Little Man in a Tuxedo

3:32....
That's how long it took to receive the most devastating news of our lives. That's the length of the cell phone call from our daughter, Carrie, on the morning of November 1...the day our lives changed forever.

October 31...Halloween...a double treat for Cailyn Rose. Not only was it her second birthday, but she got to go "trick or treating" with her brother, Carter, and her Mommy, Carrie. What a fun way to spend your birthday!

The day was filled with fun. Carrie, Chris and our grandlittle birds...along with a few favorite friends...spent the day at Paradise Park. After naps, they got dressed in their Halloween costumes...Cailyn was "Dorothy" and Carter was a penguin. Little man in a tuxedo. They went out with Mommy and some friends to fill up their pumpkins with treats. What a fun day!



That happy day was Carter's last day. He smiled a lot that day. I waited until quite late that night for Carrie to post pictures on Facebook of the two of them in their costumes. Dorothy and the penguin. The cutest penguin I have ever seen.

Penguins...they are all around. Suddenly I am surrounded by penguins.

Is this coincidence? I think not. I do not believe in coincidences. I believe that God is the director of all that happens here. I believe that He takes horrible tragedies, and from them brings about something positive. I believe that He sends us signs to let us know that He is in control. Signs like penguins.

A few days after Carter died, Carrie, Cailyn and I went to the hospital to take care of some paperwork. We got lost in the building and asked a maintenance man for directions to the office. After pointing us in the right direction he asked Carrie if he could give Cailyn a little ball. While we waited in the room Cailyn played with that ball. Carrie and I both rolled it back and forth with her. It landed at a woman's feet, and she picked it up to return it...and said..."oh, look, my favorite thing!" Inside the ball was a penguin. Coincidence?

Two days later we went to the nail salon for a much needed "pick me up"! Cailyn was playing with the very few toys provided there when she climbed up into the chair next to Carrie with a plastic toy in her hand...yep...a penguin! Coincidence?

The next night Carrie's girlfriends came over to watch Grey's Anatomy...a Thursday night tradition for them. One of the girls took Cailyn and another little one into Carrie's room to watch Dora during that hour. She was having difficulty getting the On Demand to work, and kept getting an error message on the TV screen. It would not allow her to change the channel that was on. And, playing on that channel was ..a penguin movie! Coincidence?

After spending 2 weeks with Carrie in Missouri, I arrived home late Saturday night. I mentioned to my honey that I would like to go to our old church the next day. I needed to be around my family and good friends there, who had been praying for us for the past weeks. During the worship service there is a time for the young church where a lesson is geared towards all the little people. The lesson for that day was taken from a story book about...penguins! Coincidence?

I THINK NOT!!!

I hope that God continues to show me these signs that he is taking good care of our precious grandlittle bird. I hope that Carter is still smiling...watching us receive all these signs.

I hope that someday when I go "home", a little man in a tuxedo is waiting for me at the gate.