The Random Acts Of Carter

Dear Carter,
Look at that picture of you! It's like you're keeping a secret from us, and you can't wait to fill us in. This was taken just a few weeks before your surgery, so maybe you knew that you were going to be with Jesus. I believe that would be something to smile about...even if it meant we would be left missing you. I can't believe that we are coming up on one year without you.

It's no secret that these next few weeks will be tough for our family. I feel the need to do something to shift the focus off of being depressed that you died to celebrating that you are still living within us.

Remember my post the other day about everybody needing to Quit Being So Dang Ugly? . I decided that since you were so beautiful, there had to be a way to spread that beauty around a little bit right?! The world was so amazingly beautiful while you were here, and I think it should still be that way now that you're in Heaven.

The first thought that I had was that I could just beg and plead with everyone to donate to Operation Smile in your name, but it seems like I ask people to do that all.the.time. I wanted this to be something that EVERYBODY could do. Something that didn't require money. Something that even your brother and sister could participate in. So, this morning when I woke up with an idea heavy on my mind...I KNEW that I had to act on it TODAY.

So readers, I'm asking you to help me out with this. No worries! This is going to be easy as pie!

Here we go! Are you ready?? Announcing:

From now until May 30th (Carter's Angel Day and Memorial Day how fitting is that?!) We are going to be working on a project for Carter. As you can see, we've dubbed it The Random Acts Of Carter.
I'm asking that you help make the world a little less ugly in honor of our baby boy. If you are asking yourself how to do that, then here are a few ideas, but I would love to see what else you can come up with!

1. You could try to be a little more patient and understanding with somebody when you would normally be a little ugly to them.

2. You could think of Carter when you see something beautiful, or create something beautiful in his name.

3. You could do at least one act of kindness in Carter's name. It can be something simple like helping out a friend in need, or something bigger like donating to a charity (there I go again lol!)

and please think of Carter while you are doing any of these things.

I am going to be following suit with this, and I plan to blog my journey along the way.

I would be lying if I said I came up with this all on my own, but I actually read of a similar project over at Dear Stevie , and I wanted to follow her example. Isn't it cool to think that Carter can still change the world today?

I would also like for you to share your story about Your Random Act Of Carter (it would be even better with pictures!). I can keep you anonymous if you would like. I want to post them on the blog to show that this is really working...that Carter is spreading beauty. You can comment on here, blog about it (but let me know so I can link to it :), email me at teamcarterjay at gmail dot com , or message me through Carter's facebook page.

Please help me spread the word by blogging/facebook/word of mouth. I'd like to get as many people stamping out the ugliness for Carter as possible.

I appreciate each and every one of you for loving Carter and continuing to show support and love to our family. Thank you so much! I can't wait to see where this journey will lead us!