Delivering Hope: In Honor of Hannah K. Larsen

2011-08-04T13:43:00.000-07:00

Just like Hannah's blog, I will be printing this blog and no longer writing here. I still will continue "Delivering Hope" for Hannah through memory boxes and other angel gifts, I just won't document it here. Let's face it---I'm not so good at documenting it anyway! I have started a family blog for our continued journey if you'd care to follow along! I'd love to have you at Broken Yet Whole.

A Giveaway!

2010-12-11T06:22:00.001-08:00

Don't forget to check out Hannah's blog for a special giveaway today!

Happy Birthday sweet Hannah

2010-09-21T06:10:00.000-07:00

Today is Hannah's Birthday and I'm hosting a giveaway for anyone who wishes to participate.....click here.

A Quick Note

2010-09-04T06:13:00.000-07:00

I have noticed that several of you follow this blog but not the main blog that I have for Hannah---don't know if this is because you don't know this isn't my main blog or on purpose! But either way, I don't often post on here, though I do plan on doing something special for Hannah's First Birthday in Heaven on September 21. If you would like to follow my main blog, it's HERE. Thank you guys! You are all truly a blessing!

A Pray Date Giveaway

2010-07-30T06:58:00.001-07:00

Today is a tough day for me and being I hit 200 posts on my Pray Date blog, I decided to host a giveaway, to help me through this day and perhaps, to help you along your grief journey. You don't need to be a follower to enter, though if you'd like to, I'd love to have you. To enter, click here.

Please Pray

2010-06-30T13:09:00.001-07:00

Please pray for a very sweet friend of mine. I can't disclose name or situation, but God knows who she is. He knows her needs. He knows and has the power to heal. Please pray.

International Babylost Mother's Day (PLUS) a Radio Show!

2010-04-24T11:15:00.001-07:00

How exciting is this?! Carly Dudley, founder of International Babylost Mother's Day, is going to interview with us live for our first official Radio Show-----ON May 2, International Babylost Mother's Day! Awesome, right?

The show begins at 5pm Eastern on Sunday, May 2. We will be hosting 3 separate giveaways including a "Pampered Mom" Gift Basket, a Custom Shdow Box and a Surprise Store-Bought Item! It is a day to honor ALL moms and ALL children and we hope you will join us! You can listen, chat or even call in! To visit our BlogTalk Radio page CLICK HERE. Bookmark this link because this is how you will arrive at the show next Sunday!

For automatic updates on all of our upcoming shows and topics, friend Anchored By Hope on Facebook!

A Special Delivery

2010-04-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

Today Little Bobby and I delivered some boxes, blankets and hats to the hospital to honor our sweet girl on her 7 month angelversary. Love you, Hannah!

Radio Show TEST Run!

2010-04-10T05:30:00.001-07:00

Kristie and I are VERY excited to be testing out our new Radio Show on Sunday at 5pm Eastern. We would love for you all to come listen and interact wit us as we learn to use the switchboard and chatroom. It's EASY! You can participate in several ways. You can just listen. You can call in. You can chat with me and other moms in the chat room. You can either create a Blog Talk Radio username or even log in using your Facebook account. We could really use your support as we test this out. and share our stories with each other. To go to our show CLICK HERE. (Remember it's Sunday, April 11 at 5pm Eastern) Thank you guys for all of your support!

Anchored by Hope: Summer Session

2010-04-06T12:16:00.001-07:00

We are currently signing women up for the Summer Session of our Online Bible Study beginning May 13. If you or someone you know is interested please contact either Kristie (kristie@anchoredbyhope.com) or I (katy@anchoredbyhope.com) for more information, or you can check out our website at HERE. For those of you who have taken it or are currently taking it, please share with those you believe would benefit. Thanks!

Confirmation

2010-03-22T07:08:00.000-07:00

I received an e-mail the other day from the head nurse at one of the Emergency Rooms I sent a box to. The woman complimented the package, assured me of its use in the future and told me a little about her hospital, and sister hospital. Then she went a step further. She opened her heart to me and told me her daughter's story of finding no heartbeat at 11 weeks. Her daughter had been alone. The sonographer hadn't let this woman or her son in law into the room. It broke everyone's heart.

