Out of the mouths of children

Last night we celebrated our kids grand-daddy, Paul A Clayton, II. It was his birthday. He passed away about 2 1/2 years ago and we miss him dearly. Justin is out of town and unable to celebrate with us. But I decided to take the kids out for ice cream and celebrate anyway. We always celebrate the birthdays of our loved ones who are gone. It is are way to keep their memories alive and well and celebrate who they are to each of us. 

I love being able to carry on our memories in such a fun way. It is fun to enjoy a special dessert night and talk about our favorite memories. As we finished our celebration and getting ready to put kids to bed, I stopped the kids and together we all sang happy birthday to grand-daddy. But before we did, Collin asked if we could FaceTime him to sing it. And that nearly made me cry... 

If only we had a way to FaceTime our lost loved ones. Technology hasn't really reached the celestial realm. I remember not long after my mom passed away, my girls brought me their toy phone and said look mommy we are talking to grandma. (Note we have always differentiated between grandma - my mom, and gram- Justin's mom). 

These little minds are so precious and I love how much they love even those they never knew. Timothy was only a 6 week pregnancy when we went to the Paul's funeral. Collin wasn't born when my mom died. Felicity was only 9 months when my mom passed away. Clearly they don't KNOW them. Yet we have successfully managed to create these memories WITH their lost loved ones. Timothy can identify pictures of both his grandma and grand-daddy. He knows them even though he never interacted with him on earth. 

I will always treasure my loved ones and I am so glad my children do as well! 

So once again, happy birthday grand-daddy. We love you, we miss you, and we are so happy we got to have you in our lives for any bit of time. You truly changed us for the better.  We thoroughly enjoyed a cup of frozen custard from Freddy's just for you!