In Memory of Rileigh & Adrienne: October 2008

Saturday, October 11, 2008

We decided we were going to re-vamp Rileigh and Adrienne's webpage. Their babiesonline page still exists, however, we wanted something where we could continuously add pictures or thoughts for Brady as he grows. He has seen many pictures of his sisters but we want him to be able to learn so much about them as he grows.

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Rileigh and Adrienne came into our lives in November of 2005. We spent the following five months watching them on ultrasound. We watched them grow and we watched their personalities develop. Our angels were born into this world on March 8, 2006 and left us the same day.

Rileigh was born at 12:30pm and Adrienne followed soon after at 1:06pm. We received so much support from Georgetown University Hospital in the minutes, hours, and days following their deaths. Kathi Kramer, then a chaplain for the hospital, provided us with spiritual care, including, baptizing Adrienne and blessing Rileigh.

Named Rileigh Genevieve Antaya and Adrienne Virginia Antaya, Rileigh is named after her maternal Great-Grandmother, Genevieve Kirwin. Adrienne is named after her paternal Great-Grandmother, Virginia Antaya.

Immediately after their deaths, we asked Kerry Gertz and Jason Antaya to be godparents of Rileigh. We asked Janice Gover and Brian Antaya to be godparents of Adrienne.

Following March 8, 2006, we had many decisions to make. The major one was where to bury our daughters. We had been provided information from the hospital about local cemetaries. However, when we found out there was room in the plot where Cynthia's maternal grandparents are buried, we knew immediately that would be Rileigh and Adrienne's final resting place.

A Memorial Service was held at St. Patrick's Parish in Pelham, New Hampshire on March 17th, 2006 in memory of Rileigh and Adrienne. Our family pastor, Fr. Bob Guillemette presided over the mass. So many of our family and friends, both near and far, came to help us say goodbye to our daughters.

A private burial was held at Immaculate Conception Cemetary following the Memorial Service. Rileigh and Adrienne rest in peace with their great-grandparents and Edward "Grampy" and Genevieve "Nana" Kirwin. Their stone marker, donated by Methuen Memorials, is adjacent to the Kirwin Family stone.

In the days, weeks, months, and now years that followed Rileigh and Adrienne's deaths, we continue to receive thoughts, prayers, and every so often a card from those who continue to think about our family of 5. We often get phone calls from those who visit the cemetary to let us know they visited with the girls. There is also a select group that decorate for the girls.

March of Dimes...

In the weeks following Rileigh and Adrienne's deaths, we were introduced to the March of Dimes by a friend. From there, we formed our family team "Our 2 Angels" for the March of Dimes WalkAmerica. In 2006, we walked in memory of our daughters, just a month after their deaths, just the 2 of us.

In 2007, we had so many family and friends ask us if they could walk with us and amazingly, for WalkAmerica 2007, our family team grew from 2 to 22. We raised over $10,000 for NICU units in the metro Washington, DC area.

In 2008, our team name changed..."Our 2 Angels & Our Little Hero" was born due to the birth of our son, Brady Patrick. Brady endured many obstacles and had a 56 day NICU stay at Georgetown University Hospital. We had 25 walkers for the new "March For Babies" and continued to raise a record amount for the March of Dimes. We are amazed that so many people have gained an interest in the March of Dimes and what their organization has personally done for our family.

In 2009, we're looking forward to another successful March for Babies. However, plans are in the works for our little hero to join the "Our 2 Angels & Our Little Hero" team in BOSTON! We want to celebrate Brady and remember Rileigh and Adrienne with all of our family and friends in Boston this year.

In Memory of Rileigh & Adrienne

Saturday, October 11, 2008

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