Uncle Mitch

We are really missing our Mitch. It has been six very long weeks without him here, seven extremely hard weeks since we have seen him. On Sunday, September 9th, we rounded out our family weekend at our house. After Sean, Dad, Mitch, and Nate golfed, we had barbeque's at our house (one of Mitch's favorites). I had gotten both the boys ready for bedtime and before Mitch left, he spent sometime playing in the living room with Luke and Ben, a very frequent sight. Those three would wrestle around the living room, and lately had been playing with Luke's nerf gun that Uncle Mitch gave him for his 3rd birthday. Before he gave his hugs and headed out, he snapped a picture with each of the boys on his phone. I didn't realize he had done this, until after his accident, Kolbi was going through all of his pictures on his iphone and found these two pictures...

Getting goofy with Luke. You two had so much fun together doing pretty much whatever Luke insisted was the play of the day. So many times when Sean was out of town when Ben was a baby, Uncle Mitch would come over after work, eat dinner with us, and play with Luke while I tended to Ben as a baby. You always called him Uncle Mitz, until recently when you could say Mitch.

Ben and his Godfather Mitch...

Ben you are a lucky little boy to have such a very special "Angel Godfather"! He loved you more than anything and was so proud of you. He was awful protective of you and never wanted to see you cry.

He would always grab you from people saying "give me my godson"! I will never forget the day of your tube surgery he was so concerned for you all day, he stopped over right after he got off work with a Hawkeye sock monkey.

I am so thankful that Mitch took the time to take these two pictures that night. I am forever thankful for these. It breaks my heart to see these pictures knowing that this is the last time these two little boys would ever see their Uncle Mitch. I know right now Mitch would be laughing at all the funny things Ben is doing and Luke would be challenging him to many football games. These boys were so blessed to have met and loved Mitch as much as they do. It hurts to know that their time with Uncle Mitch was so short, yet we are so thankful for the amazing relationship both of these two little boys had with their Uncle. One day, when Luke & Ben look back on this blog, I hope that you both understand just how amazing of an Uncle he was to you and how much he loved you both. Mitch dropped anything to see you or to help with you. He truly loved spending every opportunity he had with you and that makes him the special guy he was.

Soccer

Luke had the opportunity to play his first organized sport this Fall. As organized as a group of 3 year olds playing soccer can be! Luke had fun playing several weeks of soccer, his daddy was the coach, and his buddy Ben was on his team. We had to have several conversations with Luke not to push, we don't use our hands, and the object of the game is to kick the ball into the goal! He did kick the ball into the goal a couple of times, maybe the wrong one every now and again, but he sure had fun celebrating! At one point Sean had Luke take the sidelines so I could talk to him about pushing, and his comment to me was "but mama they won't give me the ball!"

 Luke and his friend Ben

 Fall Soccer

Team Panthers

 Doing some drills and warm ups before their game

 Coach Sean giving a pregame pep talk

 Going after the ball

How beautiful!

During Luke's last soccer game I became sad thinking that Mitch never got a chance to watch him play soccer. I was upset with myself that I didn't ask Mitch to come to Luke's first game on September 10th, I turned around to wipe my tears and saw this beautiful sky. It reminded me that Mitch was watching Luke play soccer! Mitch is always with us...

1st haircut

Ben got his 1st haircut on Wednesday, October 3rd, his 13 month birthday! You can't tell too much on the front but the back had a couple curls that were really long, and his sides were out of control! He looks so handsome and so grown up! 

Smile

Some days it is hard to find smiles. Some days you have to dig really deep to find one...

In the midst of our families sadness, as our hearts ache, missing our brother, son, & Uncle Mitch, these boys can bring a smile to surface. Luke & Ben, you bring so much joy & laughter to even our darkest days. Ben is not much into watching TV, he will last about 2-3 minutes sitting next to his big brother and it makes Luke so happy. Luke will request Ben sit by him. It goes something like this,

 "Mama, Ben bit by me?" Yes, we are working on our "s" !

