Dear friends and family,

As many of you know, our third daughter, Blair Evelyn, died and was born on March 15, 2021. We have heard that there is no word for parents who have lost a child because the profound loss transcends the English language. The feelings that have followed her loss are hard to describe, but what is easy to describe is the intense need to honor Blair in actionable ways, both big and small.

As we did last year, and as we will continue to do each year in honor of Blair, we are fundraising for the classroom Blair would be attending in the fall. Last year this fundraiser went to a significant playground expansion for preschoolers and kindergarteners. This year, Blair would be transitioning from preschool to kindergarten at Highland Catholic. We are working with Principal Schmidt and the wonderful kindergarten teachers, and this fundraiser will be to raise money for a Little Library and some infrastructure projects at the preschool, which will serve as a wonderful transition from preschool to kindergarten at Highland Catholic.

Please consider donating in honor of Blair, a former, current, or future kindergartener, or a loved one who you are holding in your heart. Please also share this fundraiser with anyone else who may want to support kindergarteners.

Thank you for considering and for being a part of our community.

With love,

Ashlie, John, Quinn, Piper, and Reese, with Blair in our hearts

A letter to Blair on her birthday.

Dear Blair,

Happy 5th birthday, love. Gosh, we miss you so much. How can it be that it is five years since we’ve held you? How can it be that it is five years since we saw you enter the world as the most beautiful baby this Earth has ever seen? Your dark brown hair and blue eyes were simply magical. Turning five feels like a big moment. You would finally reach the pinnacle of preschool and know that turning five means you will soon be off to kindergarten.

As another year passes, we add another year of questions to our ever-growing wonder at who you would be. Would you be the second blonde sister or the second brunette sister? Would you keep your feelings to yourself or wear them on your sleeve? Would you already be into sports or would you spend hours on painting, drawing, and crafting? Would you be the first sister to be willing to wear that cute jumper to school or would you firmly reject it in favor of shorts and pants? We imagine you would be a mix of everything and perfectly yourself. One thing we can say for sure is that you would have a strong sideline sibling game spending hours eating snacks, playing, and spending money at the concession stands.

Your sisters’ school, your school, just had kindergarten roundup, but we weren’t there because you aren’t here. We didn’t sing songs or play with instruments or celebrate the transition from preschool to kindergarten. We didn’t sit with other parents and lament how time goes so fast. And while time does feel like it goes fast with your sisters, the loss of you can sometimes feel like every day is its own lifetime. It is hard to know what to do with those feelings, so we take some of them and channel them into the spaces that would belong to you, the community that holds space for you.

You’ve given us so much these past five years. We all love you with our whole hearts.

Happy birthday, Blair.

Love, Mama and Daddy