Can you believe that our Tyler has graduated from high school? How did the journey go so fast, the years fly so quickly that already we are here? I think about the day I found out I was having a boy — our first son. I remember you standing in the entryway of our little rental house, your eyes wide. “Well? What is it?” I’d gone to the doctor appointment by myself because you had school that morning, leading the kids in the classroom. I waited a minute, enjoying the suspense, and then I grinned at you. “We’re having a boy!” I remember that before you could think about the politically correct response, you pumped your fist and shouted, “Yes!” I love that you were so excited to have a son, and between us I’ve loved everything about raising that little boy. I remember him standing in your cowboy boots, his four-year-old chest puffed out as he stood next to you. A mirror image of his daddy. I know God has great plans ahead for Ty … and for all our kids. But it’s bittersweet beyond words that already he has graduated. Thank you, Donald, for being the sort of daddy our boys have always wanted to imitate. They see you, and they know for sure that’s who they want to be. You, the man of God, the one helping our family at every turn, praying for us. Stable, funny, loving, and always, always there for us. I pray that God will help us hold onto the lasts in the years to come as our other four boys hurry their way toward the front door. Along the way, I will cherish being at your side, watching you fill our home with laughter and love. God walked us through the baby stage and the walking stage, He walked us through the off-to-school stage and now, somehow, He’ll walk us through the years of letting go. Quiet days lie ahead, but for now, my love, hold my hand and let’s run the journey together. You and our boys, making memories. I look at you and still see the blond, blue-eyed guy who would ride his bike to my house and read the Bible with me before a movie date. You stuck with me back then and you stand by me now — when I need you more than ever. I love you, my husband, my best friend, my Prince Charming. Stay with me, by my side, and let’s watch our children take wing. Always and always … The ride is breathtakingly beautiful. I pray it lasts far into our twilight years. Until then, I’ll enjoy not always knowing where I end and you begin. I love you always and forever.
To Kelsey, my precious daughter …
Only one year left of college, and I am amazed at how far you’ve come, Kelsey … how much you’ve grown. Your time in California — though some of the most painful days in your life and mine, for reasons we both understand — was a time God used to raise you into the strikingly beautiful young woman you are today, inside and out. I have watched you learn to love serving and listening and helping others, more than you care for yourself. I remember one day not long ago when you were still in California — alone and heartbroken — and you called. “Listen to this,” you cried out, hope filling your voice. “These are some great Bible verses I found today. They’re perfect for where God has me.” You didn’t know this, but your dad and I were in our room, and you were on speakerphone. The two of us exchanged a look — the sort of look that could only be shared between two parents who have prayed a lifetime for a child only to see God’s answer in a single moment. I know you’ve had a hard year, sweetheart. But the truth is God cleared away the old and wrong to make way for the new and right. Wherever he is, honey, God is preparing him for that time when the two of you will meet and fall in love. Until then, you keep being the light of our family, the laughter of our hearts … and that one-in-a-million girl who inspired an entire series. My precious “Bailey Flanigan,” I pray that God will bless you mightily in the years to come, and that you will always know how He