Dedicating this to My Daughter in Heaven

I think most people who visit this site and read what I write know that this site was started as a dedication website in honor of my daughter who left this earth for heaven on July 16, 2008. I’ve been so blessed as a result of this decision.

When I go to write something for on here, it almost always ends up being about my daughter somehow, the tragedy, or how I’ve been doing along the way. I’ve been very open about my journey over the past five years. I want to be true to who I am and that means being honest about everything. The hurt. The pain. The crying. The happiness. The times to be thankful or grateful. Just everything. When I do that, you, as a reader, get to know me as a person. I think more than anything else, that is so important.

Over time I have received some of the most heartfelt comments I could ever have imagined receiving. I’d like to share some of these with you now. This tells me I’m on the right track.

Comments left on Her Hospital Story

Neeka (April 30, 2011):
I just read Mari’s story and it touched me so deeply. There are no words to explain how I feel for your family. You and Keith are the bravest people I know. I don’t know how I would be if this happened to my daughter. I cried throughout the whole story and even made my husband and neighbors read it. I am praying for your family that you pull through this. I hope to one day meet Mari in heaven. I will also pray that she might find my two babies up there and keep them safe with her till I get to see them again one day.

Tami (May 7, 2011):
As I finished reading your beautiful daughters heroic and heart breaking story, I could not stop the flow of tears…My heart breaks for you and your family at the loss of such a beautiful child…I know and understand your pain in many ways.I pray that God hold you and your family especially close in His loving hands…May He fill your hearts with comfort and your souls with peace as only He can,.,..
HUgs,
Tami
Mom to angel Davis

Jade (May 23, 2011):
Hello,
I am from Australia. I read your comment on the Willow Tree website which led me to this site and your story. I just want to say thank you for sharing it.

Sharon (June 10, 2011):
I have to say, it was heart-wrenching to read your story. You are such a strong woman to be able to document everything that happened. I have an 11 month old daughter and she is the most precious thing that has ever happened to my husband and I and I couldn’t imagine going through what you did. As I read the last page where you and your husband held her in your arms as she passed away I just balled for you. I pray that the Lord continues to give you strength and that you reach many people with your story and touch many hearts. God Bless!

Dianelys (April 2, 2012):
My English is not very good, I’m better reading it than writing it, but I read every word and I cried making it, I’m sorry, I feel their loss, because as a mother can not imagine the pain of the loss of my daughters.
God give you strength to go ahead and accept this painful conformity of loss and may God bless the beautiful Mari sitting next to him, as the beautiful angel of light it is.
you are loved and brave parents who love their daughter and she loved forever and you lived and fought with her until the end.
You and she will always be in my prayers
God bless you.

Rhonda (July 2, 2012):
I am amazed how God works in special ways! I landed here on your page on July 1, 2012 – four years after your first journal entry about Mari. I had been researching how to give back to families through photography and came upon your story of your beautiful angel. I just spent the last hour reading your story and believe that it was because God wanted me to learn from your family. I was truly moved and touched by what you went through. Having a baby that had a NICU stay helped me to relate to you, but I can never fully wrap my mind around your experience. What I learned tonight is that I need to slow down and appreciate the time that I have with my children…hug them tight….tell them I love them….and live fully each day. I would love to use the gift I have been given to touch the lives of parents who need something to hold onto and remember their angel. Thanks again for sharing! Mari is with you each and every day.

Melba (January 15, 2013):
I know that there are some things that we will not understand till we reach heaven,and I was so blessed while balling through your entire story. All I know is that “all things do work together for the good” and one day God will let us know just how. However, your strength and courage along with your husbands, will touch many hearts as it did those of us on this page. It certainly touched mine. I had a miscarriage at almost 5 months and had to come home and tell my other 3 children, as i watched their hearts break into. Then, my promised daughter had a seizure the evening I brought her home from the hospital and was ambulanced back to the NICU, I cried so hard as they ran CT scans, MRI’s and other tests to find out what was wrong. They never did find out why. She was released a week later with meds, that I eventually weaned her off of myself and never had another one. We were pastors at the time and our church carried us through both of those critical times. Thank God for family and friends. She is now 13 and at her young age is worship leader for her youth group. You and your honey are now on my prayer list. I pray God blesses you beyond your comprehension in the years to come. I too, look forward to seeing your precious one in heaven and maybe the one I lost can meet her too, as we believe it was a girl. God bless you, precious woman of God. Keep writing as so many will be touched because of it.
Melba

Tersia (September 5, 2013):

I wept for you when I read your blog. My precious daughter died in my arms on the 18th of January this year. There can be no greater pain than the pain of losing a child. I don’t have words of comfort for you. I am so sorry.

Those are just a few from “Her Hospital Story.” There are many more, both for her story as well as on other posts I’ve made over the last five-years. What these comments do for me is let me know I’m doing the right thing by writing about my journey and sharing it with others. It lets people know that tragic things happen to good people but it’s how we handle those things in the end that can make us a stronger person for it. I know I’m stronger because of my Lord and Savior and He has blessed me more than I may ever realize over these last five-years.