Amy lives on...

      What a great two weeks! A year has passed since the last time we saw these four awesome boys. We  planned to visit Colorado after Christmas in 2015 but weather and a flooded basement at their home made the trip impossible.We were sad, but understood. Between Christmas and summer we planned things to do while they visited us and we always talked about how much a year would change them. After all they are growing boys!

    I confess, there were times I couldn't wait to see them and other times I had a feeling of dread. I knew there would be reminders. Of the one who is missing from their lives...their mom. Of course, there are reminders everywhere in our home. Her pictures are still in the same places they've always been, the wind chime she gave me several years ago hangs in my screen porch like it has every year and we talk about her often. Many years ago when she was only a child she gave her dad the nickname Mr. Health and Safety Man due to his Concern for everyone's safety. We just referred to him with that title a few days ago. And as we remember we laugh and grieve all at the same time.

We wondered if they would seem happy and well adjusted. They went through months of watching their mom decline only to experience the trauma of her death. Those events can send adults into deep grief and mourning. They seemed happy and most of the time the smiles you see in the above picture were on their faces.

    They had changed, a lot! Isaac will be a teenager in November and his voice has already deepened. His shoulders are broad and he has lost the boy look. Jesse is in better control of his emotions which he has been known to wear solidly on his sleeve! Heath is still funny, but has also grown and was a dare devil on the rides at Kings Dominion. Canin will be twenty next month and is definitely an adult and I still wonder how that happened. And I thought how much they all four had changed since she saw them last.

    There is a little of Amy in all four of her boys. Her baby has her freckles sprinkled across his nose, and his lips...are so like Amy's lips. Heath says funny stuff and sometimes really smart things that you wonder how he knew that. So did Amy. All four are very intelligent and make good grades in school. Their mom was the same and I know they inherited some of that from her, but I also know she was diligent about their schoolwork. They all have her fair skin and we used tons of sunscreen. Her mannerisms came out in all of them at one time or another. It would be so sudden and I would think, wow, Amy did that. Everything they did made me think how much she would enjoy what we were doing. When I said goodnight and kissed them and yes I tucked them in, I grieved that she wasn't here to do that. Though I will never know why she had to go so young, it's still hard not to question. 

    So, we enjoyed every minute and soaked up all the ways they looked like her, sounded like her, and acted like her. It gave us a glimpse of the one we miss so much.

    We are thankful for Amy's precious sons who give us a part of her. She lives on in her children and we look forward to the day that we are all reunited in the place God has prepared.

But, we still miss her...  

    We are thankful for their dad, Kent Kelley!