One year and still learning to breathe...

I've been intending to write this for a few days, and no excuses, but it is hard. This coming Sunday, October 3 will be Noah's first Angelversary in heaven...his first year away from me and me away from him...I wish I could say that it's gotten easier, but honestly, most days it feels like it's getting harder. It's astounding the size of the hole in my life, my family, my heart that his absence has created...I miss him more than words can say and I know his brothers do, too. We talk about him a lot. Brady still tells me often how much better, how much funner, how much happier, how much more complete life was before - when Noah was still here. I often struggle to find the right words to tell him because I think so, too, EVERYthing was better when Noah was here. Mostly, I'm just honest with my boys, and lay my heart out for them to see, for them to know...we are all struggling because we all feel like this was not supposed to happen. But it did.

Because it did happen, we work so hard to raise awareness, to grow 9D Years for Noah, to reach out and help other children, who like Noah and too many other young children before them, fight every minute of every day for their lives. YOU are a very big part of this.

So, I still can't believe it's been a year...a year without his laughter or his voice or his smile or his hugs or his smell or his big brown eyes looking for mine or his giggle or his little hand tucked securely in mine or his head leaning against my arm...and I still haven't learned to breathe...

It's been a year since my own personal definition of the word, the experience of 'permanent' was rewritten...There are days even now when I wake up and simply can't believe he's not here. My head just can't accept it, so of course that means my heart is struggling as well.

A couple of very important things I am thankful for, though: #1 He's in heaven, healed, whole, healthy and he's waiting for me, for his brothers, for all of us. #2 I had him - for eight years, his smile lit up my world, my days, my heart. We truly were blessed with this child, my child, my sons' brother for 8 years. We were blessed with his courage, his sense of humor, his one-liners, his wisdom, his honesty, him...for this, we are thankful.

We are planning a celebration and remembrance of Noah's life on Sunday, October 3 at the baseball fields that he loved so much, the same baseball fields where he always played with his brothers, where they play still...Check the flyer above and if you are in the area and would like to stop by and write on a balloon - it can be anything - a prayer, a word, your name, a memory, a note for Noah, please feel free. We'd love to have anyone who wants to to stop by and prepare a balloon for The Mighty...9D Years for Noah will be blowing up balloons from 11am until 4pm; the balloon release is planned for 4:30pm from Noah's field. Yep, the balloons will carry our notes to Noah in heaven...If you are not in the area because you live in another state or because of prior commitments or for whatever reason, you are still welcome to participate in this event. Just send me an email (the.mighty@live.com) , tell me what you'd like your balloon to say and I will write the balloon for you. Or, if you prefer, feel free to send Noah some balloons on your own from wherever you are...I know he'd love it. Send me pictures if you do ~ or post them on the 9D Years for Noah Facebook page...I'm imagining Noah on Sunday, Mario dancing around heaven, giggling as he sees all the balloons drifting up towards him there in heaven, gathering them, sharing them, and most importantly, smiling that humble smile of his...knowing he is greatly missed, very well-loved...

Let's keep on keeping on and keep Noah's name and his brothers' names on our lips and in God's ears as we pray and praise...

Much love for always,

Mary

J29:11

P139, P91

Happy BirdDay...BirdDay wishes...

Noah's birthday is coming up in a few days. Saturday, August 14 would have - SHOULD have been his 9th birthday, or "BirdDay" as he and Brady would say it. Part of me doesn't even want to go there. Part of me feels like I can't. Too much pain, a world full of sorrow and I feel that it may snap me in half, break me into a million tiny little pieces. It's too much without my little sunshine here. Then another, stronger part of me speaks and says that that day will always belong to Noah and that he deserves to be celebrated.

