Truly a Happy "Memorial" Day

I love Memorial Day! While I am patriotic, I have my own special "Memorial" to remember. Exactly seven years ago on Memorial Day, my son, Daniel, was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Daniel was born in January 2002 and was a perfect 8 pound 8 ounce blue-eyed, blond baby boy! See for yourself:

He was the sweetest, most easy going baby ever. He always had a smile and was so laid back:

By the time he was about 6 months old we realized that he was having a little trouble hitting some of his baby milestones. So from about 6 months old until he was 15 months old we took him to physical therapy (which he loved) to help him work on some of those skills he was lacking. I didn't become overly concerned until he started vomiting regularly. We took him to several doctors, but didn't really get any answers.

The Sunday before Memorial Day in May 2003, we had a baby dedication for Daniel at our church. Along with dedicating him to the Lord and asking the Lord to bless him and care for him, our pastor, Charlie Long, prayed for wisdom and healing for Daniel. Here was our pastor with Daniel:

The very next day, Daniel's conditioned worsened so we took him to the ER where we had Daniel examined. The doctor on duty ordered a CT scan and the results revealed a golf ball sized tumor! Our pastor's prayer for wisdom as to what was wrong with Daniel had been answered. Daniel was rushed to Duke Medical Center where he began a long road of treatment including several surgeries, chemo and radiation.

I'm writing this today because I want establish this memorial as a reminder of God's faithfulness. May 26th, 2003 was a day that changed my life forever. It was a day I thought my son might not live to see another year. More importantly, it was the first day of a precious journey with my God. The Lord was so gracious and revealed so much of Himself and his love for me and my son over those years. He had so much he wanted to teach me that I could only learn when I was fully dependent on Him. I am so thankful for that challenging time in my life.

God has also answered our prayers and provided complete healing for Daniel! Daniel has been tumor-free for 5 years now! I am so blessed to have Daniel in my life and watch him grow. Each day he seems to be becoming his own person. He is smart, funny and definitely thinks outside the box! When I was looking through some of his childhood pictures, it was really hard to narrow down which ones to post because each one is precious to me. Each snapshot is just a glimpse of countless stories I have in my memory of Daniel. So, I'll do my best to add just a "few" pictures, but no promises!

Now, that wasn't too many, right? I love you Daniel! Thank you Lord for making Memorial Day such a sweet reminder of your love for me and my family!