Quick Update and Photos!!!!

Just a couple of photos of the boys...






I realized I haven't posted in what seems like forever, but time just goes by so fast and life has been staying pretty busy. Kaden's 6th birthday has come and gone. He is growing so fast. He started 1st grade a couple of weeks ago and seems to be enjoying it much better then he did kindergarten. He continues to grow stronger everyday and amaze me to no end. He such a bright boy with a bright future.

Brody is now 18 months. He is a very loving little guy with a big additude. He loves to dance and steal toys from others :). He knows all of his colors and says many, many words. He is a smart little thing just like his big brother!!!

We have very busy but fun days. The boys are so much fun and I feel so lucky to have them in my life. What awesome little blessings.

Remembering Ava Rae

January 31, 2008 - May 7, 2008

Angel Ava,

Tomorrow will be two years since I last held and kissed you. I know that you are in a better place and free from pain, but I continue to miss you every day and selfishly wish you were still here with mommy, daddy and your brothers. We are blessed with the three months that we did get to hold you and continue to be blessed with the memory of you and the love that fills our hearts for you.

You have been not only a blessing to us but the many others who know your story. We have been able to see true courage and strength with your fight. You were one amazing little girl while you were here on earth, I can only imagine what you are like in Heaven.

You are in our thoughts continously and will be forever. We love you and miss you every day. We are so proud of you and thankful that God blessed us with the chance to be your parents (and brothers). Kaden still talks about you and tells us the things he thinks you would like if you were still here. Brody is learning to say your name (he does pretty good actually) and is always looking at the picture of you in mommy's locket. You are still a part of our family, even though you are not here. We love you baby girl and miss you more then words can say.

Forever and Always,
mommy, daddy, Kaden (bubby) and Brody

DIAPHRAGMATIC AWARENESS DAY

Hi Everybody!!! Please wear your turquoise on Wednesday, March 31st for Kaden and all of the other diaphragmatic hernia fighters!!! Thank you in advance for all of your support and for thinking of them!!!

Dear Blogging Friends,

I just wanted to take this time to thank all of you for your support through the last couple of years. I know that I haven't posted in a long while and that when I do they are few and far between. Life has just been pretty busy, and I have kind of lost "interest" (for lack of a better word) in keeping up the blog. In the midst of not keeping up with it I have failed to keep up with all of yours as well. I do want you all to know that I still think of you and keep you all in my prayers. I have found some very close "blogging world" friends that have touched my heart. I thank you for those special relationships that have formed. I do plan to continue my blog, I just have to find the time and "ability" to write, I guess.

As for a quick update...Brody turned one about a month ago. He is walking very well, and running and getting into everything. He for the most part is a happy guy. I have a feeling once those teeth come all the way in he will stop some of the whining. Kaden is almost done with kindergarten. He has missed a lot of school due to being sick. It is in the back of my mind that he might need to retake it...but I haven't talked to anyone about that yet. We will see. He is growing like a weed and coming up with the funniest things to "say" (type). The other day he had to change his card to yellow at school for not following directions. When I asked him why he had to change his card he typed "because yellow is my favorite color." It was hard not to laugh. Well, that is just a quick update and I will try to post pictures again.




Waiting for Santa to come!


Brody's 1st Birthday.

Happy 2nd Birthday Baby Girl

I wrote this note to Ava and didn't get a chance to post it on her birthday.

Happy Birthday Angel 1/31/08-5/7/08

Ava,

Happy 2nd Birthday baby girl. Sorry mommy didn’t get a chance to write yesterday, it was kind of a busy day. I hope you enjoyed all of the balloons you got. It was amazing to watch them float right up to you. I have never seen balloons get so high before…it was almost like you were so excited to receive them they couldn’t get there fast enough.

I can not believe you are two already. As I have said before, I can not believe how time goes by so fast but it seems like forever ago that I got to hold you. We miss you so much. It makes me sick to my stomach to think about just how much I miss you. Yesterday, daddy and I were talking about you. This time it was a little different. Typically we try to keep things upbeat for your brothers, especially Kaden since he seems to understand what has happened. But yesterday was different…it wasn’t a bad talk, just different. We talked about what we thought you would look like right now and how we thought your personality would be. We talked about how there would be one more carseat in our car. How you and and your brothers probably would drive each other nuts on long trips (short trips too!!!). We talked about how spoiled you would be (and rightfully so J ), and just how much we missed you. Your daddy doesn’t say too much about stuff, but during this talk (although he did a lot of agreeing and did not have a lot to say) I could tell how much he misses you. His baby girl, his daddy’s little girl, the princess who had him wrapped around his little finger isn’t physically here with him, with us. I worry about your daddy sometimes. He is a tough guy, but sometimes I think he hides his feelings to stay strong for the rest of us. I know how bad my heart aches thinking about all of the mommy/daughter things we could have done together, I can only imagine how bad daddy’s aches. He will never get to scare away any of the boys you would have brought home, or most likely followed you home (I am sure you would have had a ton of admirers). He will never get to walk his baby girl down the aisle or dance those many, many dances with you. He will never get invited to the tea parties you would have probably had or play barbies (which every daddy should have a chance to do with his little girl). I think about this stuff a lot, and I imagine how fun it would be to watch you do these things with daddy.

We feel so blessed to have the opportunity we had with you. The short time you were here with us, you left an unbelievable impact on our lives. You are one of the three most amazing people I know. You were such a good baby, a strong and brave baby. I don’t know how you and your brother did it…went through everything and still kept a smile on those incredibly beautiful little faces of yours. Oh Ava, what I would give to have you back with us again (I know that is really selfish of me, to bring you back with all of the pain you had to go through from a place where you are pain-free now). I always wonder “what if”, there are so many things that I wish I could have changed to make your life a lot easier, but I know that God gave you to daddy and me for a reason. He knew that you would receive more love then you could have anywhere else, not only from daddy, Kaden and I but from the rest of our family. You are a very, very loved and admired little girl that will forever be in our hearts. We love and miss you more then words could ever describe. Happy Birthday baby girl.



Love Always and Forever,
mommy (daddy, bubby and baby Brody)