Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Return To Zero...

For those of you that know our story, you know that before having Samuel, we experienced the loss of our first 3 sweet babies - Jacob, Jordan and Olivia. There is no greater loss than that of a child. In hopes of bringing awareness to pregnancy and infant loss, those of us in this unfortunate baby loss community are making a pledge to see an upcoming movie about such a heart-wrenching topic. 

There is a movie coming out about stillbirth called Return To Zero (http://returntozerothemovie.com/). It is the first film ever created with stillbirth as its central theme. The cast includes MINNIE DRIVER, PAUL ADELSTEIN, ALFRED MOLINA, CONNIE NIELSEN, KATHY BAKER, ANDREA ANDERS and SARAH JONES.

The heart of this film, Return to Zero, is quite simply about breaking the silence. It's based on the true story of what the director and his wife went through when losing their first son.

Too many times people are afraid to talk about the loss of a child. They don’t want to upset anyone. They don’t want to make those around them sad. People around them don’t bring it up, because they are afraid of making them remember something that they never could forget in the first place. This film is about giving people something to talk about. It’s about telling the real story of what child loss can do to a family, a marriage, a person. It is about bringing child loss into a format that people are comfortable talking about.

In order for this film to be seen, it needs our help. I have stepped up to be a local leader. Part of my job is getting at least 100 people to sign a pledge saying that you will go see Return to Zero on opening weekend (no date is currently set – so no excuses). That’s it. You don’t have to pledge any money. You don’t have to do anything other than say, “yes, I will go see this movie.”

If you're wondering why we ask that you pledge to see this film, here's a little clip from the directer/creator on why that is...

***The fact that we got a film MADE with stillbirth as its central theme is a miracle--but we pulled it off thanks to a handful of "angel" investors, dozens of committed cast and crew and hundreds of generous supporters.

Getting the film SEEN by the public in a theater will also take a miracle because the Hollywood "thinking" is that no one wants to see dramas, and certainly no one would ever want to see a drama that centers around a stillbirth.

We all know that is untrue--and we're proving it! Simply put, that is why we need your help!***

This movie has the potential to make a huge impact for our loss community. It is about breaking the silence of child loss.

If you have lost a child due to miscarriage, still birth, or early infant death, if you have had the hope of having a child be stolen from you by infertility, if you have lost a child in anyway, whether they were 5 or 55, you understand the pain. No parent should ever have to bare the weight of grieving their child alone.

If you have a friend or family member who is without a child today – don’t be afraid to mention their child’s name. You might bring a tear to their eye, but you will fill their heart with love knowing that they are not in this thing alone.

It would mean so much to me if you could take a minute and pledge to see it on it's opening weekend. You can put my name down (Priscilla Moore) as the local leader.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1HqU43R7iij8WJt1bavZkmjhmPdci56qakUUKt2VfvWg/viewform

Feel free to share with your friends, too! The more that know about this, the greater the chances are of getting this in theaters!

If you want, you can check out the event I created on Facebook and invite your friends/family so that they can pledge to see it as well!

<3

Monday, June 10, 2013

It's A Party, It's A Party For Samuel!!!

Our little miracle turned TWO years old on Friday! I'm still trying to grasp the idea of having a two year old...where did time go?!

To celebrate his big day, we threw a Yo Gabba Gabba party for him on Saturday with some of his little friends here in El Paso. I'd like to think it turned out fairly well. With the temp being around 102 and the sun shining bright, the water games were quite a hit. It was definitely fun to see Samuel party it up with his little friends. In fact, he had such a blast that he passed out immediately after everyone left -- the sweet boy!

I'd like to go in more depth, but I suppose the pictures will tell the story...

Here's sweet Sam on his actual birthday. TWO years old...how did that happen?!?!

He's super excited here, because I was sampling the Yo Gabba Gabba music on the ipod the night before his party...


Now on to his party...

The invitation I made, yet only had a chance to email instead of traditionally mail due to a crazy month before the party...


The wall decorations (balloons, huge YGG birthday sign, etc.) were a bust, since nothing would stick to the wall and I didn't bother worrying about it after that. The fondant didn't want to cooperate either, so the cupcakes have a more basic look with the attempt at using the icing tips -- clearly, I will never be opening a bakery, ha.

Either way...here's a look at our attempt at Gabba Land. The water games had already started before I had a chance to snap a picture, so the little signs on this table were already starting to blur (you can see one sign had already fallen down while the wind was messing with the others). We went with DJ Lance Rock cupcakes (you'll see later the DJLR bright orange hat) and they basically melted in your mouth thanks to the heat -- yum!

  
Just looking at these makes me want another cupcake... 


The snack table...

I ended up using Sam's stuffed YGG characters to hold the napkins down since the wind was fairly strong, and with the heat, I kept the ranch dressing with the bottled water in the ice rather than in the little cups like I had planned...

 

  




Now on to these cute kids...


I was glad to see the bean bag toss was a hit. With the "Party In My Tummy" theme, I painted a huge Brobee (ignore his square head), and made little veggie bean bags...





James had water balloon duty for a good portion of the afternoon... 



Samuel LOVES Miss Sasha...


And his watermelon...


Apparently, so does sweet little Katie...


Thank goodness for covered patios!


The "Extreme Coaster" was loved by all...



Good ol' El Paso...we had to move the coloring table into the shade due to the crayons melting, ha!



It took some convincing, but Kaylee finally put the DJ Lance Rock hat and glasses on...


It didn't fit her dad quite as well...


Her brother, Harper, decided to be Plex...


What better way to beat the heat, than with water games?!
  




Our failed attempt at a family picture. As you can tell, Samuel wanted nothing to do with it...







More fun with the masks. At the "Color With Brobee" table, I also had a bucket labeled "Funny Faces" with masks for each character. I wasn't able to catch them all, but several kids loved checking them out...








Here's the boy when we sang "Happy Birthday" to him...


Oh, so serious, ha!




He loves Maddy...



Some of his friends enjoying their cupcakes...


Yet, Sam wanted nothing to do with his cupcake. After everyone got one, he ran to the water table and enjoyed some peace and quiet, ha. I suppose the kid is like his dad -- he needs his alone time, haha.



The goofball. This picture made us think of that old MasterCard commercial where the three boys are doing a goofy dance, ha.

  
Last, but not least, we pulled out the "Pin The Eye On Muno" game. Sam didn't want to play, but he had fun watching his friends...







The sweet boy had an absolute BLAST at his party!

Now it's time to enjoy the Terrific Twos that are upon us... 

:)