Remembering Julia

Family arrived from Alabama, Florida, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky. Friends came from Maryland, Washington DC, Alabama, Tennessee, New Jersey, and, of course, Virginia. Childhood friends, college friends, church friends, work friends and colleagues, babysitting co-op friends, book club friends, neighbor friends, our kids' friends, and trisomy friends -- all gathered to remember and celebrate Julia, just as they did throughout her blessed life with us. We were honored and humbled by your presence with us on this day.


Our pastor from our church in Maryland graciously offered and agreed to share thoughts at Julia's service. We knew his words would be just perfect, because we know the genuineness and humility with which he leads the community he pastors. Marc then shared some thoughts from us including a huge thanks for the support we have and the lives that touched and blessed Julia's life. We also prepared a list of experiences Julia enjoyed during her time with us. I am including that below. A few months after Julia was born I found a poem by E.E. Cummings entitled "I Carry Your Heart in My Heart." It seemed a perfect description for how I felt about Julia from the beginning. Marc read this poem in the service as I would have no voice to be able to speak. He closed with the words from this blog post. He did such a wonderful job. He made us laugh as we remembered joyful times and made our hearts swell with love as we remembered the girl who fought so hard to be with us for as long as possible.


Finally we prepared a slideshow of photos and videos of Julia with us.  Click here to see the slideshow.  We used three songs for the slideshow: "Julia" by The Beatles, "Lullaby" by The Dixie Chicks, and "Over the Rainbow" sung by the cast of Glee. The slideshow provided a wonderful time to ooh and aah over Julia's adorableness and to laugh at her big smiles and her sister's and brother's sweetness. She was and is so very loved and cherished. 

Julia's Experiences include:

-Celebrating every holiday with us -- Christmas, New Year's, Groundhog Day,ValentinesDay, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Thanksgiving

-Celebrating everyone's birthday -- and Mommy's and Daddy's twice!

- Celebrating her birthday every month

-Meeting Santa Claus on Christmas Eve when he came to deliver presents

-Watching Auburn win the College Football National Championship

-Receiving a letter from President Obama

-Meeting all of her great-grandparents

-Going to Washington DC to see the Cherry Blossoms

-Hanging out with her cousins

-Hiking with us at Burke Lake

-Taking a road trip to New Jersey to see aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends

-Riding in an airplane

-Feeling the sand in her toes on a Florida beach

-Seeing a sunset on the beach

-Visiting Alabama and going to Nana and Grandad's Lake House

-Going to neighborhood summer cookouts

-Meeting her church family in Alabama, Maryland, and Virginia

-Having friends and family visit from as far away as Alaska and as nearby asnext door

-Surviving an earthquake and a hurricane at home in Virginia

-Dancing at a wedding

-Watching Isaac play soccer

-Watching Sydney dance

- Being endlessly entertained by her siblings

- Posing for thousands (literally) of pictures

-Celebrating her first birthday with a big birthday bash

-Being the most loved and most held baby girl ever!

I Carry Your Heart by EE Cummings

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)

i am never without it

(anywhere i go you go, my dear;

and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling)

i fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet)

i want no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)

and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;

which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)i carryyour heart with me(i carry it in