Joseph

 I ended the previous post with Sunday, February 25.  But I purposely did not include everything about that day, because I wanted to do a separate post about this.

That Sunday morning as I was getting ready for church, I noticed that I had gotten a message on Messenger from our friend Jay Barton in Myrtle Beach.  The message started with "Bad news."  I told Dick that I thought Jay had probably been hacked, so I wasn't going to open the message. 

Later, when we were having brunch with our church friends, I got a message from Jay's daughter Krista.  I decided I'd better open it since there were messages from two people in the same family. 

I could in no way have been prepared for what I read.  Krista's brother Joseph had died on Friday.  I then read Jay's message which said that Joseph had taken his own life.  I was stunned and horrified! 

In March 1991, when Joseph and Krista and their sister Nicole were ages 4, 5, and 6, they came to live with us as foster children.  They were our "little ones" as we called them.  Previously the girls had been in one foster home and Joseph in another.  They were SO excited to all be together in our home.  

Here they were husking corn with Jeremy.  He was 11 years old.  

When they became adoptable about a year later, we made the very hard decision to not adopt them.  We truly felt that they needed a home where there were no other children and could be the main focus of the parents.  At that time we were in the throes of the teenage years, enough said!

I was allowed to help interview the prospective parents.  Some of them caused me to wail before the Lord for these children.  I had three things I was asking of Him - a couple who had no other children, but who had experience with and a heart for children, and who were followers of Christ.  

When we interviewed Jay and Katrina Barton I knew immediately that they were the ones.  They were not able to have children of their own, both of them were teachers, and they had already had experience as foster parents.  And they were involved at their church and had big supportive families on each side.   It was truly a match made in Heaven!!

Over the next few months there were visits both at our house and at theirs.  Here's a picture of them the day we took the children to their forever home in July 1992.  

We have stayed in touch with them through all these years.  Jay and Katrina retired in Myrtle Beach.  Nicole and her family and Joseph and his family moved there too.  Krista and her daughter live in Virginia.  

Here's a picture of them this past Thanksgiving 2023.  Left to right;  Jay, Nicole, Joseph, Krista, and Katrina. 

And here's the whole crew.  Nicole and her husband have two children, Krista has one, Joseph and his wife have two.  

Joseph and his beautiful wife Caitlin.

Joseph and his precious children. 

Joseph's death was a complete shock.  He was an amazing young man as you'll see in the obituary below.  I am devastated for this precious family.  As they come to your mind, please lift them up to the Lord in prayer.