SEVEN

Last week we celebrated Silas' seventh birthday. I realize that's not generally a milestone birthday, but it could have been a really horrible day for us. Honestly, the the whole month of June has been a little weird for me emotionally.

Ten months earlier Silas was dead, a drowning victim without a heartbeat. Let me just tell you that it's pretty surreal to see your husband doing chest compressions on your son, to think "I have two kids now" when you had three just a few minutes earlier, to explain to your questioning four year old why his brother isn't moving and what Daddy is doing to him.

Ari, Tim's niece who had just turned nine, died three weeks before Silas drowned. It was a freak accident, a horrible tragedy.

Why did one kid survive and the other die? Why did CPR work for one child and not the other? We'll never know. Life doesn't always make sense.

I'm just thankful that God gave Silas to us. Twice.

And I'm praying for Ari's parents and sister as they enter July, the month Ari was born and the month she died.

ARI UPDATE

Many of you haved asked through comments here or e-mails about the details of Ari's death. I initially left out the details in an attempt to respect the privacy of her family. I now know that it was on all the local news and Google comes up with two pages of hits when you search for details. All the sites basically say the same thing, so I'll simply link you to the sheriff's press release. Continue praying for their family!

ARI

Tim's 9 year old niece, Ari, died unexpectedly last night. Please pray for her family, especially her parents and sister, as they deal with the practical aspects of her death and grieve her death.