Shining through the Sorrow

Hello, friends.  I don't know if you heard about the little boy in Cleveland, Ohio who shared a picture of his family for a school project - a photo with his parents and his baby brother the day he was stillborn.  The teacher and principal at the school both agreed the picture was "not appropriate" and had to be removed from the student's project.  You can watch video of the original story HERE , and you'll find the article at Still Standing Magazine HERE , perfected titled "Death does not Negate Existence." I cautiously opened the online articles, and came to this conclusion:  All the pictures are absolutely beautiful, showing a loving family with the raw emotions of both admiration of their son and the profound loss of a precious life.  As the author stated, it could have been made into a very teachable moment, one of compassion and empathy.  Instead it taught this lesson to the student instead - Your little brother is not worthy of being i...

Wednesday evening was the annual Labor of Love Memorial Service.  One of the most treasured evenings of my year, our infant loss support group gathers in a beautiful church for a time of traditional Christmas hymns, loved ones sharing their stories, and a special tradition where we all light candles and say our precious babies names - one by one.  It is the perfect way to start what should be a very joyous holiday, but one that can sometimes feel too heavy and sad for some.  It's a time to honor our babies' short lives and praise God for the time we did have. We go through a Litany of Loss, Remembrance, and of Hope.  In unison, we all speak the words, "We remember them."  It's always a memorable event.  But this year was the best yet. What I'm feeling the need to share about, and always remember for myself, are the two gentlemen who were brave enough to stand in front of a very full church and express their heartfelt stories.  The first was a yo...

If you've been following along, you know that as soon as we found out baby #5 was a girl, we already had her name chosen.  We announced the name Lily Marie about six weeks ago, but have since changed our minds. Let me start by saying, it's not easy to pick a Dingle baby name.  We decided years ago that we'd only want biblical names, followed by a family middle name.  So first came the boys, Joel and Gabriel.  And then our girls, Zoe and Ruby.  To answer what everyone asks - Yes they are both biblical, even if they aren't names specifically.  Zoe is the Greek word for "life," and is found all over the New Testament.  Ruby, a precious gemstone, is described in both Exodus and Proverbs. I'll also add that there are so many more biblical boy names than girls.  Which makes this more difficult.  So had baby #5 been a boy, we were set on Isaac Joseph.  Isaac meaning "laughter" which was so fitting considering how we found out we were expect...

Finding out we were expecting baby number five was quite the surprise.  If you haven't heard already, my hubby had the little Snip Snap Procedure done LAST October, because we were very sure our family was complete.  Then God laughed from the Heavens at our attempts to control things once again.  Kyle never did any follow-up appointments, assuming if we waited long enough that we'd be safe.  Insert nervous laughter here. Over the summer I distinctly remember trying to keep up with my workouts, yet my stomach was growing by the day.  One evening in particular, on June 19th, I put on a tight running tank and went for a jog.  With each step I took, my eyes were drawn downwards at my belly that clearly looked "with child."  When I was done I came inside and announced to Kyle that I was SURE I was pregnant and that he needed to go get a test immediately.  He laughed at the absurdity of such an idea but agreed, knowing that seeing a negative test woul...

Kyle and I had the honor of speaking at an Infant Loss Conference last month.  It was so great to share Gabriel with people who had a heart to hear about our journey and the various ways God has shown us His love along the way. We're also beyond thankful that our talk was recorded, and that we've been able to share it with other grieving families.  You can watch our speech in its entirety below.  And as always, please feel free to share it with anyone you feel it may help.  Thanks, friends. https://vimeo.com/143517631 Our beautifully decorated table. With the Event Creator, Branda Yeargan. Kyle and I posing before we got started.

**UPDATE:  After running into every little girl named Lily in the Tri-State area, we've decided to find something less popular.  Stay tuned for baby girl's new name!** Hello, friends!  Kyle and I are pleased to announce that God has blessed us with another GIRL!  Her name will follow our family tradition, a biblical first name and a family middle name.  Lily is a symbol of purity and resurrection, and Marie is my Mother-in-Law's middle name. Lily Marie

The words I spoke at Gabriel's 6th Heavenly Birthday... "In years past, I have carefully chosen the words I would speak at Gabriel's Angelversaries. I tried to write this out several times this week, and remembered that in the past I wrote things mostly with you all in mind.  Who would show up to offer love and support?  And what would they need to hear?   When thinking about what I wanted to say, what I kept coming back to was that as the years have gone by, my living children continue to grow and mature - they are understanding this great loss more and more.  They are very aware that they have a brother who is not here with them, and Zoe especially talks of him often.  When I told her we were going to Gabe's graveside tonight she said, "and he'll be there?!" When I said no, she excitedly said, "Oh, it's the last day? And we're going up in the sky?" Breaks my heart that I have try to put our reality into words tha...