A Special Valentine's Day

So I know what you all are thinking - Jon planned something so romantic.  Well as much as I would like to say that is true - it isn't.  In fact I spent half the day at a tax appointment!  If that isn't romantic I don't know what is!  However, it was our evening that made the day so special.  We spent it with a bunch of sixth graders!  TJ's good friend Joel had another dance in memory of TJ.  I had gotten a text from his mom earlier in January asking if they could do it again.  Who am I to say no when TJ's classmates are wanting to do this.  I guess I should rewind just a little bit.  You see Joel's birthday is February 6 - yes the same day TJ had his first MRI.  So, instead of Joel having a regular birthday party celebrating himself - he instead he joins the class together and honors the memory of his good friend.  Joel is such a great kid!  It's actually a bittersweet kind of thing.  It is a party that TJ would have had an absolute ball at, but in all honesty, I wonder if this party would ever have been planned had TJ still been here.

We arrived a little late and the boys jumped in on the dancing right away.  (Although a little later I found Charlie with what looked like tears in his eyes - he was afraid that he was going to embarrass himself.  I know, Charlie?  I had a little chat and he quickly changed his mind and danced the night away).  We enjoyed TJ's favorite supper - Stromboli, chips and lime green punch.  This year they had 3 Musketeer's on the tables.  They took a break from dancing to eat and that's when another one of TJ's good friend's mom got up to talk.  Her words melted my heart and brought me to tears (I'll share more about this at a later time).  After more time of dancing it was time for the party to come to a close.  We went outside for a balloon release.  They had Jon, the boys and I stand in the middle of the circle (similar to last year) with the sixth grade class and parents around us.  We were given six lime green balloons and then Joel began to talk.  He tried to talk and broke down - I quickly grabbed him from the outer circle and brought him in with us - I held him while he spoke.  My heart was broken - yet so moved by the love he had for his friend.  Although it is very hard to see those kids and think about all the "what-if's" - I'm so thankful they still haven't forgotten about TJ and still want us to be a part of their lives!  Thank you just doesn't seem like enough!



The new shirts they made this year.  The front has TJ's favorite Bible verse.




The 6th grade class (plus Anthony, Will and Charlie)!


Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 19, 2014 at 4:35 PM

    That is super awesome! I love it that they continue to do this! By Senior year, this class will be inseparable. What a great bunch of kiddos!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grieving Still

I love to read other people's blogs.  Sometimes I get neat ideas from them or at other times it's just fun to hear what is going on in that particular family.  I few months after TJ passed away I received an email from a friend of the family's to check out a certain blog.  This particular family had just lost their 15 year old son to pancreatic cancer.  I decided to go back to their caringbridge page to read more about their journey.  There were some similarities and some major differences, however, we have both experienced the loss of our sons WAY too early.  I love to read her blog because I can totally relate with her.  I almost feel as if everything she shares are my feelings as well.  She shared something on her blog the other day (something someone else had shared with her) and I hope you all don't take this the wrong way, (I'm sorry in advance) but  Our transition is still a grieving one. They are SPOT ON! I thought I’d share them with you. I’ve heard it a th
Read more

Welcome

Welcome to our blog!  This has been more work than I thought it was going to be and I still have more work to do.  I think I'll just keep working on it a little bit at a time until I get it the way I want - SO it might look different every time you check it out.  Who knows!  I thought I'd create a blog for you to keep up with us instead of checking on caringbridge everytime.  I don't know how often I will update.  Just know that I will be sharing our life with you as it is without TJ.  Some topics might be just the everyday things our family is experiencing - school, holidays, vacations, etc.  And at other times I might be sharing my heart.  Follow along if you wish to know how we are doing, what we are doing and ways you can pray for our family.  See you soon!
Read more

The Basement Reveal!

Image
This post is long overdue - pictures of the basement.  We have since added the boys beds, living room furniture and toys.  There are still a few more things yet to bring in, buy or add - but for the most part it is DONE and we are enjoying it!  Still have to put up some trim in the entry way and living room  The upstairs bathroom needs to be finished and putting the office and now spare room back together.  Otherwise our project should be finished.  It seems like it has been a process - but it sure is nice - so glad we were able to do it!    The stairway down - we opened up the stairway two stairs.  Need the railing back on yet.       The hallway between the bedrooms, bathroom and laundry room.     The family room - this side has the tv, and furniture.  I didn't take a picture of the other half - that is the toy side.   The laundry room.  Still waiting for a counter top for the south wall.          The bathroom.      
Read more