Drop a Love Bomb

New Mission: Love For Alice

Katie — Fri, 18 May 2012 08:00:02 +0000

Team!

This week we’ve got a special family who needs our love.

I got an e-mail from Erin nominating Alice’s family (especially her Sister-In-Law Heidi who is a blogger).

Here’s a little about Alice via Erin:

This is a woman who sacrificed her life for her children. A mother of two boys, she went into labor with her daughter on Wednesday, May 2nd. Shortly after giving birth, Alice contracted step-A toxic syndrome which completely overtook her body. By the following, Monday, hope was bleak. She was declared brain dead on Tuesday and died on Wednesday. Her loving husband is now left to raise three young children on his own. Her entire family is heartbreaking. They are mourning her loss, while celebrating her daughter’s life at the same time.

Her sister-in-law, Heidi, runs a beautiful blog called Honey Bear Lane, where she has been blogging Alice’s story. The family has now set up a fund for her family, her husband, her children. Heidi has a strong faith and believes that by getting out Alice’s story, her legacy will live on. She was gifted pianist and an excellent mother. Her daughter will never know her, and that just breaks my heart.

This IS a heartbreaking story, and I know exactly what can at least help a little…. YOUR AWESOME LOVE BOMBING SKILLS.

Here’s the link!: http://www.honeybearlane.com/2012/05/prayers-for-alice.html

Note: Heidi does moderate her comments, but she’s pretty quick to approve!

Let’s GO!

Love Bomb Update on Jenson + Dealing With The Bad Things In Life

Katie — Mon, 07 May 2012 08:00:01 +0000

I got so many e-mails from you guys expressing how Jenson’s story really touched hearts. Now, I regret not sending a “Tissue Alert” along with the mission.

Regardless of how difficult it was to read about Jenson’s condition, we all banded together and left 120 Comments on the Love Bomb’ed post – and about 50 comments on other posts that Jenson’s Mom has been leaving to update us.

SO INCREDIBLE!

For those of you not hanging out with us on Facebook and Twitter, on Thursday afternoon, we got an update on Sydney, Jenson’s sister and bone marrow donor. She was rushed to the E.R. because there was some suspected swelling in her brain. Luckily, it wasn’t anything as devastating as first believed. Kristen details the journey over on the blog.

That whole “it really can’t get any worse” saying played in my head. But then I stopped myself and realized that it really can get worse, and often does, without any sign or time for preparation. There have been a ton of instances in which I’ve thought to myself “It won’t get any worse,” and then I’m devestated when it does.

I think the key to handling all of the unexpected things that life throws us is to face the idea of the worst case scenario.

I know. What about “Accentuating the Positive and Eliminating the Negative”?

Focusing on the positive surely helps. I count my blessings that my grandmother and father are still with me at least twice a day. But the thing that has kept me from beating myself and the world up about bad things happening to good people is realizing and accepting that it may get worse, but we all have the strength to endure and overcome. Whether or not you believe you have the strength is neither here nor there. You have it, I know you do. That kind of strength lies buried until we need it – like a little strength savings account that you can only withdrawal from when you truly need it.

It might not be okay right now, but it will be okay, even if it does get a little rocky first. Just hang in there, be strong, and don’t be afraid to lean on others for help if you need it.

It’s not too late to leave Jenson and Sydney a little bit of love. Just head on over to this post, and leave your support.

New Mission: Love For Jenson

Katie — Thu, 03 May 2012 11:08:43 +0000

It’s Thursday, and our weekly mission has been chosen.

Time for us to work our magic and throw some love at someone who least expects it, but most needs it.

This week, we’re going to give some love to Jenson, an adorable 3 year old who is bravely fighting a very rare blood disorder of which he is expected to die from.

We got this nomination from our wonderful team member, Anna. She really does explain this story wonderfully:

Jenson (who is three) has Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis, a rare (1 in 200,000) blood disorder that is treated like cancer. He started chemo when he was 9 months old, but the LCH continued to progress, attacking his skin, GI tract, bones, liver, and brain. His older sister Sydney donated her marrow and Jenson underwent a Bone Marrow Transplant on January 31, 2012. Things were finally looking up and Jenson was able to go home once his engraftment numbers went up! But then a couple of weeks ago, things started falling apart – Jenson has had multiple brain bleeds and can no longer talk, walk, smile or laugh. He is terminal. They don’t know when, but they know it will be soon. Jenson is now in excruciating pain all of the time. His parents (Kristen and Doug) are struggling to hold on and treasure their last moments together as a family.

Here’s something Kristen wrote in a recent blog post – “I told him yesterday, “Heaven is a place with no more pain. Imagine being pain free forever!”‘. He looked at me and raised his adorable eyebrows. I looked him in his blue eyes and said, “You deserve to be pain free Jenson. Mommy will be okay. I will figure out how to live joyfully like Jenson.” I have absolutely no idea how I will fulfill that promise. Right now I have only starting grieving losing the part of our boy that is already gone (his ability to talk, smile, laugh, joke around, and walk), and I am totally devastated.”

So much inspiration going on in this family. From a bone marrow gift from sister, to all of the love from Mom + Dad, to the everyday reminders of joy that Jenson surely gives out. This family just… wow.

So, let do this. Head on over to this post: http://jensonsjourney.blogspot.com/2012/04/jensons-pain-is-intensifying-despite.html and leave a comment for Kristen, Doug, Sydney, and little Jenson.

Bomb’s away!

Love Bomb Update – Ryan

Katie — Tue, 01 May 2012 02:33:50 +0000

Last week, we dropped a Love Bomb on Ryan who has given been a time frame of 3-6 months. In this time, his current treatment may work, or the tumor in his brain will grow exponentially and cause death.

I fear the day that I report that Ryan is no longer with us, and we’ve only known him for a little less than a week. Of course, I pray for a miracle to come his way in some shape or fashion, but this got me thinking about my own life – as stories like this tend to do.

Don’t get me wrong, I feel a connection with all of you, and especially our Love Bomb recipients. I think we all run into particular people that just spark something in us.

What sparked me about Ryan was that he’s accepting the news not as a death sentence, but more-so a life sentence. He’s got a gorgeous wife, and children. He doesn’t know for sure how long he’ll live, but he acknowledges this:

“Three months. Ninety days. That means that every nine days could be a tenth of my life.”

Isn’t that kind of how it is for all of us? Who knows what could happen today or tomorrow? Each day truly is a gift. I hear this all of the time. I yell it to myself on a regular basis to try and get my butt in gear on making my dreams come true. But this Love Bomb kind of whispered to me, and I understood.

165 Comments, you guys. We left 165 little morsels of Love. And throughout the day, Ryan was thought of at least 165 times. Add 10 to that because I thought about him quite a lot that day, and since then too.

While all of the comments were incredible, here are a few random favorites of mine:

“I’ll pray daily that you have the strength needed in this time… and also so that you may be that third miracle. I’ll keep you in my mind.” – Moni

“Wow. The open integrity with which you handled that post just absolutely BLEW me away. God bless you Man. Ryan, I don’t know what the “right” thing is to say, so I’ll say I’m praying for that miracle that you and your doctor spoke of. It happens…I know it does. I think this community pulling together for you on your site could do amazing things in that regard. You’re in my thoughts and prayers. Stay strong.
- Jonathan Ruth

“I have no words that will calm your fears. I have no words to remove your pain. I have only love for you and your family, people I’ve never met but feel a connection with. I’m sending healing thoughts and the hope for a miracle.” – Amy

If you still want to drop a comment on Ryan’s blog post, you still can! Here’s a link to the post: http://www.grassrootsconspiracy.com/blog/2012/04/19/three-months-and-counting

I also love it when the people we bomb SEE that we bombed them:

Of all the teams I could have ended up with, I sure do have the best one!

Enjoy your week, guys! See you Thursday with another Love Bomb that I’m sure will be incredible.

New Mission: Love For Claire

Katie — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:19:46 +0000

Hi Team!

So many nominations this week for Love Bombs. The world sure needs us right now, eh? This week, we’re going to pay a visit to Miss Claire. Claire is an adorable little girl who is mentally disabled. In December, she fell off of a roof and lost use of her legs. Because of her fall, she is now bound to a wheelchair.

It’s a difficult adjustment for the family. While they have hope, says our Team Member Jen who nominated Claire, they could still benefit from some love.

And that’s what we do, right?

So, let’s leave our love on this post: http://lifewithclairebear.blogspot.com/2012/01/another-week-little-more-progress.html

Note: It’s becoming harder to find blogs that don’t have some sort of security feature (like comment moderation, etc.) This one requires you to have one of the listed accounts (Google, Open ID, LiveJournal). If you don’t have one of these accounts, or wish for me to send love on your behalf, just reply to this e-mail and I’ll get the message over, okay?

p.s. – We’re now on Pinterest! I’m excited to share some inspirational things that I found around the internet with you. Check it out, follow us! If you have Pinterest, too, shoot me an e-mail. I’d love to follow you! (https://pinterest.com/lovebomb)

A Post Holiday Love Bomb For Christy

Katie — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:05:23 +0000

Hi Team,

I hope that you all had a wonderful Holiday with your families. I spent mine down in South Jersey with my mom, step dad and grandmother. Love my family tons, but after a week, I was excited to get back to Philadelphia to the hustle and bustle of the city life. But all in all, a great Holiday.

This week’s Love Bomb recipient is Christy. While pregnant with her first child, Olivia, Christy lost her husband Patrick. This Christmas was particularly difficult for Christy.

Check out this blog post:http://blessthisfamily2010.blogspot.com/2011/12/dear-patrick.html

That’s the thing about grief. They say it gets easier over time, and I suppose it does. But there are just some days, some moments where your whole body aches. Whether it’s because you miss someone who died, who you broke up with, or a pet who passed away, the pain isn’t any easier.

Let’s show Christy some of that amazing love that you guys do so well, eh?

Love For Alenka – A Love Bomb and More Love Letters Collab!

Katie — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 16:38:57 +0000

Hi Team,

I am so incredibly excited for this week’s Love Bomb. Like I told you on Tuesday, we’re teaming up with the inspiring Hannah and the More Love Letters team to bring a little more love into one courageous woman’s life.

Here’s our girl:

Last year, Alenka was diagnosed with cancer. After five intense months of chemo, her cancer went into remission, only to come back three months later. Her doctors have told her that all there is left to give her is time. Her daughter wrote, “She’s in a very dark place sometimes… hopeful that something can be done and willing to fight but also scared that time with her loved ones is coming to an end.” Alenka’s daughter believes that love letters offering hope and encouragement would do wonders for her mother.

It’s the Holidays. Time to spend time with our families. What we sometimes take for granted is that any day can be the last day we see someone. Moreso, we see people in stores moving slowly, or enjoying the sights and we think things like “Hurry Up!” or “I have things to do”, not realizing that it may be their last Christmas, or that they’re spending Christmas alone, or whatever the situation may be. We get so wrapped up (literally!) in our own agendas and schedules and forget that everyone that you encounter is fighting a battle.

We also forget, sometimes how much the power of one person can change the life of another. One person, Hannah, created this More Love Letters project. She passed the story of Alenka on to one more person. I’m writing this to you all. If you tell one person, imagine all of the love Alenka can get. She sure needs it, guys.

Let’s send some love and courage in Alenka’s direction. We’re going to do this the More Love Letters way:

What we’re asking you to do is to write Alenka a little note and send it to the More Love Letters Headquarters within a week from today. On 12/22, Hannah is going to bundle all of our letters and send them to Alenka.

Awesome, right?

Here’s where to send your letters:

More Love Letters, PO Box 2061, North Haven, CT 06473

I can’t think of a better team to be in charge of making Alenka’s holiday a little brighter.

PS: If you’re feeling extra awesome, scan in or take a photo of your letter and e-mail it to me (dropalovebomb@gmail.com), tweet me @dropalovebomb, or find us on Facebook and show us your creation.

PPS: Below is some more information about More Love Letters, if you’re interested in reading more about their mission and this project:

What is the 12 Days of Love Letter Writing?

We are creating 12 Love Letter Bundles for 12 individuals (all requested secretly by someone in their life that cares about them) across a 12-day span. From December 5-17, we will highlight an individual in need of some extra encouragement in the form of handwritten notes and encourage people to script a letter and send it to our PO Box to be bundled up and mailed off the person.

What is The World Needs More Love Letters?

The World Needs More Love Letters is a community of “love letter writers” who write and leave letters across the map in hopes that the right people will pick them up. We leave them everywhere: books, coffee shops, coat pockets, trains. Love letter writers document the letter writing and dropping through photographs, blog posts, and social media.

What is a Love Letter Bundle?

Once a month, we take an extra special letter request and we mail it out to our email subscriber list. Those on the list then have 10 days to script a love letter for the individual in need and mail it over to PO Box 2061, North Haven CT 06473. We then bundle up the love letters and mail them over to the unsuspecting recipient with a letter from MoreLoveLetters.com on top to explain just why they are holding a pile of stationery from strangers in hand.

Helpful Links

The 12 Days of Love Letter Writing:
http://www.moreloveletters.com/the-12-days-of-love-letter-writing/

Join the Love Letter Email Alert List:
http://www.moreloveletters.com/get-involved/become-a-writer/

The Love Letters Blog:
http://www.moreloveletters.com/blog/

The Story of The World Needs More Love Letters:
http://www.moreloveletters.com/about/

Daniel Battles Depression (and will win!)

Katie — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:31:02 +0000

Hello, awesome Love Bomb Team,

It seems like everyone has had some sort of depression. However, when you’re going through it, the feeling of loneliness, and wanting to be alone combined with the desire to feel better somehow, combined with all of your emotions and responsibilities can be a recipe for epic overwhelm.

That’s where Daniel is right now.

Our Team Member, Jeffrey, shot me an e-mail saying this:

“i’d like to nominate my friend daniel for thursday’s love bomb. he’s a brilliant artist, entrepreneur and communicator, but has been dealing with severe depression. he also lost his father a few weeks ago and that has accelerated the depression.”

This just goes to further show that depression doesn’t discriminate, it can hit anyone. It’s a silent predator that just attacks. One moment you’re walking along feeling ‘okay’, and then next everything feels as if it’s crumbling. You end up being satisfied with just feeling ‘okay’, and that glimmer of happiness that you once remember feeling seems so, so far away, if it exists at all.

So, let’s throw some good vibes in Daniel’s direction. As we enter a time of year that is common for depression to spike, let’s remember that depression is similar to an emotional flu, it takes all of your energy, and it takes all of THAT energy plus some to get it back…

….and I’m relatively sure we can help even a smidge.

Here’s the post: No moderation, no need to sign up, just a good ole fashioned Love Bomb, okay?

http://danielincandela.com/2011/12/03/depression-is-my-nemesis/

Love, Love, Love, Love, LOVE,

Katie

PS: A little smile for you guys: Kate, another Team Member sent me a link to this video that absolutely brightened my morning. Hope it does the same for you. It’s only 17 seconds, but it made me smile.

Here’s the link: http://youtu.be/0Bmhjf0rKe8

#LoveForColleen

Katie — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:13:52 +0000

**Update: Colleen has been getting all of our Twitter messages:

Happy Thursday, Team!

Hope that all of our USA team members have recovered from their Turkey Comas from last week. All of the leftovers should be gone by now, right?

I’ve been sitting here at my computer for the last hour thinking about this week’s Love Bomb for several reasons. One, because it’s not a traditional Love Bomb and two, the story behind it is just as touching as it is sad.

I got an e-Mail from our Team Member, Matt who suggested his girlfriend, Colleen receive a little love from us. Once I heard the reason why, I couldn’t resist.

Over this passed weekend, Friday night to be exact, Colleen’s father and mother went out on a lovely date to his favorite winery. They then went to dinner where he checked in on FourSquare and became the mayor of one of his favorite restaurants. They then headed home. Colleen and her father horsed around a little bit and had a little pillow fight (how awesome it must have been to feel like a kid again for both of them!). Then, they said their ‘I Love You’s’ and went to sleep for the evening.

The next morning, after a wonderful evening out with his wife, closing with time with his daughter, Colleen’s father was found to have passed away in his sleep. He was 55.

As sad as this is, Colleen is moving along as strong as possible and her family is trying to cope with the huge loss. It’s helpful knowing that the last evening of Colleen’s father’s life was spent doing the things he loved with the people he loved.

Let’s Drop a Love Bomb on Colleen and show our support for her loss.

For those of you who have Twitter, let’s throw some love at @ACommonDisaster (http://twitter.com/ACommonDisaster) and use the hashtag #LoveForColleen

For those of you who do not have Twitter, don’t worry! I’ve got you taken care of. You can simply reply to this e-mail with a short message (Twitter is limited to 140 Characters!) and I’ll tweet from the Love Bomb Twitter account with your name. Kapeesh?

You can follow all of the messages that we’re leaving for Colleen by going here: http://twitter.com/#!/search/realtime/%23LoveForColleen

Okay, guys, let’s do this!

New Mission: Healing Anaya

Katie — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 03:36:02 +0000

Hi Team!

First of all, I’d like to extend a Happy (late) Thanksgiving to all of you both near and far. I now we ought to give thanks to all of our blessings all year round, but I think it’s a great wake up call to really dig down and realize what we have. I have all of you. and that makes me one lucky girl. So, thanks for all you do.

Secondly, it’s not Thursday! I know! I didn’t forget our mission yesterday, but I was on the road with family, and spending some much needed time with those I love, as I hope you were too. As much as helping people is our #1 goal, it’s also important to spend time with those you love too.

Tonight, though, I’d like to spread some love to a very special Momma who surely had a tough Thanksgiving. Camara had a lovely daughter named Anaya who battle Krabbe Leukodystrophy – a rare and terminal brain disease. While she fought very heard, on November 13th, baby Anaya passed away.

What made me love this story was one of our team members who nominated her. They said:

“Anaya and her mom were touring the county, she lived in canada, trying to raise awareness about prenatal testing. During this time, there mobile care until for Anay broke down, leaving them in an unfamilir town with unfamiliar people.

Shortly after all this Anay started to turn downhill. Sadly on November 13, 2011 Anay was called to the lord.”

Okay. Let’s spread some Thanksgiving love to Camara, letting her know we’re thinking of her and her precious Anaya. (http://healinganaya.blogspot.com/2011/11/vigilance-and-shock.html)

Also, just a note, A Google account is required to leave a message, and the messages are moderated. (I know it’s much better to see those awesome numbers rise!) But I feel that Camara really needs us this week. And at the end of the day…Love is Love.

LOVE,

Katie