Small Gestures, Lasting Impacts

My friends and family are getting me through my grief.  They are carrying me as the weeks turn into months.  It never ceases to amaze me how uplifted I can be by a thoughtful suggestion that honors, remembers, represents our baby V.

For example, our friend that made E's 2nd birthday cake dyed some of the cake batter purple.  She told me this piece was for V.  That gesture made me smile through my tears for weeks.  I had been having such a hard day unexpectedly when E's birthday arrived, sad that V wasn't there to celebrate with us.  This friend didn't KNOW that, but she was sweet enough to just think to include both my babies as we celebrated another year of E's life.

Another great friend is a former teacher like me.  We got together the other day for what she called a "parenting in-service."  We worked on some Valentine projects, ate lunch, let the kids play, recharged.  It truly takes a village to not only raise a child, but to encourage the parents as well.

She taught me to make heart shaped crayon valentines for E's friends.  She suggested we use mostly shades of violet for a subtle, crafty way to remember my sweet girl on this holiday.  I love the result.

Here's how you can make the crayons, too!

1.  Peel some old crayons.  Crayola crayons work best!

2.  Break or chop the crayons into small pieces.  This can be a great job for tiny fingers to work on fine motor skills, but our helpers were busy playing so we chopped the crayons ourselves!

3.  Put the crayon pieces in a baking dish thinking about what colors you're using and placing together.  I loved the silver/purple combination.

We used a silicone heart baking dish.  I've seen these before at Target in the dollar section!  Next time I'll grab one with this project in mind.

4.  Put the crayons in the oven at 250 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes, checking periodically.

Nope, not quite done.  Resist the urge to stir and or inhale the delicious scent of warm crayons.  Then again, that could just be the teacher in me.

Perfect!  They're done!

5.  Let cool (pop in the refrigerator if the toddlers are getting restless and it's almost nap time) and then pop out of the mold.  

Such a perfect gift for valentines day that helped melt my heart in the process as well!