This is my daughter, Lilly.

She is our second daughter. She and I shared a bond for 38 weeks and 3 days.

On October 11, 2023, my family’s world changed forever. Our beautiful, perfectly formed, and healthy daughter Lilly Isabella Toepper, was born still.

It was at that moment everything in my world changed. It is impossible to grasp the new reality that the daughter I had just finished the sunshine nursery for was never going to see her room. I was never going to nurse in the rocking chair. Was never going to meet her big sister, who would love her so much.

I left the hospital with empty arms, with only a box of memories, instead of my baby. She was so wanted, so desired, so deeply loved. My mind, body, heart, and soul longed to hold onto her. To keep her close to me in any way I could. I needed to find a way to keep her in our lives, to keep speaking her name.

I prayed for God to help me find a way to honor her to serve other mothers who are also experiencing this heartbreaking grief. I prayed to find a way to use these uncomfortable feelings of grief, suffering, loss, and pain to glorify Him. That is why I started Lilly’s Legacy.

God allowed me to find hope in the midst of chaos. God showed up for me and my family through the hands and feet of those around us. My doctors, midwives, nurses, friends, family, and strangers absolutely bombarded my family in the most abundantly loving way to surround us with nothing but generosity, love, and compassion. It was as if God was holding us together by the love others were supplying us with. The generosity, kindness, and compassion was tangible. During the most heartbreaking time we were met with the love of Christ, I remember thinking, this is a season of abundance. In the midst of loss and grieving, I was able to feel an abundance of love. An abundance of support. An abundance of generosity and compassion.

After this experience, I wanted to find a way to continue to celebrate my baby girl. I longed to find a way to be sure I never stopped speaking her name and that she would never be forgotten. She was so loved and so wanted. We long to meet her, and that day will come. Until that day, I can parent her by continuing to honor her by creating Lilly’s Legacy.

Lilly’s Legacy is a ministry of compassion towards moms and families experiencing stillbirth or infant loss. Lilly’s Legacy aims to provide comforting items and tangible hope that Christ is with you during this storm.

The “Lilly Bag” is a bag of comforting, physical items for mothers of stillborn/traumatic births.

On this page, I will be sharing the process behind these bags, how you can help contribute to helping this ministry grow, personal stories, and how we plan on loving mamas who have lost the most precious thing they could possibly lose.

We are honored to be a small part of their journey to healing.