Roses Today we planted a white rose and dedicated it, lord, to you We also dedicated it to Valerie who left us when she was two White stands for purity like garments washed white as snow We miss our little Valerie and wonder why she had to go So beside the white rose we planted a rose that's red It reminds us ever so mightily of the precious blood of the lamb May they climb the wall together till their petals meet in the sky Just like we will meet Valerie someday in the sweet by and by Writen by Valerie's Grandmother
This last year has been spent focusing on Valerie's disease and her death. I would like to take a moment to celebrate her life. Valerie was a planned baby. We had a daughter and two son's already. We really wanted another girl to complete our family. When I was in my last month of my pregnancy an ultrasound showed she was breech. We scheduled a c-section and on Feb 8th 1999 at 8:57am Valerie Shea was born. She weighed 5lbs 8oz. She had black hair with a patch of blonde. She had the biggest sapphire blue eyes....My eyes!! As she grew she was always small for her age. She was a chubby baby, but very dainty. She was so beautiful! I know all parents think their baby is the most beautiful, but she actually was! I had strangers stop me to tell me how beautiful she was and that I should enter her in baby contests. She had a wonderful personality too. She never cried and was always happy with whatever we were doing. We called her our Angel Baby. She was so perfect she had to have been heaven sent. Being our last child, the youngest sibling, and the grandparents last grandchild, she was spoiled from the beginning. The whole family doted on her. We were together always. She loved to sing into her tape recorder. She loved to color and have books read to her. In the summer she loved to play in her wading pool and sandbox. She loved her "bobo's" (baby dolls). She would put them in their stroller and take them everywhere. She loved Barney and Elmo. I taped them and she would watch them over and over. She would make her brothers and sister watch them with her. Grandma would call or stop by everyday to see Valerie. The two of them would play tea party together. Grandma and Valerie's tea parties were the best! Valerie had daddy wrapped around her little finger. They shared a sweet tooth. She loved M&M's, lolly pops, and milkshakes. She always asked daddy to get her milk, not me, because he put the "chocit" in it. Daddy plays pool. The two of them would play "balls" together. Daddy would shoot the balls into the pockets and Valerie would get them out and put them back on the table. The whole time with the Barney video in the back ground. On the weekends I'd make popcorn and all the kids would make beds on the floor and watch movies until they fell asleep. Valerie would snuggle up between her brothers and sister, just like one of the big kids. She loved movie night. Valerie loved church. She loved the music. She would clap and raise her hands to God. After worship time, I'd take her to the nursery to "play kids". She was the congregations little darling. No one could walk by her without touching her and giving her a smile. If I would miss a Sunday, she would know. She would start asking me "church day?" Valerie's life was short, but all her experiences in this life were happy. She never knew anything, but the love of her family and the kindness of all who had known her. Thank you for letting me share Valerie with you. She brought so much love and joy into all our lives. Her passing has left a huge hole in our hearts, that will never mend. I am so blessed and honored that God chose me to be Valerie's mommy.
 
Midi Selection: What A Difference You Made In My Life |