The idea of Petals for Pax came about as we were seeking coping mechanisms and healing tools for dealing with our overwhelming grief after our son Pax was stillborn in October of 2005. We were so blessed to have so much support from our friends and family that we knew we needed to give back in order to continue healing.

Below are the Random Acts of Kindness we have performed in honor if our son.

For Pax's 3rd Birthday, Oct. 27, 2008, our Random Act of Kindness for his special day was donating items from the wish lists of 2 local organizations: a no-kill animal shelter and a domestic abuse shelter for women and children.

For the animals:

For the women & children:

For Pax's 2nd Birthday, Oct. 27, 2007, we decided to collect box tops through the box tops for Education Program and donate them to a local elementary school.

We collected $91.30 worth of box tops to donate to Cascades Elementary School.

The donation was a collaborative effort by our friends and families and many parents we have not actually met, but to whom we are bonded because we share the grief of losing a child. These bereaved parents sent us box tops from all over the country so that we might perform this Random Act of Kindness to honor our son and also their children who were taken too soon. We are forever grateful for the thoughtfulness and generosity of everyone who helped us make this Random Act of Kindness possible.

Additionally, I decorated and filled 10 memory boxes and donated them to a local hospital and the hospital in AR where Pax was born. This Random Act of Kindness was made possible by a wonderful woman named Candy who sent me some items for the boxes. She too is a grieving mother and created the Emmazing Grace Foundation in honor of her daughter and does wonderful work to help others who have suffered the loss of a child/children.

Here is a slideshow of the boxes:

On April 8, 2006 just before sunrise, we placed 70 pots of flowers around the natural spring in Basin Park
in Eureka Springs, AR, hoping to touch lives and inspire Random Acts of Kindness.

It was also a gesture of love and honor for our beloved son who was stillborn at full term on October 27, 2005. The cause of his death is unknown. He was our first child and his loss has been devastating to us. We named him Pax, which means Peace in Latin, and we have dedicated ourselves to promoting peace in our world in honor of him. You can read an article in the local newspaper by clicking the following link: Random Act of Kindness Honors Pax

On October 27, 2006 just before sunrise, we placed 125 seed packets in and around Skinner Butte Park in Eugene, Oregon to honor the 1 year birthday of our son Pax, who was stillborn on October 27, 2005.

As we were placing the packets, we were told by a Parks Department employee that we needed a permit and that they could only leave the packets up until 2 pm since we didn't have a permit. So, we decided to take the remaining 125 packets to the University of Oregon and placed them on random cars in the parking lots there.

We have also paid for someone else's meal, donated to causes and have performed and continue to perform various other Acts of Kindness on a regular basis. Our hope is that we may touch others inspire them to carry out their own Acts of Kindness and that the memory of our beloved son may live on in this way.

If you have a story to share or would like to read the stories others have shared with us, please click here.

We are also on myspace: www.myspace.com/petalsforpax

If you have been touched by our story, please perform your own Random Act of Kindness.

Some Kindness Ideas:

More ideas can be found
at the following websites:
www.missfoundation.org
www.actsofkindness.org

You can also donate to causes for free
by visiting these sites and
just clicking your mouse:
www.thehungersite.com
www.thebreastcancersite.com
www.thechildhealthsite.com
www.therainforestsite.com
www.theanimalrescuesite.com
www.theliteracysite.com

Honor someone with
the Arbor Day Foundation's
Trees in Memory Program