A Tragic Loss

So, I am going to do something a little different.....This blog was originally created to help track Carson and Cooper's lives AND to help share those memories with friends and family. Over the last couple of weeks I have been wanting to add another "use" for the boy's blog. This will also be a place where I would like to share lessons learned (both mine and others that would like to share) throughout the boy's lives that may help them through life.

With that said:

Monday we lost my dad's sister (Aunt Sharon). Ordinarily this would be a horrible loss to deal with, however circumstances make it not just horrible, but a tragic loss. This is the first loss I have had to deal with in my adulthood of this nature. I have been blessed to not deal with much death in my lifetime and now, I also see how blessed I have been to have experienced the deaths that I have. You see, when my grandma died and even when my dad died it was a sad time, but it was a glorious time. I knew that I would definitely see them again in heaven. People could look me in the eye and comfort me by saying that they were in a better place and no longer suffering and I believed them because I knew it was true.....

Now, I have this new experience. It is unclear if my Aunt Sharon was saved or not, she may not be in heaven, she may not be better off now. She could have had a moment (like the thief on the cross), but we do not know. I sat here thinking tonight that I am glad the boys are not old enough to understand what is going on. I am not prepared to explain what is happening. I used to think I was, but I realized I am only prepared to explain death when it comes to loved ones that have been saved. I can sit there and say what a great person Aunt Sharon was and how much she gave of herself to help out people in our family, but that doesn't mean anything when she had no relationship with God and hadn't accepted him into her heart. Not knowing where my aunt's heart was at her untimely death is so UNcomforting. It is difficult to find words to comfort myself, let alone a child.

So boys, I would love to say that you will never have to deal with this because all of your loved ones will be saved and will end up in heaven, that you will be comforted with the knowledge that you WILL see them again in heaven and they are better off being there.....but only God knows if this will be true. I will do my best over the coming years to learn how to help you deal with this situation if and when it may occur again. Luckily, you have many knowledgeable and loving people of God around you and if Mommy or Daddy don't have the answers, we can guide you to the right people.

I can tell you this though, if something were to ever happen to Mommy or Daddy, you can be comforted by the fact that we WILL see you again in heaven. We are both definitely "works in progress" and both have our struggles, but we have both accepted God into our lives and our hearts and accept his guidance in raising the 2 of you.

"Hey, where's the fruit?"

What are we gonna do when the boys turn 3, 4, 5... At 2 1/2 years old the boys have already revealed their penchant for climbing things. While Kara and I posed them in this "Service Berry" tree, they've each managed to get themselves off the ground and stand in the fork of an oak and several birch trees around the house. During a Sunday evening visit to the park with the Johnson and Witzig families, each of these guys demonstrated their ability to hang from the monkey bars! As much as this dad likes to expand the boys boundaries, I'm glad the recently installed swingset has no such apparatus. Back to the "Service Berry" tree's, this is one of 7 that was planted by the previous owner of our house. Thanks to the early and mild spring temperatures, these have burst into bloom letting us know to expect an abundant harvest of fruit which is akin to a mulberry, with the taste and texture of a miniature apple. What we don't eat right off the tree have been great additions to any pancake or muffin recipe. Only recently have we used up the remainder of last years frozen surplus. Wishing you all a blessed spring season.

Carson padded up for a spin

Cooper Cruisin the Neighborhood

A First for Carson

Well....we thought that some way Carson would be the one to make it through "toddlerhood" without scars on his face (like his brother)..........we were wrong:(

The boys had their first Sunday school class today. It went well until they came and got me in the sanctuary to say Carson had fallen down. It ended up he fell into a corner of a bookshelf and we got to have the experience of taking another boy into the emergency room to get stitches.

Luckily the doctor 'settled' with the glue stitches (strongly requested by the mom) and Carson left with a bandaid on his head and a bag of goodies (courtesy of Traders Point Christian Church down the road).

As expected, Carson was a real trooper. He walked right into the examination room, laid on the bed and said "doctor fix it". He got to explore the examination room, meet all of the nurses that were hanging out and have some good quality time with mommy and daddy on his own.

We are now hoping to not get contacted by CPS (child protection services)....seeing as though when the doctor said we would need to make sure to put sunblock on the scar everytime he goes outside for 6 months, I said "that won't be a big deal since we are having to do the same for his brother's scar". She kind of got a weird look on her face after that. I already have a record and 2 reports on file with Cooper.

Anyway, below are his 2 pictures to document:

Easter 2010

After over 2 years of trying to catch these boys on camera, we have finally given in and just taken what we can get.....you'll see what I mean below. They are so full of energy and ready to explore, there is no sitting them down to take a shot.

We had a great Easter, the weather was great and Gaga Linda did a fun Easter Egg Hunt in her back yard for the boys.

Thank you Aunt Karleen for the great Easter outfits for the boys to wear to church. We did our best at trying to get pictures of them in their outfits.

4 Generations

We had the privilege of making it up to see "Great Grandpa" a couple of weeks ago. It was great to see how the boys interacted with Grandpa.