Below you see my 13 year old niece El working on the special Christmas ornaments for all the kids in our family this year remembering Henry.
One of the ornaments will also be hung tomorrow night on the Remembrance Tree in downtown Knoxville. The Remembrance Tree is organized by Hope for Victims, founded by my hero, inspiration and friend, Joan Berry.
Several people have told me since Henry died that Knox County Sheriff Jimmy “JJ” Jones has not infrequently compared me to Joan Berry when verbally disparaging both of us around the Sheriff’s Department. I consider that the highest compliment the Sheriff could pay to me.
What a great compliment!
That's awesome. All the way around.
Oh my. I just got this idea. What if you made Christmas ornaments featuring the photos readers have sent you from around the world? You could release several a year as part of an awareness campaign, with funds generated to go to the foundation. This is the beginning of a brainstorm so take it in that form (may not be practical etc), but maybe people could order the ornaments with their own "remembered loved one's" name. This would have been nightmarish a few years ago, but could possibly be cafe-pressed or otherwise at this point – where basic design stays the same but the ornament is personalized. Or not – it could all be the Henry photos. I dunno. Just a thought.
Sometimes those photos pass thru my mind like a slide show. . .
What's that bumper sticker? Well-behaved women seldom make history. You guys need t-shirts: Katie and Joan for Tennessee Mothers of the Year.
Cute but I think the glitter ends up being messy and makes the final product look rushed and hap hazard. Maybe taking time to do lines of glitter over or beside some of the design would make it pop and look neat at the same time
I always had my son used glitter glue pens. Much less messy and more or less the same effect, though less 3-D .http://www.amazon.com/Cra-Z-art-Glitter-Glue-Tubes-11300/dp/B003U999AU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1322931669&sr=8-2
Katie- I am not a mama, but this post and your post about Henry's stocking made me think of something a mother in my town said after a very tragic house fire about her own children- "No children will ever die who are loved by their family and remembered by their friends."
That reminded me very much of Henry's story.
Thinking of your family this holiday season.