Our Featured Mom for the month of June is Kim Lokke
Hi Ladies , This is Kim Lokke angel mom to Gabriel & Josiah. I am so pleased and surprised to be "Feature Angel Mom Of The Month" for the month of June. To let you know a little about me I'll share some of my story. On Sept. 6th, 2004 my 17 year old son Josiah (who I called "Baby Boy") was a passenger in a car that was hit head on by a semi truck. It killed Josiah and two of his friends. The other boy in the car was Josiah's best friend Tucker. Tucker also lived with us. My oldest son Gabriel was in the car behind the one Josiah was in and Josiah died in Gabriel's arms. It was Gabriel's birthday. Then on June 11th, 2005 Gabriel was having the nightmares again and he was having a real difficult time because Josiah wasn't here to graduate high school with his class. Gabriel took the drug "Oxycontin" to help him escape the pain and it killed him because he had an enlarged heart. Gabriel was 24 and left me a grandson name Kobe Gabriel that just turned 3 on May 20th. My boys died 10 months apart. I was just beginning my grief journey with Josiah when I lost Gabriel. It was to hard for my mind to comprehend that I was starting this journey again. When they came to tell me they found Gabriel dead I kept telling them "You have the wrong house". When I started grieving for Gabriel and I thought of Josiah, I had to push Josiah out of my head. I never dreamed that this could ever happen to me. I love my children more than anything on this earth and I love God and believe his son died on the cross for all of us so we too can all go to heaven. Wasn't that enough to guard my children from all harm? I, like everyone of you, questioned my faith. What about the people that beat their kids and are addicts and give their kids up freely. Not fair. I have done so much praying and soul searching and I still have questions for God to answer. But I do believe that I have been shown some answers. I believe that this world has a lot of pain , sickness, disease and heartache. I believe we'll have a perfect life when we get to heaven. But the main thing I have learned from all you angel moms and my "Compassionate Friends" support group is that our children that are in heaven now , were the children with the biggest hearts that loved everyone and their angel assignments were complete and they got to go early. I have always taught my children "earth is our school and heaven is our home and were only passing through". Now I have to live what I taught. Some of us have more to learn or more people that need our love and it's just not our time yet. Our angels have been rewarded. They have a wonderful life. I always say that and then I add "It sucks to be me". This is where blind faith comes in. Some things are just spiritual that we can not see, touch or feel. I know we all have our own beliefs and that is great and in the end it won't even matter. I believe the bible and it says in heaven there are mansions and streets of gold and a crystal sea. How cool is that? It also says that there is no sickness, sorrow or death. We're all in this journey of grief together and we all believe we have our angels waiting for us in heaven. So no matter what our denomination or spiritual belief is, we all want the same result, to see our child again. This takes a lot of faith on all of ours part. No matter what we think or believe, when we get there we will find out that not everything we thought was 100% accurate. I myself feel that our children stepped from this life to the next. I feel that when their body died that their spirit soared to heaven. What I hope to accomplish while I'm waiting for my turn to go is to love as many people that I can and hope that they feel God's love through me and will in turn seek God and all he has for us. You only have to believe. If I didn't believe, then I would not believe that my children were angels and I get to see them again. But I do, and that's why I'm an angel mom and proud to be one. I'm so proud of both my angels for all the love they gave. I pray for all of us. When I feel pain I am reminded that all my angel mom sisters need a prayer too. I am approaching Gabriel's first angel date and it hurts so bad. I miss him and Josiah so much. Some days I feel like I can't go on. That's when I want to love more so people can see God's love in me and pray that God will call us all home with our earth angels too so we can all be together. But I do know I have to wait my turn. I love you all and remember sometimes we can only make it 5 minutes at a time and that's okay. So be gentle on yourselves and don't let anyone be mean to you and force you to move faster than your able. Your valuable and special. You’re an angel mom and I have a sneaking suspicion that our mansions will be better than everyone else's. Tons of love to all of you,
Kim Lokke
I found a poem for Father's Day that I wanted to share here in this section. But I did not have time to get permission to use it, so I am sharing the link for it.
