A First Heavenly Birthday

March 29th was Gabriels first heavenly birthday. It was a milestone, the end of a year of "firsts". Despite the temptation to stay in bed all day, a flower delivery from M.E.N.D. had us up and out of bed. We received a beautiful white rose, a single one to signify his first birthday. Our next stop came from our desire to make something special together, and what better place than Build-A-Bear? Surprisingly, it brought a lot of comfort to make our Jedi clothed bear named Obi-Bear Kenobi. Our next stop was to get balloons filled. A few months ago we found balloons with Gabriels name on them at Party City. What better way to send a special birthday message to heaven?! After that was our first stop to the cemetery with Garys parents. When we got there I saw that my mom had been the first to leave a bouquet of white and green flowers with a blue "first birthday" balloon. Because of the rain in the early morning, the cemetery was slippery with mud, but I didn't care. Nothing was going to ruin this day! Garys parents brought four balloons and another beautiful bouquet of flowers and while we were out visiting, Garys mom read to us a passage from a book called "Heaven is for Real". They also gave us a beautiful gift with the scripture,"Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart...and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28-29) What a powerful scripture, and perfect for the celebration of the ending of a year of struggle. After we had said our goodbyes, we met my dad, little brother and stepmother about an hour at the cemetery, trip 2 of the day to see our little man! They brought with them a bouquet of orange flowers, a Build-A-Bear puppy named Yoda Gimlin and three rocks (a jewish tradition). My heart was full of happiness and love as I stood back and looked at all the flowers and balloons. After a short visit we headed to my moms for the rest of the evening to wait for the balloon release I had planned for 6:45p.m. I had everybody take two note cards and write the same birthday message on both cards, one to tie to the balloon and the other for me to put in Gabriels scrapbook. At 7:30p.m., when sunrise had already begun, we released the balloons to Gabriels song "Look through my eyes" by Phil Collins. It was an emotional experience, and even though I hadn't cried for most of the day, I finally broke down as I watched the balloons float away to heaven. My mom came up to me and I clung to her like every child does when they are hurting, my dad was next. I haven't cried since that night. The rest of the evening was spent at my moms, enjoying a simple dinner and calm company. It was a long day, but a beautiful one where I tried to focus my energy on remembering Gabriels life and the memories I hold close to my heart. And now we head in to year two already!