looking for our dog. Last Tuesday, I found her.

Gigi was part of a family that couldn't take care of her anymore. I immediately emailed the rescue organization asking questions about her. The next morning I heard back from them. She sounded just perfect for us. I called and the lady agreed to meet us on the way back from our vacation the next day. As soon as she pulled up and I saw Gigi, I knew she was our dog. I just needed to see how she would interact with the girls.

They loved her. She was gentle and laid back, but affectionate. I told the lady that we wanted to adopt her. We drove home and bought all of the neccessary supplies that night and I picked her up the next day.

We feel so grateful to have Gigi with us! She is wonderful with my girls and they are learning so much about love and responsibility. She really was the perfect dog for us. And in case you're wondering, Chris had the bow out of her hair about thirty minutes after she got home. He had to draw the line there :)

There's no doubt God had something so much better waiting for us. What a great lesson for all four of us about being patient and trusting God.

Let the fun begin!!