Seven Years

Today marks seven years since we said goodbye to our sweet little girl. My arms ache to hold her, and what I wouldn’t do to be able to look at her, just for a moment.

Each year the overwhelming emotions return, and as hard as I try, I can’t help but review the last 24 hours we had with her in my mind. This year, my grief seems a little confusing, as it seems to be tangled with Preslee and the loss of my Grandma Siddoway.

We attended my Grandma’s funeral on the 12th, which made Pat and I a little emotional having it on the same week as Preslee’s Angelversary. My Grandma was buried next to Preslee in the Sutton Cemetery, and after placing a rose on her casket, I stepped off to the side, and took a look around. I couldn’t help but notice all the changes that have taken place in the past seven years.

Our family has grown in so many ways, cousins have married, 16 babies have been born, (including four of our own) and what stuck out to me the most was the toddlers who attended Preslee’s funeral, are now eight years old, which stung a quite bit.

I’ve learned patience and empathy. Experienced love and pain, all of which have taught me unforgettable lessons. I think the biggest area of growth stems from realizing I have an anchor in heaven waiting for me, cheering and rooting me on. Losing Preslee has given me an eternal perspective and influences many of the decisions I make on a daily basis. I was reminded of the important things to focus on as I was listening to my dad and uncle talk about my Grandma during her funeral.  

(My Grandma Siddoway is in the blue.)

Though it’s Preslee’s Angelversary, my grief is without a doubt a tangled mess with the memories of two people. Each year on this day, I find myself praying, asking for someone to give Preslee a hug for me, because it’s what I long for the most. Today l realized that it’s the first time I know with certainty that my prayer will be answered, because there’s no doubt in my mind, my Grandma will be the one to do it.  

What a bittersweet gift to be given.

Here’s to one year closer to seeing them both.

I Miss Her

I was searching for a specific picture and somehow ended up watching videos of Preslee tonight. I may have shared this years back, but she had me laughing, and then crying. I miss her wispy hair.

When I watch videos, it almost seems like she existed in a different life. Eighteen months went by too fast, and I realize I’ve forgotten so much. When I watch her quirky personality, I can’t help but wonder what she would be like as an eight year old.

Lately, Cruiz has been mentioning that he misses Preslee and Jesus. He is so sincere about it, and it always comes up during random times. He’s now the same age when Ledger used to say the same thing… it makes me wonder what little kids see.

Ah, tomorrow is a new day, which means we’re one day closer to seeing her again.

We miss you Monkey.

Presentlee

I can’t believe I’m finally writing this post! I’ve been waiting for what seems like forever to share this with all of you!

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The compassion and empathy shown to us after we lost Preslee was truly life changing. We marveled at the length strangers went to help a young couple they had never met, and left us with a drive to spread hope to those experiencing dark times.

As I continued to write on the blog, e-mails began pouring in asking how they could help support friends and family who had recently lost a loved one. I quickly learned people want to help, but are often unsure of the best way to go about it. Many times, their uncertainty or fear of saying the wrong thing keeps them from doing anything at all. Over the years, I've spent hours responding to e-mails, linking gifts, learning what items bring comfort, and trying to encourage people that showing up on someone's doorstep is enough and is truly appreciated.

For years I’ve had the idea swimming around in my mind to create a place to encourage and inspire people to spread hope with acts of kindness. My wish is that nobody ever experiences trials alone. It wasn’t until last year when my older brother learned about my idea and believed in it enough to really push me to make it become a reality. And I’m so thankful he did.

And that is how Presentlee was born.

What is Presentlee?

Presentlee is a website that encourages, educates, and inspires people to notice the people around them. We hope it will give people confidence to show up and help those who find themselves experiencing a difficult time.

Why Did You Pick the Name Presentlee?

Presentlee, has three meanings:

1. If you take away the middle, it spells Preslee, the person who inspired this all.
2. We are encouraging people to be present and notice those around them. Be the person who makes a difference in someone else’s life.
3. Our goal is to sell meaningful presents or gifts, which will hopefully spread hope to those who find themselves hurting.

 

What Makes Presentlee Unique?

If you google ‘grief gifts’ you’ll find a bunch of outdated knick knacks. After a lot of research, and searching for the right people across the country to team up with, we’ve created an online store that sells modern and meaningful gifts. 

