A Beautiful Life

I apologize for the lack of posts - first of all, Jackson is still so little, and has no regular schedule. We're stealing sleep and naps when we can, so regular posting is... ambitious at this point. However, that's not the reason for the lack of contact these past few days.

On Saturday morning, April 18, Lukas Henry Ledford, just three and a half months old, passed away quietly in the arms of his parents Michael and Natascha Ledford.

Natascha is a college friend of Jesse, and we all have been friends for over a decade now. I remember meeting Michael for the first time (slutty shirt night - a story for another time), and I remember not too long after that when Michael got accepted to law school, and Natascha feared that was the end of their relationship (it wasn't - he proposed a couple of weeks later). I remember their beautiful wedding - one of the funnest weddings we went to, and visiting their new home in Arlington where we had lots of parties, and Natascha shared that she and Michael were trying to become pregnant. I remember sharing their joy when they became pregnant with their eldest son, Ian. We were overjoyed when, last year, Natascha announced her second pregnancy - in part because not too long after her announcement, Jesse and I became pregnant as well. They found out in August that they were expecting a boy, and made plans around Christmas last year, when we visited the Ledfords, and Lukas was just weeks away from joining us in the world, for our boys to all grow up together with trips to the Smithsonian and the National Zoo.

Michael and Natascha are beautiful people, whose faith in God and love for their family and each other is an inspiration to me, and also to most who meet them. Their love spreads to everyone who shares their lives. They are grieving in a way that I cannot fathom, but they choose life, and are doing their best to honor the all too brief but wondrous life of Lukas. They shared both Ian's and Lukas's life on their blog, which is password protected, otherwise I'd redirect you there so you could share Lukas, too, but they've created a Snapfish photo album that is a lovely tribute to Lukas (click here). I've posted two pictures here of that gorgeous little boy, who loved to take a bath, and who was more loved in his brief three and a half months on this earth than some people know in a lifetime.

Please keep the Ledfords in your thoughts and prayers (whomever you pray to). In lieu of flowers they are asking for donations to a charity in Lukas's name, should you feel moved to do so - they have not yet selected the charity, but I will let you know when they do. Irish poet Thomas Campbell said that "to live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die." We will carry Lukas with us always.