Luke's Garden

I don't know why it has taken me so long to put these pictures on. After Luke died a lot of people got us plants to make a garden for Luke. I took these pictures soon after we got it all in. The Texas girls bought a couple rose bushes, (one yellow rose of Texas bush!) a peony and a hydrangea. Kirsten's mom got some beautiful daylillies. The Larsen and Goerz families got a tea olive bush, gardenia (my favorite) and some forget-me-nots. Our parents stargazer lillies that were at the funeral are planted in the garden and an azalea and a hydrangea from Delta. It has been so fun watering and caring for this little garden. The roses have been beautiful and Kirsten took an award-winning picture one weekend - water droplets and all, but I can't seem to get it to load on the blog. Maybe she will put it on! Anyway, thank you to all who provided the plants they are beautiful and bringing enjoyment to us. This week the kids and I made a stone for the garden. It is now sticking among the plants and looks great. This picture is the stone in the drying process.

We are all still doing well. We have almost made it through our summer - it has gone really quickly! We are going to get one more day in at Six Flags tomorrow. Last time we were there my brother and I were riding the scariest ride I have ever been on - Acrophobia. You are in a chair with just a harness across your chest. The ride takes you 200 feet in the air and drops you at 62 mph. As we were getting ready to go up Rob checked his harness and said "this is the definition of trust". This was the only ride I have ever been on that took the scream out of my mouth! As I walked away on shakey legs I thought more about the trust we had in this seat and harness that held us on the ride. Sometimes we are faced with situations in life where we have to trust God to be our safety harnesses. I am thankful to have lived through a few but have never had the shakey feeling I did getting off that ride. Putting my trust in God is so much more secure and goes beyond all earthly measures of feeling. I am thankful to have a Father who holds us securely in His arms in times of trouble and in whom we can place our trust.

Family

This is a family tradition - the Fourth of July parade in Peachtree City. As you can see I did a little tie-dyeing this year! We love to look obnoxious with our spirit - the more red, white and blue the better. One year we may even be in the parade. Who knows what we will represent but the float will be awesome. Every year we add more ideas to our list for someday!

We still miss Luke and always will. As far as grieving, I think I grieved for Luke so much while he was alive that I am doing well right now. As far as the kids and Eric, it is hitting a little more lately. We just try to support each other, cry and talk about it. That seems to help. We pray as a family for God's direction for us and are ready for where he leads.

Today some beautiful little girls who live in an orphanage in Haiti sang at church about needing nothing but the Lord. They truly have nothing but Jesus. It was so moving to listen to and think about what they were singing. We truly need nothing more in this world than Jesus. He can take care of our every need and is our hope for heaven. I strive daily to put God first in all I do and to be bold enough to share him with others. It doesn't always work that way. The stuff of life always creeps in to busy up my day. But each day I will wake up and do my best to start with God and his desires for my life.

Life

God is so good to give us glimpses of his plan. This week I re-connected with one our nurses at Piedmont up in the city. (Luke was born at Piedmont - Fayette and then transferred to Piedmont in the city then moved to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta). I often wondered why so many hospitals. I think now one of the reasons was so we could meet Teri. She emailed me this week to say how sad she was over Luke's death and to share her own story with me. Her 17 year-old son died just a few days after Luke. He was involved in a car accident on Mother's Day. She had her son so much longer and he was taken so suddenly. I am so sad for her. Who knew when we met in February that we would both lose our sons a few months later. I am thankful God allowed us to bond over Luke. It will be good to share grief with her and also good to talk about Luke. She was one person who really knew him when he was awake and interacting. She always told me "there is just something special about him when I look into his eyes". I shared with her how my brother's pastor used bubbles in his Easter sermon to talk about our lives. Some last just for a second and some much longer. Each one is precious no matter how long they are here and each one special and unique. I will always think about that when I see bubbles and think about Luke's short little life that was so big in its impact. Tonight my nephew Ben was blowing bubbles and watching them rise high in the air. He said they were flying up to heaven! Heaven is so real to all of and seems so close now that Luke is there.