Friday, November 30, 2012

Mason's Monarchs Personalized Glass Ornaments Fundraiser

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Mason's Monarchs with Project Sweet Peas
Personalized Glass Ornament Fundraiser
 
Mason's Monarchs with Project Sweet Peas is selling personalized glass ornaments just in time for Christmas. You have your choice of etching design and vinyl wording. You can choose a date, name, initials or phrases. We are offering a nice variety of vinyl colors and coordinating ribbon.

Ornaments sold locally are $7.50 and we will arrange for delivery/pick-up. Ornaments that need to be shipped will be $12.00.

Follow this link for ordering: http://projectsweetpeas.com/index.php/sweet-events/details/23-per sonalized-glass-ornaments This is a perfect way to get or gift a treasured keepsake while helping provide support to families who need a lift this time of year.

Mason's Monarchs with Project Sweet Peas provides care packages to families with babies in the NICU as well as keepsakes for those families who have had a recent pregnancy or infant loss.
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Volunteers Needed for NICU Parent Match Program

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We are excited to announce the launch of our newest service, the Parent Match Program! Our Parent Match Program is designed to connect parents with a baby currently in the NICU with parents that have experienced a NICU stay in the past. Through this program it is our hope that parents can empower one another with strength, support, and knowledge.

To get things started, we are now looking for volunteers to join our Parent Match Team! If you have experienced a NICU stay and would like to reach out to other NICU families, we would love for you to join us!

Find more information here: http://www.projectsweetpeas.com/index.php/resources/parent-match
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Kit's Muse Pounds for Preemies

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It's that time again! Time to be thinking about a healthy you in the new year. There is not a better way to kick start reaching this goal than taking part in division Kit's Muse Pounds for Preemies!

For an entry fee of just $25.00 you will not only get an awesome support group but have the option to create your own team, join a team OR just take part as an individual. You will also be in the running for the grand prize of a $100.00 Visa gift card. There will also be 2nd and 3rd place prizes and lots of fun to be had as we lose our pounds for the preemies that need them. Last year our Pounds for Preemies group collectively lost over 200 pounds!

All the details can be found on the pounds for preemies page at www.kitsmuse.com where you can also see examples of what a team page will look like. Check out the facebook group . All proceeds support our care package, angel gown and memory box programs.
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Sunday, November 25, 2012

Welcome, Multiple Miracles!

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Project Sweet Peas would like to officially welcome new project division, Multiple Miracles! Project Coordinator Diane Hrenko started this division in honor of her sweet peas, Justin and Collin. Multiple Miracles delivers care packages to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
 
 
For more information on Multiple Miracles please email Diane at Diane@projectsweetpeas.com.
 
  
Justin and Collin's story:
 
 

"Let me start with this… this story has a very happy ending.

After dealing with infertility issues, my husband and I were ecstatic to find out that twins were on the way!! I was fortunate to have a fantastic pregnancy, and enjoyed every minute of it. At a routine checkup at 33 weeks, an ultrasound revealed that the fluid was low around baby A and I was having contractions. They admitted me to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and I delivered our two little miracles via C-section at 33 weeks and 3 days. On December 11, 2008, our lives were changed forever -- Justin Keith and Collin Matthew were born at a little over 4 lbs each and admitted to the Beth Israel NICU.

While it is overwhelming enough for any first time parent, learning your babies cannot come home with you and need to stay in the hospital for several weeks is almost unbearable. Fortunately, our babies were relatively healthy and the majority of time spent in the NICU was just to grow and mature. We spent six long weeks travelling back and forth to the NICU and spending every waking minute with our boys. We would spend early morning to late evening sitting by the incubators and then bassinets. Luckily, my husband works at Beth Israel so he was able to sneak across and get a little work done during the day. We felt like we became experts in all the NICU terminology: learning about the feeding tubes, suck/swallow reflex, calorie counting, and the “spells” of heart rate dips which all became a way of life while they were there.

The doctors and nurses that we worked with at the Beth Israel NICU were amazing. Simply amazing! To say we have the utmost gratitude towards these people is an understatement. They are everything to us. They reassured us that our babies were going to go home and be healthy and strong children – they just needed to grow more. The doctors and nurses taught us day in and day out everything we needed to know… how to understand the machines the boys were attached to, what all of the beeping meant, bathing, feeding, pumping, nursing, etc. They were so patient with us when we called each night before we went to bed and every morning when we woke up to make sure the boys were still OK. They took pictures for us when we weren’t there and made signs for the incubators/bassinets.