A Grieving Father's Prayers For Father's Day
Angel Moms Birthdays
I decided to write about Angel Mom birthdays since this month is my birthday and I know that even our own birthdays are hard. I remember my first birthday without Tiffany was so hard. I was 39 when Tiffany passed April 29th 2001 and my 40th birthday was June 20th that year. I had no idea my family had plans for a surprise (over the hill) birthday party for me at my mothers house. It didn't even dawn on me when all my family started coming in not until I saw the birthday cake. I was very touched but I just couldn't stop crying, it just didn't seem right celebrating when I didn't have my precious Tiffany with me. I think everyone understood that was very hard for me they just wanted to show their love and support. To me when I think of my birthday I think another year older for me but not for my daughter and that doesn't seem fair. I know Tiffany wouldn't want me to feel that way but some feelings cant be helped.
This month it will he my 6th birthday without her, where has the time gone? I cant help but be sad. I know she would be hugging me and wishing me a Happy Birthday she should be here with me. I do know she is watching over me and will be blowing me birthday kisses from Heaven.
To Mom: Happy Birthday from Heaven
Mom, I'm sending Birthday wishes from Heaven
and I'm lighting candles for you to see
I'm so sorry I'm not there with you
this is as close as I can be.
Mom, I miss you dearly and
I wish I could be there
but close your eyes tightly and
You can feel me everywhere.
So on this birthday of yours
I'm sending a present from up above
lots of hugs and kisses and
My eternal Love.
Father's Day
With June comes Father's Day, just as Mother's Day was hard for us, Father's Day is hard for the father's of angels. Some may not show it, but their thoughts go to the child they have lost. We try to find ways to comfort them and share their pain with them. A few years ago for Father's Day, I gave Mike a scrap book. The beginning of the book started with a poem I wrote for Mike, the next pages were a Father's Day book Shane had made for him out of construction paper, I had them laminated. I included pictures of Mike and Shane and pictures of special gifts Shane had made for Mike or given him. Tears flowed Mike's eyes as her turned the pages of the book, this book has become very special to him.
Here is a link that has the poem and the Father's Day book Shane made for Mike. You Were There
Lots of times after the loss of a child, the attention is focused on the mom, Dads are often over looked. Many times a mom is comforted, especially when she cries, but the dad is not, he hides his tears and pain, but it is there just as a moms is. They try to be strong and be there for us, take care of us and comfort us. But they hurt too.
Here is a poem I wrote for Mike and for all Dads who have lost a child.
A Dad hurts Too
People don't always see the tears a dad cries,
His heart is broken too when his child dies,
He tries to hold it together and be strong,
Even though his world's gone wrong,
He holds his wife as her tears fall,
Comforts her through it all,
He goes through his day doing what he's supposed to do,
But a piece of his heart has been ripped away, a Dad hurts too,
So when he's alone he lets out his pain,
And his tears come like falling rain,
His world has crashed in around him,
And a world that was once bright has gone dim,
He feels he has to be strong for others,
But Dads hurt too, not just the Mothers,
He searches for answers but none are to be found,
He hides behind a mask when he is feeling down,
He smiles through his tears,
He struggles and holds in his fears,
But what you see on the outside is not always real,
Men don't always show how they really feel,
So I'd like to ask a favor of you,
The next time you see a mother hurting over the loss of her child, please remember.....a Dad hurts too.
Judi Walker
Copyright 2002
I wish a peaceful Father's Day to all Dads of Angels
Hello dear friends and sisters. Well, the weather is heating up and I find myself spending more and more time outdoors working in the yard (mostly pulling weeds, which I seem to have an abundance of!). Many of us have made memorial gardens that we lovingly tend to. My own garden for Zackary was started by the head nurses from the NICU where he was cared for, who so generously sent us a beautiful weeping cherry tree a few months after he died. It does my heart good to see it flower each spring. It’s a great comfort to work on these gardens, watching them grow and thrive and come alive each year. I came across a wonderful book for those like us, who are looking for any kind of comfort and outlet for our grief. It’s called A Garden Of Love And Healing by Marsha Olsen, and it offers great suggestions for memorial gardens, big and small. Marsha states ‘When you create a garden in rememberance, you let plants and flowers express what is in your heart. Through their unique language, you and symbolically honor and remember the special individual who was in your live and the loving relationship you shared’. I couldn’t agree more. Here are just a few of her ideas :
You may plant flowers that symbolize the birth or anniversary month.
