Happy Birthday in Heaven...

I don't have the words yet to process verbally what I want to say about my losing my brother, Chuck.  But I know I want to recognize this day for the celebration that it is.  Today is his birthday.  So today I choose to celebrate.  Today is a celebration of a brother who used to tease me mercilessly.

A celebration of a brother who used to chase me across campus with an axe.  (I don't think he was really going to use it.)

A celebration of a brother who was charged one afternoon with the task of babysitting me and instead of bossing me around or ignoring me, he sat at the kitchen table with me and ate a whole package of mac and cheese and an entire angel food cake mom had made for some other purpose.  (We both got in trouble for that!)

A celebration of a brother who let me climb in his bed one night when I was about 5 years old and too scared to sleep and told me not to cry because it made me look like a bunny rabbit.   (I think of that almost every time I cry--which has been a little more often these days.)

Yes, today, I will celebrate my brother.  I will celebrate because of the gift he was to me--and to everyone who knew him.  He was a rare, sparkling gem of a human being.  His sparkle made the room seem a little more alive, and lent an extra air of celebration to all our family gatherings.  He was warm, funny, generous, and he lived his life with integrity.  So today, I choose to celebrate his life for the gift it was.  Happy Birthday, my sparkly brother.  I will miss you for the rest of my life.

Just a Change of Address...

I couldn't let the day go by without paying tribute to my forever baby girl. 

Katy Lu has been gone for 18 years now.  Well, that's not really true.  Perhaps she has been absent bodily, but she's not gone. 

She lives right here...in this house, in this crazy, large, diverse family that she taught us to want. 

She lives...in the decisions I make that would have been made differently if she had never been. 

She lives...in the love I feel for children who have special needs. 

She lives...in the compassion I feel for mommas who lose their babies (and not-so-babies).

She lives...in the insane and unreasonable fear (that never leaves me) that I will lose another child somehow. (Just being real, here.)

She lives...in my desire to make sure that NO CHILD EVER has to endure loneliness or the pain of being unloved.

She lives...yes she does...in the way that only one who has made an immeasureable difference in this world can continue to live even after she is gone.  She lives in me, in Harold, and in this family that her influence had such a HUGE part in building, even though she never got to utter her first word.     

This was the day 18 years ago that she changed her address from my home to my heart.  Even though I miss her every day, even after all this time, I know that she really never left and I can't express the comfort that that brings. 

I am so grateful that she came, even for so short a time.  I wouldn't change a thing.  I know that God used every second of her 5 1/2 months to His glory and His purposes, and I am so privileged to have been part of her life.

William Had A Half-Birthday...

Yes, indeed, he did.  Yesterday, in fact.  Back in April, he turned 14, so yesterday would've been his 1/2 birthday--so now is as good a time as any to get his pictures on here, right?  Yes, I am just a bit behind getting our pictures and stories on here.  Our family has had lots happen over the past several months.  God has answered some of our prayers in a BIG way.  But I'll tell you more about that later!  For now...

William turned 14!  I just can't figure out why he thinks he needs to get so tall!  (And handsome...)

In the spring, William took his first mission trip to Haiti.  He loved it!  He had been wanting to go for quite some time.  Plans are in the works to go again this year if he can save enough money. 

This is also William's first year of high school, and even though he won't admit it, I can tell he's enjoying his courses.  Why else would he find books related to what he's learning and stick them in my Amazon account's shopping cart? 

My 14 1/2 year old son also has a wicked sense of humor.  He gets out of many a scrape with that sharp, quick wit.  In fact, many many times I find myself getting ready to jump on his case and then I just can't because I'm laughing too hard.  I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.  For him--definitely good. 

I couldn't be more proud of this young man!  I'm so thankful that I get the joy of being his momma!  Happy half-birthday, William.

Air Show...

 Our small local airport had an airshow recently.  There were several different types of aircraft for the kids to tour.

 Even the littlest ones had a good time.

 There were military planes and helicopters.

 Seasoned pilots who were available to share their enthusiasm for flying.

 Jared got to talk to a retired military pilot.

 Grandma & Grandpa spent the day with us looking at all the aircraft.

The bigger kids all got to actually ride! 

William, Cody, and Lena got to ride this one. 

Can you see them through the windows? 

And CODY actually got to FLY the plane! 

John Wesley took a ride on a different plane. 

One of the pilots let Jared and MaKenzie sit in the cockpit of his plane.  They thought that was big stuff! 

I think Jared was ready to close the door and take off!