A Different Kind of Birthday

What a hard season this is… and not just for us. Christmas, while joyful in nature, is often filled with more pain than joy for many, many people. For Mitch and I, though, we have a date weighing more heavily on our hearts than December 25th. On Christmas, the plan is to surround ourselves with our family, hunker down, and do our best to honor the one who came to save the world. After all, Jesus Christ is the only reason we have the assurance of getting to be with Kamri again one day. It won’t be easy, but we have a plan.

The date we are anxiously watching get closer and closer with no idea what to make of it, how to prepare for it, or what it is going to feel like… is December 28th. Kamri Blaire’s birthday. I have tears in my eye just typing that. Our sweet girl would have been one year old this December 28th and we still have no idea how to wrap our heads around the fact that we don’t get to be with her for it. There is no pain quite like this one.

We know that we have had an army of support throughout this year. You have taken the front lines as ambassadors on our behalf, prayer warriors for our daughter and our family, and providers for all of the tangible needs we have had. We cannot thank you enough. Please know this- every single letter, card, online comment, email… we have read and cherished. Kamri has a box all to herself of cards that you have sent throughout her journey. Every single book, piece of jewelry, and beautiful piece honoring Kamri has been used, worn daily, and kept safe in our home. Every meal, gift card, and blanket has been eaten, used, and snuggled with on those days when it is just too hard to even think straight. Our army has gone to battle for us and we could not have made it through this year without you.

We also know how desperately our beloved KamFam wants to be walking with us through this particular season of grief… wants to do whatever you can to lift or share our burden. Unfortunately, there is not much to do about the pain. The deep pain is there because of how deeply we love Kamri and if that’s the trade off, we wouldn’t have it any other way. We love that girl with everything we are. We have been thinking, though, about a way you can shine some light into our grief over the next couple of weeks and we’d be honored if you would consider…

One of the most incredible gifts that people give us (and often don’t even realize it) is when they tell us what Kamri means to them. How much they love her. How much they can’t wait to meet her and hold her in heaven. There is no greater gift than when you remind us that she is important to more people than just her parents. No greater gift. We have found that when you share your love for Kamri with us, it makes us feel less alone in the grief, in the missing her. Last year, our cousin began collecting letters and stories from people who had been following Kamri’s journey… people that knew us and people that didn’t. When we were ready, she wanted to give us a collection of words written by people who love Kamri and wanted to share how her life had impacted theirs. It’s been a year and Mitch and I have decided that not only are we ready to read them, but that such a collection would be the best possible way to spend part of her birthday. It would mean the world to us if you would consider sharing the spot in your heart that little Kam has wiggled her way into.

It will be a different kind of birthday card than we ever imagined or wanted for our sweet baby girl, but it may be one of the only comforts of her special day for us. Reading your words to Kamri about what she means to you and what her life has meant to you would be a gift we could never thank you enough for. If you’d like to send a letter for Kamri, we’ll be re-opening our PO Box for the next month or two and reading the letters on her birthday, December 28th.

The address is: P.O. Box 72038 , Thorndale, PA 19372

If you’d like to email it to us, you can send it here: mitchandleslie921@gmail.com

We will make sure that every word written to Kamri has a home in her special box and they will be read and re-read in her honor. Again, thank you for your consistent love, prayers, and care for us and our sweet girl. You have been such a blessing in our lives.