After Noah passed away in October, my Mom, who makes all of the boys' birthday cakes shared something with me. Every year, on their birthdays, my boys are lucky enough to have these great, beautiful custom-made birthday cakes made with lots of love for them by their Gramma. And every year, on their birthday, they will place their cake order for the following year. Noah's has been Mario Bros. for the past several years. Last year - his last birthday here with us - was no different. Gramma made him a beautiful Mario cake. It was an ocean scene, with Noah and Mario on a surfboard and a shark chasing after them. It surely wasn't a rinky dink cake. He loved it. I can still see the way he smiled up at his Gramma when she showed it to him. Well, my Mom said that he never placed his order for this year. He didn't even talk about his next birthday, never asked her what kind of Mario cake he'd get next. I think he knew. He knew he'd be celebrating from Heaven this year.



So here is my plan. While it may be hard on us emotionally because The Mighty is not here with us physically, we will celebrate his BirdDay. And since he's not here, he will not receive gifts. However, you can give a gift in his honor for his BirdDay. Appropriately, because this is Noah's heart, gifts made in his honor will be given to other children. Here's where you come in: You can help 9D Years for Noah continue to bring hope and encouragement to other children, who, like Noah before them, fight for their lives against this faceless, merciless beast that we call pediatric cancer. You can make a BirdDay donation today to 9D Years for Noah that will directly help us bring Mighty Bears into hospitals, into the hands of our littlest warriors. Please, make a BirdDay donation this month to help 9D Years for Noah make this BirdDay wish come true. And remember, "a little HOPE is a MIGHTY thing!"

Donations can be made through PayPal  or through the mail. To make donations directly to 9D Years for Noah through PayPal, send to the.mighty@live.com or, if you prefer to mail a donation, send it to

9D Years for Noah

P.O. Box 263

La Mirada, CA 90637

Thank you for helping us do this Mighty thing and let's keep on keeping on and keep our courageous little warriors and 9D Years for Noah on our lips and in God's ears as we pray and praise!!!

Much love for always,
Mary
J29:11
P139, P91

Don't forget, you can visit us anytime on Facebook - look for us under 9D Years for Noah or if you'd like to get to know The Mighty - Noah B. Dowell better, you can on Noah's carepage at www.carepages.com/carepages/NoahDowell

9D Years for Noah Tees, Duck Derby, Noah's Field...

9D Years for Noah has been busy, busy, busy...

9D Years for Noah has tee shirts!

9D Years for Noah has several newly designed, newly printed, very special tees available now for purchase. The cost of each shirt is only $15 (plus $5 shipping, if I mail it to you) and proceeds will go into the purchase of more Mighty Bears for more children. 9D Years for Noah is not making a ton of money on these shirts, but it sure will benefit the kids who are facing these life & death battles just like my Noah.

I'm unveiling 3 of several designs below...Of course, they are all special to me & for different reasons. The first is one of Noah's actual paintings - it is a portrait he painted of himself as The Mighty Miltie Moo-Moo, the amazingly tough, larger than life superhero and Noah's alter-ego. The second is The Mighty Angel Wing tee - it speaks for itself. Thirdly is the Mighty Bear tee ... special because it captures what we are doing with those Mighty Bears. All of these designs were created by Dianne Sorenson of CDI Sportswear, Inc.

The 3rd Annual Duck Derby (Race)...

Can you say, "Rubber Ducky"??? 9D Years for Noah has agreed to be a Duck Adoption Agent for the Going Quackers for Kids 3rd Annual Derby Duck Race. The race will take place at LaMirada Regional Park in LaMirada, California on Saturday, April 3. It's an amazing event & TONS of fun!

So, as a Duck Adoption Agent, we are looking for Duck Adopters who are willing to donate as little as $5 (for 1 duck) or $25 (for 6 ducks - a Quack Pack). Of course, if you'd like to donate more, that would be wonderful, too. 9D Years for Noah will receive 50% of all donations/adoption fees made & collected under our team name.

Please help us reach our goal of 2,972 ducks...Why 2,972 ducks? Such an odd little number, you might ask...well, that's the number of days we were blessed to have Noah with us. It would be great to see 1 duck adopted for each blessed day.

