Forever Loved, Landon Bartlett Vaughn

Summer of Landon

Sweet Landon was born on June 19, 2009, and was called home by the LORD on August 15,2009. His time on this Earth was not long enough for all the love his family had to give, but this innocent baby made a huge impact on many lives. He has changed the hearts of all who "knew" him, and will forever be missed.

Thank you baby Landon for coming into our lives. Your presence has brought us closer to our maker! We can't wait until the day we see you again! It's calming to know that you are free of pain, and tubes. In my dreams I see you running, jumping, playing, and cuddling in the arms of Jesus. It warms my heart knowing that your passing was from your earthly father to your heavenly father. You looked so angelic at the services. The image of you that day is like no other. Thank you for making me a first time aunt. I am so proud of how hard you fought to live this life. I will love you forever!


A friend of mine from my mommy board named Sarah sent me this poem. She found it on this blog. http://www.carepages.com/blogs/lossofachild/posts It really touched my heart, as well as other family members. Thank you Sarah, and thank you to all the other mom's on my board who took care of my heart during the Summer of Landon! It will never be forgotten!!!!

"I'll lend you for a little time, a child of mine," God said,
“For you to love the while he lives and mourn for when he’s dead.
It may be for six or seven years, or twenty-two or three;
But will you, till I call him back, take care of him for Me?
He’ll bring his charms to gladden you;

and should his stay be brief,

You’ll have his lovely memories as solace for your grief.
I cannot promise he will stay, since all from earth return,
But there are lessons taught down there I want this child to learn.
I’ve looked the wide world over, in search of teachers true,
And from the throngs that crowd life’s lanes, I have selected you.
Now will you give him all your love, nor think the labor vain,
Nor hate Me when I come to call, to take him back again?
I fancied that I heard you say, ‘Dear Lord, Thy will be done,
For all the joy Thy child will bring, the risk of grief we’ll run.
We’ll shelter him with tenderness; we’ll love him while we may
And for the happiness that we have known, forever grateful stay.
And should the angel call him much sooner than we’ve planned,
We’ll brave the bitter grief that comes and try to understand’.”

Summer continued....

So................I did it again! Man! Why can't I figure this out, and why once I post can I not figure out how to go back and re post in the right order? Man! Maybe one day I will get it right! So in the mean time read backwards. That sounds like fun huh?

We have enjoyed time with family!! My mom came to town, and it was the shortest visit yet. She had planned on staying four days. She flew in to town around 6:30pm on a Thursday night, and then the next morning around 6:00 am she got a phone call saying Valerie's water had broke, and she flew back home to be there when Landon was born. Although she only spent the night with us we had a great time, and stayed up late playing duck duck goose and laughing!! We can't wait for her to come back.

"Amanda's visit"

Auntie Manda came and spoiled the kids rotten. We went to amusement parks, movies, and bowling. Oh.... you should see the bowling pictures. When you get Amanda and I together you never know what your going to get! I guess you could say we're kind of like a box of chocolates. You can count on many laughs though. The pictures of bowling will have to be included in a later post. A post all its own!!

"Papa"

Papa celebrated his birthday with us this year. He stayed a week with us while Jean Jean went to Washington to be with her son. Her son John has cancer and many of our prayers are with him also. Papa had fun with the kids, and really gets a kick out of Neen! He thinks she's funny!! You can just tell by the look in his eyes how much he loves the kids.

"NiNi"

Sweet, funny, loud, persistent, beautiful, curious, weird, willful, paci loving Neen!!

"My dear husband Casey"

I love this man! We have been married almost 13 years, and not a day goes by that I don't thank God for him, and for the life he has blessed us with. I could not have asked for a better person to spend my life with!

I hope you all are enjoying your summer!

Please say a little prayer for our Landon!

He is a true miracle!

Summer so far...

It has been a while since I last posted. Our summer is going by extremely fast! We have been doing a lot of fun things, and have a new addition to our family, but the thing we have been doing most is praying!!! Little Landon my nephew was born 3 weeks ago. He was 4 weeks early and is in stable condition at this time. He has had to endure so much in these last 3 weeks, and is proving to be a "fighter"! His dad has actuall nick named him his little superman. I have several pictures of Landon, but silly me can't figure out how to post them since they are not on my picasa program. If you would like to read updates and see pictures of Landon you can visit his care page. We are visiting Landon next week, and then I hope to add some pictures of him to my blog.

http://www.carepages.com/carepages/LandonVaughn

Here are a few pictures of some of the things we have been enjoying this summer!

"Matching"

My mom made the girls these adorable shirts! They love to dress alike. Trin has named her shirt "cute". Whenever she sees it she says "cute, cute"! She actually almost ripped Annas shirt off one day when Anna got dressed before her, because she thought Anna was wearing her shirt.

"Rainbows"

Aren't they gorgeous? We see rainbows daily here around 6:00 each evening. It rains for 30 mins, and then the sun comes out. I wish I could get farther back so I could get the whole rainbow in the picture. Each time I see one it takes my breath away.

"Baseball games"

We recently went to our first minor league baseball game! We had so much fun, and the "Happy Hazelwoods" arrived at the game as the "Hungry Hazelwoods". I just don't get how one hot dog can cost $6.00. Trinity loved the game and every time the pitcher pitched and the ball hit the catchers glove she yelled Ohhhhh! It was funny! Afterwards there was a fireworks show. I just love watching fireworks set to music. It makes me teary eyed!

"Playing with chalk"

The kids love chalk,and I love that it doesn't stain. Especially since I go through a bottle of spray n wash each week. This master piece was made by my sister Amanda. The funny thing is it actually looks like each of my children.

Where did my babies go?

Who said it was ok for my babies to grow up? I'm not ready. Stop. Just for a little bit. Please?

Can't time just stand still?

In this busy world we live in, it is sometimes hard to notice that time is passing too fast. That your first born is now a pre teen talking about college. That your daughter has officially lost that baby face, and that your baby... your last baby is no longer a baby. She is her own self and has her own way of thinking.

Yes, I love the people my children are becoming. I just miss my babies.

Anna~looking more grown up every day!

Trin~ loves this pool! Loves this water! Loves her life! (Loves these beads!)

Happy 12th Birthday Bub! We love you!!!

(i think Bub has this shirt on in every post. He does have other clothes, he just loves this shirt!)

The girls get their first medals!

The proud recipients!!!!

Anna on the uneven parallel bars.

Whoa!! That was fast!!

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that Anna would be able to do something like this. We are truly blessed! She has come farther than any of us ever imagined. We were sure that when she was born with hydrocephalus that she would be leading a much different life. I thank God everyday for the gift he has given us, and continue to pray that he watches over her and keeps her safe.

"The medal" which is way better than a trophy! :)

Just some random pictures

Anna relaxing and soaking up the sun!

I think all little kids have a picture just like this. I know I do!

Casey enjoying his new angel quilt from Aunt Dianne.

Trin showing Dad how to do her new "funny face".