Fearfully, Wonderfully Made

(William's Special Day Part 2)

A READING FROM THE BOOK OF PSALMS
Read By William's Godmother, Kate.

YOU HAVE CREATED EVERY PART OF ME;

YOU PUT ME TOGETHER IN MY MOTHER’S WOMB.

I GIVE YOU THANKS THAT I AM 

FEARFULLY, WONDERFULLY MADE;

ALL YOU DO IS STRANGE AND WONDERFUL.

I KNOW IT WITH ALL MY HEART.

WHEN MY BONES WERE BEING FORMED 

CAREFULLY PUT TOGETHER IN MY MOTHER’S WOMB,

WHEN I WAS GROWING THERE IN SECRET,

YOU KNEW THAT I WAS THERE --

YOU SAW ME BEFORE I WAS BORN.

THE DAYS ALLOTTED TO ME

HAD ALL BEEN RECORDED IN YOUR BOOK,

BEFORE ANY OF THEM EVER BEGAN.

O GOD, HOW DIFFICULT I FIND YOUR THOUGHTS;

HOW MANY OF THEM THERE ARE!

IF I COUNTED THEM, THEY WOULD BE MORE

THAN THE GRAINS OF SAND.

WHEN I AWAKE, I AM STILL WITH YOU.

Auntie loves you, William!

You guys know Kate. It was her idea of writing about William back in December. She was there right besides us through it all. She is a pediatrician who advocated for our little guy. She took photos and videos when he was born. When my voice wouldn't reach across the delivery room, she told William how much I loved him and kissed him for me. She waited a long time to meet our little one.

It's hard to describe just how important Auntie Kate is to baby William. 

All we can say is that she is the "Auntie of all Aunties". William must have been so happy to hear her speak so beautifully. Above is the version that was read during the service. It differs slightly from the one posted earlier in the It's a Wonderful Life.

The Candle Lighting Ceremony

(William's Special Day Part 1)

THE CANDLE LIGHTING CEREMONY

William's candle was placed on a small table in front of the alter. Also displayed on the table was William's teddy bear (a gift from aunt Val), a bouquet of Sweet William flowers, and William's special basket containing his small star urn wrapped up warmly in his cozy baby blankets.

William's candle is not only a symbol of his eternal life in heaven, 

it is also a symbol of his eternal presence in our family. 

The lighting of the candle was incredibly special to us. Not only to remember and honor him, but also to honor all babies who have died. Just about 8 years ago, we lit another special candle in this very same church, to honor our commitment to each other on our wedding day. As we lit William's candle, we were reminded of how this little baby strengthened our family bond. The song This Little Light of Mine was played on harp. He loved that song, we'd sing it over and over again throughout pregnancy. It reminded us of a playful little William, full of life and light. It was perfect.

We call William "our light".

William's Special Day

William's memorial service began with lots of hugs.

Some of the best hugs we've ever received were made that day. 

Big, squeeze-me-tight, bear hugs from family and friends, some who traveled quite far to be with us, to be with William, that day.

We were blown away by all the love. Our little guy must have been as well.

William's special day was filled with beautiful music. All of the songs were hand-picked, many were William's favorites - songs that we would play for him as he wiggled around in the womb.

We thank uncle Matt for playing piano, big cousin Madeleine and auntie Anne for vocals, Katie on harp, and Dot for planning and playing piano.

William's family (mom and dad, auntie and uncles, and grandparents) took part in the service. Big cousin, Noah too. Uncle Patrick and Auntie Nikki were with us in spirit :) Hearing everyone read their part and being there for baby William made the service very special.

As we share the service over the next couple of days months, we share our love for William and express our thanks to all of you.

xoxo,
Liz and Tom

Madeleine singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with accompaniment by Katie Lynch Koglin on harp.

Thank you

William’s memorial service was yesterday, and it was an incredible day filled with love. THANK YOU for celebrating him with us. Every hug, every smile, all your kind words meant so much to us. We will never forget him and we will never forget that day when we remembered him in such a special way.

We were so touched by all of you.

More memories and photos to come, for those who could not attend.

xo,

Liz and Tom

William's special basket, his bear, his candle (that was lit in honor of him), and a bouquet of sweet william flowers on display for the service. The candle remained lit for the entire celebration. 

We Will Remember Him

Waking up this morning, I feel more like a mom than other days. William is on my mind like most other mornings but today is his memorial service, a day to share him with family and friends. I suppose some of what I’m feeling is similar to what a mom would feel on her baby’s baptism or first birthday party. But I can't stop thinking if this was all a dream, that I’d wake up and have William sleeping besides me, happily oblivious that he’d be meeting everyone only hours from now.  

The service is at 11:00 today at Our Lady of Victory Church, Centerville, MA. We are bringing mementos and photos so everyone can “meet him”.

All are welcome.

XoXo

Tom and Liz

It’s a wonderful life

During pregnancy we spent a lot of time wondering about William. At first, before we knew anything was wrong, we wondered as any expectant mom or dad would. Are you going to be a scientist or an engineer, little one, I would say as I tapped on my belly. We knew he loved the sounds of sport games as he kicked and wiggled while we watched football. We wondered what his sport would be. We wondered if he’d be a dreamer, if he’d be shy or outgoing, or a beautiful combination of the two. If he’d prefer the ocean or the pool. What his favorite book would be, what his first word would be. Regardless of any of our wonders, we knew William was our William. And he was perfect in our eyes, no matter what. But still, the game was too fun, so we continued to play. William filled our lives with wonder and still does.

After we found out that William was sick we wondered why our doctors could not figure out how to save him. They fix other babies, why not him? At a certain point - we found ourselves exhausted, trapped in the hospital, just waiting for our mystery baby to be born. This scripture helped get us through all those nights when all we could do was wonder...

Trust in the LORD with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding

Proverbs 3:5

We trusted God. But when William died, we wondered why God let it happen.

This gives us comfort:

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place,

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book 

before one of them came to be”

Psalm 139

We know that God lovingly embraced William’s life, long before he was born. God cradles all of our lives in this way. We believe that God did not want William to die and that he cried for us and we believe that he holds William in his arms now. We believe God was there that day leading William to his new home.

God knows the extent of our earthly lives 

and continues to knit, weave, and create us in His own image

- Genesis 1:27

~ EACH AND EVERY LIFE IS WONDERFUL TO HIM ~

While William’s life may be brief, his precious spirit will live on and spread throughout our family, friends, even strangers. William will never play football or win the science fair as we dreamed he would here on earth. Instead, he leaves us a legacy of his wonderful life, a legacy of love.