Welcome Home Anne Collins and Collier!!!

My favorite part of Footprints is when our babies go home! Anne Collins and Collier are both now home! Thank you Lord! Anne Collins and Collier were born on September 19 and they both weighed 3lbs 4oz. They are now both over 4lbs and doing great! These twins have been in our prayers for a very long time, click here. The progress these girls made in the NICU was absolutely amazing! We know the Lord heard our prayers! Will(Daddy) decided when they became pregnant with twins that he wanted to run a marathon in honor of Footprints. He has already raised over $1200 for Footprints! Also he will be helping organize our 1st Footprints run/walk in the spring! We are so thankful for the Hickman family and their amazing support for the Footprints Ministry! It's so exciting to see the Lord at work in their lives! Thank you Lord for these precious gifts! Thanks to each of you for praying for the Hickman family!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above" James 1:17

Sweet Girls Sharing an Incubator

Tabitha and Collier

Tabitha and Anne Collins

Anne Collins at Home!!!

Collier at Home!!!

Amazing Gifts from God!

Home Together At Last!

Introducing......

Our Footprints Ministry Logo!!! I'm so thrilled to share this with you! As you know the Footprints Ministry won a contest called CreatAthon through LWT Communications here in Montgomery. On September 11th, LWT closed it's doors and dedicated a full 24 hours to marketing plans for several non-profits in our community for FREE! They revealed the marketing package to us on Monday. And let me say it is Amazing! Camille Leonard and Cindy Scott designed a logo, car magnet, business cards, prayer request card, footprints bag label and a brochure. It's wonderful how they took our vision for this ministry and turned it into a logo. The logo shows to footprints pushed together and the arches make a heart. How perfect does that go with our mission statement "Walking in God's Grace and Sharing His Love with Families in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit." A gigantic thank you to Camille, Cindy and others at LWT who worked on this project! We have been praying for this project for months and it turned into something far better than we ever dreamed! Thank you Lord for opening this door to us and using LWT Communications to bring you glory!

"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." Ephesians 3:20

Please leave a comment and let us know what you think.




Thank You LWT Communications!

Our Marketing Package!

Thank You Camille and Cindy!

WELCOME HOME RALEY!!!

After 13 long weeks, Raley Parkman went home today!!! We are so thankful to the Lord for allowing her to come home! Raley was born at 28 weeks weighing 2lbs 4oz. She now weighs over 5lbs! She is a true example of the Power of Prayer! Raley has some pretty special parents too! Kadra was one of the first people that helped begin the Footprints Ministry. Little did she know that Footprints would be ministering to them one day. The strength and faith of Brendon and Kadra during this time has been absolutely amazing! No matter how bad their day was they always had a smile on their face. Wow and the way they allowed the Lord to use them during this time-Kadra made a radio appearance, she ate dinner with us and another FP mother, helped with the FP golf tournament and she was constantly going around the NICU and providing encouragement to other families. The Lord definitely knew what he was doing when he placed the Parkman family in the NICU!

Today we put up a few Welcome Home signs and balloons at the Parkman's home. We were able to see them as they brought Raley home. It sent chills all over me to see them pull into the driveway. What a long journey this has been for them! Thank you Lord for working so many miracles in sweet Raley! We know it is only by your Grace and Power that she is home today!

Thank you to Brendon and Kadra and the whole Parkman family for allowing Footprints to be a part of your NICU journey! We are so glad this journey has come to an end! We look forward to seeing the Lord do many more Amazing things in the Parkman family!

"In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall. God’s way is perfect." Psalm 18:29-30




One of Raley's first outfits

Kadra's radio appearance with Leslie Bailey

The Parkman Family at the golf tournament


Kadra with her friends Rachele and Robyn at golf tournament

Visitng Kadra and Raley in the NICU

So precious!

Family Photo in the NICU

Our Little Angel!

Welcome Home Cowgirl!

Welcome Home from FP!

Proud Mommy!

Proud Daddy!

Family Photo at HOME!!! YAY!

We're so Happy You are Home Raley!

Proud Big Brother Harrison!

Happy 1st Birthday Footprints!

