Sunday, December 09, 2007

A beautiful tribute to Lydia

Yesterday was the memorial celebration for Lydia Grace Focosi (Lydia's web page). It was the MOST lovely memorial service I have ever witnessed. I have many photos from it below. The first are of the balloon release which was one of the most special part's of her service. As you may notice from the photo, we released pink balloons-except there was one white, which was representative of Lydia, released by her big brother Alex. I could've watched the balloons as the gracefully floated off to the heavens until there was nothing left to see but clouds. It was truly lovely.




I also thought Amy looked lovely and she was as graceful as you could imagine all throughout the visitation and service. For a gal who claims to not be creative, she certainly made a special and memorable event for us to be blessed by. Amy assured me that all of it was from the Good Lord and I know what she means.



Above is the table where they had Lydia's urn, which was the perfect heart shaped item in the photo. They had it engraved and even the funeral director was in awe of how perfect it was (they did not get it from the funeral home's selection but on their own).

This is the lovely stepping stone Lydia's Nonna (Grandma Lora) got for Amy and Mike. I don't know where it came from other than online but it is one of the most precious gifts I saw. I LOVE STEPPING STONES!

This is the tree some of Amy's friends gave to her when she was in the hospital. They had all made the precious ornaments in honor of Lydia and wrote beautiful notes on the back of each hand painted ornament-creative friends too!
Amy had many of the generous gifts they had been blessed with on a table at the service. I thought that was a very touching and precious thank you even without a word.

And of course, there were many beautiful flowers sent as well. I loved how these were displayed with a simple set of Lydia's footprints.
Please visit their web page for Lydia as it has many wonderful links including their story, more info on anencephaly, and the Now I Lay Me Down to sleep Foundation. They will also be adding the video (soon, but no pressure Mike;-) we saw during the service which was a beautifully orchestrated visual of their journey of expecting Lydia as well as her birth and photos of them cuddling her and allowing a precious few to meet her also. This was one of the most special parts of the service for me but I also really was blessed by Amy's friend Lindsay (and Lindsay's husband Mike) singing at the service. They sang "it is well with my soul" and "wonderful merciful savior". Again, lovely.
Thank you Amy, Mike and Alex for allowing us all to be a part of such a special day. Lydia was an incredibly special baby girl! I love you guys!



4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh, I suppose you just "played" with the pictures a little, huh? "No big deal" for you!! I love the black and white, with the pink kept or added in...perfect. Just like everything else you did for me and how everything turned out that day--perfect. I don't look at words like-- amazing, perfect, crazy (the way it all just worked itself out), GOD, friends, love--the same anymore. I use all of those words much more often now (probably too often!) and they all have a different meaning than they did before, truly. I know you know what I mean, Renay :-)

I love that you posted this (you beat us to it and that's fine :-) and that I can see the service and tribute through YOUR eyes. It means a lot to me....YOU mean a lot to me. I love you!!!!

Anonymous said...

How touching!

I found amy's site through you and I am saddened by their loss! Lydia was a special girl to have so many people love her and cherish her the way you have! A tribute to a beautiful perfect, little girl!

Anonymous said...

It was beautiful! I told Amy's godparents I was so looking forward to the service, and at first they didn't understand that...it would be so sad. But, afterwards, they did....

Catherine Merciez Wright said...

I was teary reading your beautiful tribute to Lydia. My prayers go out to Amy, Mike and Alex. Take care and let me know if you need anything!
Cat