Remembering Dannielle

Well, I had some blog thoughts running in my mind all day but it is now late evening, baby girl is screaming and all that I have tried to typed just does not come out right. So, for those of you who did not know Dannielle and even those of you who did but may not know the whole story~ I will just tell you:
Dannielle our beautiful firstborn child came to us at just 23 hours old! She was placed in our arms in the room across the nursery where she was born and from that moment on our lives would never be the same! An amazing, joy filled little child she filled our lives with laughter and music and hope and we could not even believe that just a few months before her birth we were told we would "never have children!"
Dannielle's life was amazing, but it was not easy! She was diagnosed with Type 1 Brittle Diabetes at age 5, Asthma at age 8 and Epilepsy at age 10.....
a WHOPPER of a BAD combination! All of them worked against each other and made her health a real nightmare at times! She lived her life to the fullest despite it all and traveled across the USA and overseas on mission trips, etc just basically thumbing her nose at the people and doctors telling her to "take it easy".
She was in college at the same college with Jim working on her degree to become a social worker and help birth mom's and adopted teens using her life experiences. We invited her to go to the beach with us and her brothers for Spring Break but she decided to stay back at the dorms and catch up on homework.....and while we were sad she could not go with us we were so proud of how well she was doing! She was healthier then she had been in several years, happy, busy with just being as normal a college kid as you can be and living her life the way she wanted and the way she felt Jesus wanted her to.While we were away on spring break she had a massive seizure, was alone in our home with nobody to call for help and it stopped her heart. We came home to find she had gone to live with Jesus while we were playing at the beach! Something a mind and heart just never gets over! A HUGE gift her friend and the campus pastor/counselor gave us a few weeks after her goodbye was to tell us that his last memory he had of Dannielle was of her in the back row at student worship with her hands thrown high in the air, head tipped back singing her heart out for Jesus, her Love! This is how I picture her tonight!
Six years later it still seems like yesterday when it comes to this day each year. Our lives will NEVER be the same because of this beautiful person God allowed us to call our daughter! She really started it all for us when it comes to Adoption and would be beyond thrilled for the way our family has and is continuing to grow through adoption!
We LOVE YOU DANNIELLE!!!! We MISS YOU, and we KNOW WE WILL SEE YOU AGAIN!!!!

Thanks friends for standing with us even on these days~
Shell