Life...it's just too short for some

I meant to be blogging last week about the baptism of Emerson and how beautiful it was. I meant to say something about how much I appreciated David's family for coming and supporting us as we brought Emerson into God's family. I meant to do a lot of other things last week, but life happens...
It was Wednesday last week when I got a phone call from David around 3:30pm, which was not a normal time to be hearing from him. All he said was that Jeannette (his sister) had shot herself. We didn't know if it was an accident or on purpose, but knew it was serious and nothing else. So he left work, as did I. I called my mom and cried, not even sure where the bullet had gone into. She told me to just get to David's parents' house and she would take care of Emerson. I prayed to my Father the entire car ride, asking him to please keep Jeannette alive and to just let it be an accident and for her to be ok... by the time I got to the house we only knew that she in fact was at the hospital. A few minutes later the news that she had passed away came over the phone. My heart broke... we wept, screamed and asked "why?" over the next few days.
Jeannette was such a beautiful soul and giver. She gave so much of herself to all that she did and all that she had, but never took anything back for herself. Living like that just can't last for very long. At age 33 she decided that it was time for her to end her struggling life and go be with her Father. I find comfort in knowing that she is no longer in pain, no longer trying to give more of herself than she could. She is now at peace and resting in her Father's arms.
The funeral service was yesterday and we grieved of our loss once more. This day was very heavy and emotionally draining for all those that love her...which is SO MANY! My heart still breaks for so many... her 16 year old daughter, Shai, who will no longer have her mother to go to in times of joy or sorrow. Her husband will no longer have his best friend to cling to. My husband who now stands in a line of just 8 children, instead of 9. And for my mother and father-in-law who had to bury their child...something I selfishly pray I will never have to go through myself. I am saddened to know that Emerson, and our future unborn children, will not have the chance to really get to know the beauty that Jeannette brought into this world. We will tell them all stories and show them pictures, but it will just not be the same.
I am so blessed to be part of such a courageous and strong family like the Lloyds. I felt them get closer in these last few days and pray that they continue to lean on each other like they have. I love them all so dearly and am honored to be their sister/daughter.
David and I miss Jeannette so much already and will continue to grieve of her passing. We will hold Emerson a little tighter, as well as the rest of our family...

Jeannette Marie Lloyd Crocheron - April 4, 1977 - April 14, 2010

4 MONTHS!

Emerson is now 4 months old...already! Everyone tells me that this first year goes by really fast, but it just doesn't seem like FAST is a good enough word for it. I feel at this rate he will be in college if I blink at all! How I love to watch him grow though. He's giggling for me now...expect that to be the next video :) He wiggles and squirms and is getting used to his fingers and toes being in his control. It's awesome to watch him do things on purpose... like right now he's got his hands full of toys from his playground and he doesn't know which one to watch, but knows he's holding them both.
His voice is also HIS... we call them the "happy screams". He talks in screams, very high pitched screams, now. The coughing left us and now, he just makes his presence known by screaming. It's pretty cute most of the time, but wow can it be loud. He's happy pretty much all of the time, except when he gets bored or tired. We can remedy both of those now, so David and I are very happy about that.
Emerson has perfected the art of rolling over from tummy to back and does this pretty much every time we lay him on his stomach without much effort. I think he enjoys being mobile and it might not be terribly long before he crawls!
No teeth yet, but there are times we are pretty sure his gums are hurting because of them. I'd love for them to hold off on making their appearance though, as I'm still nursing and that can't be very fun to have teeth there. Oh well, we will make it work should that be the case.
NO MORE BINKIS... that's right, he gave them up 2 weeks ago on his own and hasn't looked back since. He LOVES his index and middle finger from his left hand...but they have to be in upside down. Yes, he's very particular, but hey no more digging for binkis to make him calm down for naptime. I'm not super excited about how it's going to go when we have to break him of the finger habit, but I won't worry about that just yet.
Our next appointment for Em is next Friday, so stats will be posted then. He's HUGE though... and I'm betting he'll be at least 17 pounds. I love chunky babies and wouldn't change this for the world.

Easter Sunday

It was Emerson's first Easter! He looked so dang cute in his outfit...see?

He had a basket at both our house and Grandma and Grandpa Sprik's house. His basket here was empty eggs (what does the kid really need anyway?) and then he had an outfit from his Aunt Meghan, and a stuffed bunny/candy/money from G&G. See, he gets spoiled by others so he isn't missing out when we don't fill his basket with goodies. :)

OK, my mom still gets baskets for us three girls, the husband/fiance/boyfriend of each, and of course the grandkids! So, here is a shot of all the baskets. Her table won't be big enough one of these years...


Our cousins sure looked super cute as well... the older boys about a year apart and Lyric and Emerson are only 15 days apart. I think they will always be close buds!




And here a few more pics of the family, and of course...Emerson

"Talking"

So Emerson likes to "talk" by coughing now...it's so funny! He was showing off for Grandma and Grandpa last night and it was pretty cute!



A picture of him smiling/grinning... he has the BEST smile, but we just can't ever seem to capture it with our cameras. This will have to do for now.