By Chelsey Schnell
Family Photos by: Bri Cowan Photography
“What would it look like if there was an organization that sent flowers to moms of miscarriage on those hard days like the anniversary of her loss, or what would have been her due date?”
That was a text I sent my husband in 2017. It was a random idea, a fleeting thought, mixed among our daily spousal conversation. I had no idea that little text to my husband was planting the seed for a big purpose.
We had planned to have four kids close in age, but it turns out, after having our first in 2012, we had a lot to adjust to! We ended up waiting a few years before deciding to grow our family. Six weeks into my second pregnancy, I started spotting. After bleeding all weekend, I went to work on Monday, counting down the hours until I could leave for an ultrasound to confirm what I already knew. Around 10 am on February 9, 2015, I went to the bathroom and was confronted with heartbreaking visual confirmation that I had miscarried.
We named the baby Ava Grace.
We welcomed our third child, another son, a year later. While having him healed a lot of my broken heart, as any loss mom will tell you, having a baby after losing one makes you fully realize what you lost, and you long for what could have been even more.
A Bouquet
In 2017, I shared on social media that I was struggling with the two-year anniversary of that loss. Later that afternoon, flowers showed up at my door from someone anonymous. I stood in my entryway, speechless and sobbing in disbelief. I was so humbled that someone saw me hurting and took action in a simple way to care for me. They didn’t plan for that bouquet to change my life…but it did. I just didn’t know it yet.
That kind gesture stuck with me, and a few months later, I sent that text to my husband. He was used to his entrepreneurial wife pitching ideas (most of which I would quickly lose interest in), so neither of us gave it much more immediate thought. After all, starting an organization like that wasn’t in my plan.
A little over a year later, we said goodbye as quickly as we said hello to our fourth child, Orion Job, after miscarrying again on July 23, 2017. As I grieved, I couldn’t help but be reminded of that text I had sent my husband. I knew if that organization existed, it could help moms like me feel less alone, more loved, and fully seen on their hardest days.
In the months that followed, I was working part-time, running a busy photography business, caring for our two young sons, and we got pregnant with our daughter. Taking on the daunting task of starting that organization with no extra money, time, or brain space felt impossible, so I accepted it just still wasn’t the plan for me.
A Challenge Given
In December of 2019, my church presented a challenge that forced me to consider that maybe there was a plan I’d been denying. The challenge: if you have an idea and money is the only thing holding you back, apply for a grant to make it happen. In March of 2020—with the help of an incredible team—Evermore Blooms was founded. We were awarded $2,000 and hoped to send as many bouquets as possible to local moms. God planned for more.
We went viral on Instagram nine months after launching, and our account has become a community of miscarriage moms across the country who support and care for each other. We launched a store in 2021 and have shipped hundreds of orders since. In less than four years, we’ve coordinated the delivery of over 500 bouquets to miscarriage moms in almost all 50 states across the country.
And after years of fearing our pattern of baby, miscarriage, baby, miscarriage, baby would continue, we’ll soon welcome our fourth earthly child. While I thought my plans were good, I’d say His are better.
To find out more information about the nonprofit that Chelsey started please go to their website, evermoreblooms.org. Or check out their instagram: @evermorebloomsorg
