As most of you know we have been dealing with the loss of Skeeter's grandpa, who was more of a dad to Skeeter than a grandpa. Skeeter's mother was killed in a tragic car accident when he was two years old and his father who did not choose the best lifestyle, chose to have Skeeter have a chance at a better life by allowing Skeeter's grandparents to raise him. As a result, we had seen very little pictures of what Skeeter's parents looked like, or what Skeeter looked like as a baby. After Skeeter's grandpa passed away, the family has been busy going through the items that were left behind. Some of things have been pictures that have helped Skeeter start to piece some things from his history together. There have been pictures that we thought we would never see. Below are a few of those pictures:
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| This is the only picture we have of Skeeter's dad and mom together. This was taken less than a month after Skeeter was born. |
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| Baby Skeeter |
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| Skeeter with his dad. I love how his dad is looking at him. |
In the pictures we were also able to see his mom when she was a baby as well as Skeeter's brother when he was a baby. These pictures of Skeeter's brother are really special as he was placed for adoption when he (the brother) was a baby. So not only has Skeeter been processing the death of his grandparents he has also been having to process the loss again of his parents, and wishing he could have known his mom and dad.
We were able to pick up these pictures this past Saturday, the day of the ice storm. Although we wondered if it would be safe to travel to go help clean, we decided to go ahead and go and just keep a close eye on the weather. Not only were we able to see these pictures, but we were also able to pick up the hope chest that Skeeter had made for his grandma while in shop class in high school. This keepsake has been passed down to Anne. The blessing of us being able to go this past Saturday, is that little did we know that in a few days, Skeeter's grandfather's house would catch on fire and have significant damage. Had we not gone on that Saturday and found those pictures, there is a good chance, we might never have been able to see them, much less have pictures worth anything to keep. The hope chest might not have survived the fire or water damage either. God is truly blessing in spite of all the pain and tragedy!
Some of you have been asking about whether or not we have been accepted at the Christian school we mentioned in our last post. We won't know if we have been accepted until at least May or June, as they have to have our final grades from this semester before our file can be complete in order to even proceed. My personality is such that in any major decision, if there is more than one option, I like to "shop around" so that I can compare to see which choice will be the best one. So....we are also checking out another Christian school that is in the area, but is a bit further from where we live. We have an interview with them next Tuesday afternoon so we will see how that goes. If that goes well, and we are still wanting to pursue further information, the kids will get to have a day, likely next week as well, where they can go and visit the classes and go through evaluations to see where they are in their grade placements. So we would appreciate your prayers as we continue to seek what God's will would be for our family. Pray that as we deal with several issues at once that we will be the kind of parents that will make Jesus proud and lead our children to a closer relationship with Him.
(This post was read and "approved" by Skeeter! :) )
