Memories of today….
May 21 – conjures a lot feelings, and memories for our family.
May 21, 2004 I woke up with high hopes of having our second baby. I mowed my parents yard, and timed my contractions at 4 minutes apart and convinced Rob to take me to the hospital. We stopped at Arby’s on the way, Rob had remembered how long and drawn out Tate’s labor was, so he wanted to have some food for the long night ahead. Less than 3 hours later Austin (aka AJ) entered this world with no regret!!
13 year later you will catch Austin (if you can) on the soccer field. We have so enjoyed watching him grow into such an amazing young man.
May 21, 2008 our world was rocked with the tragedy of Avery’s death. Our community remembers 2008 as the year of the ‘floods’ but we are forever scarred by the sudden death of our daughter. We had her for such a short amount of time, and wished it would have been longer!!
Our world just stopped, while everything kept moving around us.
That trial in our lives proved to be one of the hardest things we have ever had to endure. 2 little boys, who watched the accident unfold before their very eyes, wondered why. We all asked the hard questions, felt that horrible, horrible pit in our stomachs that seemed to permanently not go away. The endless amount of tears, the up’s and down’s of our emotions. We regrouped as a family, pulled together and looked at what was really important in our lives.
Avery’s death put us on a journey that has been anything but normal.
Which brings us to today.
May 21, 2017. Thirteen years after Austin entered this world, nine years after we said good-bye to Avery we are heading to Chicago to pick up Nathi. 24 years of age, (turning 25 soon) we consider him our son and the boys consider him their older brother.
Today we cherish the moments we have together as we celebrate Austin’s entrance into the teen years. Nathi’s first trip to the US and just being together again. I feel like our family is whole when all 7 of us our together. Thank you Lord for Austin and for bringing Nathi into our family in the most unusual of ways.
God has done so much in our lives these past 13 years!! He gives and He takes away….and we know and experienced it first hand. But with all of the trails we have faced, our Heavenly Father has been faithful. We look forward to the day of meeting our Savior face-to-face. We look forward to being reunited with Avery….and we also look forward to finally understanding the whole picture.
Lastly, thanks to everyone who have reached out to us upon returning to the states. We are glad to be here and look forward to where God will have us. For now, Marion is home and if you are ever in the area please touch base.
Love, The Kochan’s
heavenishomeforus.com 
Thank you for the awesome blog, Jeannie! 😉
Yes, your family has definitely been through a lot, but many positives have come to pass to glorify our Heavenly Father! I’m praising God for your family and how you have helped me in many ways, seeing God’s Grace through all of your trials. You are definitely a family with mustard seed faith and God will definitely reward you for your obedience in walking every step of the way with God!! You’ve made a Huge difference in South Africa and have added to your family in many ways! God rejoices in your love for all of His peoples groups! 👍
You have such a Beautiful family and I always enjoy hearing how God is using your family to change the world, even back home in Iowa! My prayers are with you and may God Bless you and your family! 🙏🏻😇
In His Grace…Luv Nancy 😍
Sent from my iPad
>
Our God is so good! What a grand reunion it will be with Jesus someday and Avery and all the people that came to know Jesus through her short journey here! I know Christ continues to further His kingdom through His people!