Courtney Adavia Kemp was born on August 30, 2002 at 12:02pm. She was the bundle of joy that her dad and I had prayed for, for many years.

After a miscarriage, and a very high risk pregnancy we were told that the possibilities of us having another child was slim to none. We never ‘planned’ to space our children six years apart; however, the possibilities of having another child was not looking very promising.   When we found out that we were pregnant with Courtney, we were truly bubbling with excitement.

Those who had an opportunity to meet Courtney would all probably describe her differently. I like to say, that she was a child who could read a soul. She was very timid until she was made to feel comfortable. She always wanted to do a great job, and she would purposely surround herself with people who would appreciate her talents and love for nature and animals. When she was dismissed she could be a bit feisty too.  I cannot accurately describe just how much this little girl appreciated life. She would spend countless hours outside looking for rocks, waiting on butterflies, digging for worms, planting flowers, watching birds, and of course riding her bike. She did not mind getting dirty, but she was definitely a little ‘prissy tail’ too. She loved to dress up. For her everything had to have its proper place. She’s remembered by many today as the little girl — with glossy lips and big bows!  She loved school and her friends.  She wasn’t your honor graduate type student, but she was a solid student as per her third grade teacher, Mrs. Lewis who helped us realize the importance of meeting Courtney academically exactly where she stood.

At a young age, Courtney aspired to someday become a mother, and a school teacher. Oddly, her goals in the very beginning were to someday have a family of her own. She truly embraced her family and was such a daddy’s girl. She loved shooting basketball, swimming, fishing, and enjoyed over hearing her dad share stories with his friends about her basketball game. “Yea man, my Courtney now has form”, he would say.  “She’s going to be dangerous on the court someday he would share”.  It was comments as these that encouraged Courtney to play harder.

 She absolutely adored her big sister Tyanna.  She wanted to dress like her, wear her hair like her and of course keep mom informed of whatever Tyanna did wrong (lol).  Tyanna has mentioned that Courtney was one of her very best friends.  I can remember, us sitting for dinner and talking about Tyanna graduating from high school.  Courtney would literally cry.  She could not imagine Tyanna not being ‘at home’ anymore.  Needless to say, she went home far sooner than we all can grasp.  Her baby sister Lauren, was her little girl in her eyes.  She played teacher with her every single day.  She was Mrs. Lewis (her 3rd grade teacher) and Lauren was her student.  I don’t think that I ever knew exactly how much she was teaching Lauren until she was gone.  Lauren too describes Courtney as her very best friend.  I think I was simply mom!  The way she looked up at me with those big round eyes the morning she transitioned from earth to glory justly validated me as mom.  I saw in her silent tears the fullness of love that she had for me.  She longed for more of mom, but God had a better plan and it was far bigger than any of us can ever imagine.

Unlike many little girls, Courtney hated to shop.  She was a girl who knew what she wanted, and would grab for it and then be gone.  She grabbed for her crazy SOCKS most often and now she is really gone and has left us with thousands, and thousands pairs of socks to help heal broken hearts, and warm cold souls.

Thanks for taking the time to meet our sweet girl, Courtney Adavia Kemp