As many of you know, this has been a tough week for our family. On Tuesday evening, our lives were overturned when our 3 year-old nephew, Riley, was struck and killed by the hitch of the boat trailer in his yard. We are not exactly sure how it happened, but around suppertime that night, his family found him pinned under it. Our neighbor is a First Responder and his wife came over to alert me of an emergency involving a 3 year-old at my sister-in-law's house. I immediately made my way over there to a sight I never expected...paramedics doing CPR on a little body with distraught parents standing by. Jason's mom was there & informed me & I got on the phone to call as much family as I could, but first attempting to call Father Jeremy (whom I could not reach, but knew was home.)

When I had reached everyone & had more family there for Mom & the kids, I decided to run over to Father's house (2 blocks away) and get him for the emergency. He was able to deliver last rights to Riley in the ambulance as they continued to work on him. As family arrived, we just held each other & prayed for the best, but little Riley did not survive, which I now know is what his Mom knew from the moment she found him & started CPR on him.

It has been a long week, but a time of definite sorrow, pain, tears of suffering and of joy of celebration of his life. Our family was close, but has become even closer because of this & we have seen many blessings already come from this. God was working in Riley before we ever knew it and He will continue to work in and around us through this. We have felt His Grace through the prayers of family and friends in our community and everywhere. We have received consolation in the loving arms of our Savior, who through His Death & Resurrection promises us eternal life & the hope of seeing Riley again in perfect love.

We have celebrated Riley's life and the lives of those we spend time with and those that have reached out to us through contact, letters, cards, gifts of food or service or donations to Riley's family. As a member of the family, I thank you with my whole heart and encourage you to embrace your loved ones, forgive your enemies or those who have hurt you, learn from the past, celebrate today and live for tomorrow like you've never done before. We never know when our last moment may be, and although unfortunate, some suffering is necessary for us sometimes to realize how we are to meant to love and serve each other the way our Father intended when He loved and created us.

May God's Grace and Peace be upon you & bless you all! With hope & love from us all...