That policy no longer exists at that hospital where she was.

It just proves to me that you can always bring some good out of bad. I don't know why God allows bad things to happen. I don't believe He causes it. I believe the key word is sometimes He ALLOWS it. I just hope that we, myself included, can remember and keep in our hearts, that He CAN ALWAYS make beauty from ashes.

To give them beauty for ashes, the oil of JOY for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness. Isaiah 61:3

Mission Accomplished!

2010-02-22T06:09:00.000-08:00

These are the last of the boxes to the 21 hospitals sitting on my front porch right now waiting to be picked up. I'm four days late of my goal, but I think sweet, beautiful Hannah would forgive me and is smiling down on me anyway.

I currently have 6 boxes on hand ready to be transformed into a beautiful keepsake! I am planning on bringing some with me to my next support group meeting to donate to the hospital that has been helping me so much! I am also going to bring some hats that I knit and a few blankets. I will post pictures before they leave! I know the contents of these boxes will change a little from the first 21. I won't need to include the stamp pad anymore and the hand/footprint cards. These hospitals are already prepared for these situations. I am thinking of adding a little washcloth and trial sized baby wash. What do you think? I have read on a lot of other blogs that giving their baby a bath was a special thing they did.

That's it for now. I am happy to say that my state will no longer be able to claim ignorance to pregnancy and infant loss thanks to my sweet girl in Heaven.

The Blessing Ring

2010-02-06T07:30:00.000-08:00

How cute is this? It is called a Blessing Ring! On the back I put a tag that reads,

The Blessing Ring

Our Heavenly Father has given us many blessings.

Blessings are not only kind words of

encouragement but ACTS of encouragement,

love and praise. The Blessing Ring

holds these things. Whether you are

blessed with a thoughtful card,

have a picture of a touching moment,

are reminded of a Bible verse,

or given a token of love.....

Punch a hole in it and string it on your Blessing Ring.

I have given you this because

you are a blessing to me.

ON SALE NOW IN OUR ETSY STORE!

Blankets and Boxes!

2010-02-05T13:04:00.000-08:00

6 more boxes will be going out next week! I really had to post this picture though to show the BEAUTIFUL blankets my friend Kristie made to go with the boxes! Aren't they beautiful? She custom made them and even embroidered Delivering Hope on the corner! I REALLY can't thank her enough!

After these six I have 4 more to get ready brfore the 18th. That will meet my goal of supplying the 21 hospitals in New Jersey with a box and a binder by Hannah's due date.

Yesterday I was in the Dollar Store and came across some stamp pads. Of course I had to buy one each for these ten boxes! I then took a 4x6 sheet of cardstock and wrote "Baby's Hands" on one and "Baby's Feet" on another. So the two sheets and the stamp pad joined the rest of the contents of the box. I really wish I had sweet Hannah's handprints and footprints......now some other mommy will.

It's OPEN!

2010-01-31T13:02:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe our Etsy store is finally open! My husband and I have been very busy working on things and though we still have items we haven't posted yet, they are coming very soon. We have the basics in action and some items for sale! You can visit our store by clicking HERE! I hope you like it!

Also I wanted to share the ever-growing contents of my memory boxes! I have just finished up 6 more and will be sending them out after I complete the binders. Here's a picture!

8, 9, 10, 11.....

2009-12-31T11:07:00.000-08:00

On the 3 month anniversary of losing sweet Hannah, we sent out boxes 8, 9, 10 and 11. 10 more to go and 7 of them are currently in the works. I am excited to complete the project of educating these 21 hospitals and to move forward and start donating to where there is an immediate need.

I have discovered a true love of crafting in Hannah's honor and have learned to do so many new things. God has given me a wonderful gift here which I hope to use to give Him glory and to offer Hope.

I am still working on the Etsy store but hope to have that posted soon!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope it is filled with love, faith, hope and many blessings!

Busy, Busy, Busy.....

