A Celebration of Lucy's Life

On Tuesday, May 24, 2011, we celebrated Lucy's life. The funeral was just breathtaking and looking back on it, I don't know how it all came together.  The plants, the flowers, the photos, Lucy's blanket, her "Little Sister" onesie she wore at the hospital, her baby shoes from our maternity photo session, everything was in its place.  My sister brought Lucy 19 long stemmed white roses, simply elegant. We displayed her footprints and handprints in a white frame that now hangs in our bedroom. Little memories of our tiny dancer spread throughout the chapel. Over the past week Eric and I have just been going through the motions, its all still so surreal. Our family and friends have been amazing through all of this. Your support has gotten us through some hard days. I hadn't even thought of this until writing this blog, but the day of her funeral would have marked her 38th week. Tuesdays have been so symbolic for us, standing for another week that Lucy defied the odds. It's on this 38th Tuesday that we celebrate our daughter, dancing with her Father in Heaven. Dance on, my tiny dancer, my sweet girl, you are all healed and safe and we will be with you again.

Pastor John Davis from our church officiated the ceremony. He made this a beautiful service. His message spoke to our hearts and although we are so saddened that we were at a funeral for our infant daughter, his words were so comforting and it was absolutely perfect. 

Two of our friends, Ben Donnelly and Gretchen Griffin each sang for our sweet Lucy. Gretchen sang Chris Tomlin- I Will Rise, and Ben sang, David Crowder- How He Loves. I dont know how they managed to get through this. I couldnt even watch them without crying, so I have no idea how they got the words out and sang so beautifully.  Eric and I were both so touched that they would do this, they are both talented and amazing and an absolute joy to hear their gifts as they are glorifying God. This was also so fitting for our Lucy because one of the memories we will always have of Lucy was how she danced about when she would hear the praise and worship belting through our church. My baby girl, praising Jesus since day one.

Friendswood Police Department, thank you for showing your support and for arranging everything for the procession. It is an honor to work with such great men and women and it was a wonderful feeling to have your support during this time.  Thank you Lisa, and Mrs. Patro for designing and dedicating a gorgeous piece of jewelry from Ace's line for our Lucy. Words cannot express, really.

Greg and Pauletta Jeter, Jeter Funeral Home, and Scott with Forest Park Cemetary East, thank you for making this service special and unique to our Lucia Faith. Thank you for being so kind during this difficult time and for honoring all of our wishes for our sweet girl. You all were so wonderful to us.  

Our church contacted us over the weekend after Lucy passed. I couldnt bring myself to make it to church that Sunday morning, so we watched service online at home. Sometime after 2nd or 3rd service my phone rings and its from the church. Keri Oujeski from our church contacted us to arrange for a reception to be held following the funeral/burial. We hadnt even thought this far yet. Well, we did, but we just didnt know how or where, or what we were going to do, so her phone call was a blessing, complete with perfect timing. A ministry within our church "Our Daily Bread", planned out a complete reception. The ministry is made up of volunteers who each bring a dish and there are others who were there to serve and clean up afterwards. We had no idea this ministry existed within our church, and we told Keri right then and there, she officially had 2 new members on her team. The biggest gift of all of it was for as long as I can remember, anytime there has been a family gathering, my mom and all of her siblings, or Eric's mom and all of her siblings, were running around and gathering, pouring, changing, cleaning, packaging, serving, running, going...going...going... and never got a chance to visit or breathe! I remember very little about the day of the funeral, or the burial, or the reception. But I remember standing in front of a large table filled with my mom and her siblings and yet another with Eric's family and both tables- they were laughing, comforting, enjoying each other. Thank you, New Hope Church for giving us that gift. 

There are so many people I want to thank, and so many things I want to share, but the central key is this: In some way or another you honored my Lucy, and you touched my family's heart by your prayers, your gestures, your thoughts, your kind words, your poetry, your sentiments. We are forever grateful that you are here with us on this journey, and we want to you know we love you, and He loves you. 

Thank you.

 

This is the video we shared at her funeral, and we wanted to share it with you. The song used in this video is by Selah, and the song is titled, "I Will Carry You". It is written by Angie and Todd Smith. The song is about their daughter Audrey, with a story very similar to Lucy's.