The Ultimate Gift

Lately I have been catching up on all the movie's I wanted to watch but haven't had time for. My in-laws have a collection of dvd's that could compete with blockbuster, so thank you Phyllis for keeping me entertained lately:) Anyways with that being said today I watched The Ultimate Gift. If you haven't seen it you should, I must warn you though it is a tear jerker, but one everyone can appreciate.

Brief summary: A billionaire dies and he wants to leave his grandson most of the money, but he wants to teach him a lesson in life before he can inherit the money. So he gives him several tasks along the way he must complete and in the end he will receive the ultimate gift. Wow, that is the best summary I have ever given without going on and on...hahaha!!!

This movie really got me thinking about my own life. Many of you who read this blog don't really know who I was, you just know who I have become. When I was growing up we always had nice things. My parents made sure we had what we wanted, especially mom we would shop all the time. Some would call it spoiled, but I called it necessary, at the time. I always had designer names, good reliable cars, and among many other things a nice house that I grew up in. I was always appreciative to my parents, but pretty much not so nice to others. I was in the popular crowd, I was a cheerleader, and if you weren't part of my group, I basically didn't know who you were. So as you can see, I was not a very nice person. Although I will say I was very loyal to my friends, I would do absolutely anything for them. My family has always been very special to me. I have always felt like I had a big heart for those I surrounded myself with.

Once I got into college I realized those things didn't matter as much, but I still wanted the name brand and things to show off. I ask myself why? That is not what defines a person, but at the time that is what I thought mattered the most. I had a lot of friends in college, everyone knew who I was...the short cheerleader. Yes I did cheer in college and boy I gotta tell ya, that helped me grow in many ways. Obviously I was that girl on top of all the pyramids, so I had to trust everyone below me. I learned to trust people that I never thought would even care if I landed on my head. But as a team we learned discipline, trust, and the true meaning of teamwork. Things started to become a little more clear to me about life. It most definitely was not all about me and the designer names, it was about loving and supporting those around you.

Then after graduating college I moved out of the house for the first time. It was not your typical move across town, I moved 9 hours away from home to Kentucky. I had gotten a job opportunity I could not pass up. Holy crap, 9 hours, what was I thinking I was all alone, the only thing I had were material things and they provided me no happiness what so ever! I quickly made a few friends and realized that is what brought me happiness, not all the nice things I had. It was never truly enough though I missed my family to much, so I decided a year and a half later to move back to KC.

Moving back to KC was one of the best decision I ever made. It took about 2 years, but that is when I met Jason. Jason and I instantly connected. It was as if we had been waiting to meet each other our whole lives. People thought we were crazy, and from the outside it sure did look that way, but we knew it right away, we were in love. It was the kind of thing that only happened in fairy tales. I mean within 2 weeks of knowing each other we knew exactly where it was gonna go. We had a few bumps along the way, but that was only cause we were scared how perfect things were...mostly him more than me. He had been married once before. They were both very young and quickly learned each other wanted different things in life. They did have Gracie and she is one amazing little girl, so we are all very thankful she came from the "young love".

11 months had passed and we were going strong. Jason had been offered a job in Iowa and I supported him 100%, we decided to move. This time it was only 2 and 1/2 hours away. We moved Memorial Day weekend. Before we left Jason arranged for our families to get together for a farewell dinner. Little did I know what he was up to, Gracie asked me at dinner if I would marry her Daddy...OF COURSE!!! This is where things get real interesting real fast...Friday engaged, Saturday we moved, and Sunday we found out I was pregnant. Oh my goodness, pregnant! We had talked about it but we just gotten engaged and moved and had so much going on. At that moment I cried, Gracie wanted to know why I was crying, daddy told her she was gonna be a big sister. She was soooooo excited and Jason was excited, so naturally I was relieved and excited as well. Little did we know that this little tiny baby would change our lives in a way that no child we had ever known effected the lives of others. June 7, 2006, a week later Jason and I were married in the courthouse, I needed the insurance. Then September 8, 2006, we had a ceremony for all of our family and friends

September 11, 2006 our lives changed forever. We received a phone call saying that they had confirmed through numerous test our baby girl, Gabi, had down syndrome. Talk about a heartbreaking moment, the thought of our child being different and not being about to fix it, wow...that was a lot for us to take in. We quickly began to educate our selves and although our fears were still there we felt better. We had been hand picked by God to care for one of his special children. We realized it would not be easy, but if he thought we could do it, then we knew we could get pass the unknown. We were ready to accept the challenge. Besides how hard could it be??? With that being said Jason and I thought it would be best to move back to KC, we wanted to be near our family and friends, after all we needed their emotional support more than ever. We were so excited about what God had given us, but still feared the unknown.

This is the part where we realize what our ultimate gift was. Gabi was born January 12, 2007. She was the part of our life we never knew was missing until she arrived. Having her in our arms made it seem as if nothing else in the world mattered. She was absolutely perfect in our eyes. How could an innocent child be anything but that though? Although our time with her here on earth was short, we learned more about life in those short 7 months than most who get to spend a lifetime with their children. The very moment I laid my eyes on her for the first time I realized that everything I thought was important to me in my life leading up to this, meant absolutely nothing.

At that moment I could not believe that I had been so shallow almost my entire life. The things I thought were important, were nothing. I cannot believe I actually thought you could provide happiness for yourself with material things. Of course I knew all along it was temporary happiness, but it was satisfying to me, how pathetic right?!? Time passed with Gabi and everyday was more precious than the day before. Of course we had no idea our time was limited, but while she was in the hospital we spent everyday as if it was a gift. The gifts that God knew were so important he was teaching us: the Gift of work, money, friends, learning, problems, family, laughter, dreams, giving, gratitude, a new day, and most importantly love. And together all of these become the ULTIMATE GIFT. Gabi was right there in my arms, taking her last breath and we knew just how blessed we were. Our lives would forever be changed and all for the better because of this one tiny little perfect angel.

I guess the whole reason I wanted to explain myself is because I am a better person because of my precious Gabi. She taught me that although I do occasionally like nice new things, they have no true value in life. Life is so precious and the things you truly love can be gone in the blink of an eye. So when your feeling down about things think about Gabi. Think about the fight my 7 month old went through just to spend a little bit more time with her mommy and daddy. Think of what her daddy and I have learned about life. People are amazed at how easily we let things roll off our backs, but it is because of Gabi that we are able to do so. We have a lot of bills, not enough money, we are living with my parents right now, our dog lives with my brother and sister in law...things are definitely how we want, but as long as we have each other we know we will get through it. Of course we worry and stress about things, but not for long...honestly what good does that do for anyone, just creates more problems. We have excepted that we cannot control all things around us, but we do know that with God all things are possible. We have a very special angel watching over us and for that we are thankful!

I apologize this entry is so long, but it was important to me to explain myself and who I was and who I have become. I love my life! Obviously I miss my daughter, but she still brings me so much pride and joy. Sometimes it takes years and years before people really figure out what life is really all about, and sometimes never...but for us we know and we thank Gabi for being our ULTIMATE GIFT!