Happy Birthday Uncle Nate

Wishing my oldest brother a very Happy Birthday today! While we can not be with you to celebrate, we are thinking of you and hoping your day is full of joy! We love & miss you! Happy Birthday Nate, may the year ahead bring great joy and peace to you!

 Our attempt at getting both boys to sit for a picture...

 Luke wishing Uncle Nate a Happy Birthday

Ben won...he escaped my photo session

The boys reading their card to Nate!

Happy Birthday to you!

Seasons change

We have quickly been reminded of the amazing community we live in and great friends we have, that continue to show support & generous acts of kindness during our days of sadness. When we returned home from our week in Waukon & Mitch's Mass of Celebration, we arrived home to a community with open arms waiting to greet us and provide support in every way possible. There are no adequate words to share our thanks & much appreciation. Several families from our neighborhood, wrote us the most beautiful letter and gave us a generous gift certificate to purchase a tree in honor of our brother & Uncle Mitch. Sean and I decided it was only appropriate to replace the tree in our front yard with a beautiful Burgundy Belle Maple that will turn bright red in the Fall. Mitch played many games of football and baseball in our front yard with the boys, it was fitting to make this tree a part of our front yard, one for all the see its true beauty as the seasons change. 

To honor Uncle Mitch we will be taking many pictures of our growing boys in front of our beautiful tree

Mitch.

I am trying to find the words that appropriately fit the title of this blog post, and while they do not come easy, and quite honestly, I can not adequately put into words my thoughts, feelings, and love of my youngest brother Mitch. On Sunday, September 16th, 2012 the Lord called my brother Home. Mitch had made his mark in this life, touched thousands of lives, loved God, served people, and loved endlessly. In Gods plan, Mitch had served his purpose for walking with us these past 26 years. While my family takes comfort in Mitch's "new home" and we trust that he is living a very glorious, happy life, our hurt exists deeply. Our hearts are broken and left with a void that will quite honestly never be filled. Mitch loved life and touched each person he ever encountered. I had a friend just ask me today, "tell me about Mitch I never got a chance to know him." Wow, did I ever feel privileged to describe my brother. The words just flowed, I told stories, I could've talked for hours. While she had never met Mitch she has loved seeing his pictures and could tell by his smile in each picture that he was so lovable. When I try to think of a few words to describe my brother, I can't just think of a few but here it goes...giving, kind, funny, caring, softy, emotions, BIG hugs, smile, laugh until you cry, generous, friend, patient, and mostly, family man. Mitch loved us all so much and we love him. Mitch would choose to hang out with us, not just because he had to, but he loved to. He would never leave without a hug, and I am SO glad he was that way. Sunday evening, September 9th, was the last day our family saw him and he gave each of us a hug. That is just how he was. Mitch took time for everyone, he listened, he gave back, and boy could he make you laugh! His sense of humor is indescribable. I can't forget, when I describe Mitch, Uncle/Godfather, is a key description. Mitch loved his two little nephews more than anything. He saw our boys weekly and he loved to play football, wrestle, farm, you name it. He would get down on the living floor and the boys would just jump all over him. We miss having Uncle Mitch over and we talk about him everyday.  I smile as I try so hard to come up with the right words, but for those of you reading this, that know Mitch, know that my words can not do him justice. There is a song that someone sent to me after Mitch passed, "I was here" by Beyonce'. It truly describes Mitch and how he made his mark, impacted lives of people who hardly new him. I cry as I write this because my heart aches so deeply for him. Our lives will never be the same as our family is broken and we now have a missing link that will never be filled until we meet again. I trust in the Lord that he will bring more smiles and laughter to us, than tears, someday. But right now, we just hurt because we miss him SO much. We miss his voice, we miss his hugs, we miss seeing him, we miss his jokes, we miss his presence, we miss him...

