Holidays, memories and more

As I write down my thoughts so much has happened. Jon's birthday has come and gone (Oct. 19),Thanksgiving has come and gone and so many emotions have flooded my heart.
We celebrated Jon's life Oct. 19 at Diann's house. Emotions were crazy as we thought about how Jon had blessed all of our lives.

Thanksgiving has brought new feeling to the surface as I try to honor Jon in special ways. Before our Thanksgiving meal, I lit a special candle and told one of my favorite "Jon" stories and asked everyone to share one of theirs. Here was mine. One day I was in the kitchen and Jon came down from upstairs. I was burning a Christmas cookie candle and as he came down and into the kitchen he said, "This smells good enough to eat!" Everytime I smell a Christmas cookie candle I think about Jon and how uninhibited he was about expressing whatever it was that he felt...I want to live my live like that, unafraid to express whatever it is that I'm feeling. I sent one of these candles over seas when he was in the Navy...he told me later, "Thanks mom, but no candles on the ship." Burn a Christmas cookie candle in Jon's memory during the holidays and let me know about it!

This past weekend we flew to San Antonio, Tx to be with a first cousin of David's. I think that he was thinking that we needed a change during the holidays...anyway we attended worship at Oak Hills church where Max Lacado preaches. It was such an inspiring service and one I will never forget! I know one thing for sure, there are no random acts in this world. God had full intentions of David and me being at that service that Sunday morning. The lesson was about the 10 leapers and only one coming back to say thank you...we have all heard that story and probably know it by heart, here is the twist, he asked his wife to stand in the audience and told her in front of the crowd of about 1000 that he love her, was thankful for her and appreciated her alwasy believing in him and supporting him. Next he asked his son-in-law to stand up and said that he always thought that there would never be anyone good enough for his daughter. He thanked him for loving his daughter, taking care of his daughter and being the Christian man that he was. As his voice cracked he said, "You see, it isn't always easy to say thank you to those you need to say thank you to, but it is ALWAYS the right thing to do"...WOW! We all know that is true. Next we received a paper leaf (various colors)on which we were to right what we were thankful for. As I begin writing I can honestly say that I am so thankful for all of the things Jon taught me. How he made me laugh and how much fun he brought into our family. How he loved Josh, Ginger and Rhett. How he loved a good card game. How he loved people. How mad he made me when he would do something really stupid. How close he and David were. How he would say, "I love you, mom." I learned so much through his struggles. I know he felt so trapped there until God's love and grace took over and set him free. I know he is in a much better place and I am so thankful for that. He is truly at peace.

Dec.13 is the date for the annual candle light service. This service will be at Cross Point church of Christ at 3. Come support friends and honor Jon and others you know who have lost precious children.

One last thought, I found this awesome book while we were out of town this past weekend...Giraffes Can't Dance. Love it! It is a story about a giraffe named Gerald who couldn't dance. The other animals did a wonderful job of dancing and when it was Gerald's turn he just froze, walked off the dance floor and started walking home sad and alone. He met a cricket who believed in him and told him, "Sometimes when you're different you just need a different song." Well, you guessed it, when Gerold heard "his" song he really could dance. This book made me think about Jon so much...he just needed a different song. Now he has a beautiful song, "his" song, and is dancing the most beautiful waltz ever!