Sweetness is happening!!
Click here to DONATE:
Make a sweet donation to the Healing Hunter Foundation and receive a rockin' LivetoLOVE mug!!
100% of the proceeds directly benefit the kiddos and their families atDoernbecher Children's Hospital and Randall Children's Hospital at Legacy Emanuel through the Healing Hunter Foundation.
This is our precious attempt to make Angelversary days rays of light instead of days of darkness. This is in honor of all of the bereaved parents who have to tenderly acknowledge days like these. And we are paying it sweetly forward by helping out other amazing families that are currently in the fight.
Get a business to sign up to donate a portion of their proceeds for the day and get a set of (4)!
This is our precious attempt to make Angelversary days rays of light instead of days of darkness. This is in honor of all of the bereaved parents who have to tenderly acknowledge days like these. And we are paying it sweetly forward by helping out other amazing families that are currently in the fight.
Get a business to sign up to donate a portion of their proceeds for the day and get a set of (4)!
Contact Lenore@HealingHunterFoundation.Org for more details.
501(c)(3)
#HuntersRockinAngelversary #LivetoLOVE #Givingbacksweetly #WarriorLOVE #HealingHunterFoundation #AngelWarriors
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I remember growing up hearing from many people at random times in my life that losing a child is the worst thing that can ever happen to you. I remember hearing that it is a brutal pain unlike any other. I remember hearing that some people don't come back...they never recover. They're lost in the despairing darkness forever.
It's a daily effort to wake every single morning and make meaning of Hunter's death. It's a daily effort to find a way to peacefully rest with it. It's a daily effort just to basically survive it. It's intense. It's merciless. It's heart thrashing. It's a devastating experience that can put you in tragic ruins for years.
At the blink of an eye I can think of something that will drop me to my knees and collapse my heart so profoundly...it makes me seriously wonder how we've made it this far. There are images and memories that live right there at the surface that are constantly being held at bay or beaten back.
I applaud every bereaved parent whose heart has been severely broken to no end, yet still finds a graceful way to love. I applaud every bereaved parent whose mind can be relentless, yet is still able to think & understand with a little bit of clarity. I applaud every bereaved parent who's soul has been pulverized, yet is still able to find a tranquil peace. I applaud every bereaved parent who is just able to make it out of bed every single morning and find a reason to live. I applaud our struggle to survive.
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#AmazingAngels #FingersLockedwithLove #SurvivingtheLossofaChild
#StrengthLoveandCourage #HunterisourHeart
heart emoticon#StrengthLoveandCourage #HunterisourHeart
Thank you so very much to everyone that has donated on behalf of Hunter's Angelversary. We're rockin' his love all over town and making an amazingly sweet difference along the way.
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Hunter's Angelversary | March 8th
Hunter's Journey
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Photo by Lenore of ZEN TODD Photographers
"We have only met in brief passing...but my heart drops when I see Hunter's beautiful cherub face that is now jumping in heaven's mud puddles, and wiggling with happy abandon. Then I realize what a huge wave of goodness and love he left in his wake and those waves continue to roll and get bigger and BIGGER! You are an amazing family and mom. I so appreciate the energy you give to others. I thank your family and your little Hunter bean for igniting a fire of happiness that fiercely spreads each day. Peace." Leslie Frederick
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Angelversary Sponsors
You all could not have made our day any sweeter.
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Thank you so very much to everyone that shared a lil' love in honor of our cool lil' rockstar.
"LOVE is the foundation for all things spectacular", Hunter's Mom
LIVEtoLOVE Angelversary Pledges
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(4) Lightning Cupcakes & Cakes
(2) Carla & Scott Howard Elliott
(2) Kelly Hoffman
(2) Connie Kleck
(2) Joe Jessal
(2) Mara Posa Tripi
(2) Andrea Herbst Stepien
(2) Christine Lemburg Willey
(2) Bill & Anna Perry
(2) Wendy Tucker
(2) Nicola Galassi
(2) Eric & Kristen Davis
(2) Robyn McLaughlin
(1) Parker Elliott
(1) Aubrey Ray
(1) Christi Dodge
(1) Emily Jessal
(1) Tara Cole
(1) Leah Boyer
(1) Jill Thurston Madden
(1) Caryn Abdill
(1) Kimberly Porter Sysak
(1) Kristen Wylie Caputo
(1) Bug Adventures, Inc. - Chalese Stevens
(1) John Roles
(1) Brenda DeMers
(1) Jennifer Castle
(1) Tara Baines Wann
(1) Nona Bararsani
(1) Melanie Guerrero Whittington
(1) Emily Perry-Tresser
(2) Carla & Scott Howard Elliott
(2) Kelly Hoffman
(2) Connie Kleck
(2) Joe Jessal
(2) Mara Posa Tripi
(2) Andrea Herbst Stepien
(2) Christine Lemburg Willey
(2) Bill & Anna Perry
(2) Wendy Tucker
(2) Nicola Galassi
(2) Eric & Kristen Davis
(2) Robyn McLaughlin
(1) Parker Elliott
(1) Aubrey Ray
(1) Christi Dodge
(1) Emily Jessal
(1) Tara Cole
(1) Leah Boyer
(1) Jill Thurston Madden
(1) Caryn Abdill
(1) Kimberly Porter Sysak
(1) Kristen Wylie Caputo
(1) Bug Adventures, Inc. - Chalese Stevens
(1) John Roles
(1) Brenda DeMers
(1) Jennifer Castle
