LifeTimeline
Keaton Poulter
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SEP 19
Birth
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NOV 10
Waiting for his forever family
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JUN 15
Adoption
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JUN 23
Coming home
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JUN 26
First swim
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JUL
Build a Bear Workshop
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JUL
New home
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JUL
Taiwanese clothing
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AUG
First visit to the zoo
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AUG 23
Officially a Poulter!
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SEP
First met Nana and Granddad Poulter
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SEP 19
4 years old
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OCT
Pumpkins and trick-or-treating
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DEC 24
With Uncle Zachary
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DEC 25
Christmas 2012
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MAR 31
Easter 2013
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MAY
Black Hills
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MAY
Amazing his brothers and sisters
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MAY 03
Smiling Keaton
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JUN 06
United States Citizen
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JUN 16
Father's Day
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JUL
Summer 2013
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JUL 04
Fourth of July
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AUG
Peekaboo in the park
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AUG 09
Twin Cities trip
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SEP 17
Penguin hat
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SEP 19
5th birthday
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SEP 23
Uncle Austin's birthday
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OCT 16
Customized wheelchair
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OCT 31
Halloween 2013
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OCT 31
Fall 2013
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DEC 25
Christmas 2013
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DEC 29
Afternoon nap
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JAN 18
Bubbles with Chelsea
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FEB
Winter fun
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FEB 20
Toy bear
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MAR 11
Denzel toting Keaton
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MAR 13
Visit with Rock cousins
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MAR 28
Cruising in his walker
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APR 10
Ducklings
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APR 22
Batman
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APR 25
Taking the walker for a spin
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JUL 04
The Fourth of July
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JUL 23
Swinging in the park
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AUG
Summer vacation
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SEP 19
6th birthday
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DEC 25
Christmas 2014
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APR 05
Easter 2015
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MAY 04
Diagon Alley
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MAY 05
Universal Studios
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MAY 07
Visiting Disney World
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MAY 10
Mother's Day
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MAY 26
Water slide
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JUN
Minnehaha Park
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JUN 10
Karaoke with Chelsea
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JUN 22
Story time
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JUL 27
Playing Uno with Denzel
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JUL 30
Viking Lake with Grandpa
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AUG 25
Starting kindergarten
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SEP 16
Breathing treatment
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SEP 17
Snoozing on the couch
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SEP 19
7th birthday
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OCT 10
Fall festival
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OCT 31
Halloween
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OCT 31
Fall 2015
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NOV 04
Family photos
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NOV 26
Thanksgiving
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DEC 25
Christmas 2015
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DEC 25
Christmas 2015
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DEC 31
New Year's Eve
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JAN
Visiting grandparents
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FEB 11
Valentine's Day
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FEB 13
Lucy's Lay Ups
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FEB 18
A celebration of Keaton's life
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OCT 01
Keaton's headstone
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OCT 03
Memorial Run
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DEC
Bench dedicated in Keaton's honor
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Birth
Taitung
TaiwanKe Chin, who later would become Keaton Poulter, was orphaned at birth and lived the first year of his life in a hospital in Taitung. He had heart surgery that first year to repair holes in his heart. When he was released he lived in a nursing home because his medical needs, including cerebral palsy, were so complex that no orphanages would take him. -
Waiting for his forever family
Taiwan
Mandy and Matt Poulter worked with Morning Light Home Taiwan to adopt Keaton. While waiting to finish the adoption process, they posted photos from the international adoption agency on their refrigerator in Texas, praying and waiting for the day they would join them in person.
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Adoption
Taiwan
Mandy and Matt Poulter flew from their home in Texas to Taiwan to bring Keaton home. Mandy gave this account of the trip to Taiwan, arriving June 14:
"When we flew into Taipei, Taiwan, we were supposed to catch a quick one hour flight to Taitung. There was a typhoon going on so all flights were canceled. I was panicking and thought we need to get to Keaton as soon as possible, so we bought train tickets to Taitung. While on the train there was a mudslide that went down the side of a mountain onto the tracks, due to the typhoon. The first two cars of our train were dangling off the side of a mountain. We were all immediately evacuated from the train and bussed to the next train stop to catch another train. Quite a whirlwind trip!"
When they finally made it to the nursing home on June 15 and met Keaton, he was crying. He stopped as soon as Mandy picked him up.
Mandy explains other photos from the trip to Taiwan: "Photo of Keaton and I with the nurses who cared for him in the NICU for the first year of his life. Photo of Keaton and I with Deana and Luke Pan and their 4 children at Taitung Baptist Church in Taitung, Taiwan. Luke is the pastor there. Deana is the missionary who helped us with all of Keaton’s paperwork in Taiwan and she pushed his paperwork through in record time. Photos of Matt and I sightseeing with Keaton. We went to Taipei 101, Botanical Gardens, and many other sights of Taiwan."
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Coming home
Kansas City, Missouri
Keaton had two homecomings: First at the Kansas City airport, where grandparents, aunts and uncles greeted him, then when he reached his new home in Flower Mound, Texas.
