When we gathered with family and friends for the tree and bench dedication yesterday, we also had a ½ birthday memorial celebration for Jud.  He would be turning 3 ½ tomorrow-June 24th. We had the same Lightening McQueen ice cream cake that was given to him at his Make-a-Wish party and after singing “Happy Birthday,”

  Dear Judson, I have so much in my heart to say to you, Son-so much that you already know.  That I love you tons and tons.  That I’m so very proud of you.  That I miss you. You are written indelibly on my soul.  Much of me will not endure beyond this life, but

Tomorrow marks a year from the Sunday we dedicated Judson and Jessie at our church.  We had planned the occasion weeks before the onset of Jud’s Krabbe, but the disease was well underway when we stood before the members of Grace that pivotal Sunday morning.  Though we did not know what was happening in Judson’s

I vividly remember a phone conversation I had with my friend Tracy precisely one year ago.  At the time, Drake and I had to wait a full weekend before we would be able to meet with the neurologist to discuss the results of Jud’s first MRI, but we also knew that our boy did not

Singing used to flow easily and sometimes unconsciously from my lips whenever I was listening to a song that had familiar lyrics or even in a time of community worship.  However, my journey over the last year has made me much more mindful of the words that glide off my tongue in song.  I want

Dear family and friends, Today, June 13th, has been etched in our minds as the date our affliction over Judson’s journey with Krabbe began. On that fateful Wednesday morning, we met with Judson’s pediatrician and the whirlwind picked up from there. I was told to take Judson immediately to the ophthalmologist, encouraged not to even

In our journey of grief and sorrow, we have regularly been “warned” that anniversaries can be far more difficult than the average day of loss.  I have frequently wondered what makes these days more challenging, seeing as the loss itself remains unchanged.  Why would these particular days be harder? I am beginning to understand. What

A year ago today marks my first day of skyrocketing fear for Judson’s well-being (see Altered Forever). Strangely, at the time, I did not fear for Judson’s life-that thought didn’t really even cross my mind; it was devastating enough just to imagine Jud might have a long-term disability. Here is my journal entry from June