Sweet Baby Kale

I love this picture I took of him this fall :) 

            I have now been sitting here for 10 minutes trying to decide how to proceed with this post.  This of course, is after I have been thinking about what to say for over a week.  When I look at the date of my previous post, it is difficult to think about all that has transpired since I last updated my blog.  For those of you who know me personally, you know that on January 20, our sweet nephew Kale was called to be with the Lord.  The time that has passed since that sorrowful day has been filled with tears, denial, amazement, and hope. 

            If you did not have the opportunity to keep up-to-date on Abbie’s wonderfully written Caring Bridge site, I will summarize here that Kale was an incredible fighter who touched countless lives during his short life here on Earth.  He made people understand the value of the life we have all been given and the importance of putting our faith and trust in God.

            It occurred to me while thinking of what to say, that this would be my first update post Kale’s passing.  While reflecting on this, I thought of how Kale has impacted me, and that in a lot of ways I could characterize my life in two sections: before I was changed forever by Kale and after I was changed forever by Kale.  My brother-in-law, Greg, wrote a poem that was read at Kale’s memorial service, which likened him to another baby born in a manger whose life literally split time in two.

            Before I knew Kale, I took oh so many things for granted, and had my focus on too many small meaningless things.  After being changed forever by him. I now know that God has taught me to take nothing for granted, live each day to the fullest, and to always be aware the impact that I have on others.

            I am so proud to be the aunt to such an amazing little boy, and thank God all the time for the time that he gave Kale to us.  While I will always wish that we could have kept him longer, I know that God could not have chosen a more perfect, strong, and loved little angel-so I can’t say as though I blame Him for wanting Kale back too soon. 

            I think all the time that Kale is watching over all of us, and that I want nothing more in my life than to make him proud.  While I don’t know if I can ever have as strong of an impact as Kale did in his 8 months of life, I know that I will never cease in trying!

            Because cooking has now become such an integrated part of my life, I have been continuing to cook over the past weeks, but have just not had the energy to write, and must admit that my personal blog has taken a backseat to other things (like my job) in which I needed to get caught up.  I am looking forward to sharing these yummy recipes with you!