Since we were last together, we've had a death in the family, a whirlwind trip, lots of packing and shopping and visiting with friends. Our baby girl keeps getting cuter and bigger and better at smiling, and of course we are just falling more in love with her. We are also on the cusp of our year apart.
So much to write about. So many pictures!
I'll just give you a little overview to give you context for what I'll be blogging about in the coming days.
On Feb 17, my husband's cousin's daughter was on a school trip when the SUV she was riding in was in an accident and she was killed. She was 15.
We had planned a trip to visit family in Texas and Oklahoma leaving the next night, but were able to get on an earlier flight out. We spent several days with this family and are better people, parents and husband and wife because of it. This girl, her life and death, changed so much for so many people, and will continue to do so for a long time to come.
One of the reasons we were already going on this trip was for the family to say goodbye to John and meet Ayla. I met John's family in the wake of his brother's death seven years ago, and now my daughter was meeting them in similarly tragic circumstances. We gave her the job of bringing joy to everyone she met, and since she started smiling just the week before, she accomplished her mission perfectly!
We said goodbye to another family member on this trip, too. Mocha went to live with her Aunt Kim this year. John decided she'd be better off with them since they have a dog, a big back yard and a 5-year-old, all things Mocha loves. She's settling in pretty well, as you can see!
And now we are preparing for yet another goodbye. This one, probably the hardest we've had to face in a while. John will most likely be leaving this week, so pretty much all our time and efforts are going towards getting him and us ready for that. It's really hard. Did I mention that? It does make every moment, every hug and kiss, every folded t-shirt and dirty coffee mug that much sweeter.
John has agreed to write a guest blog for me before he leaves. What do you think he should write about?
(Yep, the question at the end of the blog is back. Mwa ha ha ha!)
I think he should write a letter to his daughter.
ReplyDeleteI like the letter to Ayla... also he could write a list of things that remind him of you. Every time he sees a _____, it reminds him of when you guys went _____, etc. :) That way, every time he sees something random where he is, you'll be reassured that you're still in his thoughts, even though it involves something obscure. ;) Then, you could write one too after he goes so that he's reminded you miss/love him when you see the same random stuff...
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