Happy New Year! I hope this letter finds you all well. We are doing well ourselves. This has been a year of tragedy and triumph for our entire family. The loss of my sister Kim was the most devastating blow that our family has ever sustained. She was such a shining light for all of us that it has been at times unbearable to say good-bye even for a little while. We know that she is in heaven and we will see her again. We are still standing and growing a little stronger each day.
Okay, okay I know you want to hear about Julien, Sophie. They are all doing remarkably well! I realize I have not updated the web site in quite a while (sorry!). With four children, one husband, a dog, a cat, and then of course Rodolphe and the rest of the family, my life has been unbelievably busy to say the least. I’ll start with Julien.
Julien is great! He is in Mrs. Pickett and Mrs. Cox’s Kindergarten class at the school one mile from our house. There are a total of 17 kids in the class. The teacher, students, many parents, and faculty are aware of Julien’s situation and have been supportive in truly awesome and inspiring ways. (Answered prayer!) Recently Rodolphe has been able to help with class activities, parties and serve as a volunteer in the library. He has attended curriculum night and a fall conference. Julien is a beginning reader and he is also becoming an awesome writer. His teacher even believes he will test into the gifted program next year. Smart boy! Julien is very well liked by his classmates and they have been very sensitive and caring for him. He is honest and open to talk about his mom and his dad with his friends. As you might have imagined Julien wanted to play soccer this fall and did. He played for the 6 and under undefeated Cubs, a coed team with 7 kids. They play 5 on 5 on a very small field. Julien was one of the star players scoring 5 goals in the first game. Rodolphe was able to attend each game and loved every minute of it. Julien had a blast! When he would score his first goal in each game he would run to the sideline where his family cheering section was located to give everyone a high five! Adorable! Julien turned 6 in October and had (you guessed it) a Scooby Doo Party with 12 kids. Julien also discovered football and has become quite a fan of the Parkview Panthers who are playing this weekend for the state championship. He of course misses his mom and we talk about her every day. He and I both pray and rely on God for comfort and it helps. Julien is still the thriving and happy child that you all remember, he still misses all his buddies in California, I only wish we were closer so that visits were more feasible.
Now for Miss Sophie, she is still as cute and vivacious as ever. She has her Mommy’s personality! She continually cracks me up. Sophie has had a busy fall as well. It took a while but she finally made friends with Midnight our cat. I just found her singing “I wish you a Merry Christmas” to him while petting his back. She is attending 3 year old pre-school at our church. She loves her teachers and friends. She is also taking gymnastics with Miss Natalie. She is close to getting her cartwheel. The only problem with this is she has NO fear and throws herself everywhere! Sophie has attended many parties this fall and is quite the social butterfly. She has made many new friends and they love to get together for play dates. She loves to play Polly Pockets and babies, sing, swim, dress up, play anything with her bother or Lacey and cook. Sophie misses her Mommy too. It took several months for it to sink in with her that her Mommy could not come back from God. She misses her friends from California too and has had many pretend play dates with you. She is full of energy and talks incessantly. The only time she has been at a loss for words was on a recent visit to Santa. Thankfully she had a written list that she gave to Santa and then stared in amazement for the rest of the time. She and Julien remain very close and are constantly doing sweet things for each other. They are so precious!
Finally, our family is doing good too. My husband Lewis and my two girls Lindsey(15) and Lacey(13) have been incredible throughout this situation. They have given selflessly for Sophie, Julien and Rodolphe. My parents, Lysiane, Rob, Tonya and Bobby have also put many parts of our lives on hold so that we could minister to them. It is all coming together. Rodolphe is healing and we are too. Someone told me soon after Kim died that time would heal things and I really did not believe them. However, each day it does get a little bit better. Our friends have been so awesome, I would not be standing without them.
You all were and continue to be unbelievable. I wish each of you knew just how much we have appreciated the untold selfless gestures you have made to all of us. Food, letters, hospital visits, phone calls, cleaning, packing, entertaining, keeping kids, PRAYERS, travel, loving notes, pictures, and gifts for the children. Thank you for the beautiful party that was given in Kim’s honor and all the wonderful clothes that were sent for Sophie and Julien. Believe me, they have been well dressed! Thank you so much for the love and friendship you had with Kim, she was very lucky and always told me how important her friends were to her. Thank you for everything. My heart is full. This Christmas will be bitter sweet, it will not be the same without Kim. Please continue to pray for us as I know you will. Every so Fondly, Laurie
This page has been updated on January 9,
2003
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