Quilt #67 Hess Family and Baby Joshua

Hess Family

In January my friend Karen Anderton contacted me and let me know that she had been following The Duncan Project and wanted to suggest a wonderful family for a quilt.

Last Christmas Micaela and Travis Hess were expecting their 5th child. The due date was approaching and Michaela noticed that baby Joshua didn't seem to be moving.

In the coming days the Hess family experienced one of the most difficult trials in their life, the devastating news that their much anticipated baby boy Joshua would not take a breath in this life.

Baby Joshua

Travis shared with me a blog post that so tenderly explained their journey. He has allowed me to share the post here:

:https://travishess.wordpress.com/2018/01/20/christmas-miracles-in-the-midst-of-a-tragedy/

There is a beautiful miracle and tender mercy in the post where Heavenly Father gave his assurance to Travis and Micaela, through a trusted temple worker who had previously been Micaela's OB-GYN, that Joshua was part of their eternal family. There would be no need for a sealing for their precious stillborn son. The post is so touching and the  faith and testimony of this family and the many acts of perfect service are truly inspiring.

Travis ends his post with these words:

All this has given us hope. Hope that we will see Joshua again in the next life. Hope that we will get to know him. Get to raise him. To love him.

I wanted to share one other thing from Travis's email. He wrote:  Thank you so much for the quilt. It is spending its first night with our youngest, four-year-old Peter, who has always had an affinity for Joshua. He keeps it and other objects to remind him of the younger brother he almost had (on this earth). He was so excited to be a big brother, and though he hasn't shed any tears, he is the child most impacted by Joshua's passing. He has prayed for his resurrection so many times. It is amazing to see how much Peter understands.

I am so grateful that Karen Andertun was prompted to propose the Hess Family for a Duncan quilt. I felt the Spirit so strongly as I learned about Joshua's brief journey on this earth.

Much aloha and love in the stitches....

Quilt #65 Jodi and Willow Peterson

Jodi and her miracle baby Willow

Willow with brother Dallin

Quilt #65 was presented to Jodi and Willow Peterson on August 29th. Theirs is a very happy story. Roughly 18 months ago my dear friend Jodi started to received spiritual impressions that their family was not complete. She has had other instances where those spirits that were to be part of her family made their presence known and she listens carefully to these feelings. Only one problem, after 4 children, she and her husband had decided their family was complete and she had her tubes tied.
Jodi continued receiving the strong feeling that they were to add another child to their family, so she pursued what it would take to reverse the previous surgery. She decided to undergo surgery to reverse the tubal ligation. The surgery was a success and one of her fallopian tubes was reconnected and functional.
A few months Jodi and Dave received the miraculous news that Jodi was pregnant. Jodi had some serious health concerns during the pregnancy but she moved forward, knowing that this baby was destined to be a part of their family.
They named this beautiful baby girl Willow Kalei Peterson. I love that Willow has a middle name that celebrates Hawaii, the place of her birth. I looked up the meaning of her name and there were a couple of meanings listed, my favorite being: The beloved. On my first visit to see Willow it was obvious that she will bring such joy and depth to the Peterson family. There is love in the stitches of this  baby blanket for this incredible little Willow Kalei.

Love the pineapples and hibiscus in the fabric