Remembering Jim

One year ago today I lost my brother. His passing was the most difficult thing I've ever experienced and not a day goes by that I don't think of him. He's usually the first thing I think about when I get up in the morning and the last thing I think about before I fall asleep at night.

Today I'd like to share some things I've done over the last year to help keep my brother's memory alive.

For starters, today my mom, dad and I will be spending the day doing things Jim enjoyed. We're going mushroom hunting and eating Mexican for supper. Both things that Jim loved doing.

As some of you know, I got my first tattoo in honor of my brother. I love seeing it every day and remembering the good times we had. His favorite song was Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd, so my tattoo is a bird design.

And speaking of songs, one way to remember loved ones is through song. I have a "mix tape" that was played at Jim's funeral including the 4 songs played during his service as well as the songs played during visitation. Every time I hear these songs, I think of Jim. And there is a new song by Luke Bryan called Drink a Beer that instantly makes me think of Jim when I hear it.

One of the most thoughtful gifts I received after Jim's passing was a memorial tree from Jesse's family. It is a beautiful blue spruce that sits in our front yard. I see it every time I come in the driveway and every time I look out the kitchen window. It was an incredibly special gift that I am so thankful for!

I also designed a sign to hang out by the tree with the bird design.

Something I knew I wanted to do the minute my brother passed was a get a necklace with his thumbprint. There is a local business (that sells nationwide) called Priceless Prints. They take a mold from clay of your loved one's thumb or finger print and turn it into a sterling silver necklace. I wear it every day!

And it's the daily reminders that keep Jim's memory alive. I have a sticker in the back window of my car of the same bird design as my tattoo. Every time I look in my rear view mirror I see it :) And I have pictures and mementos throughout our house that remind me of Jim every day. I have some of his old hats, plants from his funeral and a photo display I had made him years ago.

While this last year has been incredibly difficult, I choose to look back and remember the good things about my brother. And I hope this post gives you ideas to help you remember your loved ones as well.

Bittersweet

I recently had the opportunity to make an adorable album for a little boy. The theme was all about transportation...trains, trucks, cars, planes...which I just love. But this was also a very hard album for me to make. The little boy's name was Jimmy.

As many of my readers know, my brother, Jim, passed away in April. His childhood nickname was Jimmy. Every time I worked on this album I thought of my brother. I thought of the car-shaped bed he had and that I just had to have when he out grew it. I thought of the photo of him and our grandpa in grandpa's ultralight. I thought of all the tonka trucks he had when he was little.

 

It is still very hard to think of my brother, but it was great to remember all those wonderful memories while working on this book. I hope little Jimmy loves his album :)

Birds for his Birthday

 Today would have been my brother's 35th birthday. While this day is going to be very hard, I am also determined to smile and remember the good times. I am going to celebrate for him even though I can't celebrate with him.

Most of my readers have seen my tattoo of the bird I got in memory of my brother. The coolest thing about this specific bird is that it is on my software program for my laser. I altered it a bit to make it one-of-a-kind and I can create other things with it as well.

I created a window decal for my old car and put it right in the middle of my back window so every time I look in the rear view, I see it :)

 

Since there was some extra space around the bird, I decided to cut out little birds as well. I used them for nail decals. They turned out so cute!

I'll also be blasting Freebird at the cemetery later today. And I'm going out with my sister-in-law and some of Jim's friends for Mexican. It's kind of a tradition as you can see from the photo above :)

Friday Features - Memorial Day

This last month has been pretty difficult with the loss of my brother. But with Memorial Day just around the corner, I am taking this opportunity to remember the good things about my brother and sharing a few of those here with you today :)

My brother was a big outdoors man. He loved hunting and fishing any time he could. He was also a welder and loved working with metal. So this sign reminded me of him right away :)

Deer Hunting Buck Sawblade Hunting Scene Wildlife Wall Art 20" Gift for Hunters

by PoplinFabrication 

And I remember the first time I ever caught a bass. I always caught crappie and blue gill, but never bass. I was so excited and my brother thought it was hilarious because it was the smallest bass ever. I made him take my picture and I'm pretty sure it turned out blurry because he was laughing so hard :)

Gone Fishing License Plate Wood Fence Pane Sign Lakehouse Sign

 by dables

My brother also enjoyed camping and building huge fires. He loved to see how big and how hot he could get them :)

Decorative Portable Metal Fire Pit - Flame

 by CopperTreeDesign 

My brother had recently gotten into gardening. He could grow the biggest tomatoes I've ever seen! He didn't want gardening season to end last year, so he started growing them in his basement during the winter. He had a lot of naysayers, but he made them grow and he had fresh tomatoes all winter long :)

We've recently found out what a hoarder he was! He believed every piece of "junk" could be made into something new. The minute I found this speaker planter it reminded me of my brother :)

 12" Recycled Speaker Hanging Planter

by  PlantItLOUD 

I can't wait to show you the tree we just had planted in my brother's memory and the cool metal signs I designed! Hopefully I'll have those all for you Monday!

My First Tattoo

Well, I survived the tattoo!!! I'm not gonna lie, it did hurt. But it was worth any ounce of pain. And within an hour after getting it, I was totally pain free. I was so excited they let us take pictures in the shop.

Here I am getting ready. Right now he's just putting on the transfer and getting things prepped...so I'm still all smiles.

This is pretty much the face I made through the whole thing...lol! I shut my eyes, bit my lip and squeezed my leg. But no tears :)

The outline was the worst part, but the shading wasn't quite as bad. I managed a half smile here while he's doing the shading.

And I'm all smiles at the end :)

 For those that didn't catch my Friday post, this is a memorial tattoo for my brother. He loved tattoos and Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd was always his song. He sure would have loved my tattoo!

The Past Two Weeks

I can't believe it's been over two weeks since I blogged last. It was the longest two weeks of my life, but at the same time, it flew by. Two weeks ago my brother passed away and my entire world turned upside down! He was only 34 years old and my only sibling. Losing him has been one of the hardest things I've ever had to go through. Luckily I had my parents, Jesse and my entire family for support.

Thank you to everyone who has sent their thoughts and prayers to me and my family. It has definitely been a rough couple of weeks, but we will make it through. Photos like the one above and great memories will keep him alive in our hearts!

I hope to be back to blogging regularly this week.

Wordless Wednesday - First Fish

My "Big" Brother :)