Layton's Legacy Card Drive & Fundraiser

Good morning!  Today's post is for an amazing cause, blog hop, and family.  Lea Lawson is a sweet, amazing, and strong woman and today we are celebrating the 2nd birthday of her son, Layton.  This little guy fought hard for every moment he got to spend with his family and I know they are grateful for every second of that time.  After spending so much time in the NICU with Layton, Lea wants to make things a little easier for future NICU parents and honor her amazing children in the process.  I love this idea and as a mom of a NICU graduate, I know how stressful this time is to new parents.

My oldest was born via emergency C-section when we went in because we thought my water had broken.  Once all the monitors were attached, the nurses just couldn't keep his heart rate registering no matter the different methods they tried.  When the doctor came in, he brought an ultrasound machine and while the machine was registering a normal heart rate, his ears were hearing something else.  It turns out that the machines were taking his actual heart rate and halving it because they couldn't correctly identify that his heart rate was 256 bpm.  It turned out that he had supraventricular tachycardia and anytime he would receive any sort of stimulus, his heart rate would spike.  He spent a few days in the NICU in a corner away from any stimulus until his heart rate was controlled with medicine.  It was so hard to not get to hold him or touch him.  I will never forget the amazing staff at the NICU and the pediatric cardiologist who worked so hard to ensure my little guy was getting the best treatment ever.  He stayed in the NICU a little over a week and while that doesn't seem like a long time now, it felt like an eternity.  I think what Lea is doing is amazing and such a wonderful way to honor and remember her kids.  I'm so happy to be even a tiny little part of this.

Make sure you check out Lea Lawson's blog to read her story and learn all the amazing things she is doing!  You'll want to hop right along with us, I guarantee it.  You will have the opportunity to win some prizes but more importantly, you have the opportunity to make a stressful time in someone's life a little easier and bring a smile for even a moment.  You can help in more ways than just having fun on the hop!

WAYS YOU CAN HELP:  

1. DONATE! - directly to Layton's Legacy YouCaring Fundraiser. For every $5 donated, you will be entered into the drawing for a prize. All winners will be drawn from donations made thru the YouCaring Site.  Prizes will be drawn and announced on Lea'a Blog on Saturday, May 19th.

2. SHARE! - I know that not everyone is able to donate, but sharing about the fundraiser gives it more visibility! Please feel free to share the YouCaring Link or Lea's post on all your social media outlets! 

Here's the mood board for this awesome hop and the theme is Encouragement.

Here's the card I created using Lil' Inker Designs products:

I created this card using the Dual Stitched Triangle Dies and adding some "snow" to create my mountain range in this constellation filled sky.  I just love the little touches of stitching on these triangles.  Next, I added some trees from Rustic Christmas stamps cut out using the Rustic Christmas dies.  I love that this set is SO versatile.  It is not only for Christmas.  Next, I embossed a sentiment in the sky from Unstoppable Stamps.  I finished the whole thing off with some enamel and glitter stars.  Here's a closer look:

There are some amazing sponsors for this blog hop and I hope you will be moved to join us.  You can read more about it on the Lil' Inker Designs Blog or on Lea's blog, Lea Lawson Creates.  Thanks for checking in!