Alex Update

Today was the sentencing in Alex's murder trial. April Rogers was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. I posted the article from Omaha.com on the Hats for Alex blog here, if you want to read more details.

Vegas Pics

At long last, hubby has made it through the ridiculous pile of pictures he took in Las Vegas. He's got a Flickr album of them up here. And to all of you who asked about sending more hats - yes, yes, yes! Keep sending them! Once I hit 198, I'll get them to the hospital, and then I'll start collecting for the next batch. And because I've decided to make this a continuing project, I've started a blog speccifically for it here: Hats for Alex. It's still slightly under construction, but the basics are there. I will continue to post pictures of the hats that I receive over there. I've also set up a gmail account for people to write to for information about the project - hatsforalex@gmail.com

Alex

One year ago today, Alexander Paul Tay lost the battle for his life and succumbed to the injuries suffered at the hands of his daycare provider. Today, one year later, I have a box of 170 hats sitting in my house, waiting to be mailed to the hospital that took care of him as he fought. Hats from all across the US, Canada, and Great Britain. Hats that show me just how much love and compassion are shown by knitters for a family they have never even met. These hats: The next picture contains 26 hats. All of them came from Magatha - it seemed like every few days, there was another package from her, with more hats. Her blog is called "Mag the Magnificent", and I must agree wholeheartedly. This final picture includes some very special hats. You will notice that most of them are not handknit. These were sent to me by two of Kirsten's aunts, who heard about the project too late to have time to knit them, so they purchased some so that they could still contribute. The five hats across the bottom were knit by Kirsten herself. Thank you all, every one of you who took time to knit a hat in the memory of this beautiful little boy, and in honor of his mother, father, big brother, and the rest of their family and friends. You have no idea how much your contributions have meant to me. Kirsten has been my dearest friend since I was in junior high, and she is the closest thing to a sister I have ever had. It broke my heart to see her going through this, but it helps to heal it knowing how many people took time to do something for her and her son. I exchanged a few emails yesterday with the gentleman at the hospital who will be the one receiving the hats. He is thrilled with the response to this project, and is glad that they will be able to provide these hats to keep their patients' heads warm. He and I also discussed the possibility of making this an ongoing project, which I would very much like to do. I'm going to hammer out the details with him after the holidays, and will post them here. So, if you wanted to make a hat and didn't have a change (or you did, but you want to make more), I will be continuing to collect them going forward. I love you all for being a part of this.

Back!

So, you may not have been aware of this, but I've been in Pittsburgh for the past week. Mom and Dad came down for Thanksgiving (which blossomed from just the four of is to include our friends Hyon and Drew, their 18-month-old Clint, and Drew's parents Mare and Paco for dinner as well as our other friends Scott and Dawn and their 6-year-old Justin and 6-month-old Hannah for dessert). Since Mom is still on crutches, I went back up with them to help her with the Christmas decorating at her house. Kris came up this past Friday and we got back last evening. We also went up on Saturday to see Kris's Mom and deliver her Christmas gift (one of them, anyway - the other one is in the mail to her. :D) - the Cozy I knit for her. It is done in Schaefer Marjaana (50/50 wool-silk blend) in the "Renata Tebaldi" colorway - burgundys and browns and some purples and pinks (pics as soon as Kris gets them off the camera). She definitely seemed to like it, although she did read me the riot act a bit for taking the time to knit her something when I have other stuff to do. I tried to tell her that I wanted to do it, but she still insisted that I didn't need to. Doesn't she know that's the point? While I was going, Kris was keeping me updated on the hats that were arriving in the mail - there have been over 50 in the last week. I'm hoping to get a few more today and get them shipped out by the end of the week. So far, we're at 156 - only 42 more to go! And I need to catch up on a meme - I almost forgot Turtlegirl had tagged me. I considered whipping out Mimi, but decided not to this time. A) Four jobs I have had in my life: 1. Grand Opening Coordinator 2. Retail Asst. Manager 3. Box Office Manager 4. Homemaker (hey, it doesn't pay, but it's work!) B) Four movies I would watch over and over 1. The Wizard of Oz 2. The Princess Bride 3. Serenity 4. The Rocky Horror Picture Show C) Four places I have lived 1. Pittsburgh, PA 2. Meadville, PA 3. Richmond, VA 4. Bowie, MD (Interestingly, that's it, other than college dorm life. 3 locations in Meadville and 2 in Richmond, but that's all the towns) D) Four TV shows I love to watch: 1. Veronica Mars 2. Heroes 3. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip 4. Battlestar Galactica E) I have been on vacation: 1. Florida (Disney World, of course) 2. Wildwood, NJ 3. Myrtle Beach, SC 4. Las Vegas, NV F) Websites visited daily: 1. Bloglines 2. Knitty Coffeeshop 3. My Yahoo 4. IMDB (almost daily, anyway) G) Four of my favorite foods: 1. Spaghetti Carbonara 2. Meatloaf 3. Cheesecake 4. Beer (Hey, I consider it a food...) H) Four places I would rather be right now: 1. In bed, asleep 2. Las Vegas 3. Hanging with my NC peeps - Cristi, Zonda, and Mary 4. Hanging with my MD peeps - Annemarie, Alice, Lila, and the rest of the B&N SnB I) Four people I’m tagging with this questionnaire: In the spirit of the holidays and giving, I'm not tagging anyone specific. If you want to post this one, go right ahead! :D

Hats for Alex

You probably remember my telling you about my dear, dear friend Kirsten, who lost her baby boy Alex last December. More than anything, I've wanted to do something in memory of this sweet baby who was taken away from his family way too soon. After a conversation with some folks on the Knittyboards, all of whom wanted to contribute in some way, we decided to send hats to the hospital that cared for Alex. My goal is to get 198 hats by the end of November - one for every day of his too-short life - so that I can get them to the hospital by the anniversary of his death. So far, I have received 45 hats. If you would like to contribute, I am collecting hats in preemie and baby sizes, in acrylic, cotton, or blends (no wool or wool blends, please). Email me, and I will send you the address to send them. String Bean has written a pattern specifically for this project, here. You can of course use any baby hat pattern you have, but I have to thank String Bean for taking Alex into her heart. To those of you who have already sent or committed to sending hats, thank you. And to anyone else who wants to pitch in, you have my gratitude forever. I've put a button and a progress bar over in the side bar. Feel free to put the button on your own blog and link to this post if you'd like. The more we spread the word, the more hats we can collect.

Happy Birthday, Alex

See this beautiful little boy? His name is Alex. Today would have been his first birthday, but he died on December 8 of last year. His mother Kirsten is my dearest friend in the world, and my heart breaks every day at the thought that this wonderful little guy was taken from her. Alex was in the home of his day-care provider when he suffered the injuries that claimed his life. That woman was charged and arrested and will be tried for felony child abuse resulting in death. His mother has set up a blog to keep people informed of the status of the case - Justice for Alex. So, if you could, take a moment today to say a little prayer for Alex and his family. It's going to be a hard day for them. Thanks.