January - Carnation; Snowdrop
February - Violet; Primrose
March - Daffodil; Violet
April - Daisy
May - Lily of the Vally
June - Rose
July - Larkspur; Water lily; Sweet pea
August - Gladiolus
September - Aster
October - Calendula; Dahlia
November - Chrysanthemum
December - Holly; Poinsettia
The Victorians used plants to create a special language. You can use this language to add further meaning to your memoral garden.
Allspice - Compassion
Aloe - Grief
Alyssum - Worth beyond beauty
Angelica - Inspiration
Baby’s breath - Everlasting love
Black poplar - Courage
Campanula - Gratitude
Cinquefoil - Maternal love
Cornflower - Healing
Daisy - Innocence
Cudweed, American - Unceasing rememberance
Cypress - Mourning
Dianthus - Pure love
Everlasting - Rememberance
Forget-me-not - True love
French willow - Bravery
Helenium - Tears
Purple Hyacinth - Sorrow
Lamb’s Ear - Gentleness
Olive Tree - Peace
Rose - Love
Snowdrop - Hope
Viburnum - Thoughts of heaven
Weeping willow - Mourning
Many create a garden as a place to meditate and reflect. These plants offer tranquil meanings to think on.
Bee Balm - Consolation
Canterbury Bell - Gratitude
Lamb’s Ear - Healing
Geranium - Tranquility
Locust tree - Natural change, affection beyond the grave
Vibernum (snowball) - Thoughts of heaven
White rose - Love, silence
For those of us who have lost infants, she suggests forming a garden in the shape of a heart, and using statues of cherubs or baby animals. These plants may be appropriate :
Baby-blue-eyes
Baby’s breath
Baby’s tears
Lamb’s ear
Madonna lily
White Daisies
White Lilac
White miniature roses
You can even create an memorial herb garden.
Germander - Joy
Mint - Grief
Rosemary - Rememberance
Rue - Understanding
Silver Thyme - Remembering our happiness
Tansy - Everlasting life
Thyme - Courage
Olsen states ‘You don’t need to have a large space to create a memorial garden. For those without the room or the ability to create an in-ground garden, a patio or indoor pot can be planted instead. A simple potted planting can be just as meaningful as a more complex garden. One suggestion : Bend a wire coat hanger into the shape of a heart, straighten out the curving hook, and secure it into the potting soil. The plant a climbing vine that you can train to grow up the wire. Rosemary (rememberance), english ivy and creeping fig are some of the easiest to train into topiary form.’
I hope these ideas will help to get you started, or add to, your own memorial gardens. There are alot more ideas in the book – I highly recommend checking it out! I wish you all many peaceful hours in the garden.
Krista, angel Zackary’s mom
It’s hard to believe that June is here already! It’s the time of year that our gardens are beginning to bloom in all their glory and so I wanted to share with all of you what my memory garden means to me. I had heard about memory gardens but I never appreciated the meaning until I created one for myself in honor of Jill. This will be the fourth year since I started and it has evolved and gotten more beautiful each year. Watching the flowers grow and tending to them is very therapeutic and calming and peaceful and helps me to feel closer to Jill’s spirit. My garden is round symbolizing everlasting love and begins with a border of dianthus representing pure love. Inside the circle are orange lilies which stand for heavenly bliss, angel daisies, forget-me nots and purple pansies which stand for loving thoughts and were Jill’s favorite flower.. Scattered amongst the flowers are various statuary angels, an angel wind chime, an angel solar light, a garden dolphin and a very special rock that I painted with flowers and “Jill’s Garden” printed in purple letters. In the center of the circle is a wishing well with wave petunias in the center which stand for comfort. Every day during the growing season I look at Jill’s garden and I see the beauty in it and remember how beautiful she was. I know that she is watching me take care of her garden from heaven and guiding me in it’s care. If you have a memory garden or want to start one for your angel here are a few common flowers and their meanings:
Amaryllis----------Splendid Beauty
Azalea----------First Love
Baby’s Breath----------Everlasting Love
Carnation (pink)----------Woman’s Love
Chrysanthemum (red)----------Love
Cornflower----------Healing
Crocus----------Youthful Gladness
Daisy----------Innocence
Dianthus----------Pure Love
Forget-Me-Not----------True Love
