Why Now?

I have made several attempts at blogging but never could find the time, or the focus, to follow through.  It's typically a life-changing event that triggers my sudden interest in creating a blog...I started one when I got married...I made another attempt when I got pregnant...and then again when my daughter was born.  Looking back, I regret not sticking with it, as there have been so many memories I would have liked to have documented.  I am especially disappointed by my failure to record every second of my beautiful daughter's 10 1/2 month long life thus far.  She is so incredibly amazing and fortunately, I have taken a million photos and videos, some of which I hope to share here in a later post (or numerous posts) in which I will go backwards in time to recap so many wonderful memories of my baby girl.  In addition, I hope to recapture the day I married my best friend and soul mate, Chris.  Which brings me to the answer to the question: Why now?

Why is this blog going to be any different from the ones I have attempted in the past?  On the evening of Saturday, October 6, 2012, a local news anchor by the name of Matt Turner, was tragically killed in a car accident.  At approximately 7:30pm on that rainy, Saturday night, his 2004 Chevy Tahoe suddenly veered off of I30 in Benton, AR, hit a concrete road sign, and then caught on fire.  The details of the accident and whether or not he died on impact, or burned to death, have not yet been released.  He was 32 years old.  His wife of almost 5 years just turned 29....they were together 12 years.  And most heartbreaking of all is that they had a 10 month old little girl, Preslee Bell Turner.  She was a miracle baby, as Matt's wife, Julee, struggled with infertility for 2 years and finally had to have 12 of her eggs removed, only 3 of them were viable, they were inseminated and 2 of them were placed back in her.  The conception and birth of their healthy baby girl was truly a miracle that they had prayed about for years.  And now, this beautiful young wife and precious baby girl are left without their husband and daddy.  This young family just moved to Little Rock 6 weeks ago when Matt accepted a new job with Channel 11 KHTV as a lead anchor.  Matt and his wife were thrilled for the opportunity, as not only was it a huge leap in Matt's career, it also put them only 1 hour away from their families in Arkadelphia, AR.  Their lives were just starting.

Matt's wife, Julee, has kept a blog for the last 4 years.  It is a detailed account of her life with her husband and their daughter.  It is amazing.  She has recorded everything!!!  She has pictures to capture everything and everyone in her life...and thank God.  She has kept track of Preslee's development, posting monthly stats on her and all she is doing.  She has posted tons of pictures of Matt and his baby girl, so that she will see how much he adored her.  My heart is breaking.

So, that's "Why Now?"....because life is so fragile and so unpredictable.  The death of this fine young man and what it has done to his wife and daughter terrifies me and makes my soul ache.  I cannot, and do not want to, imagine life without the love of my life.  I cannot fathom our precious daughter growing up without him.  And God forbid, should something happen to Chris, or myself, I would like to have this blog for all of our friends and loved ones to read and remember, relive, and share in all of our experiences.  So, that is why I am doing this now. 

RIP Matt Turner