My Life Without Erik - Guest Post from Ashley!!

I'd like to thank Ashley for taking the time to make a guest post for my blog! I've known Ashley, from My Life Without Erik, for quite a few years now and she is an amazing, strong woman!! I love her to death! :)

First off, I'd like to thank Terin for allowing me the opportunity to do a guest post on her blog. I first met Terin on MySpace about 7 years ago. I think we were in a Mommy group or something. Anyway - thank you Terin for having me! Now onto my post!

Hey y'all! I'm Ashley. I'm the mother of 3 of the most beautiful children in the world. I have twin girls who just turned 4 on May 1st. Kaitlyn & Sienna are the light of my life and I don't know where I'd be without them.

My Girls

My oldest child, my only son, Erik, is eternally 5 years old. He passed away after suffering fatal injuries in a freak 4 wheeler accident on November 15, 2009. He was the love of my life. I've been slowly trying to pick up the pieces since the day I kissed him goodbye.

Erik's Story

I have made it my mission to tell everyone I meet about Erik. He was a beautiful child with a heart of gold and anyone who met him, instantly fell in love with him. I felt from the beginning that Erik was going to do big things with this life. He loved playing baseball and had natural God-given talent. He is the only child I've ever known that would insist on wearing jeans, a work shirt and cowboy boots during the hottest part of the summer - simply because he wanted to "work". He had an imagination that never quit! He amazed me every single day with the things he'd come up with. About 6 months before he passed away, he started dreaming of becoming a professional bull rider. The thought of this scared me to death!!! I couldn't fathom the idea of my sweet little boy climbing on the back of a 1200 pound bull and trying to hang on for 8 seconds. But Erik was determined to be a bull rider and I wasn't about to get in his way!

Because of Erik's love for baseball, our church named their t-ball league after Erik. In March, 2010, the league became known as the Erik Quarles T-ball league. There is nothing that makes me more proud than seeing all the children running around with MY son's name on their shirt. It makes me even more proud that my girls are now playing on their big brother's team.

In February, 2012, after many months of debating about whether to go through with it or not, I created Erik's Rodeo. Erik's Rodeo is may way of keeping Erik's memory alive and helping bereaved families in and around Greenwood County, SC. You can read more about Erik's Rodeo on my blog.

Erik's Rodeo

As you can imagine, my life has been completely turned upside down since I lost Erik. On my blog, I write about my struggles without a part of my heart, as well as random updates about my girls. The past 30 months have been a complete nightmare, but I have faith that I will see Erik again one day. Until that day comes, I will honor him the best way I know how.

If you are interested in helping support Erik's Rodeo, please visit my blog, My Life Without Erik, and click on the Contact Me icon. I'd love to hear from you!