I Finally Know That I am Never Alone! What a blessing to have attended the retreat in October. I loss my son Michael 12 years ago. This retreat would be the first time I would be with other angel moms and dads. Noreen first started with a messenger chat for everyone who was attending that week. We all got to know each other on some level during the chats. When I arrived I met everyone I had been talking with on messenger and a loving bond was created. The days were well planned with group meetings on special topics. The groups were about 2 hours long and rest of the time we used to just be alone or sit and talk one on one. All the bedrooms were comfortable. Private baths, game room and craft room. Meals were planned, crafts were make. My personal favorite was the peace, love and care I received from everyone. You were at home in a place where I needed to be along time ago. We all need to heal and learn how to get through our grieving. This retreat gave me the hope and love because I finally know that I am never alone. - Laura Geise

I Truly Felt an Emotional Type of Healing. I was invited to attend a grief retreat, Crystal’s Healing Heart Healing House Retreat, in Ellijay, Georgia. It was 700 miles from my home. There was a special connection with Noreen, a mom I had met through Facebook. Facebook has been very instrumental for me on my grief journey. The grief groups, specific to loss from addiction, helped me move forward after the loss of my son Josh on June, 26, 2016. Noreen shared with me her reason and purpose for starting a grief retreat. She wanted to honor her daughter and bring some healing to other Mommas on this heartbreaking journey. It was the most amazing experience. The Home and location was like a private resort. A beautiful home environment nestled in the woods, Gods country. I personally did not know any of the attendees other than through FB connections. I enjoyed the schedule of activities. And our first activity of introducing ourselves and sharing about our children was the beginning of our forever bond. There was so much love , compassion and genuine understanding. An emotional depth I can’t explain. I enjoyed every aspect of our time together. We learned to journal, we had grief coaching, which is healthy ways to move forward in our grief. We decorated our journals, learned how to do Mandala art. We painted memory rocks for our children. We had a special balloon release. I enjoyed getting to know each of these Mommas and their child’s story. I also enjoyed how we did team work in preparing the evening meal. I enjoyed that it was Faith based. I also loved the intimacy of the small group size. I am so happy that I attended. I truly felt an emotional type of healing, a type of peace that only comes when you are heard and understood. Thank you, Thank you, THANK YOU. Heart to heart hugs, Denise Ellis Josh’s Momma, Forever 30

I Was Finally Not Alone, my grief journey has been so isolating. I wanted to go be with Timothy and even tried once. I felt no one understood then I found these fb groups. I finally found my tribe. They were all just pics on a screen until this retreat. To actually meet look in the eyes and touch and hug actual mother’s who have lost a child was amazing. I was finally not alone. I got to hug mother’s like me. I got to tell Timothys story and my own. I was the “baby momma” as I was the newest to this journey. I learned so much from allllll the mommas there. Something different from each mom. I am getting justice for Timothy in the court system and found this out the day I was supposed to leave and almost backed out as I was overwhelmed so say the least. But I am so glad I came. I was able to share my soul and these women are now my soul sisters. We had some pretty amazing therapy sessions. We held each other while we cried and laughed and shared our most treasured items on earth, our children. I was always the life of the party before my son died and by the end of the retreat I got the feeling the sister mommas saw a little bit of that come back. When I left I told my granddaughter I would come back a new woman and I really did. I have begged Noreen to come back! The trip into town was amazing as she had told people who we were and that we were coming so I felt like a celebrity in town and also like a normal person shopping as I have not shopping since Timothy died. The rock garden and balloon release was very healing. I didn’t want to leave. I hope I get invited back and I hope I can come back every year. I hope I can help the next newbie mom 💜 not with my wisdom but with my love. Baby momma Gina (GG)

