There is hope smiling brightly before us...
My parents have twenty-three grandchildren. Andy came first, then Jeffrey, and then Jeremy. All three mine. In October of 1985, two months after Jeremy's second birthday, Melissa was born to Tim and Margie; she was the first granddaughter. At the time of Melissa's birth Granma made a prediction that there would be three new grandchildren in the near future and she was right. Early in 1987 and within four months of each other arrived three new babies. Today's "Family Friday" features two of those babies; Christopher and Ashleigh.
Christopher was born on February 7, 1987. An unusual occurrence happened during his birth which was by Cesarean section; Christopher's forehead was cut with the Doctor's scalpel. I remember seeing him for the first time the following day, he was such a beautiful baby boy. There was a thin bandage around his head protecting his wound which had been carefully repaired; with his beautiful brown skin and an abundance of black hair, at first glance I thought he looked like a tiny papoose wearing his miniature headband. But he was Christopher; one of Heavenly Father's most valiant spirits.
Christopher knew and loved each of us in his family. I'm confident that that includes those family members that didn't have the privilege of meeting him here. He was an intelligent child with an enthusiasm for life. He loved his mommy and daddy and there was absolutely no question that they loved and adored him; and they still do.
Mike reminded me of a "tender moment" he had when he saw Christopher and Marivic at Albertsons one day. Christopher's response when he saw his Uncle Mike at a place that wasn't where he would normally see him was, "is it you?" Yes it was, and Uncle Mike loves that memory that he has of Christopher. I had a similar experience about the same time. One day Alan brought Christopher over to be tended, I had gone on a quick errand and Alan left Christopher with my older boys. When I arrived home Christopher was standing at the top of the stairs and with a big smile proclaimed, "I'm here!" I couldn't help but share his enthusiasm as I exclaimed, "and I'm so happy that you are!"
Ashleigh was born on May 13, 1987, it was a beautiful spring day. Ashleigh was the perfect answer to a mother's prayer. She brought her daddy, her mommy, and her "boys" much love and joy. My joy was so full at having a daughter, that many of my tasks as the mother of a newborn seemed so much lighter. Even getting up at 2 am seemed easier. The boys were delighted to have a sister and they loved and served Ashleigh with all of their hearts. Ashleigh loved "my boys" as she called them, with all of her heart as well. Ashleigh too, was one of Heavenly Father's most valiant spirits.
Ashleigh loved her daddy. Occasionally on an evening, Michael would be lying on the floor watching TV and Ashleigh would sit on his back. There would be a big bowl of popcorn in front of Michael, and Ashleigh would lean over his shoulders to reach in for her share. Sometimes we played a little game that went like this: I would say to Ashleigh, "he's my Babycakes", and I would point to Mike. "No, he's my Babycakes", she would reply. We would go back and forth trying to decide whose "Babycakes" he was, Mike loved it! Sometimes I would start the game and sometimes Ashleigh would, and then there were the times that Ashleigh would say, "he's my Babycakes", and I would say, "you can have him."
Christopher and Ashleigh were playmates as well as cousins. I don't think it matters what age a child is... when you get more than one of them together they can come up with some clever ideas. Ashleigh's bedroom wall had a small hole in it, it was about the size of a door knob, actually the door knob caused the hole. One day I found Christopher and Ashleigh in her room, having a great time dropping toy blocks into the hole in the wall. Consequently, another hole had to be cut into the bottom of the wall to retrieve the blocks, and... a few other toys that we found in the process. Eventually
both holes were repaired.
Christopher was a smart little boy and he spoke very well. One day while he and Ashleigh were watching "Bambi" some butterflies appeared on the screen. Ashleigh pointed to them and referred to them as "fafa flies". Christopher looked so surprised and kindly informed her that they weren't "fafa flies, they are butterflies." Ashleigh loved "The Little Mermaid" and quite often per our request mimicked Ariel as she sang
Part of Your World on her make believe rock.
At the beginning of "Family Friday" it was suggested to me that it would be neat to post a picture of me with the featured family member. That was a great idea, but I don't have very many pictures of me with individual family members. I am grateful to have this picture with me, Christopher, and Ashleigh; together.Throughout my life I have heard people use the word "heartbroken" countless times. It wasn't until December 12, 1989; more than 31 years into my life that I discovered that the word "heartbroken" or "heartbreak" has very real meaning, and that having a broken heart is a very real physical pain.
It seems that most of the days in our lives begin in a routine manner; that's how it was for me that December morning. I was being a mom and getting my boys out the door to school, getting Ashleigh and myself ready for the day, I had projects to finish for Christmas which was less than two weeks away, and my Christmas party was only five days away. It was my brother's last day of school for the semester and Christopher was coming over to be tended. When Alan returned to pick up Christopher I had no idea that that would be the last time I would see him. Later that afternoon when I received the phone call, I remember seeing the partially filled cup that Christopher had been drinking from just hours earlier sitting on the kitchen counter. I did not know when I woke up that morning, that when I returned to my bed that night that the lives of our family; and most especially Alan and Marivic, would be changed forever.
August 16, 1990 started out as a beautiful summer day. The sky was blue, the sun was shining and I felt great. The previous evening a good friend who is a nurse, expressed concern to me about Ashleigh and suggested that I take her to her pediatrician. Everything seemed fine that morning and I thought to myself, "Ashleigh is okay, I don't need to take her to the Doctor." I was immediately impressed that I
must take her to the Doctor. There are a lot of details that go into the events of that day that I won't take the time to share here, but by the time I left St. Benedict's hospital that afternoon, the beauty of the day had been replaced with black clouds and pouring rain. It was as if the heaven's mourned with me as I learned that my precious daughter, my perfect answer to prayer, had a brain tumor. When I went to my bed that night, again the lives of our family; most especially Michael, myself, and our four children had changed forever.
Things to know about Christopher's family: Christopher was the first child in his family, he never had the opportunity to associate with his siblings Tara and AJ as most children do. But they know him and love him and he is still their big brother. As I have been reading Alan and Marivic's
25th anniversary series my heart has been touched as I have read about the sacrifices that Marivic made to come to America; her life has been greatly blessed because she came, but it hurts to think of our Filipina sister enduring the experience that she did without her mama and papa and her siblings by her side. I remember that December twenty years ago, when I looked at Alan it hurt me to think that I would never see my brother smile again. I have seen my brother smile, and I've heard him laugh many times. Alan and Marivic are good people, they are my heroes and I love them.
Christopher's family: Tara, Marivic, Alan, and AJ
Things to know about Ashleigh's family: On the morning of September 17, 1991 Ashleigh returned home to our Heavenly Father. During the previous thirteen months our faith, love, determination, hope... increased as we endured (and I think well) and accepted our Heavenly Father's will for Ashleigh and our family. On March 17, 1993 we were blessed with a gift; Caitlin Rose. We have been blessed with the love and comfort of our three sons. As you look at the expressions on the faces of "her boys" in the picture below; I think we came through it pretty well, and I think Ashleigh would agree.
Ashleigh's family: Jeremy, Emily, Mason, Michael, Lesley, Zachary, Caitlin, Adam, Kristin, William, Andy, Melissa, Avery, and Jeffrey . Christopher and Ashleigh are lights to our family. I love them both with all of my heart and soul. I look forward to the day when I will see them again, maybe then I will be the one to say (with a big smile on my face), "I'm here!"
