A Gift From An Angel, or Two :)

Note: Less than a week after the unlikely incident recorded in my post Sibling Rivalry (and Love) Through the Veil, this sweet and tender story broadens in a much more tangible way.

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When angels work through us mortal beings to accomplish their God-given purposes, we too become angels, the mortal kind, instruments in the hands of God. 

Yesterday, I saw with my eyes, felt in my hands, and witnessed with my heart, how at least one heavenly angel spoke to the heart of a mortal angel, and through our physical world, blessed a sweet little, 3-year-old girl, patiently waiting for her brother's resurrection so she could have the toy that was buried with him...

We were about to leave, walking away from her house as she dug quickly through her front porch mailbox and pulled out a white package. It must have just arrived during our visit. 

As she stopped me and handed it over, she only said not to open it in front of Sydney. 

I wondered at this, but then, between her next words and what I could feel through the soft packaging, I knew right away what it was. 

The tears came almost instantly, and I went toward her, giving her the kind of embrace you just can't release.

If I wasn't expecting the tears I cried in her front yard that moment, then I definitely wasn't prepared for the tears that came later that afternoon... 

I had set the package on my bed, wondering where and how we should open it. Should we do it at the cemetery? That would be unnecessary. I waited a little while more. 

When I walked back into my room and saw the unopened package on my bed, thinking about the contents inside, it finally came to me, hitting my heart instantly, triggering tears that lasted the better half of the afternoon. In that moment I felt the love Isaac had for his sister Sydney. 

It was from him.

The tears flowed with the sweetness that I felt in my heart as I took the unopened package to Sydney to have her do the honors. 

I explained to her that Isaac loved her and had found a way to share with her without making her wait. 

I told her exactly what I felt.

"Isaac's sweet spirit spoke to our friend A****'s heart and she was moved to find this same "tiny elephant" and have it sent here so that you don't have to wait for Jesus to open the box to get it. 

Isaac wanted you to have it now, and our friend A**** was the one who helped him get it to you."

In her own words, A**** explained in an email:

"Sydney is already going to have to wait patiently to be with Isaac…I hoped that by having an elephant like the one waiting with him it might help to bring them just a little closer in the meantime." 

Through the spirit are people moved to do good, and I believe in her act of friendship and love, she was acting upon the spirit. She was an instrument in the hands of God, working through angels, on behalf of Isaac, to send a message to his older sister.

Whether gifts from Heaven come straight into our hearts or first into our mailboxes,

the message is always the same

--love. 

When we are able to recognize it, that message of love becomes the greatest gift of all.

It came with a sucker, too. 

Sydney's favorite. :) 

Sibling Rivalry (and Love) Through The Veil

It felt so good, so different, so unusual, this morning, when for the first time ever, I had to mediate between two of my children--one living, one not.

It was definitely new, and weird. I had no idea it was even possible, or that something like this would ever occur. 

Sydney and I were talking about a small paper origami elephant that was in the office and when she heard the words "small elephant," this apparently triggered in her the memory of "the tiny elephant." 

I took a nap with this "tiny elephant" the day in-between Isaac's delivery and memorial service. I'm glad I did, for I didn't know at the time the sacred place it would end up...

Since elephants are very symbolic to us of Isaac, naturally, we have a few of them around our home.

The bigger blue elephant on the right is the elephant Isaac "gave" Sydney when she met him for the first time at the hospital. The elephant on the left, and above ("the tiny elephant"), is the one we buried with him. 

This morning, Sydney kept insisting that she wanted the tiny elephant and the only 2 elephants that came to mind were the one she got at the hospital and the little elephant rattle she got from Isaac Christmas morning at the cemetery. Sydney likes to pretend she is a baby and asked for a rattle a few days before Christmas. We had the perfect one. Isaac received one baby rattle at his shower and it just happened to be a little blue elephant rattle. :)

But these were clearly not the elephants she was referring to. When I showed Sydney the picture on the left and asked her if this was the elephant she was talking about her eyes widened and she said:

"Yes! Isaac has the tiny elephant and 

he just won't share it with me!" 

It made me smile to think of this unique idea developing in Sydney's head, and it felt kind of good to be the one responsible to address the issue, like Isaac was really here or something to mediate between the two of them.

But Sydney's tears were real, and she was getting very upset.
I had no idea why suddenly, this elephant was so important to her or why she was feeling so strongly about it.

I tried explaining to her in a few different ways that it was Isaac's elephant and that it is buried with him so we can't get it--but this only made her more upset.

Then I thought of Isaac, if he could, he truly would share it with her, he would give it to her. He would want her to have it.

In thinking of Isaac, the perfect words came. 

I told her that Isaac wants to share it with her, but because mommy and daddy put it in there with him and the box is closed for now that when Jesus comes again and "opens the box"to bring Isaac to life again, that she can have "the tiny elephant" again at that time.

She immediately got happy and excited, because she understood it, and said:

"OK! When Jesus comes and opens the box
then Isaac will share the elephant with me!"

It impresses me--the continuing relationship through the veil between Sydney and her brother, Isaac...

...not the fact that it's continuing, but that I am able to witness it.

It is such an honor and a privilege to be a part of their special, and eternal bond--the bond I could feel between them when he was here, and the bond I continue to feel between them now, through the veil.

(Video) SECRET MISSION -- The Surprise (December 2013)

The (edited- I'll have you!) video below started out as a secret mission, known only to my brother-in-law, Jeff.


You see, Scott and I spent Christmas day in Galveston, drove to Dallas (Scott's hometown) on the 26th, and on the evening of the 27th decided last minute to take one last spontaneous, secretive, and surprising road trip through the night to Kansas City (my hometown :)).

Jeff, who was in on the secret mission, was kind enough to leave a key under his doormat for our 4am arrival, as well as record the following events with his cell phone.

Here is the video footage I had fun cutting together of us revealing our surprise

...and then some.

(CLICK HERE (email subscribers), if video below doesn't show up). 

            

We had a blast those four days, which included both Scott's birthday and my birthday. 

(The iceskating pictures at the end are from back in Dallas. :))

The surprise trip was a great birthday present to me 

and a great belated-Christmas 2013 and Happy New Year 2014 for us all :). 

We Don't Buy Firewood

Scott wanted to have a bonfire across the ferry tonight, so we stopped to get some firewood. It was free, as you can see, 'cuz that's how we roll- unfortunately for syd haha. :)

 The hoister

It was a great way to celebrate our first night back home on the warm southern coast and our last night of freedom before Scott becomes a slave once more to his studies. 

You can't go wrong with bonfires at the beach in mid winter, accompanied by hot chocolate, roasted dogs and marshmallows on s'mores, dutch oven baked peach cobbler, a bag of Doritos and good company.

Monday starts our 6 month journey through the torture that is studying for the Step 1 exam. Freedom will come again in June... 

Here's to a New Year! 

Happy 2014 :))))

*First time to ever blog from my phone tonight- and I did it all on the ferry ride back. That's record time for my posts- I am usually very slow. :)