Hibiscus----------Delicate Beauty
Hyacinth (purple)----------Sorrow
Iris (yellow)----------Flame of Love
Ivy----------Faithful Love
Lamb’s Ear----------Gentleness
Laurel----------Glory
Lilac (purple)----------First Love
Lilac (white)----------Youthful Innocence
Lily----------Heavenly Bliss
Magnolia----------Dignity
Marigold----------Grief
Morning Glory----------Affection
Moss----------Maternal Love
Pansy----------Loving Thoughts
Passion Flower----------Faith
Peony----------Bashfulness
Periwinkle----------Pleasant Memories
Petunia----------Comfort
Poppy(red)----------Consolation
Poppy(white)----------Sleep
Rose----------Love
Salvia (blue)----------Thinking of You
Sunflower----------Adoration
Tulip (red)----------Declaration of Love
Verbena (pink)----------Family Union
Verbena (white)----------Pray for Me
Viburnum----------Thoughts of Heaven
Violet----------Faithfulness
Zinnia----------Thoughts of Absent Friends
The meaning of color in your garden:
White----------Purity & Love
Yellow----------Good humor, Wisdom
Orange----------Joy
Purple----------Kindness, Spirituality
Green----------Healing
Red----------Strength & Love
Blue----------Affection, Tranquility
Statuary and their meaning:
Bluebird----------Happiness
Dog----------Loyalty
Dove----------Peace
Lamb----------Innocence
Lion----------Courage
Owl----------Wisdon
Swan----------Purity
“For every flower that opens in your garden, another wound is healed in your heart”
Personal Effects
I am a strong person most of the time. Memorial Day weekend was beautiful-sunny and warm. Matt’s soccer team was in a tournament and we always enjoy watching his games. After the final game (they won their age group-Yahoo!), we stopped at 7-11 to get coffee, a slurpee and a newspaper. After the hurricanes, tsunamis, a huge earthquake and the birth of the Brangelina bambina in Namibia, I have become hardened to headlines. Unless, of course, the headlines pull at my heart strings and strike a chord so close to home, that I could have written them. While I have not lost a family member in the service of our country, many members of my family have served. I perused the profiles of anguished faces, parents of young men, lost in combat, profiled for Memorial Day. These faces staring out from the pages of the newspaper are my peers. One father was quoted, “His door is still closed. That’s his room, his stuff. It’s just one of those things we haven’t been able to bring ourselves to deal with.” That is me. “…It’s like I have all of Michael’s stuff here, and I’m just waiting for him to walk through the door…” Two dads were quoted and I am walking in their shoes, and they in mine. They are the parents of servicemen, casualties of war, and yet we are all veterans of grief.
What do you do with the personal effects? We did get rid of Mike’s car within months of his death. Every time I came home and saw the car in the driveway, I thought that Mike was home. I knew that that was not good. I have to wrestle with the other personal effects. I have gotten rid of some clothes, but I think that I really need to clear out all of the furniture and redecorate the room. I have to claim this space for the family that is, not the family that has moved to another dimension. As logical as all of this sounds, it has been five years and I am only marginally closer to claiming this space. I guess that we all proceed through this process at our own pace, but I am definitely not the hare in this race. Every thing in his room brings back memories of him. There are wacky posters that should be taken down, plaques listing accomplishments, ribbons for swimming, tennis trophies and soccer trophies, books and a small metal soldier he chose in an antique shop in London when we were there when he was 8-all chronicling a life that was cut short by my standards. These personal effects are not who he was, but do represent so many memories that we shared as a family. It is almost as difficult to put these things in the trash or in a box as it was to bury him. I can’t keep everything and if he were alive, he probably would have gotten rid of quite a bit. Come on, Lynn. Get it done!
As I have pointed out before, time marches on. I guess this is a job for me. After all, who will really know what to keep. Any suggestions, AngelMoms?
So, in the spirit of cooperation and mutual support, I am asking all of you to list suggestions and solutions to this problem. What worked for you?
