Showing posts with label sacred keepsakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sacred keepsakes. Show all posts

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Empty Cradle

My mom got me this amazingly beautiful sculpture for my 24th birthday from one of my favorite artists, The Midnight Orange. It's called "Empty Cradle," and oh, how that empty cradle hurt so much.


The Midnight Orange artist, Dana, sculpted the mother (me) in the color I selected and her dad, who is a master craftsman and woodworker, made the cradle. This piece is actually retired and I was so touched that Dana would create this specially for me.

Look at the intricate detail! Both of them are incredibly talented. I love and collect her sculptures because they are unique and I love knowing they are made specifically for me, rather than mass-produced.

As she wrote: "This piece depicts the depth of loss and longing in missing a little one. I am so incredibly sorry if you connect with this sculpture."

This is one of my favorite memorial keepsakes. It reminds me of the song, "I Will Carry You," that was played at Lily's service...

I will carry you, while your heartbeat's here, long beyond the empty cradle, through the coming years. I will carry you, all your life. And I will praise the One whose chosen me to carry you."

That cradle is still empty, but my heart is full. I will carry her with me always and forever.

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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Lily's "Mamie's Poppy Plate"

I recently got another beautiful keepsake in honor and memory of my Lily girl.

Last summer, I came across Mamie's Poppy Plates, "a donation supported non-profit whose mission is to provide tangible mementos to families who suffer stillbirth or infant death. Our keepsake plates, given to affected families at no charge, are customized with the baby's footprints, name and birth information. Mamie's Poppy Plates exists not to fill the impossible void of loss but to serve as a timeless reminder of their baby's brief yet profound life."


When I first found Mamie's Poppy Plates, they were charging for the plates (for the people who weren't directly tied to their local hospital). I meant to place my order then, but for some reason waited until this spring. When I went back to place my order, I saw that they now offer them FREE of charge!

For those who are interested in requesting a plate in honor of their baby of Heaven, all you have to do is print out the form and fill out your baby's information and how you want your plate to look, then you mail it in (along with a copy of your baby's hand and/or footprints) and wait a couple months for your plate to arrive!

My plate is absolutely gorgeous! I am planning on hanging it on my memorial collage wall for Luke and Lily. I have lots of things to hang and am trying to frame everything and get it all together. Once it's complete, I will share photos.

The plate came in an adorable box, along with a cute sticker with the Mamie's logo.


I wanted mine to be pink (the lettering has to be black), and wanted only Lily's first and middle names, her birthday, stats, and footprints. You can really request how you want it to be though. Check out the website for examples of what others have requested.



If you are able to contribute to this amazing ministry, please consider doing so. I thank them so much for this beautiful memento that means so much to me. I love getting things with Lily's precious prints on them. Since I cannot create new memories with her as she grows up, I treasure the sweet keepsakes I can get. The fact that she has a name and birthday and I have her prints, weight and length, proves that she was real. She was here!

Thank you, Mamie's Poppy Plates for everything you do! I will always think of your sweet Mamie when I look at my plate.

You can watch a News Clip about Mamie's Poppy Plates and a family that was blessed by their ministry here.

Follow them on their Facebook page, Twitter, and find out more about their ministry (they also have a "Race to Remember") on their website.

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