On August 20, 2006 we were blessed with our first child, Cade. From the moment he was born he brought us so much joy. We enjoyed every moment with him. Cade was a precious boy who had such a joy for life. He loved everyone and he loved hard. He had a contagious smile and loved being silly and making people laugh. He also loved to wrestle and play soccer. He was tough and wrestling with Daddy one minute, and on the couch cuddling with Mommy in another. When his sister, Addi, was born, he immediately turned into her protector. It was amazing how much he loved her. He had the ability to make her smile and stop crying at any moment. He was so gentle and kind with her! As a mom, I loved watching every moment of them together.
On April 20, 2011 our lives changed forever. Cade collapsed at the YMCA on the soccer field and died suddenly. We later found out that he had a heart condition that we had no idea existed. We lost our precious son within seconds. We know that he is with his Heavenly Father and enjoying being in the most wonderful place. He lived such an amazing life and touched so many people's hearts. He left us never experiencing pain, worry, or heartbreak. As much as I miss him, I am so grateful that God gave him to us...even if it was for a short period of time. So much of who we are is because of him. He is our little angel and because of him we are able to give his sister a second chance at life. Faith is an amazing thing! Because of God we are able to continue on with our life knowing that we will see Cade again.
 |
| He absolutely LOVED Woody |
 |
| Singing at the toy store |
 |
| You gotta love a muddy tractor in your underwear |
 |
His first Freebird burrito
His tongue was always sticking out if he was serious or concentrating
|
 |
| Feeding his sweet sister |
 |
| Reading to Addi |
 |
| Loving on Addi |
Dearest Carpenters,
ReplyDeleteI am Jessica Kruses Stevens aunt and have been praying for yal the last couple of days. Your faith is inspiring to such a tragic event. I lost my Caleb at the age of 3 suddenly with no explanation from doctors. It has been 16 yrs, so hard to believe. I too was so blessed to have him for as long as I did and know he is NOW Truly Living Life! I used to tell people " he is with the most Highly Recommended Babysitter" : ) Cade is a gorgeous little boy, thank you for sharing your story. I will continue to lift you and precious Adi up in prayer. Keep your eyes on the Lord, it's the only way to face any situation.
In Prayer, Krysti Long
My prayers go out to your family. I may not know you all personally however I heard about your beautiful family thru my daughter and co-worker. I prayed for you all since I heard about Cade. I lost an 8mth old son almost 19yrs. ago and to this day he lives in my heart. I know Cade will always live in your hearts and the memories you shared with him were so beautiful. I will continue to pray for Addi and your entire family. God bless you dearly and give you all the hope and faith and strentgh. Hope Addi continues to heal and recover.
ReplyDeleteI am praying for Addi, reading about your sweet Cade broke my heart and lifted me up at the same time. Thank you for your courage and faithfulness in God's infinite wisdom. I attend Calvary Houston that is how I know about Addi. I will pray for healing and a heart. I will join you in praying for the donors family. My Love in Christ, Lou Ann Vaughn
ReplyDeleteMy heart is heavy as I read your story of love and loss. My prayers are with Addi, you and her medical team. I am placing your sweet angel on our church prayer list tonight. First Assembly of God - La Porte will be praying for your family.
ReplyDeletePlease lean into the arms of our Lord and know that God does hear and answer prayers.
Love your sister in Christ,
Zephra Brown
Dear Carpenter's,
ReplyDeleteI was directed to your blog through a friend on Facebook. As I have sat here and read about your beautiful children,I am just bawling (especially after seeing the birthday outfit or Addi). I cannot even imagine your pain. I went through almost ten years of infertility before having children, and I thought that was painful. But after having kids and knowing how precious they are to their parents, I cannot imagine the heartbreak you are feeling.
I just wanted to say that I am so sorry for your loss and will pray for you as you move on to your "new normal". I'm glad to see that you are fellow believers and that you have the Lord to cling to. The good news is that you do have the hope of seeing them again! After reading 'Heaven is Real', I know that I have more joy when thinking about our three year old niece Anna who is there with your children. (She passed away from cancer four years ago.) Thank you so much for sharing your story.
Blessings and love to you.
Janelle Dahl
I came across your blog a few months ago, your story is so heartbreaking but also, so uplifting because of your strength and faith. This life is so short and you have two beautiful little angels waiting for you at end of it.
ReplyDeleteI read your adoption post and was so tempted to email you suggesting using donor embryo's instead. So when I checked in the other day and saw you were actually considering it, I was so excited for you! I read many infertility blogs and this works out for a lot of women who've struggled to get pregnant with their own embryo's and weren't able to. I think it should work wonderfully for you!
Praying for you!
Your twins are so beautiful! Love their names too! I just read your last post and I bet they are such calm babies because they have big brother and big sister watching over them:)
ReplyDelete