My name is Melody Hill and I have been a member since March 5, 2005. I have been married to my husband Craig for 28 years now. We lost our son, Adam Craig on March 5, 2004, due to a drunk driver in a truck wreck. Adam died a week before he would have been 23 years old. He had a wife and 3 month old daughter. We also have a surviving son, Jared, who is 21 years old. I live in Ohio. I am also the mom who does the Mom's birthday and Angel dates.
I want to focus on different topics each month in our newsletter and hopefully be able to educate or enlighten us on the different ways we've lost our children. I am also going to list each of our Angels with their cause of death that I am writing about that month. I will do my best not to miss anyone's name, so please help me by looking to see if your Angel is listed on the AngelMoms "How We Lost Our Angels" page at http://www.angelmoms.com/causes.html If your Angel isn't listed, then please send me their information, so I do not miss anyone. It's very important that each Angel is remembered. I also want to write about how siblings, grandparents, and other family members deal with their grief.
I know that there are some causes of death that some of us don't know or understand what they are, so I'm hoping this will help us all understand a little better. Here are some of the causes that are listed that I will be focusing on: Motor Vehicle Accidents, Other Accidents, Cancers, Drowning & Water Related, Fire Related, Heart Related, Infant Loss, Murder, Suicide, 911 & War Related, Transplant Rejections & Complications, Drug Overdose, Medical Negligence/Reactions, Heat Stroke, Strangulation & Choking Game, Brain InJury/Head Trauma, Suffocation, Carbon Monoxide & Other Poisonings, Accidental Electrocution, Seizures, Excessive Bleeding, Choking Game, Unknown or Unexplained Causes, Allergic Reactions, Transplant Rejections & Complications, Miscarriage.
I look forward to getting some input from you on the articles to come. I'm sorry for all of your losses and will do my best to be gentle with how you lost your child/children. God Bless You ALL!
Love & Hugs,
Melody ~ Angel Adam
THE TOP 3 CAUSES OF DEATH BY AGE GROUP:
0-1 years:
*Developmental and genetic conditions that were present at birth
*Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
*All conditions associated with prematurity and low birth weight
1-4 years:
*Accidents
*Developmental and genetic conditions that were present at birth
*Cancer
5-14 years:
*Accidents
*Cancer
*Homicide
15-24 years:
*Accidents
*Homicide
*Suicide
There are almost twice as many deaths in the first year of life than there are in the next 13 years total. Then, the death rate rises rapidly following puberty, because of the large number of fatal accidents, homicides, and suicides in the 15-24 year age group. Accidents are, by far, the leading cause of death among children and adolescents. The automobile accounts for the largest number of these accidental death. Other top causes of accidental death are drowning, fire, falls, and poisoning.
Coping with a loss of a child/children is emotionally draining, mentally taxing, and physically exhausting. Usually one loss leads to many others as we make changes to some or all of our lives as a result of it.
When Is It Easier To Lose A Child?
by Jim Balthazor
At what time in a child's life does it become easier to lose them? Could it be before they are born, when tragically a mother miscarriages or could it be when they are 50 years old? At what time is it not going to affect a parent? Is there a moment or a time when one can walk away and not feel badly? I don't think so. As a matter of fact, I know there is no moment like that.
When we first hear that we are going to become parents, we start planning for our little one's future. We try to picture what our child will look like, how they will act, and what they someday will be able to accomplish. We start to get their lives in order.
Before that child is born, we start to plan for not only their furture, but for ours. Our future - watching them grow and mature. Our future - planning for them to have the best and to help guide them to leading long productive lives.
As we learn about how long that life has been growing, we look forward to so many things. How then are we to take it when that life is taken from us? Those dreams and wishes just don't conveniently disappear from our hearts. It is our hearts they become attached to. They are part of us. In losing them, we lose a part of us. We have a total change in plans. Not only for our children but, for ourselves.
Is it different when we feel that first kick or the beat of their heart as compared to when we are able to hold them, to nurish them, and watch them grow? There are a different set of obstacles to overcome when they are lost at a later age, but no matter what the age, it doesn't make it any easier.....or make it any more bearable. You just can't wipe all the hopes from your mind.
No matter what time our children leave us, it is never going to be enough time with them. Don't feel strange about your feelings. Don't let others tell you how you should feel or how you should act. Only when they have felt what you have felt, do they become experts. Until that time, they really have no idea about what they are counseling.