Our life was very different for those six weeks and truthfully very lonely. Our stay was over the holidays so my husband and I spent Christmas with our babies, only sneaking off for dinner at a hotel restaurant across the street, while our families were all celebrating together. Our friends and family were extremely supportive during our stay in the NICU, always calling to check in on us. They tried so hard to be positive for us. One family that had been through the NICU before left handmade knit caps for the boys with a note saying something to the effect of “we understand what you are going through”. How nice was that! It touched us very much that someone made such a thoughtful gesture.

After six weeks, Justin and Collin were both home and all of a sudden life was… perfect! Every uneasy feeling, worry, and stress would not be a factor anymore. As long as the boys were home with us, life would be OK. This experience changed us because we learned that life is fragile and doesn’t always go exactly as planned. The care and support we received at the Beth Israel NICU is something that we cherish and will never forget. To express our gratitude, on the boys 1st birthday we donated 60 blankets to the babies in the NICU as a way to “pay it forward”. You never know how it feels to be a NICU parent until you have gone through it, and we felt the need to give back to others that are going through what we went through. We have continued this tradition each year around their birthday. In 2012, we joined Project Sweet Peas, and will continue to “pay it forward” by delivering care packages to the Beth Israel NICU under the very fitting name of Multiple Miracles.

Justin and Collin are healthy little boys and have an adorable new sister: Ashlyn. Life is good! "
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A Welcome to With Love, Juliahna

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Project Sweet Peas would like to officially welcome new project division, With Love, Juliahna! Project Coordinator Jessica Shell started this division in honor of her sweet pea, Juliahna. With Love, Juliahna delivers to Peyton Manning Children's Hospital's PICU and Riley Children's Hospital's NICU in Indianapolis, IN.

For more information on With Love, Juliahna please email Jessica at jessicashell@projectsweetpeas.com.

Juliahna's story:


Juliahna Elise entered the world on September 13th, 2011 at only 25.2 weeks gestation. Weighing in a mere 14 ounces and being only 9.5 inches long, Juliahna put up a heck of a fight. After 143 days in the NICU and seven surgeries later we brought our Juliahna home from the hospital for the first time. After only 29 days home, Juliahna ended up being rushed to Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital with more complications. We spent 38 days and had two more surgeries while in the PICU and pediatric floor at PMCH.

For the first seven months of Juliahna’s life, things were tough and we had to learn what seemed like a completely different life style. Times were trying and it was the longest roller coaster we have had to endure. God’s devotion and Juliahna’s strength continues to bless us daily. With Juliahna we love. With Juliahna we have learned to be thankful for every day. With Juliahna we give back as a constant reminder of how precious life is, how amazing our God is, and how beautiful miracles are.
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Thursday, November 15, 2012

Shelby's Sunshine 3rd Annual Polar Plunge

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NOVEMBER 25TH,
2012 MOOSE LODGE
ROCHESTER, IN
2-4 Raffles
PLUNGE AT 4:15

WILL YOU TAKE SHELBY’S SUNSHINE POLAR PLUNGE?

Come out and brave the cold for a great cause! Help families by providing care packages and other services that offer comfort while furthering the bond between parent and child.

INTERESTED IN TAKING THE PLUNGE?

For $20 you can take the plunge and receive a Shelby’s Sunshine t-shirt for your support. To “officially” plunge you only have to get in the water up to your waist. Children are welcome to participate to any water level they are comfortable with.

WHAT IS SHELBY’S SUNSHINE WITH PROJECT SWEET PEAS?

Shelby’s Sunshine is an INDIANA division of Project Sweet Peas. Helping families in Indiana. Trying to make a difference. For more information: please contact Stephanie at steph@projectsweetpeas.com
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Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Holiday Hope

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Project Sweet Peas’ is excited to launch our newest initiative program, ‘Holiday Hope’, in which we encourage families nationwide to give back to their local hospitals, medical care home or housing facility. December 17th through the 21st. Thousands of families will celebrate the holidays in the intensive care unit this year, and it is our hope that if enough families join in, together we can bring a touch of comfort to them all.

So how do YOU become involved? It’s easy; join our Facebook event ‘Holiday Hope’ where we will offer advice, ideas, and tips on how to donate and get involved with your local ICU in time for the holidays.

After you donate, post your photo and story to our Facebook page! Join in the largest group effort to bring hope to the ICU’s for the holidays!


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