And the greatest of these is LOVE

The title of this post comes from a bible verse (1 Corinthians 13:13), and although is not necessarily meant to refer to gifts this thought comes to mind when I think of everything our family and friends have given us since finding out about the diagnosis of our sweet baby.

We have received some very special, tangible items that will be so important in helping us to celebrate and remember Keagan and we are very thankful for these gifts. I have taken pictures of these gifts and shared them below, by no means with the intention to influence others to send us anything, but instead to thank the individuals who sent them to us (I am also working on thank you cards, slowly…), share the beauty of the gifts and the thoughts, and to document for our family what special gifts Keagan has received.

This hat is from Keagan's cousin, Carson, and Aunt Jessica. Roy and I have purchased a very special and cute outfit for Keagan's burial, but could not find a matching hat. When I was talking to my amazing big sister about this, she thought of a hat of Carson's. She offered to give this to Keagan, as it would be something that he would always have from them. This of course touched my heart and the thought brings me to bittersweet tears to this day. What a perfect gift! (Gramma is working on taking the hat in a little as it will be too big for Keagan when he is born.)

This blanket is from Keagan's great aunt, Paulette. We went shopping for a blanket for Keagan to be wrapped in when he is born, but could not find anything that was perfect enough for our special baby. I sent my very skilled Aunt Paulette a message asking her if she would mind making one for him. She replied that she would be honored. She made this blanket in a very short amount of time, as we were not quite sure when we would deliver at that point. This blanket, as you can see, is absolutely beautiful and I know just how much love she put into making it. This may sound silly, but when I opened the package, it smelled of my Aunt Paulette and Uncle Doug which was comforting to me. I know this blanket will bring comfort to Keagan when he is born and also to us as we hold on to it after he is born and are able to smell his scent.

 These gifts are from Keagan's Gramma and Papaw. I have already posted about these gifts, but I just wanted a chance to share just how much my parents are doing for us and for Keagan. They always provide emotional support, but have also given us several items. From the OSU basketball tickets, to a Dave and Busters gift card, to several items with which we will make keepsakes, Gramma and Papaw have poured out their love to all three of us. This is no surprise. There have always been wonderful parents, and now are the perfect grandparents for Keagan!

This hat is from Keagan's Aunt Becky. As I mentioned in a previous post, Roy has frequently called baby Keagan "Peanut." One night she was sending me links to hats, knowing that we were looking for a few special ones for pictures when Keagan is born. I was replying how much I loved all of them. Unbeknowst to me, she ordered  the perfect one and had it delivered to our house. Even though she lives out-of-state, she does everything she can from that distance. She is always checking in with us, sending messages or quotes, and I know she thinks of all three of us frequently. Her love is felt hundreds of miles away. 

This frame is from one of my co-workers, Rainie. Keagan's hand and footprints are going to be so important to us and we have several things to try to capture them. Rainie did not know, but we were looking for a frame to display them. She brought this in one morning before school, just a few days after we had been shopping but failed to find one. It is absolutely perfect and I can not wait to show off the perfection of Keagan's prints in it.

This book is from one of my former volleyball teammates, Lisa. She saw our post about children's books and wanted to send us a book. This was a total surprise to us. To be honest, the billing address was addressed to her husband Joe and I could not make the connection of who it was from. :) Lisa had asked my mom for our address so mom was able to let me know, and I received a card from Lisa a day later telling me about the book. I just wasn't patient enough! This book has a beautiful message, but one part sticks out to me. It reads: "Umm, Mama? I was wondering...Did you ever want a different baby? One like Samuel the seal or Fredrika the fox?" "Never," Mama said. "Never, ever, ever. Your papa and I wouldn't trade you for the world." "Why?" Little Cub asked. "Why? Because God gave us you." God gave us Keagan and just as the Mama Bear says in the book, we wouldn't trade him for the world.

This blanket is from another one of my co-workers, Jan. One day, she told me that she was making a blanket for Keagan. Earlier this week, she brought in a gift bag. I told her I was only going to look at the blanket because I thought the card would make me cry, and boy was I right! The blanket in itself is beautiful, but the meaning behind it is amazing. In the card, Jan talked about how she has been working on these pieces for several years but did not know why. She had been making a plain white blanket for us, but did not feel it was special enough. These pieces came back to mind and she sewed them together. She notes the way Keagan's life has interwoven lives (same as the stitching to hold the pieces together), brought color to our lives and the world (same as the nine different pieces), and he's unique but that is what makes him perfect (same at the mistakes/imperfections in the blanket.) Keagan will also spend time in this blanket once he is born and it will also be a life-long keepsake that shows so much meaning and connection to Keagan's life.

I collect Willow Tree angels, and the four above actually came from three different people. The first figurine is from Keagan's Gramma Halterman, the second and third figurines are from Keagan's Daddy, and the fourth figurine is from Keagan's Grandma Burton. As you may have read in my "About Me" Roy's mom passed away in August. Prior to her passing, she bought so many things for her future grandbabies and was so excited to meet them. Although she is not physically present, we know that she is constantly with us and constantly watching over us. She loves Keagan and knows exactly what is going on. The last figurine she purchased for me, I believe in her hometown Marietta. There is so much beauty in all of these figurines, but the last one is especially important to us. Not only is it from Keagan's very special Grandma who he will get to be with in heaven, but it also represents our perfect family of three. The fact that the parents are holding a baby will be the same as the only time we get to hold Keagan, when he is a precious newborn baby. I am sure this time will always be in our hearts and this figurine will be a reminder of that time.

 

We have also received several cards. Thanks to my mom, I am totally a card person. It is a family joke that she will go to ten different stores and spend an hour in each one to find the perfect card. The effort, time and thought makes the cards even more special and appreciated. Since I was college, I have saved every card I have received. Roy will tell you I am on the verge of being a hoarder in this sense, but I can’t bring myself to throw away something people have put so much thought into and that I find comfort, joy and/or love in. I will say the cards our family and friends have sent us and the words they have written have been perfect. Thank you to those of you who have sent us cards!

 

In this technology based world, we have also received several emails, text messages and Facebook comments that have touched our hearts deeply. Some of you even call our families to check how things are going with us without us knowing. We have reconnected with people we haven’t talked to in a while, met new people, and grown closer to family and friends through our situation. We appreciate every one of you who have sent us some type of note and let us know you are thinking of us and praying for us. We are doing our best to reply to each one of these, but even if we don’t please know that we have seen all of your messages and are so thankful that you would take the time to send them to us.

Back to the title…and the greatest of these is love - the basis of all of the above gifts, whether tangible or word gifts (thank you college roomies for introducing me to this phrase!), is that they were sent out of love. We have been overwhelmed with support, and even though we have received so many things we could probably tell you each gift or about each conversation we have had because they all mean so much to us. With that being said though, the overwhelming message is the love you all are showing for Keagan and our family, and to us, that is greatest thing you could ever do. Even coming to our blog and reading our posts are special to us, so thank you for doing that! We are amazed at the number of views our blog has received and are so happy to share Keagan’s life with so many people. It is also very comforting to know so many people are thinking of us and praying for us. As I have told several of you, knowing of how many people are sending up prayers brings so much added peace. Although Keagan may never live long enough to understand how each of one of you were involved in his life in some way and how each of you showed so much love to him before he was even born, I believe he can feel the joy and love that I feel as a result of your demonstrations of love.

These words in no way express how truly thankful we are for everything each of you are doing for us and with us, but we would just like to say thank you for being involved in Keagan’s life and showing him and us such a great magnitude of love, the greatest gift in life.