Keith and Benjamin had the pleasure of attending the Colts game last weekend as the guests of Donald Brown and his fiancee Mallory. They had been so kind to Luke when he was alive by visiting us at our home and calling him on his birthday. They had great seats and were really close to the field. When Donald left the field, he threw his glove to him. It made his feel really special. It has been so nice to have some special things for the boys.
Just missing my boy today.... this was the last really good one we took of Luke on his first day back at school. It is so hard to imagine that he had been in the hospital a day before and would pass away in 10 days.
I love this picture so much. We were in St.Louis for his transplant evaluation. This was the first time to be outside in three weeks. We were in the garden on the top of the hospital, Keith, Luke, and I. He looks so good- now he was so thin underneath his coat, but his smile makes up for all of it. We were so proud of his extraordinary recovery. We almost lost him several times in the prior weeks- we were so thankful that he bounced back. God knew what was in store for us and granted us 4 wonderful months with Luke before he started having large bleeds again. He is so on my heart today. We did the Wish a thon yesterday on the radio and we are up at David and Victoria's house for the weekend. Our first since 4th of July. We had a great time that weekend and the kids all played together, did fireworks, and tubed on the lake. It feels so sad not to have him here. He weighs heavy on my heart- he is never far from my heart and thoughts.
Samuel did a wonderful job on radio. He always surprises me- he does things well that I am worried about and then is a disaster when I am least expecting it. Thankfully, it is usually the former. We took him to the science museum in Fort Wayne. He eats that kind of stuff up. Grace, Nathaniel, and Colin were there also and seemed to really enjoy it too. We are having a Thanksgiving brunch with my side of the family tomorrow up here at Big Long Lake. Benjamin is cracking us up right now- way too funny. He is playing basketball at the YMCA and was on defense today. He is jersey number "1" on his team the "Hoosiers".
Trying hard to keep things normal for the boys. I went back to work this week. Finding it hard to move forward.
Thanks for sharing, Erin -- I watched the Make-a-Wish video when we got home tonight and found myself missing Luke, too. Big hugs to you tonight...
ReplyDeleteSo glad you have a blog! I started blogging when Ryan was about a year and a half and have been so grateful for it. It's so funny how I can go back to an older post and think to myself, "Did I write this? I can't remember it at all!" :)
ReplyDeleteI love the pictures you shared of Benjamin and Luke. Luke's smile is just infectious! We loved listening to your family on the Wish-a-thon. Our 2nd Grade classes had raised money from an apple sale this fall and chose to donate all of the proceeds to Make-a-Wish in honor of Luke. He continues to touch people's lives!