Kolton, here is your 1st birthday letter from your Mommy. =)

My sweet babyboy- I wrote this for you on your 1st birthday. November 23, 2011. My babyboy turning one year old. It's hard to think about without tears in my eyes and an ache in my heart. I miss you so very much. 


Happy 1st Birthday Sweetheart !

I'm sure you must smile and shake your head when you see that I'm writing you a letter, as if you don't already know every thought I send your way. I think I write because it's tangible... part of being 'human for a time'. Some days it's not enough to feel it or just think it. I think you need to hear it from your Mommy's mouth. 
I love you and I miss you. 
I wish that you were here in my arms. Cooing over your surroundings and standing on your precious two feet. I wonder what you would be doing right now. A whole year old. Oh, the trouble you could get into and get away with-with a mischievous twinkle in your eyes. 
I just have to tell you how much I love you.
When you were here I was stronger and braver. I was younger. You and your Sissy were the center of all that mattered in my life and always will be. There are so many things I wish I had done better. I wish that I could have kept the sadness away. The sadness in knowing that you would not get to stay. I wish that I had told you more often how amazing you were, how proud you made me, how certain I always was that you and your sissy were the answer to the why of my life. 
I believe with all of my heart that we chose the course of this life. That we knew before we came how much we would have to sacrifice for all that we would be given. And even though I miss you with every breath, I would do it all again. No amount of heartache would deter me from embracing enthusiastically another forty weeks and one day with you.
I miss you more than mere words can express. I miss your sweet little face, your soft skin, and your chubby little thighs. I miss your hands and your adorable feet. I wish I could snuggle you and kiss you and love on you.
I am going to watch the videos that we took of you at birth soon. I can't wait to see you again. I relive that very special day in my mind, every day. I hold onto all of our beautiful moments. I am so happy that we were able to capture videos and pictures that we can treasure forever. I am very glad we have your heartbeat recorded and that we got your hand and feet molds. 
When you were born, It took the nurses a few minutes to get you over to us, I was praying and praying that they could initiate your breathing. I was starting to worry because I didn’t want to miss out on you while you were here. Then our Dr took you tenderly from the nurse and handed you to me. Such a handsome little guy fitting so perfectly in my arms. I remember all of your details..they are forever etched on my heart. Your dimple in the middle of your chin, your full lips, your fingernails have little lines in them, your big toe on your left foot has an indentation line in the middle of it, your chubby little thighs, your longs arms and long feet! your second toes are longer than your big toe, your eyes are a beautiful shade of dark blue, your hair was a reddish blonde and it was a little curly on the ends, you are covered in little peach fuzz. =) YOU ARE PERFECT! Thank you for inspiring me and making my life bloom. Thank you for being patient. Thank you for leaving clues. Thank you for subtle signs and songs that speak directly to me. Thank you for trusting me, believing in me, and choosing me to be your Mom.
I want to tell you that I am proud of you. You were so strong and so brave. I can’t imagine what you went through, nor what awaited you when you left us. I know that you aren’t in pain and that you can play and run. I know that you come and visit us and for that I am so very greatful. 
I want you to know that I think of you every moment. I miss you with every fiber of my being. I long with every beat of my heart for the day we will be together again.

Loving you, celebrating you, missing you and sharing tears, seamlessly interwoven with joy, is what allows me to look to tomorrow with hope.

So, my babyboy, know that your life continues to fill my own with more than I could ever have dreamed. 

I love you,
Hugs and kissies, 
Mommy

My Mr. Kolton

I miss you so very much. I can't believe that you will be turning one next month! It just seems so surreal to me because I feel like it was just yesterday that we held you in our arms and kissed your sweet beautiful face.
I love you so much and my arms ache for you, my sweet babyboy.
We've been trying to plan for your 1 year birthday party but I've ran into one brick wall after another. You know your mommy has to google EVERYTHING. We wanted to do a HUGE 365 balloon release in your honor for your birthday. Can you imagine just a rainbow of balloons in the sky =) and so I googled about balloon releases and saw how they are bad for animals and I knew that you wouldn't want to hurt any animals. So, I googled your auntie's idea of Sky Lanterns and found that they are also bad for animals if it's the wire sky lanterns. I know you wouldn't want that either. I shouldn't even be telling you these things because it should be a surprise!!! But, you know your mommy can't keep surprises very well. *lol*
I hope that we can come up with something truly amazing for a very amazing little boy <3 Everything will work out just as it should. Send me some ideas sweetie. <3
I love you so much more than words could ever say. You are my sunshine.
Love always,
Your Mommy

All that I am. All that I ever was. Is here in your perfect eyes, they're all I can see

On, May 23rd 2011, Kolton turns 6 months old. I really wish things were different and that he were here with us. In my arms is where I really want him to be. That's where he belongs. We have become these "new" people that I can hardly recognize. Being part of this "new club", one that we don't want to be a part of, has completely changed us. It's a double-edged sword. I feel that we are more loving and compassionate and on the other hand, we are bitter and closed-off. I feel like I am still shut-down and on auto-pilot. I just don't know where to go from here and I honestly think that I just want to stay right here. I am so afraid of letting go and accepting this grief and pain and heartache. I feel like if I do that, it's like saying that it is okay and fine. When that couldn't be further from the truth.
I miss my baby and I want so desperately to hold him again and to gaze into his beautiful blue eyes. I want to hear his laugh and catch the sparkle in his eye. I want to see him full of life, as he was when he was in my womb- protected from the world. I wonder what his first word would be. I wonder if he would look like his Daddy.  I wonder if he would be a Mommy's little boy or a Daddy's little boy. I want to see him graduate Kindergarten and middle school, and high school, (( I wonder who would have taught him how to drive a car. I am sure it would have been Daddy and I think that would have been amusing to watch)).and then off to college. I want to see what a great wonderful man he would grow up to be. I wonder when he would grow out of the stage "Girls have cooties" and excitedly wait at the end of the aisle to the bride who eagerly walks towards him to forever join him. 
I miss him so much. I have dreamt of his future from the moment we found out we were expecting. His future is far greater than I could ever imagine. God has a beautiful plan for our beautiful son. That's the best future anyone could ever get. Our baby boy is one of God's little angels <3

Let me tell you, when you lose a child - life on earth looks completely different. It is now a finite period until you get to be reunited with your child.We were blessed to have been given Kolton- even if it wasn't as much time as we had hoped for. He will always be with us and what could be better than spending eternity together? There is our happy ending. Our family will be reunited once again.

For Mommy's birthday: Daddy and Big Sissy picked out a book that "literally" jumped off the shelf at them. =)  The book: Heaven is for Real - A Little Boys Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back. If you haven't already read it - you need to. It's a definite must!  So many things spoke to me in this book.  For one being: the boys name who is telling us about heaven is also named Colton- just the spelling of the name is different. =) We now have a beautiful picture of what our Kolton is doing - singing, playing with our other loved ones who are already in heaven, flying (with his wings), enjoying the vivid colors, trees, and animals that God has designed heaven with. THE most comforting words of little Colton were his insistent message that, "Jesus REALLY REALLY loves the children." How can that not be comforting?

Our prayers at this time include thankfulness for everyone of you that have helped us– whether it has been in prayer, a meal, a hug, a donation, a flower, or a kind word – you have all created a support system that kept us going and moving and helped us put one foot in front of the other.
For each of you, we pray that God’s many gifts, including His Son, are present in your life. We treasure each of you and cannot even begin to repay all the ways we been blessed. Please know that although our family is grieving and missing Kolton more than words can say, we are doing well thanks to the peace that comes from above.