Jumbled Head

Right now, my head is so jumbled. I'm leaving tomorrow morning to fly to St. Louis to spend some time with my Dad and little sis Lianna. I'm really looking forward to it, I've never been to St. Louis! But today, I'm feeling really discombobulated. I still need to pack my suitcase, and pack stuff for Sam, who will be going to his Grandma's house while I'm gone so Justin doesn't have to take time off work. I'm trying to get my blog all squared away for while I'm gone (and will have three fabulous guest posts while I'm gone!). I'm trying to get my kid to let me change his diaper without freaking. And I can't really THINK!

If you were around last week, you read about Maddie, here and at many, many other blogs. There was even a story about Maddie in the LA Times! I'm still thinking about her a lot, and just heard about another tragedy. So, I think the perfect thing for today is to post some prayer requests and update my prayer request list. I also found this great article at Roots & Sprout about what to say and do when a parent loses a child. There is another great one where babylost parents talk about what helped them at Glow in the Woods.

- Please pray for Heather & Mike Spohr. They lost their beautiful daughter Maddie last week. She was only 17 months old. Their story has been everywhere, and I am speechless as the outpouring that has come - from the tweets, to going purple for Maddie, to the posts (391 and counting...), to the news articles written, to the $20,000 donated to March of Dimes in her name, to the formation of teams in her honor to walk in the MoD March for Babies, to meal arrangements, to thousands of dollars donated through paypal (send to: formaddie@hotmomreviews.com) to her parents to help with all the expenses, to a WHOLE website just for her. So much love. But Heather & Mike still need us to pray for them. It makes it easier in some ways, but nothing can make it easy. I'll be wearing purple for Maddie tomorrow as I fly to St. Louis!

- Shana at Gorillabuns need us now too. Thalon was almost 4 months old, and he died on Saturday night. Thalon had an ear & throat infection and died unexpectedly in the hospital. I never read Shana's blog, but read about her son today and my heart is going out to her and her family.

- Kori at See Kori Rant and her daughter Hannah need your prayers. They are currently awaiting trial for a man who molested Hannah several months ago. Money is tight, and Kori is a single mom who can't seem to get a break, and I love her to pieces. Note: Kori's blog is going to go private for a few days, but it should be back soon.

- Kim from Zoot lost her father a couple of weeks ago. Please pray for peace for Kim and her family.

If not for the internet, and my involvement in blogging, I wouldn't have heard these stories. I wouldn't have been in tears all day last Wednesday, and I wouldn't be heading back to that place right now. But I wouldn't trade it for anything. These stories, they are not unique. There are people out there every day who need help, who need whatever we can give, whether it's a kind word, or a simple act of support, a prayer, money to help with funeral expenses or buy food for their remaining kids. I don't always feel like I have that much to offer, but I do what I can.

Some people might wonder why I care about these people I barely know. The truth is, I like to FEEL. I love the joy that children bring, I love reading about other people and the things in life they hold most dear. But along with that comes sorrow. There is no way to avoid sometimes losing the things we love the most. That's an important part of life too, and a terrible one at times. This is humanity. If one little thing I do makes someone's day a little more worth living? What else could I ask for?

Who are you praying for today? Please leave prayer requests and links in the comments so I can add them to my list!