Happy 14th Birthday Lil Will

So, many things have changed since the last time I posted. Our sweet Ethan is now 11 and we added to our family, our almost 3 year old Eden. And today is our sweet lil Will's 14th birthday. It is hard to believe that he has been gone 13.5 years. Time flies by but our love for him and his memory lives on everyday. Every year we celebrate his birthday, sometimes just going out for lunch and sharing stories about his life, one year we did birthday boxes for kids at Children's Medical Center. That was fun. This year we have finally found what our tradition will be to honor and celebrate his birthday. We will go to local grocery store and ballon store and we will pay for a cake and balloons leaving a birthday card that says, from Lil Will's Family and a link to this blog spot so if they want they can read his story. Kindness is free and lil Will's life taught us so many things. Some of the most important lessons/reminders are to be kind, show grace, give mercy, be forgiving and love others big. His life reminded us of the sovereignty of God. God makes no mistakes. God's love for us is sufficient, period! If we lean into His will during good times, or bad times, He will lead us in the way He wants us to go! So today as we celebrate our sweet boys 14th birthday we are going to go out and show kindness to others and love on each other. Happy Birthday sweet angel, we love and miss you!

Time flies when you are having the time of your life!,

It has been quite awhile since I have made a post. I guess awhile is an understatement, it has been two years! William and I have been extremely busy with Ethan! He has brought such joy to our lives. His adoption was finalizedon December 16, 2011 and he was christened on December 17, 2011. Both days were filled with so many emotions. Thoughts of where God has brought us fromThinking about lil Will and how I know he was so happy to see us happy. William and I decided we did want a traditional christening because we wanted lil Will to be a part of the celebration, his presence and his pictures! God truly blessed us that weekend. Ethan is now 2 and 1/2 years old, and is so full of energy and honestly, in a lot of ways reminds me of Will! Ethan is the absolute love of our lives! He has such a wonderful personality and just a loving and sweet boy. This year, William was assigned to Pastor a church! It has been very busy for us since his appointment, traveling to our church every Sunday and then he goes every Wednesday for bible study. I am so proud of him. He is doing an outstanding job leading God's people! I am getting used to my role as the first lady. I guess I didn't realize how much work comes along with your husband's calling. The really exciting part about this is we are blessed to be able to worship with my parents as they attend our church. It is an awesome blessing and I thank God everyday for the opportunity. A goal for 2014 is to get back to the blog, we shall see how it goes. Happy Holidays!

Ethan's Baby Shower

Today, the most amazing friends gave me and Ethan a baby shower. We were showered with so many wonderful gifts and words of joy! It was a great evening spent with family and great friends. We are so blessed to have such awesome friends and family who are excited to share in this joyous time with us! We love each of you dearly!

Baby Ethan is here!!

We have been waiting for this day, for a long time now. We were matched with a birth mom in mid June. Her due date was July 16th. We went to her OB appointments and were able to get to know her better. Ethan arrived on July 21st, two years to the date that we buried his big brother William. God is so awesome, if we wondered if Ethan was the baby for us all of our doubts disappeared. Ethan is a blessing to our family. We are enjoying everyday with him, watching him grow, and discover new things. He is so precious! We are blessed beyond belief. We are thankful to God for this very special gift and we will cherish him forever!!

Our Rainbow!

WILLIAM
You are our “Rainbow”.

The colors of your Rainbow are: happiness, laughter, love, beauty, strength and peace.
•We will shed tears of sadness, as you have left us so suddenly. But you will be our rainbow of happiness because we will still have your memories of our time together.
•Your smile and laughter had the ability to fill the air, allowing others to inhale your pure spirit, releasing the sadness or worry they may have had within.
•Your love was genuine and unconditional….You loved us just as we were and did not see our flaws.
•Your beauty came from within and was expressed by reminding us what is most important is not what is on the outside of a person but what is steered by their souls.
•Your strength brought joy, surprise and meaning to ordinary days. You had the ability to melt away any feelings of exhaustion, frustration and doubt with the blink of your eyes or popping of your tongue. You proved to everyone that no matter hard situations may seem, with faith – even the most unthinkable situations can be made okay to continue on, giving strength and replenishment to a weary soul.
•Just being in your presence provided a feeling of peace and comfort just like a Rainbow does after a storm.
From now on When we hear Thunder we will know it is you trying to get our attention and reminding us that you are watching over us. When we see Lightning we will remember the spark and meaning that you gave to our lives. As it Rains we will reflect on your memories and we will cry together. And afterwards when you send us your Rainbow, We will rejoice and thank God for taking the time to create you just for us.