On Saturday, August 9th, our family had a little service for my precious Andrew. It was a beautiful day and we were surrounded by so many loved ones. I am so thankful for the service that we were able to have for him and I felt that it honored his very short life. While I was in the hospital, I was blessed to have the most amazing and compassionate nurse. She was with us all three days and we are so thankful for all the help that she gave to us. Two things she told us to do was to make sure that we held him for as long as we would like to and to make sure that we had a service for him. It was hard to plan a service for a baby of ours, but it did make us feel like we were his parents as we made these decisions. She also wanted to make sure that we took pictures of our Drew and of the service. We would never have thought about that at that time. I am so thankful for the pictures that we do have and we will always have of our baby. We were so blessed to have a ministry called Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep take the pictures of Baby Drew at the hospital. Then, a friend of mine, Kristen Presley, took beautiful pictures of the funeral. Thank you Kristen for doing this for us. We will always treasure these pictures. I wanted to share a few of them. I was really hesitant about doing pictures of the funeral but realized that we only have so few memories of him that we wanted to document everything.We were so blessed to have our Pastor (Chris Brown) and Gene lead our service.
This is a picture that I love. Susanna and Luke wrote Andrew little letters that were attatched to the balloons. Eli still talks about his balloon and that it is with Baby Drew. Luke's balloon got stuck in a tree for a few moments and we all held our breath. Then, the wind blew, or I like to think that God blew, and it went up into the sky.
A verse that was shared with Jeff and I as we waited for Andrew to be born was Matthew 6:21,"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." This is a verse that we have claimed during this time. Our treasure is not this earth and the things that will soon be destroyed. Jesus is our treasure. And now Andrew...
10 comments:
Melanie, I couldn't have been more honored that you would have me part of such a special service. I can only hope I did you and little Drew justice.
We are praying for you, Jeff, and the kids continuously.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
(I came over after reading your comment at The Pipers.)
Melanie, no words said can express the emotions I felt when reading of your loss. My mother lost a child when I was three, in a similar fashion, and so my heart goes out to your. 17 years after it all happened I can still remember those days, but I can tell you are strong in your faith and God will see you through it. I know its hard sometimes, but I will pray for your family each and every day.
The pictures are so beautiful... thank you for sharing them with all of us. We love you guys all so very much and are blessed by your friendship each time we're together :)
Melanie and family,
We are so, so sorry for your loss. I wanted you to know that our family is praying for yours. Your pictures are beautiful and touching.
Darlene and family, Pennsylvania
Melanie,
Troy & I have been praying continually for you, Jeff & the kids. We are so sorry for your loss. I can't even begin to imagine the pain your family is going through...but yet your blog is filled with peace, hope & faith. Wow! What an amazing testimony that is! Just know you are being lifted up in prayer here in S. Florida. God Bless....Stephanie Gramling
Beautiful pictures.
Melanie, we are praying for you and your family. I am so sorry and you are in my thoughts. Love, Ashlee Jarnagin Pettit
Melanie, These pictures are precious. I am glad that the nurse gave you the advice, so that you have something to hold onto. Still praying for you, Manda in TX.
Melanie, you have touched our lives. We learned of your story through Tina's blog and have been praying for you ever since. Caleb & Annette Smith
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