MIGHTY LOVE for a MIGHTY BOY.

Oakes Lee Ortyl is the MIGHTIEST little boy I have ever known.  His short life has forever changed mine, but, more importantly, the lives of my children, Graham and Emily.  Oakes did this in the MIGHTIEST of ways...by living each day he had here on Earth with nothing less than the MIGHTIEST LOVE possible for anyone he touched.  He shifted the way we look at life.  He taught us to enjoy the simplest of pleasures...to stop and just BREATHE.  He taught us to enjoy each and every day and live in the moment.  He taught us to live life with the intention to be MIGHTY in anything we do.  And because of Oakes and these small and simple lessons that he taught us...my family is forever changed in the MIGHTIEST of ways.

This is Oakes with his MIGHTY arms spread wide open to show just how MIGHTY he was!

Right after Oakes passed, my daughter, Emily, and I were given the honor of putting together the photo boards for his Celebration of Life.  We tried to capture the MIGHTY LOVE this little boy magically and MIGHTILY created.

Each of the photos on this board were of Oakes wearing a different "sticker" on his forehead describing him...STUD and FIGHTER and LOVER BOY don't even begin to describe this MIGHTY boy!

Be MIGHTY!  Please donate to www.mightyoakes.org!

Oakes' mom, Becky, is truly one of the MIGHTIEST women I know.  Her grace and strength and gentle, but MIGHTY spirit is the perfect combination of what a mother's love for her child should be.  She is as real as they come...and continues to show her love for her baby boy through her work with The Mighty Oakes Heart Foundation.

And, of course, Isla, Oakes' big sister, had some MIGHTY love for her Oaksie!

Heart Strings to Heaven...

As many of you may already know, Oakes' mom and dad, Becky and Greg, and big sister, Isla, live directly next door to our house.  I think it is safe to say that many of you have probably seen the RED RIBBONS that have been tied to trees in my neighborhood.  The story behind those red ribbons is made even sweeter when I tell you how those ribbons came to life.  Those red ribbons came alive with with the death of Oakes when a handful of MIGHTY neighbors (who had never even met Oakes) got up before dawn on the day of his Celebration of Life and tied well over 100 red ribbons to trees and telephone poles and fences starting at Oakes' house and ending at Holy Redeemer Church...where his Mass was held.  They did this to honor this MIGHTY little boy, but also to show his family that all of us have been touched by his sweet little life.  It was quite possibly one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen...so tearfully touching in the MIGHTIEST of ways.  

Since that day, many friends and neighbors have tied red ribbons around the trees in their yards.  The sight of these ribbons can still bring a tear to my eyes...as they are such a strong reminder of such a MIGHTY boy and his amazing family.  

It seems lately, though, that these once vibrantly red ribbons have started to fade and show their wear.  

So...that has led me to feel the need to do a little"zshuzshing" with the sentiment of these ribbons in mind.  

After a bit of brainstorming with Oakes' mom, we have come up with a brilliant new idea to keep the love for MIGHTY OAKES and the MIGHTY OAKES HEART FOUNDATION visible and alive on our trees, fences, telephone poles, houses and in our hearts.  

Here is what we came up with:

Isla, the sweetest of all sisters, drew a bunch of hearts with none of them being the exact same or perfect in shape...because ALL hearts are uniquely perfect in their own way.  (Thanks for teaching us that, Oakes!)

Next, Oakes' and Isla's Grandpa Dale, who lives in Oklahoma, cut the hearts out of wood and set them with Grandma Ena to Saint Louis to give to me.

I picked out the perfect red (with the help of a few friends...thanks Sheri and Emily) to paint these perfectly imperfectly hearts.  (Don't the two in the middle look like angel wings???!!!)

By the way, these hearts were inspired by the MIGHTY GIANT heart that Becky hand built and painted for the front of her house.  Love it so much!

Stay tuned for the REveal of how these MIGHTY hearts turn out. 

You might be thinking that you'd like to "zshuzsh" one of your trees or fence or house with a perfectly imperfect  MIGHTY OAKES heart.

If so, let me know and I'd be happy to get you one (or two or three) at a minimal cost.  

All proceeds will go toward THE MIGHTY OAKES HEART FOUNDATION.

And please remember to always BE MIGHTY!!!