(1) Tara Baines Wann
(1) Nona Bararsani
(1) Melanie Guerrero Whittington
(1) Emily Perry-Tresser
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Sweet Dollar Pledges:
$950 Carla Lemburg Elliott
$250 Kendell & Martin Young
$250 Jennifer Feeney
$100 Vikki Jensen
$100 Jen & Matthew Fass
$100 Jennifer Harrison
$100 Tera Torres
$100 Carrie Glasgow Weston
$30 Aubrey Ray
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$250 Kendell & Martin Young
$250 Jennifer Feeney
$100 Vikki Jensen
$100 Jen & Matthew Fass
$100 Jennifer Harrison
$100 Tera Torres
$100 Carrie Glasgow Weston
$30 Aubrey Ray
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Sweet Business Pledges:
$1,755.20 AB Mauri Baking Solutions
$270.00 Catherine Campbell w/ L'Attriat Salon
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$270.00 Catherine Campbell w/ L'Attriat Salon
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In-Kind Donations:
(50) Behind the Smile - Dentistry for Children - Brush Kits
Walgreens (Scholls/Murray Location) - Commitment to Easter Smile Sacks
(3) Amazing Stuffies! Karrie Danhof Hendrick
(1) Sweet Box of Goodies - Kristen Wylie Caputo
(3) Mp3 Players - Andrea Herbst Stepien
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Walgreens (Scholls/Murray Location) - Commitment to Easter Smile Sacks
(3) Amazing Stuffies! Karrie Danhof Hendrick
(1) Sweet Box of Goodies - Kristen Wylie Caputo
(3) Mp3 Players - Andrea Herbst Stepien
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100% of the proceeds will directly benefit the kiddos and their families at Doernbecher Children's Hospital and Randall Children's Hospital at Legacy Emanuel through the Healing Hunter Foundation heart emoticon
Healing Hunter Foundation.Org
501(c)(3)
501(c)(3)
#HuntersRockinAngelversary #LivetoLOVE #Givingbacksweetly #WarriorLOVE
#HealingHunterFoundation #AngelWarriors #SweetThanksandAppreciation
#HealingHunterFoundation #AngelWarriors #SweetThanksandAppreciation
Angelversary Facebook Posting
Sweet layers of LOVE
The Portland Zoo used to make me feel sick to my stomach every single time I drove by. I used to turn the music up really loud and make the biggest effort to start thinking of something else…ANYthing else that would engage my thoughts, and make me think of something other than Hunter’s last days.
The trip to the zoo killed us. It was one of the most painful trips of my life. I remember everything about it and there are several images and memories burned into my psyche that will haunt me for the rest of my life. He was so sick at that point he couldn’t get out of his stroller to walk. We knew we were going to lose him, we just didn’t know when. So it became this race to love him and enjoy him and expose him to everything beautiful and amazing and wonderful…everything a 3 year old would want to see and enjoy and experience in their lifetime. Yet we had very little time to do it and he was just so very sick. And just so tired. And sore, and we’d have to pump his lil’ body up with “happy juice” aka oxycodone so that he would feel well enough to take in some beauty and be able to enjoy these lil’ trips that we were taking him on.
Kids were racing circles around us. Tearing through the zoo like nobody’s business. Running, stomping, jumping, laughing. Taking in every last drop of it. Every now and then one would stop and give a quick glance at Hunter’s “nose hose” and his puffy cheeks and his sweet lil’ furry face, from the steroids, and wonder what was wrong with him and why he wasn’t out of his stroller like all of the other kids playing….jumping…and laughing.
I remember painfully crying, while pushing his stroller through several parts of that zoo. Our lil’ love was going to die. Oh my God.
An extremely, traumatic trip.
I had decided about a year after Hunter passed that I wasn’t able to keep up my dancing shenanigans and my “lets think of fun thoughts” game every time I drove by the Portland Zoo. Which was quite often. Not to mention, it didn’t really work. So it was clearly time to face it. It was time to dreadfully go back. It was time to sweetly layer it.
It started with very close family and friends at first. Wasn’t sure how hard it was going to be and I wanted to have some other meaningful memories there to somewhat walk along with the Hunter memories. They had to be powerful and sweet. People we loved dearly, people who knew Hunter. People we could crumble in front of and know they would tenderly pick us up…if they weren’t crumbling along beside us.
It took awhile. But it eventually started to happen. My memories became something more than just the haunting ones. I can now, on most occasions, drive by the Portland Zoo and smile. I can at least now drive by without a daggering pain in my heart that I feel could have, at one point, killed me. I can now drive by with some sort of serenity.
I’ve now begun the sweet layers of Hunter’s "Angelversary" and I have so many amazing hearts to thank. I truly didn’t want to dread this day. I didn’t want the darkness to overshadow the light. I didn’t want the sorrow to overshadow the love. I wanted to embrace Hunter and all of his love and all of his shining sweetness and have that carry me through my day instead of bury me.
Thank you all so very much for loving our lil’ bean as much as you do. Thank you all so very much for believing in us and our lil’ journey. Thank you all so very much for so tenderly and lovingly carrying us through this Hunter day of absolute sweetness.
Cheers to LOVE and Hunter’s amazing, lil’ life
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