My handsome boy,

Today we had Surf for the Soul. All three of your siblings let me know that they weren’t planning on going into the ocean several times. I still wanted to go and give them the possibility of an awesome experience, so we went. We were actually at a beach I had never been at up by Haleiwa.

After we arrived, we sat down on the beach to wait for everything to start. The boys jumped on a fallen tree branch while Ellie surveyed the ocean for how dangerous it looked. Before it began, each kid got a beautiful lei. I’m going to dry them out like the other ones to keep on that shelf I have. Once they got their leis, the surfers introduced themselves to everyone. When the introductions were done, they broke off and each surfer went with a child.

Lucas got his lei, but wanted nothing to do with introducing himself to the surfers. When Ellie and Elijah got paired up with their surfer, I thought there was a pretty good chance they were going to give it a try. Both of them enjoy talking to people so I thought they just might go with it at that point.

Isaiah Joseph, you should have seen Ellie and Elijah. I considered it a huge accomplishment when both of them touched the ocean with the board. They were so adamant and scared, yet here they were facing it all. Both of them had so much fun. Ellie practiced standing up on the board while it was just in the water and Elijah stood up a few times while catching a wave.

I have told you so many times how much I see you in Elijah. Today, I most definitely saw you in him. Elijah went out full force and at one point, I think Ellie decided to go farther out because Elijah was so far out. You were always the one pushing Ellie out of her comfort zone. She would see you doing, wanted to do it too, and went for it.

Back when I coached, I cried at one of our conference championships when I watched our relay win. I had no idea why I was crying. After having kids, I realized that I just cry happy tears when I’m extremely proud of someone. I saw on the beach today, just crying quietly to myself. I’m looking at two of my kids and am just so incredibly proud of them.

Everyone always says “kids are resilient”, which they are. In the military world, we always talk about how military kids are the most resilient people ever. I am so incredibly proud of each and every one of you. You and your siblings surprise me each and every day and I look at you guys in such awe. You guys have always dealt with so much being away from family, moving all the time, being away from daddy when he’s training, and now your siblings are dealing with losing you. I admire them so much for having to deal with such loss at such a young age. You and your siblings are so incredibly strong and I’m just amazed each and every day.

I love you so much, sweetie. I hope you got a glimpse of your siblings today and was cheering them on. Goodnight and sweet dreams.