Thankful Thursday - Year 2 Week 27! {Link Up}

The past week and a half since losing Peyton has both flown by and lasted an eternity.  It is amazing how much can happen over the course of 12 days.  Yes, there is certainly much to be sad about.  There has been mourning and the grieving process will continue for quite some time.  In the midst of pain and sorrow, there is much to give thanks for.

* I am grateful to God for entrusting us with the care of Peyton.  We never expected her to live a long life, and in truth, each of her nearly 7 years was a blessing to us.

* I am so thankful to our church family.  Peyton's memorial service was held last Thursday.  It was more of a celebration than a time of sadness.  The service itself was truly beautiful.  I am sure it had an impact on many of the people who attended.

* I am beyond thankful to each and every person who had a hand in making Peyton's service so meaningful.  Even our senior pastor commented to us on how full the scorecard was with the number of pastors involved and in attendance at her service.  One day I will share more about the service.

* I am grateful to all of the friends and family who celebrated the life of Peyton with us last week.  Peyton affected more people in her short life than most people do in a decades long lifespan.

* Sometimes things take you by surprise.  One such thing is the fact that we had a whole baseball team rooting for Peyton in her final days.  The pastor who preached at Peyton's memorial service happens to be the chaplain for The Citadel baseball team {the Bulldogs} and he told them about Peyton and they were so touched by her story.  They dedicated their series against the College of Charleston last weekend to Peyton.  Ron and I actually decided to check out the first game last Friday.  They won - 7 to 1.  I thought that was pretty awesome.  They repeated the score on Saturday.  Sunday, not so much, but they played for Peyton.  On Friday we saw our pastor there and he got the team to come out of the dugout before the game and they came over and one by one shook our hands and some even gave us hugs.  We don't know any of these guys but to know that we had this whole team pulling for our daughter meant a lot to us.  They even had Peyton's picture up in the dugout for the games!  Yesterday, Ron got a call from the pastor asking us to come by the church office.  The team signed a baseball for us which we received yesterday - Peyton's birthday.  So grateful to these guys.  It really touched us how they rallied around us during this time.



* For the ongoing support of friends and family, we are truly grateful.  I don't know how we'd get through this time without you.

* What are you thankful for today?


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i may be linking up with:
Loved & Lovely | Thankful Thursday with First Day of My Life | We Heart Life | Lovely Little Whimsy | thankful Thursdays with black tag diaries | A Day In The Life | Gracefully Made | Our Journey | Grace Alone... | Six By the Bay | Women Taking a Stand

A Great Void

{Posted on Peyton's blog & copied here}

It has been nine days since our precious Peyton went to be the the Lord.  I cannot help but rejoice for her that she is no longer sick, no longer in pain, and no longer suffering.  I cannot be sad for this sweet girl who is dancing, walking, running, talking, seeing, hearing, and doing so many things that she could never do here on earth.

But I weep.  I weep for the loss of my youngest daughter.  I mourn the loss of the little girl whose many needs filled my days.  It is strange being home after having spent 40 days at the hospital with her.  It was strange to feel the air outside, to sit in a car, and to enter my home without my daughter.

The past nine days have passed quickly.  May 4th seems like yesterday but it seems like an eternity has passed.  Out of town visitors have come and gone.  A visitation was held.  A memorial service took place.  We said our goodbyes to the earthly body that was Peyton.

We went to church as a family on Sunday, May 5th, a mere 27 hours after Peyton passed from this life.  We couldn't imagine a better place to be than with the church family who has supported us for so long.  We went to church on Sunday, May 12th, Mother's Day.  It was good to be among our church family but I felt the absence of Peyton in a profound way.

We picked up Peyton's urn this weekend.  Another event to add to the ever-growing list of things that make her loss so real.

