Jam Session

Who needs "Rock Band" when you have a pot, spoon, and baby piano. Super G jamming out!

Headstone

We went to visit a place yesterday that does custom headstones. I knew right from the moment we got there that this was going to be "the place". The outside lot was filled with very unique, absolutely beautiful headstones; many of the stones were either hand carved or engraved. Inside we met with a wonderful woman who told us right away that she too had lost a child and when she started working there they basically had only a handful of options to show grieving parents. She now has put together a book filled with incredible examples of what they can do for a child's headstone. We also met with the owner and talked with him about getting granite from Minnesota. We could tell he had been in the business for awhile as he started naming types of granite that come from Minnesota off the top of his head. One of them that he mentioned was rainbow granite, which he said is a "very unique stone, full of movement...no two pieces are alike". That was it! We knew instantly that was the stone we wanted. We talked with them about a few ideas that we had and are now waiting for him to draw something up for us. The girl in the office said that usually takes a couple of weeks as he puts some thought and time into his designs. I am quite certain just from what he was describing and what we have seen of his work that it will be as perfect as a headstone for E could be.

I still would have chosen you.

My many thanks to an old friend for sharing this beautiful poem with me. Even if I had known that my time with E would have been so very short and today that I would hurt to the very depths of my soul...I would still have chosen Ethan. Please don't ever feel sorry for me, as I firmly believe this was God's plan. I will be forever blessed that God picked me to be Ethan's mommy and will spend the rest of my life sharing his message and spirit with others.

If before you were born I could have gone to Heaven to see all of the beautiful souls,

I still would have chosen you.

If God had told me that this soul would one day need extra care,

I still would have chosen you.

If He had told me that one day this soul may make my heart bleed,

I still would have chosen you.

If He had told me that this soul would make me question the depth of my faith,

I still would have chosen you.

If He had told me that this soul would make tears flow from my eyes that would overflow a river,

I still would have chosen you.

If He had told me that our time spent together here on Earth could be short,

I still would have chosen you.

If He told me that this soul may one day make me endure overbearing suffering,

I still would have chosen you.

If He had told me that all that I know to be normal would drastically change,

I still would have chosen you.

Of course, even though I would have chosen you, I know it was God who chose me for you.

Thank you, God, for allowing me to be his Mommy.

Author Unknown.

Visken

Well two weeks ago now, we had a health scare with Visken. Just after Jake left for work one morning, he started vomiting blood. After a very frantic phone call to our awesome friend-vet, Julie, she told me to put him in the car and head to the vet school at UF (which is where she works). Long, long story short...Visken ended up having his gall bladder removed. He is doing much, much better and hopefully well on the road to recovery. He should have his stitches removed later today. Our family is eternally grateful to Julie and the vet school for the wonderful care and love they have shown to Visken.

"Dog"

Well it seems as if Grant loves his dog (and sign language) as much as his big brother. The first word Grant signed..."dog"!

Ethan's fish

Initially we were unsure what to do with the money that we had received from Ethan's memorial, but knew that when E was ready he would guide us into making the right decision. What follows is the story our senior minister Dan Johnson wrote to our congregation. We hope Ethan's spirit and joy for life blesses that area always. (My angel, Ethan- Your dad and I will wait patiently for your next "decision". I am so very proud of you! We are truly honored that you trust us to share your message with others and we promise we will continue to share your message until we meet again! I love you, beautiful angel child- Mommy)

Dear Friends,

Let me tell you a story, a true story, about a most wonderful little boy named Ethan. When he was born, his Mom exclaimed: "That's an angel if ever I've seen one." Ethan warmed the hearts of all in a room with his contagious smile. He loved Curious George and didn't like naps - too much to do. He loved music and Sinatra was his favorite, even though he was only two. Unbeknown to his family he had a congenital birth defect that, one day, out of the blue, took his young life. Overwhelming sadness swept over his family, as you can imagine. But the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and CMT (Children's Ministry Team) surrounded Ethan's Mom and Dad with unrelenting love and helped them through. That was in April of this year.

Fast forward to now. When I was visiting a church in Houston, I noticed a salt water aquarium in the children's wing; it was surrounded by awe-filled children. I thought then and there that it would be wonderful for our Trinity children to have something similar in our new building, so, when Troy asked for a list of things we needed for the new building, I added a salt water aquarium, not knowing if anyone would even consider such a gift.

The day the list was received by the congregation, Ethan's Mom, Rebecca Tillman, came into my office. "I hope it’s not too late to speak up for the aquarium? My husband and I would like very much to pick that item." Sensing that this was about more than just an aquarium, I said, "Tell me about it." Rebecca began to share. "You know how energetic Ethan was." I said, "Oh yes!" "Well, whenever he would get upset to the point that we just couldn't get him to calm down, we would pack him up in his car seat and drive him to Pet Smart. He would head straight to the aquarium section and watching those beautiful fish would calm him right down. We would like to purchase the aquarium as a reminder of Ethan, and every time we come by there and see children watching the fish, we will thank God for our Ethan, our beautiful angel child." By this time, we were both crying and holding each other. Oh my!

Rebecca also said that her grandmother had embroidered a beautiful quilt of Noah's Ark to hang over Ethan's bed. Of course, the new aquarium is now positioned under the mural of Noah's Ark in the Children's wing of the Education Building.

So, each time you walk by Ethan's aquarium, say a prayer for Rebecca and Jacob, and now their little son, Grant, and always thank God for Ethan, Beautiful Angel Child.

Love and Prayers, Dan

Lemons!

I have been horrible about blogging again. Sorry! I don't even know why, as I love to write. Maybe it is because even though Grant brings us an incredible amount of joy, the first stories I shared here were Ethan stories and I so miss sharing stories of him. I will try once again to get better about sharing things as Grant is beginning to show more of his personality.

One of Ethan's favorite foods was LEMONS! He took after me, because I too love lemons!! While we were out for dinner the other night Jake said, "I wonder if Grant will like lemons as much as his big brother?". Well he gave it a try and the result...he loves lemons as much as his big brother and mom. It took him 3 or 4 attempts before he finally made that "sour face", but even after that he continued to want more!