basket of cora LOVE

This morning 30 of us girls gathered for a special surprise for our friend Jess.
It's been 2 months since Cora went to be with Jesus.
And we knew this Easter weekend was going to be especially tough for Joel and Jess.

For about a month, many of the girls in our Young Married's Sunday School class, and a few others, purchased many of the Cora Paige Etsy items that were being sold by crafters all over the country. We wanted Jess to have a collection of these special items...to always remind her of the way the world has been touched by sweet little Cora.

We didn't originally plan to give this to her on Easter weekend...it just happened that way.
But how perfect it was....the "basket of Cora love" became Jess's Easter basket!

Jess's mom, Kathy, graciously hosted us all and served her delicious waffle bar! Thanks Kathy for all you did!

My friend, Kendall and I, got together last week to write a poem that we wanted to use to help present Jess with her basket and explain to her what it was and why we did it. We wanted to make it somewhat light-hearted and humerous, to not make things any harder on Jess than they already are.

I will give you all the same warning we gave the ladies this morning...

Although we might have you completely fooled, I promise we are not professional poets.
Yes, we did teach 3rd grade together, and we do know how to write the occasionaly limerick or haiku. But there are no promises that we have the correct number of words, correct number of syllables or even that the words rhyme.

Here's the poem....

Basket of Cora Love

So this all began 2 months ago,
When a stranger from Cali started to sew.
It started as just messy flower pins,
Until hundreds more crafters decided to chip in.

They heard the story of your sweet little girl
And how your journey was touching the whole world.
So this website called Etsy become much more than it was
They didn’t know you from Adam, but they chose to show you their love.

Such cute things - every day more and more.
And then dear, sweet, Amy had an idea in store.
That’s when we knew we wanted to shop just for you.
Because we loved Cora and of course we love you too!

So the Basket of Cora love was born
“You girls don’t go broke!” your mom gently warned.
We love Joel too, but this basket’s kind of girly,
So here’s an Easter basket just for you, one day early.

When you were 5, your basket held yummies,
Like candy-filled eggs and big chocolate bunnies.
But your big-girl Easter basket is quite different.
This one is filled with love and sentiment.

Some cards, and jewelry, a doll and an apron,
Keep what you want, and share some with friends.
Let these fun things remind you of your story,
That’s touched the world and is bringing God great glory.

We’re here today for more than just grub,
We know this weekend may be a little tough.
So as we are sitting here on your mom’s rug,
We’ll finish by giving you a giant bear hug!




It was so fun seeing all the cute things made with such love, mostly from people who have never even met the McClenahan family.

(most photos courtesy of Amy, THANK YOU!)

It was such a beautiful morning with so many beautiful women. I feel SO blessed to be a part of such an amazing circle of friends.

Oh, and here's a funny (STRESSFUL) story of how our morning got started:

Kendall and I headed out to make sure we were there early to help Kathy, and to help Jess's nerves (she didn't know who all was coming...she just knew it was "some friends and some family"....she didn't know it would be 30 of us). We didn't want her to worry, and I kept assuring her that it would be casual and laid back and nothing too hard. We wanted to be there before everyone started arriving.

We stopped at Dillons to pick up some coffee creamer. As we walked back out to my truck, I realized my keys were in the truck and I was 99% sure I hit the lock button when I got out. I was right. Stranded at Dillons. And of course it's the ONE time my husband doesn't answer his cell phone. I didn't even know for sure if we had a spare key at home, I was thinking we did...and praying we did. We just had to get there. We could have just gotten a ride to the brunch, but the basket was locked in the truck...we couldn't go without that!! It was the main reason for the morning! It wasn't 2 seconds after Kendall said, "Man, I wish we knew someone here", I spotted someone I knew! Gary, I'm 100% sure you don't read my blog, but THANK YOU!! He drove us back to my house, where I DID find a key, and then back to Dillons.

Needless to say, we were the LAST ones to arrive at the brunch, that WE had organized. Oh my! I was so flustered and felt SO bad we weren't there for Kathy and Jess. But at least we made it....with the basket.

Jess, we just hope you know how much your loved and how much we loved Cora. You are an amazing, AMAZING woman, who continues to touch so many with your tender spirit and testimony. You are beautiful inside and out...your smile was especially beautiful today. We hope the fun etsy stuff will be a reminder in the days and years to come, that Cora touched THE WORLD and that so many people EVERYWHERE are praying for you! As your friends, we promise to continue each chance we get to shine a light for you, as you walk this dark and painful path....you do not have to do it alone...we love you!