Gabriel's Garden

Look what we finished just in time for Gabriel's birthday:
Okay, so that's a horrible picture and please ignore the awful ugly fence that we want to replace so badly and the giant yellow patches of grass...one was from a toy that was left out and the one on the left is the scene of the great garbage can incident. Did I mention that I intended to roll that garbage can over grass...now I'm even more stupid than you thought, huh?

Anyway, Gabriel's garden is done!! Well, for now. I would like Gabe's garden to always be a work in progress with us adding something each year to remember him. But for now, the biggest part is done. Thanks to many friends that helped along the way to get us inspired and motivated and especially those that actually sacrificed their time and sweat doing the hard work to help us, even when all I could do was watch from the swing with my bum foot. Ben and the kids also worked their toushees off and everyone's hard work created a wonderful space.Might I mention that as we worked on the garden we had seriously so many dragonfly visitors fly in to keep us company and to remind us that Gabriel is never far away. The kids would scream with excitement every time they saw one. I, of course, tried to take pictures of those fast little buggers....and got a few shots...but naturally I can't find them now.

We contemplated for a long time with what to do to make the garden just right. I actually dreamt about it one night and knew just how it should be. We wanted to include the two trees that we planted for Gabriel on Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day last October, which meant that the garden ended up being really big....300 sq. ft. big! It's so nice to have such a big space though and I actually love the size...although I didn't when I was digging out all of that sod. We wanted a bench where we could sit and I had the perfect arbor bench picked out but when I went to buy it, it was gone! It all worked out for the best though because I remembered this awesome swing/hammock that I had seen that the kids had loved at the store and when we went to the store they actually had just one left waiting just for us...tender mercy. The kids can all fit on it and relax in Gabe's garden and they were sooooo excited that it was "Gabe's color", light green (his birthstone color). The kids have loved having it and have spent many hours enjoying it! It's placed right in the center of the garden.

Here's a shot of the left side of the garden with the Eastern Redbud we planted for Gabe.
Here's a shot of the right side of the garden with the Japanese Maple. I guess it's hard to see the trees in both of those shots because of the neighbor's trees behind them, but they're there! I can't wait until fall when the Japanese Maple turns the most gorgeous color of red. It will be awesome!The kids each made a stepping stone for Gabe's garden. They all wanted to put their handprint(s) on them and told me what they wanted written on theirs....such sweet messages to their baby brother that they love and miss. They did all the decorating all by themselves, with the exception of Alexis who got a little help. They were awesome! I'm kicking myself for not taking pictures before we put them outside. They didn't hold up too well....especially little Lex's which someone "accidentally" stepped on and smashed to teeny pieces. Oh well. We're just going to have to make more...at least they were fun to make, huh?Skylar's...."Gabriel" with a G in a heart.Nick's...."I love you and wish you were here."
McKade's...."I love you Gabe!"Alexis's...."I love you baby brother." How sad does it look?My parents contributed to Gabe's garden by buying some Daisies and a very beautiful Hibiscus.My friend, Abby, who actually was the one that kicked my butt into gear by helping me with digging the sod, gave us this sweet stone for us to put in Gabe's garden...just perfect.My friends from my baby loss group, Common Bonds, gave me this dragonfly light that lights up at night and looks so cool.Finally, just minutes before Gabriel's birthday party balloon release, this precious garden stone came in the mail. I saw these poemstones on an Etsy shop and just loved them. I knew that one would be perfect for Gabriel's garden and worked with a very understanding and kind woman clear across the country to design this custom stone for Gabriel. It's not the headstone I wish we had for him, but it is something to mark that he was here and I absolutely love it.
The garden ended up being exactly what we wanted...a peaceful place where we can remember Gabriel. I'm so glad we got it done in time for his birthday so that we had somewhere to go on that day that we could call Gabe's place. It made the day so much better than other days we've had to remember without somewhere to go....which was just perfect for his birthday. We love you little Gabe and hope you love your garden too!!