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Catholic couple helps babies walk with Jesus
By Ambria Hammel The Catholic Sun
December 6, 2007
GLENDALE — Ken and Denise Kunkel want to help parents teach their babies how to walk even before they crawl.
Walk with Jesus, that is.
The Catholic couple’s fifth grandchild inspired them to create “Our Precious Prints,” a family keepsake that doubles as an evangelization tool. Parents stamp their baby’s footprints inside a larger set, symbolizing those of Christ.
“The visual in itself is beautiful, but the message behind it is what it’s all about,” said Denise Kunkel, a St. James parishioner.
The Gospel message, “I am with you always,” radiates throughout the gift set. It’s imprinted in pink or blue letters underneath the footprints on a white, infant “onesie” bodysuit and is the theme behind the “Footprints” poem, which comes printed on a certificate.
Opposite of the poem is another space for the footprints plus the baby’s name, birth date, weight and height.
“Maybe the Lord is my partner, because I never sold anything so easily in my life,” Kunkel said.
She wasn’t even sure she should sell the onesie at all. Kunkel knew creating a keepsake of an infant’s footprint was not a new idea. At the very least, delivery room nurses preserve the newborn’s footprints.
But Kunkel couldn’t get the image of the delivery room nurse stamping her husband’s white T-shirt with their grandson’s feet out of her mind.
“Those little feet just burned clear through to my husband’s heart,” Kunkel said.
They thought about selling a grandpa shirt decorated with the footprints, but decided they needed to reach the parents with the Gospel message. The parents would be the ones who passed the message on to their children.
“I thought it was an outstanding idea to start them on their path with Jesus,” said Anna Marie Mattrazzo, owner of Mary Immaculate Books and Gifts. It’s now sold in both the Mesa and Peoria locations.
The shop is one of at least 10 Catholic and Christian businesses selling “Our Precious Prints” throughout the state. It is also available in a few hospital gift shops.
“It’s a gift that you give your child that will last a lifetime,” Kunkel said.
Yvonne Marchese, a fellow parishioner, agreed.
“This is a gift that remains always just like the Lord’s love for a child,” Marchese said.
She gave one gift set to a friend and the other to a new grandma she met during a retreat.
She suggested framing the outfit or somehow keeping it visible in the child’s room.
“What greater gift can you give a child than to let them know from the moment that they’re born that they’re a child of God?” Marchese said.
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