This has been 2+ years in the making. After Noah died, April, my sister-in-law, had this idea to create a better space for those who spend so much time in the TCH waiting room. In Noah’s memory, she collected $7,855 to put toward a renovation project for the waiting room. Thanks to April’s perseverance, this room was finally completed.

We had a small unveiling today with our family, some of Terry’s co-workers and even one of Noah’s nurses. It was very special to see so many people paying tribute to Noah.

New chairs were purchased and the room was arranged in a way that allows families to be more comfortable during their time in this room. The best part was that artwork was done by a group of 6th graders to remember Noah’s life. No doubt, our balloon tradition was passed on to them, because the theme of each piece was balloons. It is awesome. I spoke with one of Noah’s head nurses. She was in charge of his care the whole week. I thanked her for being there, thinking that she probably didn’t remember us but was just nice enough to attend when invited. However, she said that she would not have missed it. She remembers Noah, the events of that week, remembers his bedside and caring for him. I am continually amazed at how God touched lives in so many different ways through Noah’s life.

We were given balloons to release when we left, and God used something as simple as that to paint a picture for me. As we released them, the balloons did not drift up in the sky like normal, but climbed up the side of the building. Passing every floor, as if to give each child a sign of hope and peace as they looked out a window. Once they balloons made their way to the very top of the building, they were released from the vacuum and they floated into the sky. Like they covered the building of sick children with love then drifted up to heaven.

If you ever find yourself at Texas Children’s please make your way to the NICU waiting room on the 4th floor and see this room dedicated to our son.

Written by Noah’s Nana

One of my favorite songs that I found during the last 2 years is one by Steven Curtis Chapman called “With Hope.” The words expressed so well the feelings that began to fill my heart:
We can cry with hope, we can say good-bye with hope,
For our good-bye is not the end.
We can grieve with hope, we believe with hope,
There’s a place where we’ll see your face again.

We wait with hope
We ache with hope
We hold on with hope
We “let go” with hope

Over the last 2 years our family has found many ways to remember Noah and express our love as well as our pain, but it seems that the words and actions of the children, my grandchildren, have been the most powerful proof of faith. They talk about Noah without hesitation: “How big is he now? Can he see me? I miss Noah. I wish Noah was here. When will we see him? Does he see God?”. And so many more. There is not a doubt in their minds that he is happy and safe and is right where he is suppose to be.

I say all this to try to explain where my idea for a painting came from. Every holiday and birthday and even “no special reason” days, the grandchildren send off balloons for Noah to catch and whisk away. They love to do it and we are touched by their faith that he gets them. In the same way, they always relate the rainbows seen in the sky to Noah. So it seems I never look at the sky with clouds, sunshine, or rainbows without thinking of precious Noah and how much his sister and cousins love him and like to remember him.

So, after April told us about a comment that Cade made, my mind started painting a picture that I wanted as my own remembrance of Noah. Cade was talking about how rainbows are made and that God made them, but then he said, “Maybe Noah makes the rainbows with all the balloons that we send to him.” What a beautiful picture I saw in my mind!

God led me to a beautiful Christian lady, Lee Harris, and she took my ideas and put them at the tips of her brushes. The painting she presented to me encompassed every thought I have had about how I want to remember Noah. I want to name just a few, and you might find your own meaning in it—-just another reason it is such a beautiful piece of art.

3 children:

• These represent my grandchildren who love to send off balloons to Noah. They watch until there is only a dot left in the sky and they know he has grabbed them.
• A symbol of the Godhead: God, who is holding Noah in His arms; Jesus, who made it possible for us to see Noah again some day; Holy Spirit, who provides comfort and assurance through our grief and loss.
• Alyssa, Megan, Noah – what might have been

Sky and clouds:

• It is like looking into heaven, having so much of the picture made into the sky and getting a glimpse of the clear blue that lies beyond.
• Picturing Noah in the shapes of clouds everyday that I see them in the sky.

Balloons:

• So many balloons to represent all the times we let them go.
• Seeing how they float into the heavens and seemingly fade into bands of a rainbow.

Ocean:

• Endless, looking beyond, peaceful, powerful

Land:

• A promise – So faint in the background, but it is like the place waiting for us; the place where we will find Noah.

So as I look at the painting, the words of the song seem to come alive in the soft images: We wait with hope — the children standing on the shore viewing the land and the skies beyond the ocean waves. We hold on with hope –small hands clinging to the strings of the balloons knowing what beauty there will be as they fade into the rainbow. We let go with hope — Seeing the balloons float away, believing and clinging to the promise that we will meet again in a place more beautiful than any rainbow.