Meet Little Miss Fiona Jordyn...

...our little Wheaten Scotty Dog and the

newest member to our little home.

Sweet black eyes and a black button nose.

This little creature of God brings us smiles and gives us tons of

puppy kisses. Nothing beats the smell of a puppy's breath.

A little bundle of joy.

We picked her out at Christmas and now have her home. Jordan
told us that she looked like an antique teddy bear and thought she
was the perfect dog for us....and he was right!


Now what is Mr. Duhgall thinking about all of this? Well, at first he was a bit
aloof about having another dog in the house, however I think he is quite fond
of her. Shh...don't tell him I said this, but he likes being chased by her and allows
her to tug on his beard. They will soon be the best of friends. This I can tell.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I cannot end this post without thanking you all - again - for your prayers said in our behalf.
Blogging has been on the back burner for me and I have even contemplated closing the blog. BUT, you are all an extension of my life and a part of me cannot shut this door. It would be like losing someone again. So for now I continue to move forward in little baby steps. Our pastor said our life would be a "different normal" now. Yes, so true. I have always told my children that tomorrow is never promised to anyone and to be thankful for the time we have on earth. Each day is a gift. Treasure it. Savor it. Breathe.



The air breathes upon us here most sweetly. -- Wm. Shakespeare


Heaven is just a stepping stone away. Faith pulls me forward.

We Have A Winner!

I am pleased to announce that the winner of my giveaway is

Summer Sadie!

Congratulations!

Thank you EVERYONE who entered! I will have to do this again sometime

this spring. I wish I had something to send to each one of you but I will send

you all a big HUG!

xx

Gratitude

Just a note sending a heartfelt thank you to all who have been so kind to our family during our difficult time. We are taking one day at a time and putting one foot in front of the other. There is one thing that we feel confident about and that is that our loving son is now in Heaven. Having that in our hearts makes this more bearable.

I would also like to mention that the winner of the giveaway will be announced this Friday by noon (PST). If you would like to enter, just scroll down till the post shows on your screen.

In Memory Of Our Beloved Son, Jordan

Our beloved son, Jordan, joined our Heavenly Father 2-4-09.

This is by far the most difficult post for me to write. My fingers pause on the keys as I form what to say from my heart and my mind. My body hurts, my eyes are blinded by the tears that form and fall from my face. To lose our Jordan is the most tragic and gut wrenching pain that our family has dealt with. It seems surreal at times yet we know that it is real. Real as the sun rises, real as the sun sets in the sky. Painful. Mournful. Brutal. However, though we are dealing with the rawness of reality, we are comforted knowing that our child is now in Heaven. He has traveled his journey here on earth, served his country, loved his family and friends and now is with the angels. For this I know as I feel the warmth flow through my body and my heart. A soothing comfort provided by our loving Lord Jesus Christ.

Many of you know that I have not spoken much about my children as I am protective of them, especially on the Internet. However, this post is for our Jordy Boy - our precious son and forever amazingly witty guy.

Our little Jordan... ...always posing and smiling big for the camera. He loved to hose things down - I suppose destined to be a firefighter. Having a lazy Saturday morning in bed with dad and reading the comics. Helping dad mow the lawn.

Jordan and his little brother, Spencer. They seemed inseparable at times. Always goofing off and making funny faces. This photo always makes us laugh! Poor little Spencer...I wonder what Jordan said to him. Spencer always looked up to his big brother though - no matter what. Jordan is an avid gamer and Santa brought him his PlayStation that Christmas.

Below Jordan celebrates his 21st birthday and having plenty of laughs with his friend Michael.

These photos were taken after Jordan graduated from the United States Air Force's Basic Training Program in San Antonio, Texas. The above photo was taken of him as he arrived at the airport after having completed the Fire Training Program. He loved coming home on leave time.

Jordan was home when we picked Duhgall out. Ironically, Duhgall was the only Scottie puppy that was wearing a camouflage collar - kind of like he was meant to be our Scottie.

