Happy Birthday My Precious Maddie

It has been a year today that we lost our sweet little girl, Madeline Diann. We had so many hopes and dreams for her and it's still sometimes surreal that she isn't here. We are excitedly awaiting the arrival of our little baby boy Jackson in 2 weeks, and I can't help but feel guilty for being excited. With his birth being so close to Maddie's, I feel like it is overshadowing the grief we should be having for her. I know she will always have a special and unique place in our hearts and I know we cannot replace her, but I feel that having Jackson will help us come to terms with her loss better. It's hard to believe that it has been a whole year since my worst nightmare came to fruition, but it proves to me that we can overcome anything that comes our way. With the strength and support of my wonderful friends and family, I know that I can make it through any storm that rears its ugly head at us. To close, I would like to share a poem that I came across that I feel encapsulates exactly what I'm feeling today:

I never got to hear you laugh
you never saw me cry
didn't get a chance to say "Hello"
you never said "Goodbye"
I didn't think that I could feel
so sad, lost and forlorn.
I never knew God chose his Angels
before some of them were born.
Your life was short yet special
I shared it all exclusively
I felt you breathe, I felt you kick.
You were alive inside of me.
Every baby is an Angel
and every angel is divine
God needed one in heaven
He came down and took mine
And although we are not together
we're not really apart
for you'll always occupy a space
deep within my heart.
Time has begun to ease my pain
It's only some days now I cry.
When I wish I could have said "Hello"
and heard you say "Goodbye"

Happy Birthday beautiful baby girl. We love you more than you will know and can't wait to be hand-in-hand with you one day.