Princess Payton was the first little girl that I got to meet and present with a blue princess dress.  Her reaction was priceless!

Princess Payton and me

“God directs your steps.”      (Proverbs 16:9)

It was the first of November and my two oldest daughters and I were headed to see Beth Moore, a Christian Inspirational speaker, in Springfield, Illinois.

On the second day of the conference, Beth randomly went out into the audience to speak with ladies on what they had enjoyed about the conference thus far. One of the ladies said that the today was her husband’s birthday, and her husband had died three years ago of cancer.  When Beth returned to the podium, she said:

“Risk Fresh Hope. I’m talking to the ones here that have lost a loved one. You will never forget your loved one, but you need to get on with what the Lord wants you to do!”

This is when I decided to put Princess Dresses of Love into action.  On the way home from the conference, I was so excited, I missed my exit to Ohio, and instead veered off course in Illinois.  Not having a GPS, I used an atlas to reroute my path home.  As I drove through Indianapolis, I saw Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital.  God told me to make a dress for Peyton and He kept on saying “Make a dress for Peyton.”  So I made a dress for Peyton.  One week before Christmas, I was playing phone tag with the hospital.  It was during that week, I had lunch with some ladies and one of my friends, Jenny, mentioned that she had a friend whose daughter had been battling cancer for several years.  I asked Jenny what her size was, her age and her name.  Jenny responded that her name was “Peyton.”  I almost fell out of my chair!  That evening Jenny called me and said she had received a call from Peyton’s mom saying they would be at Nationwide Children’s Hospital the next day.  She wondered if I could meet Peyton and present the dress to her.  I had been praying for a while to be able to actually meet a little girl, present her a dress, and see her reaction.  Her procedures was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. and we arrived at 10:15 a.m.  We thought she would be having her procedure, but she was sitting in bed with the prettiest smile just as if she were waiting for us.  I told her my name, and the story behind Princess Dresses of Love.  Then, the nurse came in and said, “We are sorry for the delay but are you ready for your procedure.”

Everything about that day worked in God’s timing.  The time of the procedure, and the day I presented the dress to Peyton was the same day, three years previous, that my dearest David was buried.

Princess Peyton and me