2009-12-12T11:03:00.000-08:00

Some of you may or may not know I am currently participating in an online grief Bible study. We dig into particular scriptures and stories of the Bible which relate to the loss of our babies. Well, we went through somewhat of a grief pyramid or upside down pyramid last week and I discovered my spot to the right of the sharp point at the bottom. I believe I am officially stuck in the busy-ness phase. I am happy to be here. It is a comforting place to reach out to others.

Today I finished 4 more boxes. I just need to get these binders put together. So, they will go out on Wednesday to bring my total to 11, with 10 more to go. That will cover all of the hospitals in my state that do not have Labor & Delivery. Then I will just begin the task of making them to donate to a few local hospitals that do have Labor & Delivery. My needles currently have a green Micro-Preemie hat on their points. I have been busy.

I have decided to open an Etsy store. I will post the link once I have it filled with goodies. An entire section will be dedicated to Delivering Hope and the proceeds of those sales will go towards funding this project.

Please keep us in your prayers! Unfortunately there are a lot of families who could use a memory box and the love I send with it.

Numbers 5, 6 and 7...and MORE

2009-12-02T17:22:00.000-08:00

Three more boxes left today. It makes me smile, inside and out, that hope is being delivered in honor of my sweet angel.

And.....I have learned to knit! I completed 5 hats so far! My first is for Hannah's memory box because she never had a hat. The other four are going to be donated to some local NICU's. They are all in preemie sizes that I have named ITSY (L), BITSY(M), TEENIE (S), WEENIE (XS), MICRO-PREEMIE (XXS). It's exciting!

Three More Boxes.....

2009-11-13T10:35:00.000-08:00

Three more sets of boxes and binders left on Wednesday. It was nice to send them out after having a few hard days last week. I pray that these are received as well as the first. I pray for the families that will one day receive them.

My heart is heavy as I work on them, knowing they will go to someone who feels the pain I do. But my heart is healing working on them, hoping to ease that pain just a little bit. For just one second. For my daughter.

This journey is a journey through so many different emotions. It is nice to be able to reach out to other mothers and families. Even though I would trade this all for Hannah back in a heartbeat, I am thankful for the opportunity to perhaps touch just one life.

God Bless,

Katy

The God of All Comfort

2009-11-03T09:35:00.000-08:00

This morning as I quietly watched Bobby building some great tower with his blocks, a wave of grief just completely came over me. I should be having a hard time sitting on the basement floor. It would be entirely too uncomfortable for a woman 25 weeks pregnant. Yet there I was, not uncomfortable, not 25 weeks pregnant. How the realism of that can just smack you right in the face.

I felt all my thoughts, all my progress, just rewind. I felt like someone had just hit the rewind button on my grief and it was staring me directly in the face again. I began sobbing and Bobby stopped playing. Mom? I am so sorry, Ba. I am so sorry. But Dear God if you are listening, why did you allow this to happen? My soul exposed I cried out behind my tears.

Have to get out of here. I put on our shoes, our coats. Made a cup of coffee and refilled his juice. Out into the brisk autumn morning for a walk with Bobby in his wagon. I need to learn to separate my love and thoughts of Hannah from my grief. I don't want to break down everytime I actually allow myself to think of her.

After our walk and lunch I put Bobby down for his nap. That leads me to now, this moment. I am still shaken from this morning. I searched for some scripture on comfort and this is what He provided me with.

The God of All Comfort

3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)

I suppose I am on the right path.

One little girl making very BIG changes.....

2009-11-01T09:22:00.000-08:00

On Monday, October 26, 2009, five weeks after losing my Hannah, I sent out my first package of hope to the hospital where my daughter had been born. To truly appreciate my efforts you should read Hannah's Story.

Well, my husband tallked to the hospital Vice President on Friday. He received my package. And when I say he received my package, I mean he received it. He understands and is willing to change. Thank you God! Thank you for opening his mind! They are going to use Hannah's memory box to do just what it is named for, to Deliver Hope to another family. They are also going to educate themselves through the use of a Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Organization. What more could I ask for? I will never be able to change the experience I had under their care, but my daughter and I will change the experience that someone else has. So why stop here? There are 21 hospitals in the state of New Jersey who do not have Labor & Delivery - one down, twenty to go.