I've been really behind on my blogging...At the end of August we celebrated Footprints 1st Birthday! My sister, Robyn Bernier along with many others planned a surprise birthday party for Footprints. I'm not sure how they pulled it off but I was completely surprised! It was a wonderful afternoon. Many friends and family came to show their support for this great ministry the Lord has blessed us with. My sister Robyn shared a few words, which is unusul because we have a lot in common in that we're not public speakers. Thanks Robyn for stepping up there for your sis! Then Laura Mielke, mother of twins Harper and Lilly shared her NICU experience and the impact the Footprints Ministry had on them. Wow, she had such a powerful story! She brought many of us to tears several times. I'm so grateful for the Mielke family and the amazing support they've shown to Footprints! Then I was presented with another surprise-Erin White is the accountant who has been working with me on filing our 501(c)3 to obtain our non-profit status. Erin presented all of the paperwork completed! And yes, I cried again! It was like all of our meetings and hard work were finally complete and soon we'll be "official" with the IRS! Thank you so much to Erin for volunteering many hours to complete this paperwork for FREE! We then ended with the slideshow of our 1st year that my husband Glenn put together. It was a wonderful afternoon! Two of our Footprints babies also attended the party-Brooke Waters and Peyton Barranco. I can't express the joy it brings to my heart when I see our precious miracles growing up! I could just cry right now thinking about all of our families. These babies are truly gifts from God! We received many, many donations, gift cards, blankets and cameras as birthday presents. Thank you to everyone who attended the party and brought gifts. Some gifts did not have who they were from so please forgive me if you didn't receive a thank you note. Thank you to everyone who organized and attended our 1st birthday party!

I'm still amazed at where we started and where we are today. When we started this ministry, we had in mind that we would help one or two local hospitals. Little did we know the Lord had bigger and better plans. I would have laughed if someone told me last year that the Lord wanted this ministry to expand to other cities. I'm still in complete shock that the Lord has grown it so quickly in one year. I shouldn't be in shock as our God is an All Powerful, All Knowing God! This past year has been a very humbling experience. I still feel that I'm inadquete to take on this task of organizing this ministry! I know that it is only through HIM that this ministry continues to grow and thrive. In our 1st year we distributed over 600 bags! So 600 families heard of the love of Christ through this ministry. God is soooo good!

I heard the following verse on the radio today, what a perfect verse to sum up our 1st year! The blessings from the Lord have been running over since Footprints began. Thank you Lord for this incredible ministry! We are excited about what you have planned for our 2nd year! We pray that many families will come to know you through this ministry. Thank you Lord for every person who prays, volunteers and donates to this great ministry!

"Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap." Luke 6:38

Below are some pictures from the party-Thank you to Jon Bowman for being our photographer!

The beautiful cake!

Collage of photos from our 1st year

Surprise!

Robyn speaking

Some of our wonderful supporters!

Laura Mielke sharing their NICU story

More amazing supporters

Erin White presenting the non profit paperwork

Thanking everyone for all they've done

Christy being a great hostess!

More great supporters!

Two Footprints families meeting

Beth Bowman and Pam Carroll-two of the first Footprints volunteers

The greatest Birthday gift ever-two healthy Footprints babies!

Our 1st Footprints baby Brooke is now 1 year old!

Lessons Learned in the First Year of Footprints

Sorry for the delay on this post. It has been a little overwhelming trying to sum up everything learned in this 1st year of Footprints into one blog post. So here it goes.....

The first thing I want to tell you is that I ran from the Lord for about a year on starting this ministry. I thought, I can't do this-I have a new baby, a job, a husband and plans for my life. I'm not a leader, public speaker and organizer(definitely not). But here's what the Bible says, "How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like a morning fog-it's here a little while then it's gone. What you ought to say is if the Lord wants us to we will do this or that. Remember it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it." James 5:14-15, 17. So lesson #1 learned this year, instead of worrying on how I'm going to do something, I now know to trust in the Lord and what he says to. I want to encourage anyone reading this blog, if something has been laid on your heart to trust the Lord and do it. It is incredible when you let go and let God work through you.

Next lesson learned, is things are not always easy but that's not the important thing. The important thing is that we are having an eternal impact on these NICU families. The results far outweight the sacrifice of this ministry. So with this said, I completely agree with what Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:10 "So I am willing to endure anything if it will bring salvation and eternal glory in Christ Jesus to those God has chosen."

