Memories of Gracie

Our little Angel

2009-01-04T23:09:00.000-08:00

Our sweet baby girl Gracie was born February 9, 2005 just

one minute shy of her twin brother Luke. On February 10,

she was transported to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

Gracie and Luke had just shared their first helicopter ride.

Gracie's first open heart surgery was February 14, 2005

(Valentines day) After a successful surgery, things

rapidly changed and Gracie went into cardiac arrest for

8 long minutes...Then by God's Grace our sweet baby

girl came back to us. When we looked into her big bright/wide

eyes, we knew instantly she was going to be a little fighter

with a beautiful purpose!

Gracie loved to smile. She warmed all hearts that she was able to meet.

Gracie also had a little rebel side. She definitely was the one
who would look your way when you said no, and still do it
anyway. She would throw in that precious smile to see
how far she could get. We were all very week with those
dimples and pretty eyes of hers.

Just finished calling her twice and asked her not
to go that way...this was the look I got. : )

Gracie LOVED her blankie, it always would comfort her.
One of our most precious keepsakes of Gracie.

Yes! I am one year old today!

Gracie loved the beach and of course being silly.

Acting like mommy....it was quite a conversation.

No sweetie, you are supposed to get on the horse..she really
thought she was being so funny here! And acutally she was.

Gracie loved dogs, big and small. Worthy (great dane) was so

much bigger than her, she loved it. Gracie would stand up and

look at Worthy and give him a big kiss on his noes.

She loved to ride her bike.

As much as she loved dogs, she loved horses. I never believed
you were just born with it, until Gracie. The way she looked into
the eyes of dogs and Horses was with complete love! Some question
if animals go to Heaven, in my heart I feel they do, and I guarntee
you Gracie is surrounded by them all. : )

Our sweet little Angel! Gracie loved life and had such a

special soul. She loved to cuddle and be cuddled.

She loved to laugh and make you laugh. She loved to be around

people and deeply touched the hearts of so many. I will never deny

the true fact that she also was a typical child, full of craziness

and definitely had her fare share of time outs. : ) She was

feisty, sweet, loving, beautiful and we were deeply blessed

to have her as our baby girl.

Gracie had her last open heart surgery in September 2007.

Unfortunately her repair was not as successful as we all had hoped

it to be. She was scheduled for a catheterization on January 10, 2008.

On January 8, we took her into the ER because she seemed to

have flu like symptoms. One minute Gracie was being treated for

dehydration the next minute she coded and was fighting for her life.

After the longest eight hours of our life our sweet precious Gracie

passed away. She went home to be with Jesus.

Our lives have completely been changed forever. Although

our hearts went into despair, we knew we had to pull

together for each other and our precious Luke.

With the help of God, family, friends and our foundation

we pull our strength together and continue to keep focused

on our current blessings and most importantly

the promise of eternity.

Gracie was and always will be one of our greatest blessings.

Our hearts miss her daily, and yearn to see her again soon.

We will continue to keep her memory alive and stay

on our path to eternity. In Christ there are NO goodbyes

only until we see eachother again!

Luke & Gracie "A bond that only HE could of created"

2009-01-04T22:19:00.000-08:00

From the moment we all came home, Luke and Gracie

were only serparted during their surgeries.

They did "everything" together

Instant best Friends! They always had to be touching
eachother, whether it was their feet or hands. This
photo shows their exact personalities, Luke always
thinking things through and Gracie saying,
"don't you just love life"

Getting ready for their first 4th of July party

So cute! Little Adam and little Terra

Luke was really into the game and Gracie was
as usual just loving life and the cowboys!

Loving eachother

Play time!

Out of 300 plus photos that I have about more than

half you will notice Gracie or Luke smiling

and looking at the other

Big Hugs

Ok, so this was a forced hug. But Luke loved it

"Trick or Treat"

Gracie looking at Luke

Luke admiring Gracie

A twin bond is one that can only deeply be witnessed

by twin parents. It is this unconditional love

and a bond that in my opion only God could create

Luke and Gracie were one, they loved eachother

more than I can explain. They shared deep

belly laughs and late night talks that will never be forgotten.

Bath time was their favorite, and after bath was

next in line. They used to comfort eachother to

sleep and protect eachother when they were awake.

We feel so blessed to have witnessed the special bond

and know that Gracie's life will always be instilled

in Luke's heart.

Luke continues to watch videos of him and Gracie

and God blesses him with sleep stories (dreams)

of Gracie. Some dreams he has shared are:

~Him and Gracie flying~

~Playing at the park~

~Laughing together~

and

~He woke up quite a while ago and said, "mommy

Gracie was there after my surgery and said I was going to

be a brand new boy"~

We are thankful for these beautiful dreams that

keep him and Gracie close at heart until

they meet again in Heaven!

Mommy & Gracie

2009-01-04T22:13:00.000-08:00

My precious little girl, my true blessing!

I loved to:

~hold her tight~

~watch her sleep~

~smell her beautiful skin~

~kiss her a million times~

~play together~

~read together~

~sing together~

~pray together~

~listen to her laugh~

~watch her cute little walk~

~One of my favorites~Dancing to

"what a wonderful world" with her in my arms. ~

The list could go on forever!

My heart aches for my baby girl

but is comforted in knowing that

she is safe with Jesus until I

see her again.

Daddy & His Princess

2009-01-04T22:08:00.000-08:00

I've always heard about the love
of a "Daddy and his Girl"
It was so beautiful to witness the
love they shared.
Gracie Loved her Daddy so much!
She was definitely one of his biggest fans.
Daddy could do no wrong.
She loved to watch sports with Daddy
Love on Daddy
Hug Daddy
Read with Daddy
Sleep with Daddy
and much more..
Adam misses his princess more
than words can say, but he too
knows she is safe with Jesus until
we see her again.

"Our Family"

2009-01-04T21:47:00.001-08:00

February 2005

April 2005
Mommy & Daddy were not getting too much sleep

Some of our favorite memories were beach days.

Disneyland
December 2005

February 2006
Park City, Utah

"our first family trip"

Camping at Newport Dunes while our house was being completed.

Big Angel Fans!

Our lives have forever been changed since Gracie
is no longer here with us. We are thankful for our
faith and for our gracious God who gives us new
mercies every morning. God never promised we would
not have trials and that we would not suffer. However, he
did promise he would never leave our side.
He has given us hope to be with Gracie again and
continues to provide us with much comfort, through
Him, family and friends.

Thank you to everyone who has shared
love and support to our family we feel
so blessed to have you all in our lives.

2009-01-01T16:24:00.000-08:00

Gracie and Grandma Laura

"A special Bond"

Gracie-Papa Dave-Luke

Grandma Marsha and Gracie

Gracie and Big Al

Gracie and Grandpa Jim

Kendra and Gracie

Tea Time with Grammy Rose

Searching for Easter Eggs with Grampy Joe

Relaxing with Grandpa Doug

Gracie and Great Grandma Rhoda

Gracie and Luke with Great Grandma Viola and Great Grandpa Luis