Always Remembered ~ Never Forgotten

And then there are orders that break our hearts!

On July 16, 2011 Cpl Raphael R. Arruda died in the line of duty for his county. He was attached to the 416th Theater Engineer Command, U.S. Army Reserve, Ogden, Utah.  He was stationed in Kunar province in Afghanistan when his unit was hit by an improvised bom.

 He was only 21 years old.

 I received an email from a lovely lady by the named of Chelsey. She stated that her husband was deployed with a fallen soldier and wondered if we could make up several of our "I will remember you" wristbands.

Honored to be part of this we agreed. 

Before I started to hand stamp each wristband I said a little prayer to Raphael asking him to guide me... many times I teared up thinking of his family and their great loss.  I explained to my children the sacrific that Cpl Arruda and others like him made for his country and that we were very fortunate.

Above is the wristband me made in honour of him. It will be worn by members in his unit. 

Our hearts were heavy when we thought of his family. Together my husband, John and I decided to design this special commemorative bookmark especially for his mother.

It will never replace him but is a great reminder of his life.

May Raphael R. Arruda, and other fallen soldiers like him, find peace in the presence of God.

Thank you to the men and woman who serve our country

~ Canada and the United States of America . 

God Bless 

Anne & John 

ADOPT- A- FAMILY

About this time twelve years ago I was happy with three young children, a wonderful husband and a thriving career in law enforcement. Having a double income lifestyle made everything comfortable for us. I was preparing to return to duty after my maternity leave when life presented a unexpected change. My career ended and my husband and I found ourselves with half the income we had previously enjoyed for several years.

Christmas Ornament Earrings - Box set of 2 - $9.50

I was devastated. The commitments that we easily met before were difficult to fulfill. Things like coffees, take-out and buying clothes became luxuries to us. There came a day that buying milk for my youngest daughter, approaching her 1st Christmas with us, was non-existent.
Worried for the welfare of our children we did the only thing we could. We visited our local food bank sponsored by the Salvation Army and received a box of food and a $25.00 food voucher.

It was a humbling experience, but we were grateful it was available to us. Christmas wasn't as elaborate as we had wanted and our children were confused because it was so lean. We explained to them, in a way a child could understand, our circumstances.

Box set of 2 pairs of Earrings

Miraculously, our situation worked out in the long run. It was a long, tough road ahead but we survived. The following Christmas we saw a Christmas wish tree in the mall. It was then that we decided to pass it forward. We picked two names from the tree, a boy and a girl, to buy gifts for. It filled our hearts knowing that some child, like ours, would have a Christmas.

Last year I started selling glass ornament earrings at our local farmers market and donated the proceeds to Adopt-A-family. The results were overwhelming. With every $50.00 we raised, our money provided a turkey with all the fixings and a small gift for the children in the house.

Glass Ornament Earrings - box set of 2

As I write this I feel overjoyed about the recipient families. This is a time to help one another and what better way than purchasing a gift box that includes 2 sets of ornament earrings and helping to give a Christmas to another family.

You can either contact me (type "Adopt-a-family" in the subject box and I will invoice you) OR click on the title link to purchase this set Or visit our shop at Catch A Shining Star.
Please note that the earrings will vary in design (glitter and pattern) so when you order please advise what colour you want.

I will post the amount raised each week on this blog. 50% of the proceeds (the rest to cover the cost of materials) will be delivered to the Town of Cobourg Women's services via the LCBO drop off.

Thank you and God bless,

From our family to yours!!

Anne & John