Blanket Fort Friday {BFF}: Heaven Sent

This is Jack. I believe that God brought his family into me for a reason, although I didn't know why at the time. Jack was diagnosed with SMA and I e-mailed Kathy about sending Jack a blanket from B4SMA. Kathy said they would love one. So we sent out a blanket that weekend. I still remember receiving the e-mail with Jack's pictures, he was one of the most adorable and expressive babies I had ever seen! On my birthday, January 8th, Kathy e-mailed me asking if I could have anything for my birthday what would I want. I honestly didn't know what to say! So I said the first thing I thought of "a shopping spree at JoAnn Fabrics". Kathy said since she couldn't take me shopping, how about she send me some fabric. I, of course, said yes! I didn't hear from Kathy for a few weeks and then suddenly we received 5 MADE blankets with stuffed animals 3 days from her! We were in awe. Honestly, we didn't know what to say. I talked to Kathy every so often. We have received a total of 8 blankets from Kathy over the years in memory of sweet baby Jack. There are dozens of SMA families who quietly support B4SMA in memory of their babies and children by donating blankets and stuffed toys.

Most of them are not involved in the SMA Community and prefer to be anonymous. This post i1a thank you to each and every one of them. Your angels will never be forgotten in spite of their all to brief time on Earth. To borrow a quote from another SMA quilt organization (more on this in a future BFF post), COLE's Quilts, “It’s not how deep the sea. It’s not how wide the sky. It’s how sweet the time, From hello to goodbye.”. Thank you, Jack and all the other SMA Angels, for guiding
your families to choose B4SMA as their way of keeping your memory alive. And even as the day of B4SMA no longer being needed approaches your memories will like to in the hearts and minds of the individuals who received a blanket in your memory and everyone they know. The chain of blanket hug love will never be broken.

Jack with his B4SMA blanket

Blanket Fort Friday {BFF}: First Blanket

Do you ever have one of the days where you want to build a blanket fort, hide out from the world and remember only the good times? We do and decided to make a digital version. This is Blanket Fort Friday {BFF}, which is our version of Throwback Thursday or Flashback Friday or whatever you want to call a look back. We won\t be doing this every Friday but thought that it would be fun to give you a glimpse back at B4SMA's history. Enjoy!

B4SMA - Blankets for Spinal Muscular Atrophy kids (B4SMA) started in 2004, officially, but our quilt giving started before that. The first recipient of a quilt, prior to the inception of B4SMA, was Casey O. I can't remember his exact age but it was somewhere around the age of 4 years. This picture is not from the exact age he received it but still super cute. He's now 22 years old and so grown up. Casey is one of many warriors that we are privileged to have sent a blanket too through the support and generosity of volunteers. 

Casey with his B4SMA "Stack and Whack" quilt blanket 

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