The Monument is Here

Darrell and I have been waiting patiently for Cade and Addi's monument to be made and put out at the cemetery.  We wanted it to be really special, so we decided to have pictures lasered onto it that represented the two of them.  For Cade, we decided on Woody and Lightning McQueen.  To say he loved those two characters would be an understatement.  And for Addi, we went with Mr. G (her favorite tag along).  Where ever she was, Mr. G was right there with her.  And, of course, a bow...would you have expected anything different?  On Friday they delivered it and it is beautiful!  We are beyond happy with it and love how everything turned out.

Monument on Friday without landscaping

Since about June I had been planning to surprise Darrell with having it landscaped.  One of our best friend's owns a landscaping business so I asked her if she would be interested in doing it for us.  She was so excited about it and it turned out amazing.  Lauren and her team put so much heart and love into the project and you can tell by how great it looks.  The best part is that the timing worked out perfectly!  Lauren and her team were able to do it during the day yesterday while Darrell and I were at work.  What a great way to end the day!  We went out to the cemetery for Cade's birthday and it was finished.  Darrell was shocked and absolutely loved it!

After!

Thank you Lauren and Dan for all of your love and support through the past year and making our monument so special!  We love y'all!

Another Birthday Without Cade



Birthdays always make me emotional, even when my precious boy was here to celebrate.  Today Cade would have turned six.  It's hard to believe that if he were still here, we would have had a six year old running around. 

After Cade passed away, someone told me, "Susie, time will heal your heart."  The truth is, that is NOT a true statement.  Time does not heal your heart.  This is the second birthday we are celebrating without him, and therefore 365 days have passed.  This birthday is not "easier".  My heart still hurts.

Birthdays are all about the person who you are celebrating.  In our family, the whole day is about them.  When that person isn't here anymore, it is still all about him or her, but it's SO much harder because you don't have them to hug or love on.  You wonder what you would be doing if they were here.  I wonder what kind of party Cade would have wanted.  I wonder what gifts he would have asked for.  I wonder what new friends would have joined us from his school.  I wonder if he would still get embarrassed when I danced around and sang "Happy Birthday" to him.  There are many things I wonder about.

But, do you know what I don't wonder about?  I don't wonder if Cade misses me and his daddy.  I don't wonder if he would rather be here than in Heaven.  And I don't wonder if Cade is happy.  I don't wonder about these things because GOD heals my heart, NOT time.  I know Cade is happy because he is with our Heavenly Father who loves all of us more than anyone else does.  And that is what makes my heart happy!

Big days of the year will always be hard and emotional because we are missing such a big piece of our life.  But when I think about the day that I get to spend eternity with my Lord and Savior and Cade, how can I not be overwhelmed with joy!

Happy Birthday sweet boy!  We think about you every day and smile when we think about all of the memories we were able to make with you.  We love you right up to the moon and back, Caderader!!