Happy 1st Birthday Virginia!

Tim, Josiah and I want to wish Virginia a Happy 1st Birthday! Your life has brought so much meaning to our lives. We are so thankful that the LORD has blessed us with you, even though you are not here with you us now you are forever in our hearts.

We will continue each day to talk about you and find ways to use your life to minister to other people. Virginia, you were such a fighter and we will continue to fight to ensure that people around us realize that your life was precious. We believe that your life had meaning the moment you were conceived and that whether you lasted only a day after conception or if you were 100 years old that God created you for a reason. We know that there are many people who don't even want to say your name or talk about you anymore and this breaks our heart. We love you so much and will never stop talking about you. We will always explain to people that even if you survived with a illness that we would have loved you and that it was not for the best that you died. Mommy hates to hear people say that. We are thankful that you were spared the suffering of your diagnosis but this world is full of suffering and no one is immune to it. We know too that God could have healed you completely as well.

We look forward to celebrating your life today and are so thankful that God provided us Dr. N. and allowed us to deliver you naturally. That was the most amazing experience for mommy and I am so thankful that you blessed my life with that experience. I can't even begin to explain how awesome that was. We rejoice that we were able to hold you and talk to you. We are so thankful too that Uncle Jeff was able to baptize you--what an awesome experience that was for us. We are so thankful too that we were able to get pictures of you being held by your great-grandma, Ida Virginia. We were also so blessed too that Grandpa Boss, Grandma Bulthuis and Grandpa and Grandma Krooswyk were also able to come out to the hospital with us and celebrate your life.

In our letter to you that we read at your funeral last year we knew that you were playing in heaven with other little babies including Matthew, Jeremiah, Brianna, Grace and Joshua--this year too we are saddened that Uncle Mart has joined you and your second cousin Kellan. We are celebrating your life today and look forward to the day that we can hold you in our arms forever.

Love,
Daddy, Mommy and Josiah