Our Family

I love this from a sweet new Instagram friend! She even incorporated roses, lilies, and a butterfly.  🌹 🌸

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Avery's Garden Coloring Page

Avery's mama Tara is creating a coloring book for bereaved parents in her little man's memory. It is scheduled to publish soon! This is the gorgeous page she created for Lily. I requested the roses, lilies, butterflies, and quote. 💕 🎨

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Rose and Lily on Card

A rose and lily drawn on the envelope of a card I received recently via snail mail from my dear friend Heather. The simplest gestures mean so much. Those loopy letters are lovely. ❤️ 🌹 ❤️

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Lily Rose Room Spray

My Bumma gave me this Lily room spray from "Once Upon a Rose." 💛  :)

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Lily Rose from Karen

My Aussie friend Karen sent me this photo on Snapchat. Translation: "Brissy" is Brisbane. ;)

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A Lily and a Rose(nberg)

My friend Jaime in Canada sent me this photo and wrote: "A Lily and a Rose(nberg)! My aunt brought the box over with a ring toss game in it a while ago but it was only yesterday that I saw the side of the box and realized the treasure in it! XO"

Pretty neat, eh? 😄😄😄

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Candle from Candy

My sweet friend Candy sent me this photo today and wrote: "I chose this gift today while playing a game at work. Goosebumps upon reading the scent...thinking of you today." Isn't that crazy that it has 3 significant names to me on there? - my first and middle names and Lily's first name. It's just missing Katherine. ❤️

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Lily Rose at Kohl's

My friend Sabrina recently sent me this photo and wrote: "This caught my eye tonight at Kohl's and made me think of both you and Lily. :)" Love it!

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A Visible Reminder

My sweet friend Teresa from Ellerslie sent me the sweetest email a couple days ago...

She wrote: "The tiger lilies are blooming here and I was just picking some to put in my vase on my windowsill. And I thought of your Lily. I love that you chose the name Lily and that she is remembered by something so visible to us. I am grateful that you remember her publicly reminding us of how real she was and is and how all children who do not live outside the womb are just as real. It is because of all that that this year as I was cutting tiger lilies that I thought of your Lily and of you. May God bless you today with a special sense of His presence with you."

My friend Grace from Ellerslie also sent me a couple photos

She said: "Thinking of you while out in our garden. :)"

With this picture she wrote: "My sister helped me put together a vase for my room, and after I cut the flowers, I realized what kinds I put together."

I recently texted my friend Tina and she responded and said she was just thinking of me, after seeing a lily on something at a store. She said she now automatically starts looking for roses too when she sees lilies.

It means a lot to me when others let me know they are thinking of my little flower. And Teresa said it perfectly... It's so special that the Lord gave Lily a name with something so visibly attached to her name, as a reminder and symbol of my sweet Lily bloom.

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The Difference Between Roses and Lilies

I love that Lily and I both have flower names. It is almost as if she was named after me, just with a different flower. In honor of Lily, I would love to include flowers in the names of my future daughters.

Anyways, I have been thinking about the difference between roses and lilies and how perfect that Lily and I have the names we do.

rose and lily from Lily's memorial/burial service with the LIFE bracelet she was buried with

You see, my name is Hannah Rose and roses are lovely flowers, yet they have prickly, ugly thorns. I certainly have a fair share of thorns. I am far from perfect.

As Abraham Lincoln said, "We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or we can rejoice because thorn bushes have roses." I choose to rejoice that in spite of my thorns, and even with my thorns, the Lord has turned my story into something beautiful... the rose. My life is a story of both thorns and roses.

On the other hand, lilies are gentle, delicate, beautiful flowers, just like my Lily. They are perfect, yet they fade so quickly. They have no thorns like the rose.

