A whole decade has past since my boy made me a boy mom! And while I wish I could erase this last year and start over and change so many things, the simple fact is I can't. I wish this post could be focused on all the wonderful things Lawson has gotten to experience in the last year but instead my sweet boy has experienced more than any 10 year old should have to face in the last nine months. When I look back to Lawson's 9th birthday, I had no idea what was on the horizon and that our lives as we knew it would change forever. The amount of trauma and loss Lawson has endured is too much for an adult to bear in a short time yet here we are and still in the thick of it.
April 4, 2025, Lawson's 9th birthday held so much hope and promise and so much excitement for the summer that was just weeks away. Lawson was finishing up his third grade year at Cambridge with the best teachers who pushed and held high expectations of him. He loved attending his HEIGHTS class each week and the challenges a GT class brings him. He was in the midst of baseball season on a great team that taught him the love of the game. With summer on the horizon, Lawson took his first STAAR tests and earned mastery on both reading and math. He went to Father Son Weekend at Camp La Junta and enjoying all life has to offer an extremely blessed boy.
Lawson was eager to kick off summer with VBS, ski camp, an amazing trip to Sea Island and finally Camp La Junta, a month to be just a boy and live in his happy place. He was pumped because he knew it would be the last year for him to attend without Lowery being there. I dropped Lawson off on July 2 in the pouring rain and not even 48 hours later, we found ourselves living a nightmare. While what happened in the early morning hours of July 4 are not mine to share, I can say that while Lawson did not have water in his cabin, he watched and heard the entire event unfold for hours. He knew something terrible had happened at Camp Mystic when a girl made it severely injured to La Junta but didn't understand why she was there. Lawson was finally reunited with us late on July 4 and I was so grateful to have my boy back who had little idea what we had been dealing with at Camp Mystic that day but was fully aware that the situation was scary and horrific.
Telling Lawson that his cousin Kellyanne was missing and we weren't sure if she was alive was not something I wouldn't wish on anyone. What most people aren't aware of is that Lawson and Kellyanne were super close and Kellyanne was obsessed with Lawson. One of the items we recovered after the flood was a letter that never made it to Lawson from Kellyanne saying she missed him and hoped he was having fun at camp and signed from the "best cousin ever" Kellyanne. Kellyanne couldn't wait to write him a letter and asked Cameron repeatedly for his address at camp. The aftermath of this has been nothing short of unfathomable, his own July 4th experience, the death of his cousin, the declining health of LilyB and the sudden loss of his uncle, Triple, have shook our family to the core. The struggles that Lawson faces and the resilience he has had to display is nothing short of a miracle as God continues to hold us together on unstable ground. There have been many days of tears and many effects that this has had on my boy. His school work and academics have taken a major hit and something that we are constantly working to get back on track. My sensitive boy has had to experience and go through more emotions that he has navigated in a world that doesn't necessarily see his struggle.
All of the sudden, I have a 10 year boy who is fully aware that the world is not a safe and happy place that is full of brokenness where bad things happen, people make mistakes, our bodies fail but at the end of the day all we have hope. That hope is in Jesus. I am so proud of Lawson and the way he continues to face the battles but the most important piece is that Lawson still believes that God is good and that He will redeem this. I know that God will help Lawson to continue to heal the wounds and trauma that he has endured since July 4. I know his grades will come back around as he is able to focus on academics more than the thoughts that live in his head. I am proud of my boy and pray that God will use this last year to build a life of Lawson being a light to others, being kind and sensitive towards those that need to experience the love of Jesus.
Here are pictures from last year from Lawson's perspective...
