If the child we were to adopt was a boy, his older brother Scott wanted to name him Michael. I suggested Stephen Michael but Scotty didn't like Stephen. When we found out it was a boy we had a long discussion and decided on Michael David. The morning he joined our family the social worker asked what name we had chosen and I asked to see him first. The foster mother who cared for him for a week had a small child with her who was crying. She was telling him he wasn't going anywhere, Stephen was going home with us. We questioned what she called him and the social worker who worked with the birth mother said when he was born she gave him the name Stephen Michael. I still get goose bumps when I tell the story. What a sign that this precious child was definitely meant to be mine. The 3 of us discussed whether we should give him that name but we decided our family had chosen Michael David.

He was adored by his big brother Scott who would be thrilled when he taught Michael something new. Michael was 22 months old the day Scott was killed.

When Michael was little he had a hard time saying Santa Claus so he called the man in the red suit HoHo. I still refer to him that way. Michael loved Playmobil, the castle was his favorite, and Legos. I became an expert builder until the day he said he'd put the new purchase together by himself. He was also a Star Wars fan and played with ships Scotty had years before. Star Wars figures, Match Box cars, GI Joe, forts, the family room looked like Toys R Us.

Michael always loved movies and we saw many on their first day out. Friends used to call to ask for his reviews. He has quite a collection now on DVD.

He attended Evening Street Elementary School like Scott and had the same teachers Scotty did for 1st and 3rd grades. He took piano and drum lessons, gymnastics, and played soccer and football. He was a Cub Scout and Boy Scout.

We have gone caving with the Boy Scouts in Kentucky, mushed a dog sled on an Alaskan glacier, learned to scuba dive in Maui and dove the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. We bungee jumped in Queenstown, New Zealand, climbed to the top of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and experienced a hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti in Africa.

Michael graduated from Thomas Worthington High School in June 2005.

Michael graduated from the Marine Recruit Training Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina on 25 August, 2006. He is currently stationed in Iraq.

UPDATE (2/15/2008): Michael has returned from his first deployment to the Middle East, and is currently stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina .