It was 3 years ago today that we had to say goodbye for now to Erin in her physical form. So we call that day her Angelversary.
We miss her just as much today as we did the minute she left our side. Without your ongoing kindness, we would not have made it this far. For that we are eternally grateful.
Please join us today in remembering Erin. I know that she is still hanging around watching over all of us and is probably irritated that she can’t get us to see her <3
#missingerin
Yesterday marked our 2nd year without our precious Erin. We miss her more than words can say. We miss being her Mommy and Daddy, we miss her friends, and we miss everything that was our lives 2 years ago.
Over the last two years I have posted many items that were given in kindness from friends and neighbors, many anonymously. Yesterday we woke up to a card taped on our front door and a beautiful ribbon tied to our tree out front. We do not know which neighbor(s) gave us their love and kindness, but we thank and appreciate them.
I have another gift picture to post, but that is another story and I will save it for another day and post soon. To everyone who has walked with us on this journey, thank you so very much from the bottom of our hearts. It has helped to make our pain bearable.
And lastly, I do not have it in me to host a donation drive, but if anyone wants to continue to honor Erin, please donate to your favorite animal rescue. If you would like to send me confirmation, just email me for my contact information at nicole@bluestarhome.net.
Love,
Erin’s Mommy
Erin Alyssa Canter
12/11/2003 – 8/14/2014
#missingerin and #LovingErin
I haven’t written in awhile. This is very painful, not just on a daily but on a minute by minute basis. But we ran into Mrs. Fleming, Erin’s 4th grade teacher, around a month ago at dinner one night and she asked if I had a copy of Erin’s I Am poem. Not only did I not have a copy, I had no idea that she had written it for class. It is so beautiful, and sweet, that I want to share it with you. Enjoy, and #missingerin
Erin’s Grandma (my mother), Linda, passed away on December 29, 2014. Shaun and I had been in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, to “escape” the holidays when we got the call that she was not in good health. We arrived back home on December 29 and I was able to spend her last hours with her.
This picture is from sometime in either 2012 or 2011 and was taken one day at Starbucks. Grandma Linda had dementia, but was still fairly herself then, as you can tell from this picture.
My aunts told me that before I got there, she spent around an hour one day staring at this very picture from her bed. Maybe my Angel Erin was there to help her with the transition.
Grandma Linda was cremated with her #missingerin bracelet on, and her urn was buried on January 3rd in her plot next to my father Harold D. Hunt at Valhalla Memory Gardens in the original Chapel Gardens. Her grave marker will read Linda R. Hunt, even though her legal last name was Stevens. Thanks to everyone who have supported us this year. We have lost three close family members who we loved very much, and while this site is purely Erin’s, I want to remember them all now.
“Uncle” Greg S. Canter – May 6, 2014
Erin Alyssa Canter – August 14, 2014″Grandma” Linda R. Stevens – December 29, 2014
We miss you, but hope you are all enjoying “The Next Place.”
Love,
Ms Nicole AKA Erin’s Mommy
#missingerin
#missyoumom
#missingunclegreg
Hello again friends,
Sorry for the snafu yesterday. My WordPress upgrade on my sites crashed them all, but thankfully Bluehost was able to restore everything. That said, meet Elfie and Snowflake.
Snowflake is the lady in the skirt, and Elfie we have had the pleasure of knowing three years now. Erin loved Elfie very much, so much that she would cry every year when he would go back to the North Pole. She really wanted a friend for him and so last year we bought Snowflake (she named them both, of course). Snowflake ordered herself another skirt, but sadly she never got to wear it. I know both of them miss Erin very much, as much as she missed them. She wrote about Elfie more than once in her journal.
I only had the courage just yesterday to invite them back, and will request that they go live permanently in Erin’s room now. I know she visits her room from time to time because we hear her, and she will be thrilled to see them.
We leave in the morning for our trip, and so I may not post for a few days. While I won’t be able to enjoy the magic of Christmas, I hope that those of you who will be able to will remember Erin on the 25th. She so loved Santa and the magic of the holidays. It just won’t be the same without her.
Love,
Erin’s Mommy aka Ms. Nicole
#missingerin
Hello friends,
I have not posted as much as I would like because it has been extremely hard this time of year without Erin. But I do have some positive updates to share.
I continue to be amazed at how people are wearing the wrist bands to honor Erin’s memory. It warms our hearts to see friends old and new wearing them. Here is a picture of our cousin Ford P. wearing his at work in Starkville, MS. You may recognize him from a picture shown at Erin’s service, where he was holding her at his high school graduation.
Also, Mrs. Ellett, librarian at HCES, asked me to send additional bands last week so that they could give them to all of the 5th grade girls. I was happy to do so, but don’t know what her plan is, so if you are waiting on one it may be when school returns. I am still mailing them out, though, so feel free to ask for one or more. Just tell me where to send them, what color (Blue or Purple), and what size (L or M). The mediums fit most adults and children, but some with larger wrists or hands may want a large.
I couldn’t find where I posted here, but on my website I know I posted about the fur baby Alyssa, who Friends of Rescue named while she was their foster in honor of Erin (they had already named a little kitten Erin). Well, Alyssa was adopted over the weekend and her new family decided to keep her name after hearing Erin’s story. They also live in Hampton Cove, so if you know anyone who has a new doggie named Alyssa, please hug and thank them for me. Here is a picture of her in her new home.
Oh how Erin would have loved all of this! It still amazes me how she has touched so many. I hear new things every day and it seems that her death only increased the light she shined on the world. I can assure you that consciously, she had no idea how she affected people. She was such a sweet soul, and often stuffed her emotions because she felt so deeply. Thank you to everyone who loved and who loves her. Your love will help us to get through our first Christmas without our Angel Erin.
Love,
Erin’s Mommy aka Ms. Nicole
#missingerin
Just want to share some things posted specifically about Erin on my FaceBook wall on Erin’s birthday (12/11/2014). They were too kind and loving not to share with you.
From Sherri D:
Erin
I hope there’s someone up there
Looking after you
I hope there’s someone there to care
doing things you like to do
This is the first birthday
Not spent here with Mom & Dad
I hope in some little way
They are making a bit of a fuss
So here I am saying a prayer
To whoever is looking after you
Please take very good care of Erin
As she is a special little girl.
Thinking of you today Nicole.
From Angie S:
“…Know that we love and miss your precious Erin, with the long curly black hair, the sweet smile, & the high pitched voice. I miss her being in my home, playing, laughing and doing funny voices with AK. I miss kidding her about, “Who ate my mushrooms?!” I don’t know if I’ve ever shared that story with you.
I’m thankful that the last year of her life we were able to make some awesome memories at the beach, American Girl, the aquarium and that she finally got to visit IL.
Missing that sweet baby today & everyday. …”
This is from Carla W. It is very true and we love Erin so much still, that I want to share it.
These were just a few, but thank you for your kind words, and I hope you don’t mind me sharing with others.
#missingerin
After reading a holiday dealing with grief post from The Grief Toolbox, I decided to create a Your Memories page so that you all can (hopefully) share your memories of Erin with me and her dad. Her birthday is coming up December 11, and she so loved the holidays. It would be a great gift for both of us, and for her friends and other family who are reading.
Just click the link above, or go to the menu across the top. And if you miss the holidays, I will take memories or pictures any time! Thank you in advance for sharing and loving Erin along with us.
Erin’s Mommy
#missingerin
I am so pleased to announce this! Simone H’s mom Melissa has organized this supply drive in honor of Erin on what would have been her 11th birthday, December 11, 2014. The above is the flyer, and the picture is of Erin holding Buffy in her backpack.
On that note, I received a note over the weekend from Friends of Rescue, and in addition to the kitten that they named Erin in her honor, another foster has named a puppy Alyssa, which was Erin’s middle name. And I received a lovely picture from them of Opal, who has found a home but who was helped by the funds raised for them back in August. She would love being able to help animals. Both her and my tender hearts kept us from volunteering at the shelters, but we helped out how and when we could.
I miss Erin so much that it hurts, but I am so glad that some good is coming out of her life. She had such a kind and tender heart, and she would be so happy that little furry babies are getting loved and the help they need.
Erin’s Mommy
Ms. Nicole
#missingerin
For anyone who wanted a wrist band or wants one, I still have medium in purple (fits my wrist and most wrists), and the large size purple and blue ones just shipped today. I have a stack to mail today so please email me your address, which size, which color(s) and how many and I will send to you. This is something that I want to do and so if you want one, don’t be shy. I’ll also be taking a batch over to HCES when I get them in. Well, I may have to send them by someone. Not sure if I’m ready to go to the school just yet 🙁
Don’t forget to use #missingerin if you want to actively remember Erin on your social media.
Hugs,
Erin’s Mommy (Ms. Nicole)
#missingerin