(Jim is a 50 year old grieving father of a 17 year old son, Kirk.)
WAYS TO HELP OTHER GRIEVING PARENTS:
Let your genuine concern and care for other grieving parents show. Be available to listen, help with other children, or whatever else seems needed at the time.
Say you are sorry about what happened to their child and about the pain they are experiencing.
Allow them to express as much grief as they are feeling at the moment and are willing to share, but don't push them.
Encourage them to be patient with themselves, not to expect too much of themselves, and not to impose any "SHOULDS" on themselves.
Allow them to talk. Give special attention to the child's brothers and sisters, at the funeral and in the months to come. They too are hurt and confused and in need of attention which their parents may not be able to give them at the time.
Reassure them that the medical care their child received was the best possible, and/or be positive about anything else you know to be true, and positive about the care gien their now deceased child.
Stepping Stones
Rhubarb Leaf Stepping Stones
Stepping Stones Directions
Acts Of Kindness
The Act Of Kindness Award will be given to an AngelMom that was nominated for their kindness and thoughtfulness. It will not be a contest, it is "Thank You" kind of award. Anyone can be nominated. If someone has touched your heart by doing something special, please nominate them by emailing Loni. There is no exclusions, everyone is included. We will list each member that has received an Award.
Angel Mom's Acts of Kindness
Bereaved Presidents
Did you know that Twenty of our 42 presidents and their wives were and are bereaved parents?
Our second president, John Adams, lost his son Charles, 20, while he was president.
Thomas Jefferson had six children and only two lived to maturity. One daughter, Mary, 26, died while he was president.
James Monroe lost a son two years of age.
John Quincy Adams lost a daughter in infancy; a son died while Adams was president; and another son died five years later.
William Harrison had ten children; six died before he became president.
Zachary Taylor had six children; two died as infants and a daughter died three months after her wedding.
Millard Fillmores daughter Abigail died at 22.
Our fourteenth president, Franklin Pierce, lost two sons in infancy. History records his wifes grief so great that he resigned from the Senate. Two months before his inauguration to the presidency, their only child, Benjamin, 11 years old, was killed in a railroad accident. Mrs. Pierce collapsed from grief and was unable to attend the inauguration. She secluded herself in an upstairs bedroom for nearly half of her husbands term in office.
Our sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln, lost two sons during his lifetime: Edward, four years old, while President Lincoln was in office; and William, 11 years old. He wrote, "In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all it comes with bitterest agonyPerfect relief is not possible except with time. You cannot realize that you will ever feel betterand yet this is a mistake. You are sure to be happy again. To know this, which is certainly true, will make you some less miserable now. I have experienced enough to know what I say." The presidents wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, unable to cope with the assassination of her husband and the death of yet another son, Thomas, 18 years old, was confined to a sanitarium. Although she was released after a few months, she was never to be well again.
Rutherford B. Hayes had eight children, three of whom died in infancy.
James Garfield had seven children; two died while still infants.
Chester Alan Arthurs eldest son died in infancy.
Grover Clevelands eldest daughter, Ruth, died at 13 years of age.
Our twenty-fifth president, William McKinley, lost both children: Ida, four months old, and Katherine, four years old. His wife became so overwhelmed with shock and grief that she became an invalid for the remainder of her life.
Theodore Roosevelts son died at 21 years of age.
Calvin Coolidge had a son, Calvin Jr., who died at 16 while his father was in office. Recorded in his autobiography, the president said, "When he went, the power and glory of the presidency went with him."
Franklin Roosevelts son, Franklin Jr., died in infancy.
Dwight Eisenhowers son, Doug Dwight "Icky," three years old, died at Camp Mead, Maryland. In President Eisenhowers autobiography written in 1969 (49 years after Icky died), he stated, "With his death a pall fell over the camp. When we started the long trip back to Denver for his burial, the entire command turned out in respect to Icky. We were completely crushed it was a tragedy from which we never recovered. I do not know how others have felt when facing the same situation, but I have never known such a blow. Today when I think of it, even as I now write of it, the keenness of my loss comes back to me as fresh and terrible as it was in that long, dark day soon after Christmas, 1920."