My Retreat Reflection - May 2021… Going to a retreat with sister mamas who have all suffered the pain of losing a child to a substance use disorder or overdose can be overwhelming at first. You walk into the door with so many different emotions – fear, trepidation, vulnerability, brokenness, and even excitement. Then after you walk into the door you meet sister mamas that you only knew through Facebook. You hug (heart to heart). I taught them all my special hug. You cry. You smile. You relax a little bit more. You are not alone anymore. I shared myself with 7 other mamas who knew how I felt. Throughout the course of the retreat, I heard stories of grief and pain. Where there is great love, there is deep pain. It is normal. But in the stories and experiences that were shared, we learned to ‘feel our feelings’. We learned that grief is work. We learned that grief is ok and comes in many forms. Thank you to our grief coach Patti Greenwood from It’s My Journey Through Grief. She gave me so many valuable tips to help me in my journey as I move forward in my life. I can’t go back to that dark place, but I can move forward with purpose. She gave me valuable insight as she asked thought provoking questions during our sessions. I offered healing journaling sessions during the retreat. I was able to shed the misconception and sometimes fear that comes with journaling. Everyone was able to create their own journal and take it with them as they also move forward in their grief healing. Journaling can be healing if you allow it to happen. We even did a special exercise in our journals on the last night together. We learned to appreciate ourselves and all that we can offer to each other. I was honored to share my Ryan and The FRoM Project (Forever Ryan’s Mom) with these special sister mamas. The mamas and I cried together often. But we also laughed together. We shared so much of ourselves with each other. I wish that we shared more about our angels. I wanted to share about the good times we had with our angels. Healing took place during the retreat. You could see the healing and you could feel it. Hopefully we all left a little lighter than when we walked in. Noreen had a schedule prepared for us each day. There was a little something for everyone. We even had cooking teams taking turns with meals. I really don’t cook, but surprised myself with cooking a delicious chicken dinner. Everyone loved it! We had a movie night, rock painting, mandala class, raffles, balloon release, and the best day to me was a trip downtown. I needed that excursion. It refreshed my soul and spirit. Grief work is heavy and a change of scenery was just what I needed. I look forward to going back to Ellijay! Thank you to Noreen for opening not only your home, but your hearts. I appreciated everything that you did. I walked into a house and left knowing I felt at home. Noreen, Susan, Lynn, Eilain, Patti, Gina, Denise and I are now forever bonded. Thank you so much for sharing your angels with me. Crystal, Nick, Jessie, Travis, Mike, Timothy, Josh and Ryan are forever loved because they will be forever remembered. -MaryBeth - Forever Ryan's Mom

We Are All Connected! I just expected to hug my friends and give love to moms some I knew and some I didn’t! The minute we met it was like we knew each other our whole lives! I thought my husband was in need of this more than myself but I was so wrong!! The spiritual experience you can’t imagine! Knowing our child was right beside us sending beautiful signs that she is happy and okay with Jesus and all of our Angels! We cried we laughed we did things that were fun! We didn’t need to hold any feelings back! We had groups that really made me look inside myself and answer some hard questions I had! Most of all we shared our love with one another because we could understand each other’s pain of the most precious gift God gave us, our child! We are all connected like we were connected to our own babies! I love you more Paige until I hold you in my arms again!! Please if you can go Noreen is a beautiful person inside and out, the best hostess in a beautiful home and gorgeous setting with baby hummingbirds and deer! You will not be disappointed! There is so much love and such a deep spiritual experience! Thank you Noreen for the best time ever we never wanted to leave! We went to the October retreat it was so awesome that words can’t give it justice! Our daughter Paige was with us the whole time! It was so awesome to heart hug mom’s who are in the same shoes as all of us! Met people I have known years and new moms which we all have 💔! God brought us all together to share our loved ones and share our journeys with each other! We laughed, we cried, but most of all we loved one another! It was a very spiritual experience in a beautiful place with some of the most beautiful people inside and out that I have ever met! The food was unbelievable, the groups were awesome, the crafting was a blast! The rock painting was a challenge for me but with help it was beautiful! Our balloon 🎈 release was unimaginable! Noreen was the best hostess any one could wish for with all the special touches to make the retreat the best experience with love and an unique spiritual experience you don’t want to miss! All of our loved ones were with us and together enjoying our journey and healing together! Noreen I can’t thank you enough! Paige I love and miss you more always until we hold each other again! Donna and John Mazurek