Gabe

Today is a sad day. We received a call this morning that our 19 year old nephew was in a car accident, and he did not survive. 

We are heartbroken.

When Gabe was born his family lived in the same small town as we did. Corey & I were dating and newly married during his toddler years he was our "pretend baby". We would take him to the park and on short car trips. One year we took him and our nephew, Hunter, to Ft. Worth at Christmastime to see Santa Clause at the mall. They were so excited. When we put Gabe on Santa's lap he asked what all 2 year olds ask for... socks! His funny hair and cute voice kept us laughing, and we loved him as much as we could love a child that was not our own. When Gabe was in elementary school, his family moved to Colorado. We have great memories of visiting his family during the holidays and in the summers. One Christmas, we all went snow skiing, and he is the one that taught Allie how to ski. He has always been a very kind person and has always loved babies. In the last few years, anytime that we were together, Cooper could be found on Gabe's lap or on his hip or shoulder. After one visit to Texas, Cooper even named his very special stuffed turtle after his cousin... except in his language his name was "Gade". When we got the news today that Gabe had passed away, Jack ran to Cooper's bed and got Gade the Turtle, and he was a comfort to my 3 little kids that are once again having to make sense of the tragic loss of a cousin.

We only have pictures from the last couple of years on our computer. Here are a few of the ones that we have with our Sweet Gabe...

~ Cooper cuddling with Gabe ~

~ Allie, Gabe, Cooper, Christian, Jack, & Clay ~

~ Corey's sister, Roxann, and 3 of her 5 kids ~

~ Gabe playing with his niece & nephew, Emma & Noah, and Jack ~

~ Gabe & Cooper ~