"Our Little Trooper"

"Our Little Trooper"
"Let me live, that I may praise you!" Psalm 119:175

Thursday, July 30, 2015

"It was God opening the door of Heaven a little bit, so my friends could see me!"

Our family was able to go to the beach last weekend, the day after Rowan got out of the hospital once again.  Rowan was looking forward to it so much.  Last Summer we were never able to make it, so it had been two years since he had seen the ocean, or played in the sand.  He had big plans, for having a lot of fun at the beach and fishing for the first time...



... but also for sending a few special messages to his friends in Heaven, by writing in the sand.  He had me pack 3 very special t-shirts, one for each of his friends in Heaven.


Jalene





Julian




Chrissie





Once we were done writing all 3 messages in the sand, Rowan sat down and did this...



I just love how you can tell he is literally lifting his prayers up to God, and his friends.  His smile is so peaceful and comforting.   And look at this one! I found this picture from 5 years ago, where he had done the same thing... after having me write, "I miss you Princess Chrissie."


It brings instant tears to my eyes, to see him reaching out to his friends in Heaven, but with such a sweet smile.  This is a perfect picture of true worship, isn't it?!

But wait, there's more...

While looking at the rest of our pictures from the beach this past weekend, Rowan and I came across this one...


I don't know if the camera lens got dirty, or why it came out so dark and weird, or what that bright light is, especially because the following picture was taken immediately after this one, like within seconds of each other.


Anyway, I said, "Weird, that one is so dark."  And Rowan replied, "Yeah, but look at that bright light.  It was God opening the door of Heaven a little bit, so my friends could see me!  They got my messages and were there with me at the beach."

Oh Rowan, I just love how you love your friends, and how you trust God, with a completely open heart.  You never miss the signs.  You always see the light in the darkness.  I want to be like you.  And I'm so glad God opens the door of Heaven a little bit, so your friends can still be with you.








Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Part 3 of Rowan's amazing 9th birthday...celebrating in heaven last night and at home today:)

Here is a picture of Rowan just before he woke up today.



I looked over at my beautiful 9 year old boy, with his stuffed friends hugging him, and smiled.  As soon as Rowan woke up this morning he told Cindy and I that his friends had a birthday party for him in Heaven last night.  He says that Chrissie, Jalene and Julian sang Happy Birthday to him, and that they had orange balloons and birthday banners hanging from the clouds.  His old dog and Julian's dog were there next to Julian too.  He says that they all played tag and had fun.  How heartwarming to know that he seeks comfort from his friends in Heaven, and finds joy in these dreams too.  I wish we all had that gift, but I'm so thankful he shares his with us.

We gave him presents from our immediate family this morning.





Rowan really has developed a love of cooking.  So, he got a hedgehog kitchen timer...



His very own Recipe Journal, to write down his recipes in...


And his very own Chef jacket...



We also got him cooking classes at Central Market in San Antonio.  He is super excited about those!

He recently bought a set of bongos with his own money/gift cards, so he got a "Fun with Hand Drums" book and cd set...


Ian calls Rowan "Gingersnap"...


and this is the epic gift that Ian and Zoe got Rowan...



A remore control nerf terradrone!  (Watch out next year Red team:)




Rowan was tired after opening his gifts, and not happy that Cindy had to check his blood pressure...(he called her a party ruiner :)  But the frown didn't last long.


He received his delivery of neupogen from his infusion pharmacy, just like he does every Tuesday, but this time there was something extra in the box...











Simply amazing...way above and beyond what you expect from a home pharmacy! Way above!  We are so blessed.  We love you AMERITA :)


But, I think I got the best gift of all...Rowan, celebrating his 9th birthday at home...not in a hospital.  We love you so much son!


Happy 9th Birthday Rowan!





Part 2 of Rowan's Amazing 9th Birthday...the birthday party and epic Nerf Battle

Rowan has been wanting to have an Army themed birthday party with Nerf wars for 3 or 4 years now.  This year, when he was made an honorary member of the Texas Army National Guard, we decided this was the perfect year to finally do it.  I tried my best to make it very special for him, with lots of personal details.



Camouflage cupcakes...




 M.R.E.s...



Camouflage jelly beans...


Army issue water bottles...


Army men jello jigglers...


Camouflage candles on the cake...





And of course everything they needed for the battle...







 


Rowan's big brother Ian helped me with EVERYTHING...from the cake to the water balloon grenades!










So many of our beautiful family and friends came out to celebrate Rowan...
















The biggest surprise visitor was Rowan's old buddy Logan! Logan used to work at the hospital and was the nurse in PACU that Rowan woke up to after every surgery for several years.  Logan doesn;t work there anymore though, so they hadn't seen each other in way over a year!  Rowan jumped into his arms when he saw him, and they hugged so tight!





Rowan was super excited to get the Nerf Wars going, so the kids split into Red Team vs Blue Team and started gearing up...







When Brian yelled go, they all started running out of the Clubhouse to go search for the guns and ammo we had hidden all over the yard...










Then everyone split up and headed to their respective Camps to load their Nerf guns and plan their strategy for capturing the other teams flag...

 Red ...




vs. Blue...




The Dad's, helped hide the weapons, and then armed themselves with water balloon grenades, to make things interesting:)






Then the real fun began... Time to capture the Flag!


(The next picture is my favorite...total action shot:)





(They even had a designated "medic" on each team, and if they got hit, they had to stay down, call for the medic, and couldn't get back up into the battle until the medic came and tagged them.  It was hilarious to watch!)












 



(Ian got a direct hit in the side of the head from a water balloon:)


Red team prevailed both times...but it wasn't an easy fight!  They all were so competitive, but really had a blast. 


After the battles, we went back inside for cake and presents...










Rowan loves to cook and he received a very special gift...his first real chef's knife, engraved with a message to him and his name.  So awesome!


He received lots and lots of heart felt gifts, and I just loved how he got up to go each person after he opened their gift:)  He was truly appreciative.





We asked Rowan if the party was everything he had always dreamed about, and he said "Way better!"



Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, for all who attended Sunday, and helped us celebrate this special little boy.  We love you all!

...and Blue Team can't wait for a rematch next year;)