A Mother's Day Wish From Heaven

A Mother's Day Wish From Heaven
By Jody Seilheimer


Dear Mr. Hallmark,

I am writing to you from heaven, and though it must appear
A rather strange idea, I see everything from here.
I just popped in to visit, your stores to find a card
A card of love for my mother, as this day for her is hard.

There must be some mistake I thought, every card you could imagine
Except I could not find a card, from a child who lives in heaven.
She is still a mother too, no matter where I reside
I had to leave, she understands, but oh the tears she’s cried.

I thought that if I wrote you, that you would come to know
That though I live in heaven now, I still love my mother so.
She talks with me, and dreams with me; we still share laughter too,
Memories our way of speaking now, would you see what you could do?

My mother carries me in her heart, her tears she hides from sight.
She writes poems to honor me, sometimes far into the night
She plants flowers in my garden, there my living memory dwells
She writes to other grieving parents, trying to ease their pain as well.

So you see Mr. Hallmark, though I no longer live on earth
I must find a way, to remind her of her wondrous worth
She needs to be honored, and remembered too
Just as the children of earth will do.

Thank you Mr. Hallmark, I know you’ll do your best
I have done all I can do; to you I’ll leave the rest.
Find a way to tell her, how much she means to me
Until I can do it for myself, when she joins me in eternity.

Timmy the Goat

Does the little boy on the cover of this book look familiar to you? Depending on how long you've been reading my blog, you may recognize him as our son Henry. We lost Henry almost 18 months ago to a rare genetic disease that we didn't know existed until after his death. One of the many ways we are working to keep Henry's memory alive is by writing a series of children's books. The series is called "The Adventures of Henry", and this is the first book in the series: Timmy the Goat. The books are fully illustrated, and include teachable topics in the back to help engage your little ones and teach them about the different animals and terms in the book. The story itself is a bedtime story that Henry created with his Papa. They used to tell it every night before bed; it was one of his favorites.

The profits from the sale of this book are being donated to the Crohns and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA). Each book will benefit a different cause, as we try to help other families out there who are living with rare diseases in their children.

How can you help? Well, there are lots of ways. Here are a few thoughts:

1. Buy a book! The book costs $14.99 + S/H, and is available for sale at the Adventures of Henry website we have created for the series, or at Amazon.com. Don't have any little ones that you need gifts for? Consider buying a copy to donate to a local library or elementary school, OR, if you'd like, you can purchase a copy to be donated to a child who is currently admitted to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, and we will deliver it with a card noting your donation with or without your name attached - it's up to you if you want to remain anonymous.
   
2. Share this blog post with friends. Feel free to copy and paste all of my text onto your own blog post, or share the link on your Facebook page, or email any friends/family/co-workers who may be interested.
   
3. Join the Adventures of Henry group on Facebook, and suggest that your friends do the same if you are comfortable doing so. Anything, great or small, that helps us get the word out about our series and our story would be awesome. We'd love to see the books all over the country, and would love to make a huge impact at CCFA and other organizations that help children who are suffering from rare diseases.

This is a labor of love, and is benefitting a great cause in memory of one of the sweetest little boys. Henry's famous line was, "be good to the aminals!" He loved his animal friends at the zoo (we visited daily!), and was always looking out for their welfare. We're so proud to be able to honor him in this way, and hopefully help other families before they walk the road of bereavement we're walking now.

Thank you so much for your help, whether it's joining the Adventures of Henry Facebook group, a purchase for yourself or someone else, or a prayer for healing, it all means the world to us.

God bless,