A Friend Indeed

Monday, June 8, 2015


I am SO over the moon happy for one of my nearest and dearest friends, Jennifer. 
Let me tell you about this amazing gal…she’s the faithful daughter of the King, supportive wife to her crafty husband and doting mom to two energetic boys. She’s also an incredibly talented graphic designer, skilled photographer and crafter extraordinaire!  She also just happens to be Everly’s Angels Foundation’s very own Lead Creative Designer!!! 
 
 

Over the years, she has blessed our family with her skill sets.  However, she just went above and beyond in such special ways this past year plus. Because she is so obedient and humble about her God-given abilities, talents and giftings, many are unaware of just how talented Jennifer truly is and how her heart is led to minister to others. 

She is the silent force behind SO much of what you see for Love for Everly, Team Everly and now all Everly’s Angels.  I would be remiss if I didn’t share with you all that she does for “us” as a collective whole.  Here’s literally just a sampling of what she has created for us because of her servant’s heart and her love for Everly and our family:  priceless photos of Everly at 2 months old (the infamous book shot and me holding Everly); series of photos of both boys a couple of years ago and most recently Garren’s 16th; our handout business cards; Love for Everly Etsy shop and website, including all graphics and photos of products; designed the bookmarks for the shop and a few new things I can’t wait for you to see that are ready to make their appearance in Everly’s shop as well.  In addition, Jen channeled her creative juices into creating a beautiful vision for Everly’s Celebration of Life…from the bucket list frame she and her husband surprised me with to the topiaries adorning the tables to choosing and enlarging of photos used.   Needless to say, she has a vision for design, color and style that is unparalleled.  We are SO lucky that she is our creative designer for Everly’s Angels!
 
Her family is also wholeheartedly behind her and what she does for us.  Not only are they supportive, hubby Jeremy even puts his muscle and woodworking into projects she's made for us and her kiddos Noah and Xander willingly share their mama with me.

 
One of the two biggest gifts she has ever blessed us with came days after Everly passed away.  Jen came to the house to photograph Everly when she “came home” for the weekend.  She also photographed each of us with our sweet angel and it was a precious time for us.  However, it isn’t easy for someone who is unfamiliar with a family to do such a thing, let alone someone who is so close to the family.  And the photos, most of which we’ve chosen to keep as private family memories, are some of the most touching and intimate we have and will always treasure.

The second gift that is noteworthy is the creation of our Love For Everly website.  Words really can’t express the gratitude I had in my heart when she surprised me with it!  Up until Everly’s passing, I was writing on the CaringBridge website. Then after sissy’s Celebration, Jen shared with me this secret she had been quietly working on for weeks…www.LoveforEverly.com.  Not only was it the most beautiful thing I had ever seen...colors chosen specifically for Everly, little details picked out just for her…but each element fit Sweet Pea’s personality just right.  The mind-blowing part was that Jen had painstakingly copied ALL of my blog posts, pictures and captions one at a time and in chronological order from Caring Bridge and placed them into the new website.  One at a time.  All 76 of them.  And all hundreds of photos.   What an amazing gift to use your talent to uplift and encourage someone else! 

Jennifer has sacrificially spent hours upon hours upon hours creating, designing, uploading, working to bless our family.  She continues to do this and does so willingly. 


 

Not only does she spend precious time creating and designing for us, but she also spends time with us.  She’s been coming over to be with me…laughing, crying, shopping (yikes!!), planning, cleaning, organizing (the pantry still rocks, girl!), photographing (#gottahavethecamera)…one day every week since Everly passed away.  It is one of the highlights of my week and the day I most look forward to!  There were a couple crazy weeks on my side that prevented her from being able to come over and even Garren asked where Jen was after noticing it had been a whole week.  She brings so much joy and fun into our home while she’s there that all of the family loves having her stay!  I’ve kept her so busy (#reallyjusthavingtoomuchfun) a couple of times that we’ve had sleepovers at the house!
 

That brings me to this…

Jen just opened her own Etsy shop called Pocket Full of Kisses (do we not just LOVE this title??)!!!!  I’m so very proud of her for the work she’s put into designing her products!  And, yes, every single one is handmade!  Her creative mind works 24/7 and so it’s only a matter of time before PFOK Design Studio is stocked full of designs!  I would LOVE to have everyone check out her Etsy shop...click here…like it on Facebook, favorite it on Etsy and let her know how talented she is by ordering some of her new designs!  I just ordered mine and can’t wait to put them to use!!  Oh, and in case you were wondering, she does custom orders so keep that in mind! 
 
 
How blessed and lucky I am to call her friend! 

 

 

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