Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Beautiful lives....gone for now, but not forever

These are the closest little ones we have to the ages of the sweet children who were lost in Connecticut this last Friday.

My heart aches like so many of yours.

These beautiful and innocent little children.

I remember having a dream once about one of my children.

It was not a dream, but rather my worst nightmare.

In the dream, my little son was racing ahead of me on the stairs. 

Any of you who know any of our children, will realize ,that this would not be unusual.

They each have a passion for life, and an innate sense of adventure and competition.

In this dream, he would race up each flight of stairs, and then wait for me on the landing.

Floor by floor we climbed, in what seemed to be, the tallest building ever.

With each set of stairs conquered, that sweet boy would turn around and smile at me.

I told him once more, "Be careful and wait for mommy."

As we approached the next set of stairs, something was different.

This time, there was no elevator door at the opposite side of the landing.

This must have increased my son's curiosity as to why this floor was different.

So instead of turning around and waiting for me, he walked over to where the elevator should be.

As I reached the landing, I watched in horror as he fell into the empty elevator shaft.

I ran over screaming, and woke myself up before hearing his sweet body land on the shaft's floor.

It was a nightmare.

Maybe one that someone else has experienced before.

But that morning, when I awoke, my heart physically heart.

I could feel a pain and pressure unlike anything I have ever experienced.

I just lay there, paralyzed myself from the entire, unreal experience.

I thought about it for days, and maybe even into the next week.

The pain felt real, and the loss, tangible.

LAST FRIDAY, those parents must have felt a pain that must have been unbearable.

Except their's wasn't based on a subconscious level, it was real.

My heart breaks for their loss.

I know that sadness of knowing that the memories of your life with that child are over.

There is no opportunity to create more dreams with them, only the promise of seeing them in the eternities.

I pray for each of their families.  The ones who lost their mother, or their brave sister, and each of these little ones.

May we all be more loving and forgiving.

And may their sweet spirits have the opportunity to comfort their own families somehow.

I know that there is life after death.

I know it.

I know that these parents, siblings, and children of those that were taken that day, will see them again.

They all lived beautiful lives, and will wait for a time, and then be reunited.

That is my belief, and the only thing that keeps me going when I think of our own losses.

I am thankful to my Savior for making forever possible in my family's forever.


Thursday, December 6, 2012

Valor wins STATE again!!!


Do you think this boy was excited?

You bet your tail he was!!

Valor won a close game (9-0) vs Cherokee Trail in Valor's first attempt at a 5A State Title!!

It was scoreless going into the 4th quarter, which was an unusual site for this team this year who is usually up on their opponent by 40 in the 4th quarter.

But the day was flawless and absolutely beautiful!

December 2, 2012 and 70 degrees.

Insane!

What an amazing accomplishment by such dedicated football players and coaches!

Congrats to Valor Christian 2012 5A State Champions!

We waited around for A.J. to come out of the tunnel for some pics, and boy did it pay off!  Coach Sherman appeared with the actual trophy, and we borrowed it for some memories.

 Uncle Steve, Spencer and Reese came out to support A.J. and see a nail-biter!
 Easton brought along one of his best friends, Cooper!





 Nana and Grandma get in a nervous smile!
 I love these pics of Grandpa!













 Claire and Brooke having some fun!
 Tymber with a high fever, but still being an excellent (and very snuggly) baby!







 Annie having a little refreshment after an unexpected nap that we couldn't quite wake her up from!




 Jack Del Rio with his boy Luke!  Great job by Luke this season!



 Love this kid Reese!

 Ellie getting in some smiles with A.J.'s main squeeze, Megan!



 Madie finally sporting a smile!









 Waiting for A.J....
 The little girls saw him and literally ran to greet their champion!








 A.J. and Grandma 
 A.J. and Nana
 A.J. and Grandpa Dieker
A.J. and Papa

 A.J. and his sisters
 Ellie and A.J.
 A.J. and Brooke
 Madie and A.J. sharing a smile and a hug!

 A.J. and Tim Tim

 Coop and A.J. 



 A.J. and Meg
 Claire and A.J. all smiles
 Finally...Easton and his brother

John and Nana 


 That is our boy!!  He rocks in our minds, and will be a tremendous quarterback next year!
 A.J. and the amazing Christian McCaffrey!




 Nice face Ellie!  I snuck the girls away to Cafe Rio! It was delicious and fun to have all the girls to myself!



 The next evening was the football banquet, and it was a blast!

The trophies below represent this school's amazing feat at winning FOUR consecutive football titles. (3A-2009, 4A-2010, 4A-2011, & 5A-2012)

We are praying for A.J. to have the opportunity to be a major contributing factor to a #5!!

 Valor's incredibly talented quarterbacks!

Here's to Valor's very bright future!


A.J. you are amazing!  You handled yourself with selflessness and dignity.  We are excited to watch you grow into an amazing quarterback, but even more important, into the amazing person we all know you already are becoming!

WE LOVE YOU!

You can check out last year's game right HERE