leaving a legacy...

When Ashlyn was a baby, Jenny & Craig lived with us for 6 months while he was recovering from his first surgery.  As soon as Craig was well enough to be on his feet again he jumped at the chance to start worshipping the Lord through music.  He could often be found walking circles around the living room of our house in San Ramon while strumming on his guitar.  He was self-taught & would master a song by playing it over & over & over & over...you get the idea.  The house had cathedral ceilings and great acoustics.  I think Craig's motto was the louder the worship song the better.  Ashlyn was just over 8 months old & loved the continuous music that filled our home.  She would regularly crawl around him & dance as he played.

Sometimes I would pick Ashlyn up & we would dance around the living room.

I only wish we had better video than this.  At the time we were all so focused on Ashlyn, the baby, that we didn't pan out on the video to get the full story.  I don't think any of us appreciated that time as much as we should have especially knowing now what the future would hold.  I guess it's true that sometimes you never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory.

Fast forward to last Sunday when we spent the evening having dinner at Hal & Jenny's house.  As we were leaving Ashlyn told Jenny that she would like to take guitar lessons & wondered if she could use Craig's guitar.  Craig had four guitars & while the other three were sold, Jenny made the decision to hold on to the guitar that Craig used when he first learned to play.  It isn't the most expensive guitar or even the nicest but Jenny was more than willing to pass on the precious heirloom to Ashlyn.

She was overjoyed.









Landon has always had a connection with Craig through their love for some of the same things: Star Wars (which Ashlyn also now shares), LEGOs, Cal, food.  Ashlyn has always had a great love for Craig but I think this may be the first time that she has really felt that shared connection to something that he truly loved.