Who She'd Be Today

I had been working with a friend from New Zealand, Chloe, who does drawings in memory of her daughter Hope who died last year. She has a ministry called Eternal Hope Portraits and she is so very talented, and draws with all her heart.

 She contacted me in May and offered to draw a picture of Rachel... I couldn't make my mind up between two ideas I had, so she said she would do both! We have gone back and forth for months until she got them just as I had envisioned, which was not an easy task! I was hoping to have them in time for Rachel's party and it was getting really close and not looking very good. They showed up on Friday and I got them framed at 9pm, just in time for her party.

Thank you Chloe for all your patience and love! Hope has a very dedicated Mama! I will always think of her every time I look at my beautiful drawings. I woke up on Saturday to find a gift on my door "from Rachel" it had a little poem written as if it was from her and it was another one of those "HOPE" mugs. I took out the other one I already have and put one in front of each drawing on the table to remember Hope too on Rachel's day. ♥

The little cards on the 'clothes line' on the table are all the shorter things people wrote about Rachel's impact on them. ♥

 

She's blowing the seeds and I get to hold her and watch where they go.  Chloe put 43 daisies in this drawing ♥

 

 

After looking at lots of pictures of my other kids and of Rachel, this is what we came to for what Rachel would look like now. I'm so thankful to have a picture that has our whole family in it... because when we take a photo together, THIS is what my heart feels. But the first timeI saw this, I cried for hours. I wish I could hold her now. I wish it wasn't just in my mind and heart.  It hurts so much to see what we're missing - and yet this reminds me that there is hope....Eternal HOPE! Thanks, Chloe!!