Another lesson learned, is that the Lord has called me into ministry. On Mother's Day this year, I made a public decision in front of my church that I've been called into ministry(see picture below). Now, this definitely was not easy nor was it in my plans for my life. But again I let go and let God. I know this is where I need to serve. I am ready to give away all my plans and all my dreams for myself and my family to serve him. Paul wrote this in 1 Timothy 1:12, "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me the strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him." I am extremely grateful to the Lord for giving me the strength to do his work and calling me into ministry. There is absolutely no way I could have done this without Him. Please continue to pray for my family as we seek out His will.

Last lesson learned is to serve Him enthusiastically and when his people are in need be ready to help them. As it says, in Romans 12:11-13 "Never be lazy but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble and keep on praying. When God's people are in need be ready to help them." This ministry has definitely been a huge blessing to my life and family. Being able to help those in need is incredible! It's not me alone, it's every single person who has volunteered their time, talent and money to this ministry. And it's by His Grace that this ministry has become what it is today.

I want to encourage everyone to seek out the Lord's will for your life. It is an amazing joy and blessing to serve our Awesome God! You may think "I can't" but with the Lord "You Can". My hope is that this ministry will give someone the encouragment to begin another ministry. Just think how awesome this world would be if everyone took their difficult circumstances and storms in their life and turned them into a ministry. We would be reaching people all over the world!

"For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength" Philippians 4:13

My Family Making Our Public Decision to Go Into Ministry

St. Vincent's Here We Come!!!

Last Sunday we had our 1st bag stuffing for St. Vincent's hospital! We also made bags for Baptist East and Baptist South along with our NICU nurses day goodies. We made a total of 100 bags! It was so exciting to know that we were sending these bags to another city! Nicole Collier and Alison Baggett who are heading up Footprints in Birmingham drove down to help us. It is truly amazing to see the growth that the Lord has done in this ministry! We are looking forward to expanding to even more cities! The Lord has great plans for the Footprints Ministry! Thank you to the following volunteers who came Sunday:

Alison Baggett
Courtney Branch
Jessi Carr
Betty Cody
Nicole Collier
Christy Cronier
Alicia Foxworth
Heather Grimes
Tina Hall
Joyce Hill
Jacki Hornsby
Kim Keefe
Peggy Kelly
Sherry Melton
Lindsey Norred
Karen Redden
Stephanie Roarke
Ashley Rogers
Tracy Welch
Leigh Willis
Kitti Wilson
Jennie Young

"Sing about the glory of his name! Tell the world how glorious he is." Psalm 66:2

This past weekend Ron and Ashley Laye had a birthday party for their children Anniston, Owen and Griffin. In lieu of gifts they had their party guests make donations to the Footprints Ministry. They raised $420 for the Footprints Ministry! This was such a selfless act. I wasn't surprised when Ashley approached me about this because their family is such an amazing supporter of this ministry. Below is the Laye Family NICU journey written by Ashley. Thank you so much to Ron, Ashley, Anniston, Owen and Griffin for sharing your birthday with Footprints!



What has the NICU meant to me and my family? Well, where do I begin? We have had a long journey with the NICU starting with my son Coleman. He was born in December 03 and had a normal pregnancy and birth. 4 days after his birth (the day after Christmas) we found him not breathing and lifeless. I started CPR and revived him fairly quick. Although he was breathing again, he lost enough oxygen to his brain to cause severe brain damage. The NICU was our home for 7 long weeks. I was desperate for answers and felt like I had nowhere to turn. The nurses, doctors and staff cared for not only my son, but they were so supportive to my whole family. My son passed away 7 months later and most of the extraordinary nurses that cared for him were there at his passing into Heaven. I later had a beautiful healthy daughter named Anniston. And just when I thought my NICU experience was past me, God had other plans. 2 years after the birth of my daughter I gave birth to beautiful twin boys (Griffin and Owen). They were born a little too early and Griffin had to stay in the NICU for 1 week and Owen had to stay for 2 weeks. Again, I was devastated to leave them in this place, but I knew I had the best nurses and doctors caring for them. The twins just celebrated their first birthday and are doing great. I am forever in debt to the NICU and feel I was put on this earth to give back for the gifts they have given me. Although my son is not physically here with me, he guides me to be a person of service and to give all my glory to God. I know God made me from day one to care for Coleman and my other children. I know how hard it is for these parents to have babies in the NICU, so I know how much of a blessing Footprints Ministry is to these families.

"It is more blessed to give than to receive."
Acts 20:35