Adopting a duck - or ducks - is easy and everyone can participate. Even if you don't live in California or anywhere near us, you, too, can adopt a lovely wonderful duck. And, you can do this quickly and easily online at www.lamiradakiwanis.org/duckrace.htm . Once you log onto the website, click the "Adopt a Duck" tab to begin the process. Important: Make sure that you don't do the fast adoption so that you can select your team - 9D Years for Noah - in the next step. After you select your team, simply follow the steps to complete your adoption.

Now, please realize that no ducks will be harmed in any way during this Duck Adoption or during the Derby Duck Race. Also, please realize that these ducks you are adopting are not actual real living ducks - you are adopting (for the race) a cute little yellow rubber duck that just must be from sunny Southern California as they are all wearing sunglasses. You won't actually receive the duck, but...the prizes in this derby are pretty amazing.

The Grand Prize is $2,500

1st Prize is $1,000

2nd & 3rd Prize is $250

4th thru 8th Prize is $100

PLUS, there are many, many other prizes to be won.

Austyn & Brady are pretty excited about being part of this event & being there to watch the race. Both boys have already been counting out their $$ to adopt their own duck! The whole event looks to be exciting & a lot of fun. I didn't attend last year, but I've heard that as there is no current in the lake at LaMirada Regional Park, local firemen don their waders and jump into the lake with their fire hoses to create a current to enable the ducks move along...the race is completely fair as the ducks are randomly numbered & meticulously tracked to the Duck Adopter, which could be you. Will it be you???

Relay for Life...

9D Years for Noah will have a team this June for the Buena Park Relay for Life event. Personally, I will be walking for my Noah. The plan is to be on the track all night long...I haven't set up a whole lot yet for our team, but I am working on it. I'll post more info as we go along.

"The Mighty" Noah B. Dowell Memorial Field...
has been officially dedicated! Last Saturday, March 7 at Opening Day Ceremonies for LMBA, the league took a few moments to remember & honor Noah - forevermore...he has made an indellible mark not only on the baseball league, but on the lives of those he came into contact with & we couldn't be more thankful or appreciative of the honor & recognition of the impact one small boy had & still has - it is Mighty, Mighty big. The ceremony was very emotional, even moreso with the touching speech made by another Noah a few divisions above my Noah...Separated by 5 years & 3 divisions, Noah Sargent & Noah Dowell were close friends, baseball buddies. When they met over 3 years ago, they just clicked. The senior Noah took on the role of mentor & buddy, so the news of my Noah making his way to heaven struck him hard. His speech on Saturday was a moving tribute & touching honor to his buddy. We are very humbled...It was a very emotional day - actually, emotional weekend all the way around...
Every player on every team in the league takes The Mighty onto the field with them this season: The Mighty is imprinted on the right sleeve of every jersey in the league. It's amazingly powerful & I can feel him there, hear him there in every crack of the bat or snap of the ball hitting a glove. I can smell him in there with the sun glinting down on the newly mown grass, the freshly raked soil. I can see him there, in every corner of the field, peeking at me here & there...and I miss him more than I can say. Still. Eric & I received Angel jerseys of our own from Sargents Sporting Goods imprinted with "The Mighty" on the right sleeve & across the back above Noah's number: 1. That's something special!


Oh! Guess who started the season opener in his very first time taking the mound as a pitcher? Guess who struck out 3 of the 4 batters he faced in that first outing?


It was Brady!!! He's a good little ball player. He's been practicing his pitching & it really shows!

Let's keep on keeping on & keep Noah's & his brothers names on our lips & in God's ears as we pray & praise. We can't help but be thankful for God's faithfulness, for His power & His presence. We can't help but be thankful for the blessing of a little boys life, his love, his Mighty ways. We pray for the growth of 9D Years for Noah - that we will grow & spread across the country, that we will continue to reach & minister to children & their families.

Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.

Much love,
Mary
J29:11
P139, P91

La Mirada mom's tragic loss a gain for sick children - Pasadena Star-News

La Mirada mom's tragic loss a gain for sick children - Pasadena Star-News