Broken hearted

I honestly don't even know where to begin on this post....

On May 1 we welcomed our second baby boy into the world. Blake and I were on cloud 9! The week following Henry's birth, Blake took off and we settled in to our new life as a family of four. 

  On Saturday, May 11 we were out running a few errands when we got a phone call that would forever change our lives. Blake's sister, Alissa, was out of town with her little family on a weekend trip to Louisville, Ky. After a beautiful day with her family at the zoo, Alissa passed out in their hotel room and they were unable to revive her. As if losing Alissa wasn't devastating enough, she was 28 weeks pregnant with her third baby. Aubree Joy was delivered via emergency c-section once they got to the hospital. However, due to the lack of oxygen from the time Alissa passed out to delivery, Aubree also went to heaven to be in her Momma's arms on Monday, May 13. 

 To say that our hearts are broken is a huge understatement. Alissa was 33 years old and an amazing person who sought to be the hands and feet of Jesus to every person she met. She was an amazing momma to her two sweet babies, Adalyn (5) and Bryson (3) that she leaves behind. She served alongside her husband, Bryan, in his youth ministry position for the last 9 years. She has truly left an amazing legacy that her family can be proud of. She touched so many lives in her short time on Earth, and I am so thankful that I had the honor of being her sister-in-law for the last 5.5 years.  We are going to miss Alissa so, so much.

In the last month we have been overcome with so many emotions. We have good days and bad. I think for my own self the hardest part is trying to understand how someone who seemed so healthy can be gone in an instant. We are still awaiting the autopsy/ toxicology report to find out what caused this extremely sudden death. I also am struggling with understanding why God would take one of his best home so soon. None of this makes any sense to me. I'm trying so hard to trust God and know that his plan is perfect even when on this side of heaven we may never understand. Blake and I definitely view life with a new set of eyes. So many of our day to day problems seem so trivial in the grand scheme of life. One of the best weeks of our lives was followed with the worst week of our lives. Our preacher has said many times that we are all just a phone call away from a tragedy. This has truly confirmed that statement. None of us our guaranteed our next breath and we should be living every minute with purpose and striving to be like Christ in every area of our lives.

Please keep our family in your prayers. I know that we have them coming from so many people already but we definitely feel them and they are helping to heal our hearts.