Tomorrow is my Ari's 4 year angel day. Every year we go up to the cemetary, clean up her grave a bit as it's starting to warm up here. Then we do a balloon release, we write things on the balloons and send them up to her. I don't really invite anyone, but have had my little sister and nephew tag along every year and I think my mom & sister plan to come this year. The kids love doing it, it helps bring some smiles to the anniversary of the the worst day of my life. After that we have pizza and look thru her photo album. It's pretty laid back, I use the morning to reflect on that day and of course there are lots of tears. I remember how hard the first angel was, as the years go on they do get more managable, but the pain is still there. ((hugs))

I don't know if I am lucky or unlucky in this. Last year was the first year I had to deal with an Angel Day. However while I was upset I didn't really do anything but sit still because I was pregnant and past my due date. We had some virgin margaritas after dinner because his birthday is on Cinco De Mayo but we didn't really say anything about it because there were people here and I didn't want all the pity. My only goal for the day was to not go into labor so they didn't have the same birthday. I got induced the following day with my new baby. My Angel Deacon and my newest son Nicholas are 1 yr 1 day 1 hour and 1 min apart. This year I'm not sure if I will do anything because at the same time there will be a festival going on (we are care takers on festival grounds) as well as planning Nicholas's 1st birthday the following day. I just hope all goes well and I don't end up a blubbering mess when I should be enjoying the 6 kids we do have here with us.

The first year we had a balloon release at the grave site with a few people and then had a luncheon at our home. We did the same for his first birthday.
For the other 4 we spent them together as a family. For two of them we were out of town at an indoor water park.
The two that we were here for we went to his grave.

The first year we did a balloon release and had family members write a message on the balloons with a Sharpie marker. We called it "Isabelle's Celebration of Life". Another year we planted a pink flowering crab apple tree in our yard. My husband dug the hole and our family members wrote messages to Isabelle on little slips of paper that we dropped into the hole. Another year, my husband and I just went to dinner alone ... didn't feel like being around a lot of people that year.

Have you ever been to the Angel of Hope website? (http://www.richardpaulevans.com/angel-statues) There are angel of hope statues all over the country - there's one about an hour from our house and we've gone to that on her birthday a few times.

Hugs to you on your angel's Heaven Day!

We don't invite anyone to be part of our day. (We don't call it an angel day, either, but that's a long story.) Last year, we went to the cemetery and took some flowers. We had a picnic there and decorated the grave. On his birthday (July 5th) we took sparklers and put them all over the grave and set them off. Only, it had been a little dry that week so it caught the grave on fire. Dad had to stomp it out. :-)

We usually try to get out of town that day. In the morning we go to the cemetery and take flowers. Then we do a day trip, usually to places we think Austin would like to go. The first year we went to the First Candle Office and saw Austin's Memorial Leaf on their Tree of Hope. Then went to the Aquarium. The second year we took our daughter to the zoo. Not sure yet what we are going to do this year. For me its a day filled with such emotion and it just doesn't seem right to "celebrate" since it was the worse day of my life. Austin was at daycare when he died and while I am thankful that I wasn't there to "find him," I like the idea of keeping our family close together on his angel day, since we weren't together when he died.