I am humbled to be Mitch's sister. Thousands of people came to pay their respects to our family, hundreds of people sent memorials to fund a scholarship in Mitch's name, hundreds of people have supported our family through meals, farm help, phone calls, visits, and thousands of people have prayed for us. It is your prayers that have kept us going these past four weeks. Without your kind thoughts and prayers, our days would be so dark. I ask that you continue to keep praying for our family, praying for comfort and peace in God's plan. Pray for our family, pray for my parents, brothers, Nate & Debbie, Bryan & Kate, Mitch's girlfriend Kolbi, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and many cousins. We all need prayers for us to find happiness in our days, peace in our aching hearts, and comfort in our lonely days. Our hearts hurt so deeply because we love Mitch so much.

When I think about how Mitch lived his life, I am reminded to cherish time with people, care deeply, listen, be patient, and give of yourself. Mitch did each of these with pure class. Each day I try to honor Mitch by doing something that he would do daily. It might be something as simple as holding someones grocery bag while they struggle to find their keys. Or maybe it is to ask the cashier at the gas station, "how is your day?" and mean it!

One month has passed since you were called Home and there is not a second that has passed where you have not been on my mind. Mitch, you are in our hearts, closer to use than you have ever been, and we will love you always and forever. You have changed our lives forever. I love you Mitch. I am so proud of you, I wanted to tell you that so badly the weekend we were all together, but didn't get a chance and knew I would catch up with you the next weekend. You just never know what tomorrow will bring...Mitch, I am so proud of all your accomplishments. Love you!

The "4 of us" always and forever...

 Uncle Mitch & Luke

July 28, 2012

 Uncle Mitch & Luke at Nate & Debbie's wedding in Seattle

 My "tall" brothers

September  7, 2012

 Kate, Bryan, & Mitch enjoying an Iowa tailgate

September 4, 2010

 Mitch & Kolbi at a college friends wedding in Dubuque

One of my favorite pictures of these two...such beautiful people, inside & out

 Mitch loved the game of football

 So honored to have Mitch as Ben's Godfather

 Mitch & Mom...so happy

 Last year on Mitch's birthday, he & Kolbi came over for dinner

 Luke helping Uncle Mitch blow out his "26" candles

26 forever...

 Mitch loved his Godson and was so proud

When Ben was getting squirrly in my arms at our cousins wedding, Mitch took him and let him torment his face to keep him entertained. He would do anything for anyone...Just to let me eat my dinner.

 Sean & Mitch grew so close these past few years since moving back from Michigan. They spent a lot of time talking sports, doing projects, and he even got Mitch to go fishing with him. Mitch helped us out so much around our house, we have so many memories around our house because he was always willing to help in anyway he could

 The boys birthday party!

I will never forget this day. Mitch texted me that morning to see if we needed help, showed up early to get to work. He even made the baked beans, ha! That was just Mitch, always wanting to help us out. He took so many pictures for me so I could enjoy the day, capturing some great memories. He sat and visited on the deck with my mom& grandparents for hours, and stayed late to clean up. Oh Mitch, these boys are so lucky to have known you. I am so sad they only had a few short years. You are the best!

 Christmas...will never be the same

 Oh boy, you loved to dance! This was your dance-off at Bryan & Kate's wedding. You loved family wedding dances, and we sure had a great time

 Our annual "timed just right" picture at Christmas

This will be hard to swallow...not having you in our pictures. heartache.

 Celebrating Nate's 30th birthday

 Mitch's words "We look like a Christian rock band"

Brothers Forever

Mitch's last day...he had so much fun with his friends

I look at this picture over and over and over

happy that he is so happy, sad that this was his last day

 Our family (minus Debbie) together the weekend before Mitch's accident. Nate had planned to come home for a football game since he hadn't in four years. We originally planned for this upcoming weekend, Oct 20th, however a family friend planned his wedding for this day, so we moved it to September 8th weekend. We all came together, got a babysitter and went out Friday night, tailgated that day, and came back to my house to watch the game, except Nate & Dad. We had so much fun watching the game together. That night we had a bonfire, made smores, told stories, & laughed. Sunday we had breakfast, went to the Vine to watch opening weekend of NFL games, and that evening Mitch, dad, Nate, and Sean went golfing. Mitch hated to golf, but he would always go just to be social and hang out with family. He even broke my driver on his last tee shot...I didn't even care! I will cherish every detail from this weekend forever.