Leave time in June 2008. We loved hearing all about what he had been doing while away. Below was another get together with friends while he was home on military leave. Jordan and his Grandpa Bob.

Quiet time at the beach.

Getting his first new car in June 2008.Playing rock band with Spencer. See...he loved being in his boxers.

Below are Jordan and is wife, Morgan.  Sadly, they are now both gone.  Life is so fragile and can seem so unfair at times like this.
.When Jordan was home on leave time we always invited our friends and family over to celebrate having him home. Jordan had served two years in England at Mildenhall Air Force Base. In June of 2008 he was reassigned to Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. Jordan bought his first new car while home and the boys drove from California to Florida to Jordan's new duty assignment.Below Spencer and Jordan pose for the camera and are trying their hardest not to do something funny. Notice Jordan's hand reaching for his brother? Typical antics! These photos are times spent while in the Middle East. Guys are being silly and doing the "California" sign. No gang stuff here...just guys being goofy is all. The photo of Jordan with his the fire hose is so typical of him doing funny things. He loved to make people laugh and we sure got some good belly chuckles after seeing that photo!!

Below Jordan is doing his infamous Fire Marshall Bill impersonation. He was always good at impersonating Jim Carey as well as so many others.

Snippets of days in the life of being a firefighter. Below Jordan and his good buddy Bobby get a lift to work while in the middle east.
Always being silly....

..and playing the air guitar.

I think that Jordan is laughing and pointing out the graphics and words on his friends' shirt.

At the station with some of his good friends. I love this photo below. It really captures the serious side of Jordan quite well.

The photo below is one of my favorites. Jordan is giving Spencer a kiss on the check. The boys were like best friends to each other.

Below is the family portrait that we had taken in November 2005, right before Jordan left for Basic Training.

The photographer suggested that the boys each have some pictures taken together and by themselves. I am so glad that he suggested this as this would be the last time we had the chance to do this as a family.

Our family wrote a letter to Jordan to have our Pastor read at his service.....I will share it with you here...

Our Dearest Jordan,

Your arrival to our world brought us such immense joy and love. We instantly had this beautiful little baby, so sweet, so soft and with a head full of dark hair.

You were a gentle little boy with precious ways about you with such a tender heart. We remember the little moments of you falling asleep in your Cheerios, helping your dad mow the lawn with your little lawn mower and asking one day, “Daddy, can a little boy come out and play with me?” Hot wheels, legos and drawing kept you busy for hours. Then out came the Gameboys, Playstations and X-Box - all of which you so enjoyed and spent countless of hours playing. As an adult you became the “expert” gamer and had three computer screens going at one time.

You would sit on Grandpa’s lap and look at bug books and were especially fond of the “farting beetle.” Grandma Carol always made sure that we bundled you up properly to keep you warm. That's a grandma for you...always making sure that your momma did things right.

You loved Blackie the cat, your Barefoots teddy bear and ABC blanket.

Your friends kept you busy and you always had a good buddy at your side. You played with Michaela and Dominic and entertained yourselves one afternoon by putting Mr. Potato Head pieces on your face. Days and evenings were spent riding your bikes and skateboarding with friends. How about the time you and Michael B. covered yourselves with mud and looked like the mud bog monsters? You loved playing nerf wars, hiding from the ice cream truck after you threw rocks at it, building forts and jumping off of Zack’s roof into the swimming pool.  Of course, I found out about the swimming pool events after the fact!

Spencer always knew that he could count on you for protection. Because you were never afraid to speak up, you always made sure that nobody messed with him. The two of you would spend hours talking about music, and Spencer would be all jazzed up to turn you on to a new band - and you always liked what he liked. Spencer will always remember the 8 Monster drinks that you both drank in one day while on your road trip to Florida. Fun times were shared last summer at Big Al’s wedding. Groovy dancing, huh!? Hey Jordan, do you remember Nina? How about the time you sang “London Old Man Is Falling Down” when your dad tripped in the garage.

