We are reaching out to ask for your help in supporting our family as we raise money to help an organization that gave us renewed purpose and community in our grief. As you know, James and I have had the privilege and honor of growing our family—one crazy Colwell at a time.
In 2017, we experienced the joy of our first pregnancy with Jackson (2018). Jackson was newly two when we found out we were pregnant with Charlotte (2019).
21 weeks, and 5 days I carried her.
Losing Charlotte was devastating. We could barely put one foot in front of the other. Shortly after losing Charlotte, we got pregnant with Connor (2020). The minute he was born, still laying in our hospital bed, we knew he had middle-kid vibes. Wild and restless, we agreed our family footprint wasn’t complete.
In our journey to finish what we hoped would be the future of our Thanksgiving dinner table, we endured 3 early miscarriages before we got pregnant with Colby (2023). We decided he would be a surprise—not knowing if the boys would get a brother or sister. We leaned into hope, praying we would be able to bring this baby earthside.
For anyone who has experienced loss of any kind, they are intimately familiar with the feeling and the weight of dread. I felt that exact dread in early August last year—I knew something wasn’t right.
15 weeks, and 3 days I carried him.
No one can truly know or understand what the future lies in store for them. What we do know is that we would have been lost without the No Foot Too Small (NFTS) community. NFTS brings joy side-by-side with grief; teaching us every day what it means to celebrate the dynamics of our family, regardless of their physical presence. Jackson and Connor look forward to the events where they get to learn and celebrate their angel siblings. Daily, the boys look for signs of Charlotte and Colby—cardinals flying in the trees, butterflies in the garden, cotton-candy-colored skies.
We know that giving is personal to each individual and where you spend your hard-earned dollars is important. We would be honored if you considered giving to our NFTS Angels in the Outfield team, fundraising in honor of Charlotte and Colby at one of the boy’s favorite events: a baseball-themed event, where there will be children’s activities and the Iowa Cubs baseball game. The kids will get to sport their angel sibling ‘team shirts’ for everyone to see! The dollars raised by this event goes towards supporting these types of events in the future, hosting a safe space to talk about our babies, lost too soon, and to help build birthing and bereavement suites in local hospitals to help support families who are affected by pregnancy and infant loss.
Thank you in advance for considering this cause!