Grace and the "Courtney Cares" Boxes

One of the most profound ways that Courtney has impacted us is through the people she has brought into our lives.  We truly believe that God puts people in our lives when we most need them, and we're finding that we are put into their lives for a reason, too.

The first person we want to tell you about is a remarkable woman named Grace. Grace is the nurse who cared for us, cried with us, and prayed with us while we were in the hospital having Courtney. Grace helped us create the mementos we have of Courtney- including plaster hand and foot prints, a book of information and some snapshots, a hospital bracelet, and an outfit.  They are so very precious and priceless to us because they are the tangible things we could bring home from the hospital, since we weren't bringing Courtney home in the way we had planned.

We have kept in contact with Grace since Courtney's birth, and she is quickly becoming a very dear friend.  In early January she asked if we would help coordinate a memory box program at the hospital, one modeled after many other programs across the country.  This is where the "Courtney Cares" box program starts.  Where it goes from here is yet to be discovered.  What we do know is that Courtney's life has given us the opportunity to share in this ministry at the hospital, and one that we can use to share with others how Courtney has impacted our lives.  Through her legacy we have come to care, very deeply, about families who are unknown to us right now that will be affected by the loss of a baby. 

We hope and pray that by providing memory boxes we are helping families create lasting and tangible memories of their babies.  Each box is decorated and put together with love.  We pray over each box before it is delivered to the hospital- we pray that the family that receives the box finds comfort, peace and strength in the journey ahead.

If you are a recipient of a box, please know that you are not alone in your grief.  You are in our prayers, and the prayers of our friends and family all across the country.  

For those reading about the boxes, please join us in praying for the families that receive one.