I won’t lie, I’ve had some setbacks along the way, hence, it taking a year to launch (I did have a baby right in the middle of it all, which is a good excuse right?)  But all jokes aside, the extra time that it took was critical in finding the best people to partner up with. I’m extremely proud of the gifts listed on our site. I’m even more excited to share there will be more gifts listed soon, I have personally designed some items that are currently being manufactured. I can’t tell you how incredible it has been to see my ideas come to life, all the while keeping our goal in mind, that each item will spread a little hope along the way. 

Why am I so Passionate about Presentlee?

My favorite detail about Presentlee is that it will donate a portion from every sale to the Give Presentlee Foundation. Our Foundation’s main objective is to help families affected by tragedy.

Pat and I have always hoped for the means to be able to help other families who are experiencing difficult times, and this is what motivates us to help Presentlee succeed. We hope donations to children’s hospitals, other charities, and even paying for a child’s funeral will be in our future. I dream of being able to show our kids a little glimpse of what many of you did for us.

There’s so many more details I could share, but I hope you’ll take a minute and look for yourself. You can follow Presentlee on Instagram and Facebook and I hope we can inspire you to get out there and serve. I’m grateful for all the lessons we’ve learned because of our little girl, I can’t think of a better legacy for our sweet Preslee to leave behind.

 

P.S. After launching Presentlee nearly all on my own, I’m ready to branch out and hire a little help! It’s taken every spare minute to get it up and running and now I’m more than ready to get back to writing on here more frequently, I’ve missed it. If you are interested in joining the Presentlee team send me an e-mail and I’ll send you more details.

Giveaway! Jack and Winn

We’re big hat fans here at our house. If Pat isn’t working, you can usually find him wearing one, along with our boys who have been wearing hats since they could sit up. And lets face it, I’m a sucker for little boys in a cute hat :)

We recently took a trip to Vegas for Spring Break and I wanted new hats for the boys since the ones we owned were becoming a little snug. 

I decided to try some from Jack and Winn, a hat company I’ve followed on IG for quite awhile. I let each of my boys pick out a hat I can’t even explain how happy we have been with them!

The company is located in here, in SLC, UT and to be honest, I was a skeptical about how well they would hold up, but I’ve been so impressed at the quality! They are made just as well as any adult hat Pat has worn, they fit well, and they have so many cute styles to choose from. I honestly will be buying more in the future. We get compliments on them wherever we go, and can we all agree that not having to do hair every single morning is a big plus?

I love sharing products that I love or that make my life easier, so I was excited when Jack and Winn agreed to team up to give away TWO $50 gift cards to their store! They have an awesome selection to choose from, including some really cute girl hats, along with matching hats for dads.  

TO ENTER: Head over to Instagram and like both of our pages.

@thesullengers
@jackandwinn (Their shop is named after their two boys, how cute is that?)

Like @thesullengers photo.
Tag two friends on @thesullengers post and that’s it! You of course can tag more friends in separate comments for more entries.

Giveaway will run today and tomorrow, (May 12-13), and will close at 11:59 MST.

Good luck! I hope you love these hats as much as we do. I’m sure you’ll see my boys wearing these all summer long.

Happy Six Months Baby Girl!

Sweet Oaklee is officially six months old! What an amazing half of a year it has been. It’s hard to imagine in another six months she’ll be walking!

Right now she…

• Is such a happy baby!
• Is still nursing and loves peas, beans, and bananas.
• Has found her voice, loves to jabber.
• Her hair is beginning to grow! 
• Loves eating her feet.
• Still enjoys her mamaroo and jumper.
• Is wearing size 2 diapers and six month clothing.
• Finally has a pair of shoes that fit her! (She inherited my narrow feet)
• Rolling wherever she wants to be! Also gets stuck on her stomach in her crib and cries until she is rolled over.
• Recently taken a liking to her dad.  
• Grunts when she sees Pog.
• Gets waken up by the twins at least once a day. (Sometimes more) 
• Is a horrible sleeper, (Sorry Oak!) She’s still up 3-4 times a night, and will only respond to me. Pat claims she just wants to see me… she’s a little stinker as soon as the sun sets, and a little attached.
• Loves when her brothers are around to entertain her.

This little girl has done wonders on my heart. She’s healed me in a way I didn’t think possible and we are all completely smitten. I can honestly say I’ve enjoyed every single minute with you.

We love you, Oak!