"We can't know why the lily has so brief a time to bloom in the warmth of sunlight's kiss upon its face before its fragrance and bids the world goodnight to rest its beauty in a gentler place. But we can know that nothing that is loved is ever lost and no one who has touched a heart can really pass away because some beauty lingers on in each memory of which they've been a part." -Ellen Brenneman

The Lord gives me fresh insights like this all the time. I am thankful that even though Lily is not here, God gives me beautiful glimpses of His purpose for her life and legacy.

I like to think that my delicate Lily helped make this prickly, thorny rose a little more beautiful. :-)

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Roses and Lilies Remind Others Too

I want to share a couple random stories my friends shared with me recently, mostly to remember them myself. :-)

A lady that I met through blogging named Elena recently wrote me a sweet message on Facebook saying:

"I just wanted to tell you about two weeks ago, I went to buy new shampoo and it turned out to be the wrong scent. My original one, I had never noticed, was the lily scent, but I looked when I noticed the smell of my new shampoo was different and saw that I had two scents - lily and rose, and it made me think of you and your daughter. :-)"

Then my friend Bonnie, who helped start one of my local infant loss support groups, texted me this week saying:

"Just wanted to share this sweet moment with you....my daughter has two friends over today and they are playing. One said she wanted her name to be Lily and one said she wanted to be Rosie. The flower names made me think of you and Lily. <3"

Roses and lilies, especially together, remind me of my sweet girl and the indescribable bond we share as mother and daughter. It brings me such joy knowing the two flowers together remind others of she and I too, of her beautiful life and legacy, and my everlasting love for her.

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Lily at Gabriel's Garden

"A tiny flower, lent not given, to bud on earth and bloom in Heaven."

The lovely Catherine from Gabriel's Garden picks flowers in honor and memory of babies of Heaven and photographs them for free at a botanical garden in Southern California. Each flower is picked to represent one special child. She started doing this after losing her precious son Gabriel on July 19th of this year.

As Catherine says on her website, "The flowers are photographed so parents can forever be reminded of their child's everlasting beauty."

Everyone is able to request the kind of flower they would prefer, so of course I requested roses and lilies. :) Catherine picked a Peruvian Lily and a Pink Rose and photographed them for me. You are able to request a specific quote, phrase, Scripture verse, etc to be added to your photo. I asked for one of my favorite Scriptures:

"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you." ~Philippians 1:3

After the lovely flowers are "picked with a prayer" and photographed, they are released on the seashore of Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro, California. The ocean waves wash them away. Catherine writes, "...this is a beautiful reminder that though we cannot see our children, we can be certain that wherever they are, they are surely free!" She will be sending me photos of this release soon! :)

Catherine also says on her website, "Flowers remind us that every living thing has a season and a purpose and that no life is without both."

Everyone I know who has lost a baby loves when other people remember them with us. It is amazing to see Lily's name written out and to know others are thinking of her and loving her. That is why Catherine started Gabriel's Garden, to help other babyloss mothers and tell Gabriel's story. She says doing this is healing for her and an honor.

Catherine, you are so sweet for what you are doing for this community. Thank you so much.

Request your flower from Gabriel's Garden by clicking here. And be sure to follow Gabriel's Garden on facebook!

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The Little Gal

Remember my friend Alyssa who I blogged about a couple months ago? She and her husband Kendrick were anticipating the arrival of their rainbow baby, Olivia Rose!!

Well, I wanted to give a little update for everyone who has been praying for their little family. Olivia arrived on July 31st and weighed the same as my Lily did at birth-7 pounds 9 ounces. Their whole journey has been so difficult with trying to conceive, losing their precious Liliana, going on bedrest with Olivia, and issues during pregnancy and delivery. Olivia truly is their little miracle baby. After spending a couple days in the NICU after birth, she got to go home with her happy parents.

Guess what else...this week, I am officially Olivia Rose's nanny! It's such an honor, gift, and joy for me. I have so many things in common with their family so it makes it extra special. I truly believe Olivia Rose and I share a special connection because not only do we share our middle name, but her sister named Lily Allen (yes, we share a last name as well) and my daughter named Lily Allen are together in Heaven. Liliana was due on August 12th-my birthday!

I love cuddling this sweet baby and am so overjoyed for Kendrick and Alyssa that they finally have her in their arms, healthy and happy!

Olivia is only 6 weeks old now and is perfect for my little photography subject! ;) It is such a healing and beautiful thing for me to be around and caring for a baby girl. I am thanking Jesus for the gift He's giving me in caring for this very special little princess. He worked out all the details so I can continue with my other nanny jobs as well. My nickname for her is "the little gal." I already love her so very much and am excited to see her grow up! She couldn't have sweeter, more deserving parents. And seriously...she is truly a beautiful baby and already looks so feminine!

A precious picture of Olivia's adorable baby toes... I could only capture a couple before
she was fussing and ready to be held again. I don't mind holding her one bit ;)

Click HERE to read all my "Similarity Stories."

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A Shared Love of Roses and Lilies

A couple weeks ago, I visited my friend Alyssa at the hospital. She had been on bedrest there for weeks and since then, is now on bedrest at home. She's waiting for her precious bundle of love to arrive healthy and happy.

No matter how much time passes, it always takes my breath away to be on a labor and delivery floor. Even though she was in a different hospital than where Lily was born, it's still L&D. This hospital is actually closer to my home and is where I went for my very first prenatal appointment, before I started seeing my doctor who delivered Lily. Being there brought back different emotions.

Pray that all goes well for Alyssa and her husband Kendrick as they await the arrival of their sweet girl, Olivia Rose. Yep, that's right, she shares my middle name! I'd like to think that gives us a special connection. ;) They lost their daughter Liliana Michelle (or Lily) in spring 2011. So we share the love of roses and lilies. Isn't that sweet? Olivia is getting a beautiful mural painted in her nursery, which includes roses and lilies on the wall! I am always beyond thrilled for my friends who go on to have their rainbow babies.

Can't wait to meet you, little Olivia Rose! I'm sure your big sister Lily and my Lily are smiling down from Heaven.

How adorable can she be? :)

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Roses and Lilies

A couple weeks ago, my mom and I came across the January/February 2012 issue of Victoria magazine. After just thumbing through it a bit looking at the pictures, we were suddenly drawn in by the beautiful work of Caroline Reehl Ceramics. Reading the description of her work, I saw that she lives in the same area I do (how neat is that?). As I continued reading, I saw that she likes to use roses and lilies in her art. I knew right then I had to contact her somehow and share my story with her. I had to share with her the significance of these two flowers in my life. How my blog is named after these two flowers. How my little girl is my precious flower, my Lily.

This is what she says about using roses and lilies in her work:

"Southern women epitomize hospitality, cultivation of splendor, and are as luxuriant as the rich traditions that surround them. I use roses and lilies among my work as a metaphor for these women. The stages of the flowers on each piece are at the peak of the bloom and represent internal strength and external beauty. Many of the colors that I choose for my pieces are subtle, giving each petal room to shine."

I emailed Caroline last week and told her a little bit about my story, how special roses and lilies are to me and I gave her my blog address. I also asked if she'd mind if I shared about her lovely art on this little blog of mine.

She wrote back:

Hannah Rose,

This email was so amazing to get!! Your story is beyond words, God definitely has big plans for you! I don't have a store yet in Raleigh but am working on it, I just moved here about a week ago. I would be beyond honored to be on your blog.


Bless you and please stay in touch
c

             

Go buy the issue of Victoria so you can see Caroline in there for yourself. You should pop on by her facebook page and become a fan! Also, show some love by stopping by her blog...become a follower and maybe leave a comment or two. :)

Once her shop is up and running here in Raleigh, I am going to go meet her and admire her work. ;) I am hoping and planning to get a beautiful piece of art, in honor and memory of Lily Katherine, made one day by Caroline. 

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