HAPPY 27th BIRTHDAY AARON

We seriously can't believe that you Aaron John are 27 today, born 29th November 1981. I remember the day you were born very well; it probably has something to do with the fact that I experienced much pain to bring you into this world. I remember being under the influence of drugs in the last few hours of the labour, wishing someone would come in the room and shoot me to put me out the pain, boy I'm I glad that didn't happen. You weighed in at 9lb 10oz a good weight especially with being 8 days early and for my height 5.2 and half inches! It was a Sunday just after 10pm, the same day your Dad was made a High Priest and called to serve on the Bishopric of the Leicester 2nd ward.

You loved bath time









You were our only child for nearly 3 and half years before your sister Jessica arrived and right from an early age you showed strength of character, which came in handy with the aliments that you suffered from a young child. You had eczema an allergy to eggs from a baby, were diagnosed with asthma at 2 and half years old, which over the years saw you in hospital about once a year and you wore glasses from 3 for a pretty severe stigmatism. You had several bouts of the nasty herpes infection in your eyes that required hospital treatment, you had surgery for a hernia and another to straighten the bone in your nose as it was affecting your breathing. On top of that you were very accident prone, to name a few breaking your thumb playing basketball, loosing the top of your finger in the door when Jess shut you out of her bedroom and you also lost a tooth and had 15 stitches in your mouth and lip because a bully decided to punch you in face for no reason.

I LOVE this photo of you and Jess, you look so angelic

You had very blonde curly hair as a little boy, which soon lost its curls and over the years got darker. For as long as I can remember your skin would tan beautifully from just a few hours in the sun, except the time you and your Dad went out on a peddle boat in Fuerteventura in the noon day sun without tee-shirts on and me shouting at you to come back, which you ignored and so ended up having the biggest blisters on your shoulders! Your Dad would spend many hours with you at the park on the swings and as you got older he played a lot of games with you especially board games, never letting you win unless you did win, I always thought he was mean.

Having a cuddle with Mummy on the beach

Your school reports always said the same; Aaron could do better, Aaron needs to concentrate more and one teacher even called you the village idiot! Your teachers like us knew just what a clever kid you were, but needed encouragement. Out of our 3 children you were the tidiest and I rarely had to get on at you about tidying your bedroom. At the age of 13 you got your first job as a paper boy, then at 16 you got a job at McDonalds, but you didn't last long as your face didn't fit and so they were looking for an excuse to get rid of you and you gave them one when you spat a piece of plastic into the sink that you had pull off with your teeth when opening up the clean cloths. Yet someone else only got a warning for dropping a burger on the floor and giving it to a customer! But they did you a favour because you then went to work at Sainsbury's as a checkout assistant and where you broke the record of scanned items per minute and I believe you stayed there till your mission.

Hanging out with your Dad

You were excited to drive, passing your test 1st time after a few months on lessons and lots of practice with your Dad, I was and still am a nervous passenger so never went out with you! I have to say you are and have always have been a good and safe driver, except for the time you apparently drove down Swannymote Road was it at 100+ MPH to see if the car would go that fast, you told me about years after you did it! You purchased a car - a dark green Ford Fiesta and you enjoyed getting around, not having to rely on us and hanging out with your mates and dating! From a young age Aaron you developed a wicked sense of humour, which we love and miss, you were the joker. You were a dare devil having go at anything including eating sheep poop for a dare, that made you quite ill!

The 3 of us at Auntie Alison and Uncle Williams Wedding - I was expecting Jess

In spite your asthma you have always been very active loving to play (and watch) sport especially football (soccer as you now call it). You were also a keen swimmer, Dad took you every week for lessons and at the age of 8 you did a sponsored swim, swimming 5000 meters 200 lengths in 4 hours, your Dad remembers it well because he sat and watched counting the lengths! You also belong to the school cross country running team often being well placed.

What a pair of goofy guys - like Father like Son - you and Dad

You loved seminary and were one of two (the other being your good friend Jon Hardy) to win a special award for memorising all 100 seminary scriptures.

You just before you left for your mission

Growing up we always spoke about you going on a mission and we never doubted you would go, what we didn't realise till you went was just how hard it would be and for me your mother next to loosing my Dad and sister the it was the hardest thing I had to go through. I cried for days it was like you had died; I didn't wash one of you tops for weeks so I could smell your aftershave! It's the strangest thing because as hard as it was, the pain and heart ache of you not choosing not to go or not being worthy to go would have been so much harder and those feelings would have lasted a lot longer. You left for your mission on Tuesday 17th October 2000, we said our goodbyes at Gatwick airport and watched your plane fly off into a clear blue sky, Dad and I just stood there in tears. You traveling to the MTC in Provo where you spent 9 weeks joining the Mission field in the France, Paris Mission the week before Christmas. You were so faithful in writing to us every single week without fail and sending home photo's regularly. Your letters where only ever positive which radiated your love for the Saviour and his work. I lived for Friday mornings and your letter and it was seer torture on the odd occasion that it was a day or so late!

You at the MTC in Provo

When you first went on mission people told me the 2 years would fly and I didn't believe them as I was focused on the negative, 2 birthdays, 2 Christmases without you, it seemed like sentence. But a week turned into a month, a month into 6, then a year, you were half way, you were coming home next year! We were so excited to come and pick you up on Thursday 24th October, I remember driving down the road that the mission home was on and seeing this person waving a red scarf in the air, it was you and it was a beautiful shawl that you had purchased for me and I still wear it!

Minutes before we arrived to pick you up wearing the shawl you gave me

While you were on your mission we received several letters from missionaries that had served with you or in your area and they had nothing but praise for you telling us what an excellent missionary you were and how much they admired you. A few years ago I met a sister in the temple who recognised my name she asked if I was any relation to an Elder Aaron Presbury. She then told me that she had been in your district and that you were a wonderful missionary who worked hard, but you had a great sense of humour and knew how to have fun, she couldn't speak highly enough of you, it warmed my heart because she confirm what we already knew and that was you LOVED your mission and served hard.

I love this family photo taken just before you left for America for good

Well the following year in June you headed off to the promise land to attend BYU summer school, I secretly encouraged you knowing that your sister was headed that way too. By September you had met Kimberly and were soon dating returning home at Christmas with talk of proposing on your return. You married your sweetheart in the Salt Lake Temple on the 27th April 2004, it was a beautiful warm and sunny day and one that we will never forget. The following year on December 27th Joshua Etienne was born to you and Kimberly, we were so excited to see him minutes after he was born weighing the good size of 8lb 4oz. Next month Josh celebrates his 3rd birthday and we have been so excited to spend some time getting to know this little person this year and because of his age for the first time he remembers us. Then next year in March you will be blessed with the arrival of a daughter.

You and Kimberly at the Salt Lake Temple on your wedding day

Aaron don't ever loose your sense of humour and your desire for learning and progressing through this life. You are no ones fool and you certainly have a very clever mind and a good memory (you inherited that from you Dad and Grannie). Like your Dad you are also very quick thinking and so are able to come up with answers in an instance, which can be so annoying at times because you always have an answer! You are good husband and father with a great testimony and understanding of the scriptures; you understand the importance of serving and always do so with your best ability. Aaron we love and miss you, we are so proud of you and couldn't wish for a better son, we wish we could spend more time with you and your lovely family.

Your beautiful family - November 2008