It's been a year since.....

It's been a year and a day since my cousin's house burned down. One year since Braxton died and one year since Tiffany died. One year since Tre' was put in the hospital in critical condition. Tre' is out of the hospital and attending school on a part time basis. He has a lot of physical challenges right now, but his life is a miracle and he is an amazing boy. He misses his brother and sister. He has a hard life. He loves so hard and is a wonderful person.

On the same day as the fire, my son and his then fiancé (now wife), celebrated at their engagement party/blessing ceremony. The day was such a mix of emotions. I wanted to be happy for my son, but was so sad that our family was going through so much.

Olivia was a mess because Braxton was named after her and they were very close. That young man could do no wrong as far as she was concerned. His death hit her very hard. My daughter has dealt with many deaths in her 22 years of life but this one was one of the hardest things she has had to deal with. She still cries when she thinks of him. She still cries when someone talks of him. She still cries when she hears his name or sees his picture. I keep telling her that she will see him again when she gets to the gates of Heaven.

Braxton was a Christian and I know he is in Heaven. Olivia is a Christian and I know that she will go to Heaven when she leaves this earth. He will be there waiting to greet her and welcome her home.

The one think I like to say about those who have gone to Heaven before us is that we will see them "In the blink of an eye". Because to them, it will only seem like the blink of an eye. To us, it seems like we will never get to see them again and life just drags on.

I don't normally "preach" on my blog, but God has really put it on my heart to say this:
Not everyone will be in Heaven. Only those who accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior will get to enter the gates of Heaven.

I always hear people say of a loved one who died "They are in heaven looking down on you". "They are my guardian angel."

I'm sorry, but I don't believe that. I guess that people say that their loved ones are in Heaven to help them feel better. I'd rather know the truth. I know that a lot of my family members who have died will not be in Heaven.

I worry about people who are not believers. It scares me to know that people I love so much will not get to share eternity with me.

Ok, so I'm going to stop preaching now.

Braxton was a huge huge huge Seattle Seahawks fan. The coach of the team even sent the family a special video he recorded just before going out to coach the biggest game of his career. He said that Braxton was going to be with them during the game. What an amazing guy. I'm a lifelong Seahawks and Pete Carroll fan because of what he did.

This year they even printed Braxton's name on a list of fans who they lost in 2014.

Needless to say, I will be cheering for the Seahawks this year during the Super Bowl and wearing my jersey I got made in honor of Braxton. His football number was 16, but I got 11 put on my jersey because he was 11 when he died.