We picked up her death certificates today, again making this even more real - and "final".  Just as Peyton had a lengthy list of health issues in life, her death was marked not by one cause but by several.  The only thing I know for sure is that her death did not come as a result of Ron and I making the decision to peel back all of the medical interventions that were sustaining her.  People have wondered what happened because she passed so quickly after that meeting we had with the doctors on Wednesday, May 1st.  The truth is, before we did a single thing, Peyton's health began to decline on its own.  By Thursday morning, before we removed any medications, Peyton had fluid building up on her lungs.  By Friday, after we'd removed the final supportive thing, we found out that Peyton had tested positive for stenotrophomonas pneumonia, which is not curable and was indicative of an end of life process.  Had we not made the decision to take a palliative care approach, Peyton would have passed away as it was.  Yes, things happened quickly.  After some amount of pain control was needed, she was finally comfortable and she did pass away peacefully.

The adrenaline that has kept me going since the 4th has been wearing off, particularly in the past day or two.  I find myself discovering that there are limits on how much I can do as it relates to the things like the disposal of all of the beautiful flowers, most of which are past their best now.  I find myself needing space and "alone" time.

My body aches.  My muscles scream out when Ron tries to rub my neck or back.  I feel like my body is held together by steel cables, not muscles and soft tissue.

Given where Peyton is now, it would be purely selfish to want her back here.  But I miss her so much it hurts.  I would love to hold her again without fear of hurting her poor broken little body.  I would love to hear her laugh, see her smile, and just have her back.

And so we journey through the early stages of our grief - differently, yet each of us grieving the loss of our daughter and sister.  We've got a long road ahead of us.  I know I, for one, am feeling a great void in my life.  I am not sure how to fill the hours that she once filled.  I am not sure what our "new normal" is supposed to look like for the three of us.

I know we'll be leaning on God now more than ever.  He will sustain us through the difficult days, weeks and months ahead.

Thankful Thursday - Year 2 Week 26! {Link Up}

Today I am thankful for the gift of my daughter, Peyton Elisabeth.  If you've been following here for a while, you know she spent a long time in the hospital recently.  On Saturday, May 4th, Peyton went home to Jesus perfectly healed.  While our loss here on earth is heartbreaking, I cannot be sad for her. I can only be thankful for the gift that she was to us for almost seven years and rejoice in her being made whole in Him.

2 Timothy 4:7-8

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. ⁸ And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.

Peyton Elisabeth Fontenot

May 15, 2006 ~ May 4, 2013

* What are you thankful for today?


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Feel free to grab a button {use CTRL+C to copy!} for your post and/or your blog and be sure to link up below!!

<center> <a href=" http://fontenblog.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="The Fontenot Four" src="http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/ff498/sjfontenot/RDD%20Design%20November%202011/thankfulthursdays.png"/></a></center>

i may be linking up with:
Loved & Lovely | Thankful Thursday with First Day of My Life | We Heart Life | Lovely Little Whimsy | thankful Thursdays with black tag diaries | A Day In The Life | Gracefully Made | Our Journey | Grace Alone... | Six By the Bay | Women Taking a Stand

Visitation & Memorial Service

We have finalized the details for Peyton's visitation and memorial service.  You can view her obituary online and find all of the details here:

http://hosting-25037.tributes.com/show/Peyton-Elisabeth-Fontenot-95756921

Please forward this information as you see fit.

Thank you so much for your support during this time.

At Peace

It is with deepest sadness that we share that our precious little girl, Peyton, passed away at 6:12 this morning.  She was just 11 days short of her 7th birthday.  She passed away just before sunrise on the 40th day of her hospital stay.
While we are deeply saddened by the great void that is in our lives now, we cannot help but rejoice that Peyton is fully healed.  She is made new.  She can walk, run, dance, talk, see, hear, and do all the things she could not do here on earth.  She is free from the bondage of her limitations and illnesses.
We have truly been blessed by our family, church family, friends, and even those we do not know with support, prayers and encouragement over the past 40 days, and particularly now in this time of sorrow.

Peyton wearing my glasses - I love this picture.

2 Timothy 4:7

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.