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| Happy 9th Birthday Lawson! |
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| Birthday Dinner at Sugar Factory! |
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| Final 4! |
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| Got to go to both games! |
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| Camp La Junta Father Son Weekend |
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| Made it up to the sign! |
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| Happy Easter! |
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| Wiffle Ball Birthday Party with Tripp! |
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| Happy Birthday to Tripp and Lawson! |
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| AA Blue Jays Team! |
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| Cambridge Art Walk! |
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| Fun at Andretti! |
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| Love SACC - Fiesta Fireworks! |
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| Uncle Teddy came to Cambridge with King Antonio! |
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| Happy Mother's Day! |
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| Lollie & PT with all the grandkids! |
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| Lyndi's Science Fair Project |
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| Last day of 3rd Grade! |
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| Happy 7th Birthday Palmer! |
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| Last day of school party! |
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| Mr. Adame-Lemaitre - simply the best! |
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| Ms. Behl - the greatest! |
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| Ready for summer - Memorial Day! |
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| Hanging with the cousins! |
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| Kellyanne and I hanging! |
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| First ride of the summer! |
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| Showing off my skills! |
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| Surfing behind the boat! |
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| Taking in the sunset! |
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| Ethan came to visit in Florida! |
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| Ski Masters with Townes! |
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| World War II Museum |
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| Sea Island! |
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| Vacation Ready! |
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| Family Pictures! |
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| First sunset on the canals! |
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| Family Bingo! |
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| Shooting class! |
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| Beach day! |
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| Watching the bagpiper! |
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| Family pic! |
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| Putting range! |
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| Bonnet Head! |
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| Sand Castle! |
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| La Junta boys excited to go to camp! |
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| Camp Season is here! |
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| Golfing with dad! |
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| Last hug before leaving for Hunt! |
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| Its is here! So excited! |
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| My counselors! |
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| Loving on mom before I said bye! |
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| Caught hanging in the river! Only day at camp! |
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| Finding our new normal - missing Kellyanne! |
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| Bowling! |
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| Best 3rd grade teachers around! |
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| Heading to Telluride! |
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| Checking out the river! |
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| Hiking in the mountains! |
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| Living the juice box life! |
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| Meeting Toasty! |
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| These sweet teachers loving on us! |
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| Fly fishing in the river! |
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| Cambridge Meet the Teacher |
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| Mrs. Pruitt! |
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| Mrs. Bennett! |
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| First day of school! |
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| Cousins at Cambridge! |
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| First day of school! |
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| Tripp is in my class! |
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| Hanging with Brady in the Frio! |
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| Buc Flag Football Team! |
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| Lunch with Mommy! |
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| Happy 1st Birthday Ford! |
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| Sweet friends! |
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| St. David's Chapel in honor of Kellyanne! |
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| Sunrise on LBJ! |
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| Sweet morning on the water! |
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| Father Son Weekend in PortA! |
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| 4th Grade Tug O War! |
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| Ready for our turn! |
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| Practicing the cello! |
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| Kalahari Weekend! |
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| Flow rider! |
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| Family Fall Pic at Kalahari! |
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| Surfing the zebra! |
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| Hanging with LilyB! |
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| Happy Halloween! |
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| SACC Halloween Night! |
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| Watching Lyndi's Cheer Competition! |
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| Hanging with Mom! |
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| Halloween Science Experiement! |
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| Trick or Treating with Emily & Teddy! |
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| CNN for Kindness 4 Kellyanne! |
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| Thanksgiving balloon release for Kellyanne & Triple |
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| Thanksgiving Lunch! |
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| Pickleball Family Tournament! |
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| River Walk Christmas Barge Lights! |
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| Friends since Kindergarten! |
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| Lunch with mommy! |
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| Deer Down at the Lease! |
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| Santa Sunday at SACC |
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| The best EggNog! |
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| Best buddies! |
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| Ms. Behl - 3rd grade teacher now tutor! |
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| Cello concert with Cosmo! |
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| 4th Grade Christmas Party! |
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| AH Pool Polar Bear Plunge! |
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| Hanging with Fordy! |
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| Top Golf with JW! |
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| Bailey - she is crazy! |
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| Christmas Eve Service with Netta & Pops! |
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| Christmas Eve Pizza Making! |
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| Santa Came! |
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| Polar Bear Plunge! |
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| We are headed to New York! |
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| Brunch with O'Donnell Cousins! |
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| Fordy is here! |
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| Archery Lesson! |
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| Motorcycles at the ranch |
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| Sunset at the ranch! |
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| Riley and me at Rockport! |
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| HEIGHTS field trip! |
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| Alamo Field Trip! |
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| Ice Day! |
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| Disney World Trip! |
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| Ready for it! |
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| Haunted Mansion with Dad! |
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| Missing Kellyanne while waiting in line! |
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| Getting ready for my driving test! |
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| Epcot! |
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| Oolaf wanted warm hugs! |
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| Tower of Terror! |
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| First bar! |
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| Wand Magic at Harry Potter World! |
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| Last day! |
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| Tree of Life! |
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| Riding to the moon! |
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| Baseball Season is here! |
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| Friends coming to watch! |
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| Donut Dash for Kellyanne! |
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| Finished! |
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| Now cheering on mom! |
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| Getting kisses! |
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Pitching for the W - Go Astros!
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| Ready to ski in Telluride! |
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| Ski buddies! |
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| Top of the mountain! |
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| Zoo with Emmalynn |
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Uncle Triple's graveside service
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Handing with Fordy!
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| Happy 10th Birthday! |
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