Thank you...

In my entire life I have been fortunate enough to not have to be the recipient of any true mega, massive prayers. We have been lucky. I had all 4 grandparents living until I was almost 30. Our immediate family has not had to deal directly with cancer or any long term illness or disability. We have jobs; we have our health; we have two beautiful children.

Life was perfect.

Last Tuesday, March 18, our perfect life- our perfect record- was shattered.

Chad's dad took an accidental fall on Friday the 14th and broke his back. He stayed in the hospital over the weekend and had back surgery Monday morning.

Tuesday morning, he woke up, sat up on the edge of the bed, and immediately suffered a bilateral embolism (blood clot) to the lungs and stopped breathing. We tried everything we could throughout the day, but there was nothing we, nor the doctors, could do.

We said goodbye to one of the most beloved men I have ever known in my entire life- A man who loved me unconditionally as his own from the moment I walked into his house as "Chad's girlfriend" nearly 20 years ago.

My mother-in-law lost "her person;" My husband and his brother lost their father; My children and niece lost their Pops; My parents lost one of their best friends; We all lost one of the greatest men who ever lived.

It wasn't until shortly after I posted the news of Larry's death on Facebook on behalf of the family that we started to realize just how many lives our Larry touched.

Facebook notifications started immediately posting, messages were sent and received, people came to the hospital, and the prayers started pouring over us.

The support has been tremendous. The food, the friends, the hugs, the cards...it's all been amazing, and we appreciate every single thing anyone has done for us the last 10 days.

But, above all else, the thoughts and prayers from you all are what keeps us going.

Your thoughts and prayers are what help my kids sleep at night. They are what keeps them focused on (and excited about) school each day. They helped us make hard decisions. They keep us sane when the world around is spinning out of control and we just want to get off. They allow us to carry on "normal" conversations. They allow us to genuinely celebrate life's joys that have come to our family and friends in the days after. They give me strength to answer the kids' questions. They allow us to smile and laugh and tell stories. They sustain us during this time of immense grief.

And we are truly grateful.

We've looked at every "like" on Facebook, every picture comment, every message, every post. We've read the guest book from the service and noted every name. We've read your cards. We've enjoyed your meals. And we've undoubtedly felt your prayers and thoughts.

Thank you.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Know that in this time, I am also praying for each of you as so many of you are mourning with us.

And I am thanking God for each one of you that He has placed in our lives during this time of need.

Keep praying. Keep sending good thoughts. And keep loving and laughing and serving one another.

Because that's what Larry was all about. We are all family.

And love will hold us together.