Your favorite place to visit was Huntington Lake, and we had so many fun times sailing, camping and enjoying life. Remember the time you had to grab the boat tiller from Spencer when he had it at full throttle?

I remember how easy it was for you to teach yourself to play the bass guitar. Your long and graceful fingers stretched so easily over the strings.  We will treasure your guitars forever and Spencer plucks away at them once in awhile.

Poor Kitty - you always made sure you would spin her around on the floor whenever you had the chance. You loved your pets and were always so gentle with them. 

We shared many sunsets from the upstairs windows. You loved Top Ramen, Mac and Cheese and Orange Chicken at Panda Express. For a “tasty beverage” you preferred Guiness and also liked hard cider.

Your friends and family were most important to you. Even as an adult you always made friends easily. Laughter, joking, pulling some pretty amazing stunts (that of which I will refrain from mentioning) is what made you so special and so memorable. We are learning from your friends that you preferred to be only dressed in your boxers.

Firefighting was like the icing on the cake for you. Your dream job came true. Perseverance, long talks and prayers got you through Firefighting Tech School. Your reward to yourself was your fabulous and colorful tattoo that covered half of your arm! You made so many friends in the Air Force and each one has a special story to tell about you.  We have the medal that was given to you for performing life saving skills on a Lt. Colonel while in England.  See, you make us so darn proud!!  And what about the 125 mitigating emergency circumstances that happened in a 24 hour amount of time while you were stationed in Qatar?  Commendations were given to you and the fire department staff for dealing with all of the craziness when the sand storm hit the base. 

Jordan, just know that you will always be in our thoughts and prayers. Not a day will go by that we won’t think of you. Every siren we hear, every fire truck we see, every sunset in the sky will always remind us of you.

Your life is a precious, precious gift to all of us. Such a blessing! Each of us will hold a special memory of you in our hearts and souls forever. Your impersonations will never be forgotton!  Fire Marshall Bill....you did that with such perfection.

Be at peace in Heaven, little Jordy Boy. God has your room there for you to rest and be happy. Till we see each again, we love you with all of our heart and soul.

always and forever,

Dad, Mom, Spencer, Duhgall and Socks

 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;  His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Psalms 91:4

We also found comfort by reading Psalms 144

Goodnight our angel face. May you sleep with the angels in the room that was made for you by a carpenter's hands. Goodnight my sweetheart.....I will sing the ABC's to you and say our prayers. Always.....Mom-pa-c

****** Our family would like to thank everyone for the comments, telephone calls, gifts, flowers and cards. We are so touched by the love and messages that so many of you have shared with us. Your comments have brought us strength and we can feel the love and compassion in your words. Prayers have been answered as we have felt the presence of the Lord holding us together during our darkest of days.  The day we layed Jordan to rest, there was a double rainbow over the cemetary when we drove up.  God was letting us know that our son is with him now.  Those little signs from above bring us such peace.  Never in my entire life would I have EVER imagined that our nation's flag would have been so carefully folded by an Honor Guard and presented to me as the 21 gun salute and taps played. The flag that draped my son's casket.  Never in a million years does a mother expect this.  But I accepted it with honor for my son and for his service to our country.  He was proud to be an American and proud to wear the uniform of the United States Air Force.  Though Jordan did not pass away while at war, he is remembered for his hard work and dedication to his country and for being an amazing person, who abided by his sworn military code - to put others before self.

 Just know we appreciate you - each one of you. This world of blogging is truly a gift. A gift of love and support. God Bless You All!

We would also like to thank the United States Air Force, the 45th Civil Engineer Squadron at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida; The Honor Guard from Travis Air Force Base; The Civil Engineer Unit at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota; Lakewood Memorial Park and Funeral Home; The Patriot Rider's Group; Dory Tucker, Joni Valponi, Bagpiper John Mitchell, and Pastor Matt Phillips - Calvary Chapel Church.