Steve and Donnie singing...
Steve Singing...
Oh Danny Boy...
Steve fluffing our Christmas Tree
Steves 60th Birthday Video
Steve and his life lessons
One Year Without You
One year. Somehow an entire year has passed without you. There are days when it feels like you have been gone forever...yet sometimes I still expect to hear your voice, your laugh, or the sound of you walking through the door. So much has changed in a year, and yet a part of me still feels as though I am standing in the same place I was the day you left. This year has been filled with so many firsts without you—holidays, birthdays, our anniversary, family gatherings, regular days and quiet, lonely nights. I watched the grandchildren grow and wished you were here to see them. Your kids have carried losing you, your parents have carried your loss, your sisters, family and friends all miss you! And I have learned how to live a life I never imagined living without you. After 44 years there is no simply “moving on.” Instead, I am learning how to carry you with me. I see you in our kids and grandchildren. I hear you in the stories we tell. I find you in photographs, handwritten notes, familiar places, favorite foods, songs, jokes and a thousand little memories woven throughout my life. One of my greatest fears after losing you was that, as time passed, people might begin to forget—the sound of your voice, your ridiculous sense of humor, your kindness, your tender heart, the way you loved your family, and the way you loved Jesus. But this year has shown me something beautiful: you are not forgotten. Honey, your life mattered. You mattered. This year has also taught me that grief and hope can exist in the same heart. I can miss you more than words can express and still believe what you always reminded me: our hope is all we need; it will sustain us. My faith in Jesus has carried me through days when I didn't think I could keep going...and because of that faith, I don't believe our story ended the day you died...I believe you are home...I believe you are with Victoria...andI believe there will come a day when there are no more gravesites, no more anniversaries of loss and no more goodbyes. Like Andrew said, "no more, no more death...at least for a while!" Until I see you again...All my love, Crystal
