A Simple Lesson

Lauren would like to introduce you to her friend, Kyleigh.  Kyleigh is one of our Firecracker Friends.  She is three and up until last week, she lived in Schoharie, New York.  Then Hurricane Irene came through and ruined her house.  The only home she has ever known.  Kyleigh's mom, Amy, is my friend.  Over the last week, Amy has taught me a great lesson and one that I will definitely pass on to Lauren.  Take a look at this picture and see if you can tell what that lesson is:

I am having a hard time finding one word or phrase that sums up what the lesson is.  Grace.  Love.  Gratitude.  Teaching.  Humbleness.  Amazing.  There...I searched long enough.  It is simply amazing.  Here is a woman and her three year old daughter currently living at her mom's where they share a room with Daddy and baby sister and all of their possessions in that one room.  But through it all,  they both have a smile on their face and love in their hearts.  They are sending out a simple thank you.  Simple, only in the fact that it is written on a plain 8.5x11 piece of paper with a marker.  It is a thank you to people they know and love, and to complete strangers.  It is a thank you for the big things that have been given to them, but also to the smallest of the small.  What a lesson to teach.

Amy, Kyleigh, Kane and Stella...Lauren and I love you guys so much.  You are amazing people who don't deserve what happened, but we just wanted to send a big THANK YOU right back at 'cha for teaching us how to be strong, grateful and amazing.

Brayton the Brave and Strong

Many of you know, and some don't, of our friend, Brayton. Brayton came into our lives before Lauren and Brayton were even born, through a group for pregnant women on iVillage (this is where the Firecracker Friends were born). Brayton was born, a few weeks before Lauren, with Tracheoesophageal Fistula and Esophogeal Atresia.  It is a defect where his esophagus is not properly connected and his trachea and esophagus are abnormally connected.   He spent the first ten months of his life in a hospital while Lauren was home with us being our baby.

We celebrated when Brayton got to come home after such a long time in the hospital.  We wept tears of joy at the photos that another Firecracker mommy took of Brayton's first day of freedom and his trip to the beach.  Those were the best tears.

Over the next two years, all the Firecrackers rallied as Brayton would be in and out of the hospital for surgeries and sicknesses.  Our little ones have become very proficient at remembering B in their prayers (or whatever form of wishing their mommies have them make) and we have always gotten to cry those happy tears when Brayton got to go home.

The tears this time are different.  Brayton went into the hospital again in mid-July - the month of the Firecrackers.  Our praying knees got their exercise, and then some, over the past few weeks.  Brayton was brave and strong through a couple of surgeries, one lasting the better part of the day.  But, last night, August 28, 2011, Brayton made his final trip home.  This time it wasn't to his home with his mom and his sisters.  This time he went home to be with God and Jesus.  That's how I had to explain my tears to my three year old.  The tears this time are different.

Brayton will never get to go to school, to prom, drive a car, learn multiplication, fall in love, write a love letter or graduate from college.  He won't be there when his sisters walk down the aisle and get married. He won't get to call his mom and say that he has found that special someone.  He won't get to do these things himself.  He will get to do these things - all of them - because he will live on in the hearts of all the Firecrackers forever.  They will carry a little piece of him with them forever.

There is little to say to comfort.  Maybe these words will help someone...

"So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you."  John 16:22

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal." - From a headstone in Ireland.

"No cry, mommy.  Baby an angel."  Lauren, Age 3

Where we were...

It has been a couple of weeks since I have posted here...and for good reason.  Along with Grammy, we went on a ten day trip to Ohio.  After a full day in the car (including taking 1.5 hours to go 13 miles), the first half of our visit was spent with Grammy's sister, Vivian, and her family in Wapakoneta.  While hanging with them, we also went to Berlin, Ohio to visit Amish country.  It was a very pretty country and we got to see lots of "neighs".

The second half of our trip started at the Columbus Airport, where we picked up our friend Kristy and her daughter, Addie Shea!  They came all the way from California.  Then we drove a little further south to Logan, Ohio and a beautiful cabin in the hills.  When we got there, there were many of our Firecracker Friends (a group of kids who were born around July 2008) to play with.  Lauren had many new friends to play with - Kyleigh, Tali, Cameron, Leah, Cael, Noah, Alexis, Maddie, Xander, Arielle, and our old buddy Elliot to play with.  Two more friends came to play with us for a day and they were Marley and Alli.  Mommy had Amy R., Jaime, Allison, Beth, Patti, Dawn, Heather, Christy, Nicole, Jessica, Meghyn and Laura and Erin to hang out with, too!  Cousin Caleb went with us and he got to play with Miranda, Chloe, Maddy, Aubrey, Ilish and Kai.  There was even twos toddlers, Lydia and Solomon, and two babies, Kaelyn and Adelyn, to keep us busy.

Then it took us two days to drive home because we were tired and our patience for being in the car was running thin.

Whew...now you see why I didn't have time to post.