John F. Kennedys two-year-old son, Patrick died while his father was president; Kennedy lost another infant prior to becoming president.
George Bush and his wife Barbara lost their daughter Robin to cancer.
Marinated Chicken Strips and Vegetables
3/4 cup lite soy sauce
2/3 cup honey
1/3 cup dry sherry* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 pounds fresh asparagus spears
6 skinned and boned chicken breast halves, cut into 1/4-inch strips
1/4 cup stone-ground mustard
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
3 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
8 cups mixed salad greens
Honey-Mustard Dressing
Stir together first 5 ingredients; set 1/2 cup mixture aside. Pour remaining soy sauce mixture evenly into 2 heavy-duty zip-top plastic bags. Snap off tough ends of asparagus, and place asparagus spears in 1 bag. Add chicken to remaining bag. Seal and chill at least 2 hours.
Drain chicken and asparagus, discarding marinade. Place chicken on a lightly greased roasting pan. Place asparagus in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch pan.
Stir together reserved 1/2 cup soy sauce mixture, mustard, and sesame seeds. Pour 1/2 cup mixture over chicken and remaining 1/4 cup over asparagus.
Bake chicken at 425° for 5 minutes. Place asparagus in oven, and bake chicken and asparagus 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Cool, if desired. Place separately in zip-top plastic bags, and chill 8 hours, if desired.
Arrange chicken, asparagus, and tomato over salad greens, and drizzle with Honey-Mustard Dressing.
* 1/3 cup pineapple juice may be substituted for the sherry.
Yield: 6 servings
It takes a lot of courage to face grief head on and say, “Today I will recognize that you are part of my life. Today I will wrestle with you. Today you will not rule over me. Today I will face my fear.”
So much of grief is fear. Fear of the unknown journey ahead. Fear of not knowing how to handle those emotional reminders of loss. Fear of feeling so empty and alone.
Fear of beginning a journey that feels so new and different and completely wrong. When loss enters our lives, our world as we once knew it suddenly feels like we are on foreign soil. We don't know how to speak the language, and we don't want to learn. Yet, we know that we are now living in a new place in life and we must face the days ahead with a resolve to go on.
Hope seems to know just when to appear to give us the courage needed to make it through the hour. A stranger smiles and we know that person truly wants us to feel some connection. The billowy clouds float without effort through the heavenly skies and remind us that God is watching over us. The birds begin chirping their springtime song, and we know that our winter season will soon change to spring.
The sun appears brighter than ever and the warmth reaches all the way to the depths of our soul.
Today is a brand new day, and you can grasp hold of some hope and defeat your fear. One day at a time. One step at a time. One thought at a time. You can make it!
Clara. Hinton
“Fear can be conquered when hope abides in the center of the heart.”
Clara Hinton
Crystal Creasey wanted to share this link with all of you.
A Grieving Fathers Prayer...On Fathers Day
THE STORY OF FATHER'S DAY
Mrs. John B. Dodd, of Washington, first proposed the idea of a "Father's Day" in 1909. Mrs. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart. William Smart, a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife (Mrs. Dodd's mother) died in childbirth with their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington state. It was after Mrs. Dodd became an adult that she realized the strength and selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent.
The first Father's Day was obserbed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane, Washington. At about the same time in various towns and cities across America, other people were beginning to celebrate a "Father's Day." In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father's Day. Finally in 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father's Day.
Father's Day has become a day to not only horor your father, but all men who act as a father figure. Sepfathers, uncles, grandfathers, and adult male friends are all honored on Father's Day.
Some Links To Share
Memory Stone
TCF Walk To Remember Name Submission
Greatest Joy
Memories are priceless possessions
that time can never destroy,
for it is in happy remembrance
the heart finds its greatest joy.
Memorial Donations
Tiffany Amber Wilson by Holly Wilson (Mom)
Jason Anthony & Lamar Jaquan Blantz by Debbie Blantz (Mom) and sister Taryn
Angel Moms Newsletter-June Printable Version
If you have something you would like included in next months newsletter, please e-mail Judi
Editor: Judi,
Staff: Brenda,Krista, Lynn, Laurie, Holly, Linda, Melody,
Angel Moms Web Site
