3 Months

3 months ago we were in the hospital holding our precious James Tipp.  Today I went back to a hospital holding 20 of these.

When we left Huntsville Hospital the nurses gave us a Memory Box.  The box had a small teddy bear, a card with James Tipp's handprints and footprints, a baby bonnet, and some information on grief.  The box meant so much to me, and I appreciated  that someone had taken the time to make a box for grieving parents.  

I decided I wanted to make Memory Boxes for our local hospital about a month ago.  I asked for volunteers from our church and we made 20 boxes.  I'm so thankful for a loving church family and for wonderful friends who helped me make these boxes.  Each box is a little different, but every box has a pink, blue, or white New Testament, the book I'll Hold You in Heaven, and an In Memory Card that has a place to put the baby's footprints.  Our church provided the book and Bible for each box, and I made the cards.  

The outside of the boxes were decorated with scrapbook stickers.

Making these boxes has been so good for me.  In a way this has helped me grieve.  It has also provided a way for me to share my faith with other parents of loss.  No expecting mother should ever have to leave a hospital without a baby, but if she does she should know that somebody knows and understands her pain and is praying for her.  I pray these boxes provide that comfort to a grieving mother. 

*If anyone would like more information on making memory boxes, please let me know. *

I Will Carry You

Todd Smith from the group Selah wrote the most beautiful song "I Will Carry You (Audrey's Song)" for his sweet daughter who went Home a few hours after she was born.  I so love the lyrics to this beautiful song.  You can listen to it here .   The words ring so true and are a beautiful expression of how a mother will carry her child on Earth (physically and emotionally) but more importantly how God will carry that child for eternity.

I'm so thankful to serve a God who is carrying my son for eternity. I can't imagine the joy James Tipp is experiencing in Heaven.  Even though we are still grieving we find so much comfort in knowing that James Tipp is with his Heavenly Father.

I've been thinking a lot about the 20 weeks that I was blessed to carry James Tipp's Earthly body.  The pregnancy went by so fast!  I only have one picture of me pregnant.  Husband and I went to Savannah, GA on a babymoon 2 weeks before we found out James Tipp went Home.  We had a wonderful time and we spent most of time talking about what life was going to be like with 2 little ones.  I thoroughly enjoyed being pregnant and ate my way through Savannah's Historic District.  One of the nights while trying to go to sleep James Tipp was kicking me and I told Husband to feel.  That was the first and only time he got to feel James Tipp.

James Tipp made me so sick.  Smells and certain food would make me vomit.  I even got sick while changing a little girls diaper in our church nursery!  I was so embarrassed!!  I like to think James Tipp was laughing like crazy at all this.  He probably had a silly grin on his face and was saying "gotcha mom!"  I had trouble sleeping too, and I'm sure he knew I needed a few sleepless nights since I would miss the joy of nursing a newborn throughout the night.  At one of my ultrasounds he was waving his arms like crazy, and I know he was saying hello to me.  I don't know how many ultrasounds I had with him, but I had a lot because of the problems I had carrying Cooper.  God knew I needed to see my baby as much as possible during those 20 weeks. I'm so thankful for these memories of my precious boy.