Chloe Lynn Holton was a gift from God. He used Lawerence and I to bring this special little girl into the world, in her short 8 weeks of life she touched the hearts of more people than we will ever know.

My pregnancy was so wonderful, I never felt so beautiful in all my life, as when I carried Chloe in my womb. It was so frightening when my water broke and I knew it was much too early. God held me and made me strong through the contractions. He cleared my mind and made me not afraid.

Chloe was such a fighter from the very beginning. In the NICU the nurses said that she was a feisty one! When they placed her on her tummy she would crawl to the opposite end of her isolette. She hated the CPAP oxygen mask and would always be pulling at it with her thumbs. They had to tape her feeding tube under her chin, so that it would stay in place too. Every day she improved twice as much as the doctors expected. The first time they gave her a bottle she drank it all. The first time I nursed her she latched on, and took her full feeding from my breast. She wanted to go home and be held, like newborn babies are supposed to be.

When we left the NICU Chloe’s weight had just reached the minimum “go home weight” of 4 pounds. She was tiny, but her lungs were now strong, and she could eat very well. We took Chloe to see Aunt Judy and Uncle Jim Elliott in New Smyrna Beach before heading home to Sebring. Aunt Judy lives in a condo on the beach; I was very excited for my baby girl to have her first visit to the ocean. I stared out at the massive open sea from Aunt Judy’s balcony and thanked God for granting me this little miracle.

Lawerence and I tried to get back to work, and get back on our feet after our long stay away from home. We shared caring for Chloe with our family; I wanted to share her with everyone! It was hard not being able to show her off until she was eight weeks old. I didn’t want to hide her under a bushel; I wanted her to shine like a bright light for Jesus. This little light of mine brought joy and smiles to the little girls that ride at Orchid Hill Stables. Every day they would arrive for riding lessons, and someone always brought a gift for baby Chloe. She was loved by so many people; my heart was overjoyed for her.

Now our little shorty is still loved by many, but best of all she is loved by Jesus and is walking or maybe riding with Him in heaven right now. She is more beautiful than we can fathom and the horses in heaven sparkle and shine and our short girl is riding them along the crystal sea.

Praise God for hope! For Salvation! Amen!