Monday, October 11, 2010

This Same Week Last Year



This exact week last year our family was having a vacation of a lifetime in the wonderful DisneyWorld Resort. Our week together truly was such a highlight of 2009 and we couldn't have done it without the generous hearts of our family members who paid for it all. Thank you so much, again for sending us and allowing us to experience such a time with Jared, Gabrielle & Bradley. We all loved every minute of it and will always be so grateful for the memories of this week.


At the Lego Store - I think this is where Jared's love for legos was born













At the end of the day - wiped out!


It really was such a great week. Thanks again family for making this possible.





Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Summer pictures

Here are some pictures that I wanted to share of some of our happenings . . .

picture by Gabrielle to help decorate Jared's grave

we all made lego cakes on Jared's Birthday

Memorial Day


Summer Fun!

Beck Jared Vance - getting bigger

Bradley wearing Jared's Indiana Jones' hat

Gabrielle wearing her JV shirt on the 1st day of school

Oh how we miss Jared!



Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Introducing . . .



Beck Jared Vance
May 14, 2010
7.5 lbs 19 1/2" long




Thursday, April 22, 2010

Their Jared Books


Just weeks after Jared's passing, Andrew and I have been working on these books for Bradley and Gabrielle. They are filled with pictures of them with their big brother Jared. We just barely completed them and received them this week.

They couldn't have come at a better time - our kids, especially Gabrielle, have had an extra hard month missing Jared. We are so happy that they have their Jared books so every time they are missing Jared they can flip through these pages and remember so many memories that these pictures capture. And hopefully these pictures help them remember even other memories that pictures don't capture.

Here are some pictures of our Easter - the kids came upstairs dressed in style in their "JV Team" shirts. Yes, Jared has definitely been on all of our minds all of the time!


Friday, March 26, 2010

"It's not too hard for Jared"

Bradley wanted help changing a transformer toy into a car (something I have tried but simply cannot do) as I started to tell Bradley that I just couldn't do it Bradley spoke over me and said, "Is it too hard for you?"

"Yes, it is too hard for me." I said. Then I started to suggest to wait for Dad's help when he gets home and Bradley spoke again before I could finish and said,"It's too hard for Dad too."

Then he paused and said, "It's not too hard for Jared."

We miss Jared everyday. There are little reminders everywhere for which I am so glad. We continue to try and keep the eternal perspective of life at the foremost of our thoughts and the way we live. How we miss our brother and son so very, very much.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Hugs From Second Graders

Yesterday I stood by Elle as she lined up for her kindergarten class. The First and Second graders were also lining up to go inside from their lunch recess. A group of Jared's classmates, about five of them, came over to me. One little boy said, "I was so sad when Jared died." It was sweet. For a split second we all sort of just smiled and looked at each other. And then I said, "Well, I need a hug from all of you because I don't have a second grader to hug." They all crowded in and we had a little group hug. I told them I was having a baby boy on Jared's birthday. They had big smiles and off they went to their class.

It was a bittersweet moment. I was so happy they came up to me and spoke of Jared, I loved it. Of course it hurt a bit, but it also helped my heart so much. I'm so glad I got some hugs from some second graders.

Friday, February 19, 2010

15 Weeks and Counting

I apologize to all who have heard this experience, but we had wanted to post it for those who haven't.  It is somewhat of old news to many, but being that we went offline for a couple months we never got a chance to post about it, at least I don't thinks so.  My memory is not exactly top caliber.  Well here it goes.

Jared wanted another sibling for quite some time and would ask Jaime and I when we would be having another baby. I thought those questions only came from our parents, not our own children.  Jaime and I, in the past, have had no trouble getting pregnant. We had decided back in January that we would again look to bring another child into our home. Months went by and nothing happened. We were shocked. Come May, we received Jared's diagnosis. We were devastated. We discussed putting a family on hold until there was a resolve to our situation, but we never felt that this is what we should do. We wanted Jared to be able to have his wish of another sibling, but did not know how we would handle things financially and emotionally. On my birthday, in the fall, we were in getting flu shots when we discovered that Jaime is in fact, pregnant. We were all so excited. Here I was, thinking in my heart that getting flu shots on my birthday would go down as an all time high for the best birthday present ever, but I was soon shocked with the news of a true birthday wish.  We were shocked and excited.  Jared was truly the most excited of all of us. It was fun to see his joy in knowing that he would have another sibling. 

Well, the coming months brought great disappointment as you all know. Our hearts were sorrowed as we learned of Jared's final diagnosis. At the deepest valleys of our challenges, the Lord has brought forth some of the greatest blessings. Just weeks following the very vivid, difficult MRI images of our sons tumor we were shown the mercy of the Lord by viewing an ultrasound image of our future child. To our great joy, we then discovered from the doctor that this baby's due date is exactly the eighth birthday of our oldest son Jared, May 29, 2010. On top of this great news, we have since had another ultrasound revealing that we will have a baby boy.  I know that God is very aware of us and is keenly interested in the details of our lives.  We will soon experience both ends of life's spectrum in a matter of 6 months from each other.  We can't wait.  I am sure Jared is still very aware of this blessing that will soon come into our home, just as he is aware of how his life has blessed our family with a deeper appreciation of the important things in life.  Someday all the siblings can be reunited again and can cherish the greatest blessings and tender mercies God can give.