Thursday, July 29, 2010

Swing for Sophia

Today, Mark and I will be heading to Minneapolis to attend a benefit called Swing for Sophia.    You see, a year ago, we were lucky enough to have our family grow in leaps and bounds when Mark's brother married our sister in law, Alissa.  And it was in the expansion of our family that we came to know Sweet Baby Sophia, her mom Alli (Alissa's sister), her dad Dan, her big brother Jack, and her dog Rufus. 

When I first met Alli in Minneapolis last June during Alissa's bridal party weekend, Alli had just been told she was having a baby girl.  Unfortunately, the news at her 20 week visit also revealed that Baby Sophia had a complex heart defect, a condition known as Ventricular Inversion with a Hypoplastic (Underdeveloped) Right Ventricle along with Left Transposition of the Great Arteries and Complete Heart Block.  After learning of their baby's diagnosis, Alli and Dan began to share their journey to meeting their daughter through their blog The Lenmark Family


Born on July 21, 2009, Baby Sophia entered the world surrounded by the love and warmth of her family.  And while her heart tried, it simply was not strong enough to keep up with her beautiful and vibrant spirit.  The evening following her birth, Sophia passed away.

Although her time with us was too short, the impact that Sophia had in this world simply cannot be measured.  She taught us that life is to be treasured.  That no moment on this Earth should be spent in the absence of love.  And most importantly,  that "you cannot measure a life by the amount of breaths that you take, but by the amount of breathtaking moments that you share."  


Those were the words that the family's Pastor shared with the congregation in attendance at Sophia's memorial service a year ago.  What a truly beautiful and humbling message.  

After Sophia passed away, Alli and Dan spent time at Faith's Lodge, a retreat facility dedicated to helping families with seriously ill children cope and families who have experienced the passing of a child heal.  It was there that Alli and Dan were able to share their story and Sophia's story with other parents who had experienced similar loss.  And in that sharing, they found support and comfort and healing.

In celebration of Sophia's life, Alli and Dan, and their family, will be hosting Swing for Sophia, a benefit to support Faith's Lodge.  It is their kindness, generosity, hope, and faith, that truly takes my breath away.

23 comments:

  1. I am really looking forward to seeing you & Mark. This event is a great way to celebrate the life of such a beautiful baby girl. I definitely teared up when reading this as it brought back the emotions of the events of last summer.

    See you tomorrow!!!

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  2. What a sad, but truly inspiring story, Jen. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend with friends and family in celebrating precious Sophia :) Please be safe, my dear!

    Hugs to you!

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  3. My heart breaks for you all. What a beautiful little angel. I hope the benefit is a huge success! I also love that quote!! (((HUGS)))

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  4. What a heartbreaking story. :( I know little Sophia has changed a lot of lives with her short time here. I will be praying for the family. I can't even begin to imagine what they are going through. :(

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  5. This is such a sad story, but in the end how amazing of her parents to move forward and help others. Have a wonderful and meaningful weekend!

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  6. Your family is an inspiration! May y'all raise a substantial amount of funds for Faith's Lodge during this special weekend. What truly amazing work they do! Enjoy the family time this weekend, too.

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  7. What a wonderful cause! I am always impressed by the work and dedication of families that have gone through so much. Your family's strength is truly inspiring. Hope Swing for Sophia is a wonderful celebration of Sophia and her family.

    Also, I love your blog and passed along the Versatile Blogger award to you on my blog. If you get a chance to check it out in the next few days, you can find it on http://agenerationwhatsnextperspective.blogspot.com

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  8. What a beautiful cause! Enjoy yourselves and relish in the memory that lives through Sophia! She sure is a precious and gorgeous lil spirit!

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  9. Oh no that is so sad, I have tears in my eyes now from reading that. I can't imagine what they must be going through. Sophia is such a beautiful little baby. I hope they find the strength to try for another baby someday and to not give up.

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  10. What a sad, touching story, and such a beautiful baby little Sofia was... Sending love and prayers to the family.

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  11. sitting.here.sobbing. what an amazing story! thank you for sharing. it always puts into perspective how someone else's journey is seriously so much harder than mine.

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  12. That takes my breath away too! I am so interested in Faith Lodge now. I am going to go check it out for quite a few of my friends have lost someone or has a child with a heart defect not to mention that I almost died from heart problem in highschool. It is near to my heart! Love this post and I will be praying for your friends that they can continue to do what they are doing for other families like them! Love ya to pieces!

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  13. My prayers are with that beautiful angel and her incredibly brave family! How wonderful that there are organizations out there to help people deal with a loss as tragic as that of a child!

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  14. Oh my goodness, the cross some bear...My heart just breaks for your family. I cannot imagine. What a beautiful cause! They are such great examples of strength through Faith! Baby Sophia was a doll! I know her parents and family look forward to holding her again one day! Bless y'all and safe travels!

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  15. I featured you on my blog today, lady!! :)

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  16. Oh my, heart breaking. What a wonderful way to give back. truly beautiful.

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  17. this is truly heartbreaking. i wish this benefit for baby sophia all the luck in the world. i'm glad to have found your blog through julie's.

    <3, Mimi
    http://whatmimiwrites.blogspot.com/

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  18. This is absolutely heartbreaking but this sounds like an amazing benefit. I live in Minneapolis and have actually been hearing buzz about this event -- it sounds like it will be wildly successful!
    xo Josie
    http://winksmilestyle.blogspot.com

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  19. How sad, but how great a place like that exists.

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  20. Oh my gosh, I didn't even know the whole story until just now!! So glad you came up here!! It's events like this and people like you that make things happen. You are so special, you know that?

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  21. How touching. This is so sad, but how great of them to be hosting this event. Truly inspiring. The pictures of their baby girl are so precious!

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  22. So sad but even more inspiring. Truly tugs at your heart strings. Thank you for sharing that :) love you friend!!! :)

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  23. So glad you were able to go and support them. I saw the photos on FB and it looked like a beautiful event!!

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