"What God leads us to, God will lead us through"

Sunday, May 24th, I recieved the worst news I have ever had. My best friend Ashley had lost her little boy Parker.

Saturday night Ashley and her husband Shane had some friends and family over to their new house. Parker was in his room with his little brother (step brother) Kyrene. I'm not exactly sure, and I don't think any one really is, what was happening at the time. But somehow he was leaning against the screen and it came loose. He fell to the patio down below. He became unconcious and was given resuce breathing. He was breathing at the time the amublance got there and was life flighted to the hospital. When they got there, his vitals were stable. The doctors came back and told Ash and Shane what they were going to do to help him. His brain was swelling so they had to go in and open his skull to relieve some of the pressure. He also had a few broken ribs. He had such a high tempurature that it wasn't allowing to the swelling to go down. About an hour into surgery, his vitals and blood pressure dropped. And he was gone.

I was in Texas at the time, we went to sacrament meeting went back to my parents house packed up the car and kids and drove home to az. We got in at 6 in the morning and I caught the next flight I could up here to Oregon. This is the saddest and hardest time we have ever faced. We have our little circle of friends, Ashley Bryony Stephanie Jessica and myself. And our husbands. We are probably the tighest group of friends you will ever meet. When Parker was born, we were al there. Bryony, Steph and I camped out at the hospital while we waited. WE set up our beds had a TV and some games. He was 5 days late and he was takin his time so she was getting enduced. FInally when that little bundle came it was such a happy moment in our lives. He was the first baby to be born. And we loved Parker like he was our own. He was very much apart of all of our lives.

Parker was the sweetest, most charismatic boy any one could ever meet. Any one he came in contact with ht left an impact on. He made friends where ever he went. He would walk up to a kid and say Hi I'm Parker wanna play? Or, he would say "I'm Leonardo". As in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He was our superhero. He loved Ninja Turtles, Batman, Spiderman all of them he was one of them. He could tell you all the Ninja Turtles and their weapons, where they lived , who was the bad guys at the age of 2. He never stoped moving, always jumping and running to his next destination. Even in his mother stomach he was such a kicker. Parker was the light of our life and he knew it. Ashley had said that he never had a bad day. Every day was a good day with him. In his 41/2 years he touched so many people lives. Being here with my girlfriends has really broughten us so much closer. It has been hard and we have been struggling. You know who has been our strength through all this, is Ashley. She is the strongest lady I have ever met. We have been friends for 14 years. in her first marriage, when she had Parker, she went through a nasty divorce. One where the father didn't want to be a father anymore. When Ashley remarried to Shane, he became Parker's daddy. About 3 weeks ago, the adoption between Shane and Parker was finalized. Ashley and Shane are both LDS but they have been inactive for a very long time. This had to happen in order for them to be sealed to him. He knew that, he waited for his daddy to come. Ashley said to me, her and I are the only LDS ones, but when I got here she looked at me and said you better be there when we get to sealed to him. I know they are going to do whatever it takes to get back to him. My mom had said, if this was to happen to any one, Ashley was the one. She is the strongest out of all of us. She was telling us it was going to be ok and she knows that. He is just looking down at us saying "Mommy, I'm ok". and we know he is making Heavenly Father laugh. As we sit here talking and remembering his life we have come to realized that Parker knew what was going to happen. He made such an impact on people's lives because he knew. He even had his first kiss at preschool just the other week to his girlfriend. He covered his bases. Ashley said friday for some reason he wanted to call his Nana. He never just wants to call her. well he called and he got the answering machine he said I dont want this I want to talk to Nana. She called back and he came running for the phone and all he said was I love you Nana. The couple weeks prior, he had had such good weeks. They did so many fun things. He went to the movies with Shane on their first daddy son date. Ash took him to ice cream which she never does. They went to indoor water parks. For about a week before the accident, we had all been hearing or reading about children falling out of windows or from bridges. It's like we were being told what was going to happen. When I found out, the ride home from Texas was so tough. I would cry in bursts. Chris was telling me trying to comfort me that everything has a reason for happening. I told him when you find this reason let me know cause I don't know this one. Even being here, the other night Jessica and I told Ash that we were mad. When I think about it I just get so angry. She said Tat you know better then any one that he is ok. I said I know, I know I know I just can't accept it. It is amazing to me how she is able to be our shoulder. When I think about him being gone, I still can't believe it and say to myself what no he's not, that's crazy. We are so blessed to have had him in our lives, we are still blessed that we will carry him with us everywhere. In the book that my husband is reading, When Times are Tough by John Bytheway, it says that a child is taken because they are too perfect too pure to be on this earth. Parker did his buisness here and doing the big buisness up in heaven. I know i am writting htis kinda choppy cause as I'm writting I just keep remembering things and it's hard to right down clearly everything in an order. you know, even if you just met Parker once you had a story for life about him. My regret is that my boys won't ever get to meet him on this earth. I should have gotten them up here sooner. But I know they will be best buds someday. Parker was the biggest superhero in this world. He had more power and more strength than any superhero you will ever read about. Oh another thing Ashley kept saying was "Hey, I'm jealous of him. He is taken it easy now. We are the ones that have to suffer and live on this horrible earth". I miss Parker, I keep waiting for him to come bouncing and give me a huge hug and say "Hi Aunt Tat". Ashley said that he went out flying. And he did. He didn't feel any pain. He was a character, and you couldn't stop smiling with him. You just wanted to sqeeze him and never let go. He has taught us so many lessons and brought so much happiness to us. He isn't done teaching us. It was hard for me living in Arizona to get to know him the way Bryony and Stephanie had, but he never forgot me. And we would still talk on the phone. I know he is with Heavenly Father laughing and looking at us. I know he is waiting for his mommy and daddy and brother and sister. I know that Ashley can make it through this because of the strength she had and because of the strength Parker gave her. I am thankful for the knowledge I have of the Plan of Salvation. I am thankful to have the knowledge of where Parker is and who he is with. I am thankful for being Parker's aunt, for knowing him and having him in my life. I am thankful to have my two handsome sons. For their spirit and their love. I am thankful for my children that are waiting to come down to us, that are getting to be with Parker right now. I love the family I have. I am so blessed to have the greatest friends. My heart aches with this and i know it will take time before that pain is gone. I know that in time Ashley and Shane will be able to move on. I know the pain will never go away for them, for any of us. But as life progresses, they become closer and closer to being with Parker again. Please keep the Reck family in your prayers, they need all the love and prayers they can get. I know I am not done posting about this week, so be prepared for some more stories and saddness as the funeral gets closer. Or as we are calling it "A Day of Celebration".