Note that his green card says Ko, not Ke. His mother, Mandy Poulter, explains: "It's actually a funny story, because when we got to Taiwan we were freaking out because the paperwork was done wrong and some of it was filled in as Ko Chin and some was Ke Chin. It ended up being OK, and we didn't have trouble getting through the airport, even though the passport said Ko Chin and the plane ticket said Ke Chin. There were a few panic moments though because of that mistake :-)
"We actually went with the name Keaton because the KE at the front of the name was a similar sound to what he had grown up hearing."
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New home
Flower Mound, Texas
Mandy recalls Keaton's first months in his new home: "He had many doctor visits and a surgery just a few weeks after he arrived to place a G-tube in his stomach. You can tell the before and after pics from if he has a tube taped to his face or not. He was so happy not to have that thing in his nose anymore. The kids loved getting to know their new little brother and loved helping out with him whenever they could. There is a picture that I love in here of Ethan holding Keaton during one of his feedings. Keaton’s brothers and sisters always had something fun planned to do with him and loved learning all they could about his medical needs. Keaton just fit perfectly into our family and enjoyed every second of being the little brother. You can tell from the giant smile on his face how very loved he is!"
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Officially a Poulter!
Dallas, Texas
Keaton's adoption becomes final. Mandy remembers: "This was such an exciting day for our family. Keaton officially became a Poulter!!! We are blessed beyond measure to be his parents, brothers and sisters. He was so excited to finally have a family of his very own."
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4 years old
Flower Mound, Texas
Mandy remembers: "Keaton loved celebrating his special day with his family. Keaton would get so VERY excited whenever we would sing the 'Happy Birthday' song. It was one of his favorites. He would smile so big his little eyes would disappear. We sang it to him so many times each year on his birthday."
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Christmas 2012
Shenandoah, Iowa
Mandy remembers: "This was such a special Christmas for us because it was Keaton's first Christmas. We enjoyed making Christmas cookies, decorating the tree, and a lot of fun on Christmas morning! We always enjoy going to the Corral in Shenandoah to have a big family Christmas get together with the Buttry side of the family. Keaton had so much fun opening presents and playing games with his cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents."
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Summer vacation
Wheaton, Illinois
Mandy remembers: "Keaton had fun at the waterpark at King’s Island in Ohio. He wasn’t too sure about the dinosaur skeletons at the Creation Museum in Kentucky but loved the botanical gardens. It was also Keaton’s first time on a boat, when we took a ferry ride. We also stopped by Wheaton College on the way home. It was nice to see the place where Grandma and Grandpa Buttry first met." Mandy's referring to her own Grandma and Grandpa Buttry, not Keaton's. The story of their meeting as college students is told in Luke Buttry's LifeTimeline: https://www.lifeposts.com/p/milestone/24/.../l/lifetimeline/
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6th birthday
Pella, Iowa
Mandy remembers: "Keaton was overly excited about his birthday this year. He really understood what birthdays were about and couldn’t wait for his special day. I love the picture of him in his walker with his birthday hat. The smile on his face says it all! He loved this day so much and was so happy about each and every gift he opened."
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Universal Studios
Orlando, Florida
Keaton’s favorite part was meeting the characters. He thought sitting on the Star Wars flyer with Whitley was fun. Keaton always liked watching Star Wars with his brothers and they gave him the nickname “Chewy” because he could make a sound that was exactly like Chewbacca’s wookie call.:)
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Mother's Day
Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Keaton and his mother and siblings send Mother's Day video greetings from Florida to his grandmother, Pam Buttry. Mandy remembers: "Keaton had fun splashing in the waves and watching the seagulls. He also enjoyed playing in the sand with his brothers and sisters."
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Lucy's Lay Ups
Pella, Iowa
These are the last video and photos of Keaton. His mother, Mandy, explained:
"It was on a Saturday and The following Thursday he went to be with Jesus. It is a little basketball program for special needs children in our community. The little girl, Lucy, that it's name for, is adopted from Africa. She has multiple special needs and her dad runs the basketball programs in town. ... It was just a very special day because it was the last photos and videos we have of him. It's a fun very special event for special needs children that him and Chelsea have participated in the past two years."
The lead photo in the album is the last picture taken of Keaton.
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Keaton's headstone
Pella, Iowa
Mandy explains the images and words on Keaton's grave marker:
"The teddy bear that is on the front is a picture of the bear we gave him when we first met him in Taiwan. I actually carry that bear around in my purse with me every day. We had the bear holding six balloons for our six children who are still with us, and the seventh balloon going up to heaven to represent Keaton.
"The kids helped us choose what to put around the top of the base. Some of our favorite memories of Keaton. I tried to take it in four different pictures, it wraps around the top of the base. It says, 'We are forever blessed to be your family. Will always remember your unspeakable joy, big smile, giggles, reading books, Chewy, bright eyes, our biggest fan, so ticklish, your unconditional love, our baby boy.'"
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Memorial Run
Pella, Iowa
Keaton will be remembered with a memorial run a couple weeks after his birthday. The race will be a fund-raiser to continue to help orphans around the world. Mandy explains plans for the run:
"We will be having a free will donation to help build an orphanage in India that our church is working on.
"Keaton's life will continue to impact us and many others in such amazing ways. The love he brought to our family will continue to grow as we find ways to honor our Keaton, while helping others and orphans in need."
Keaton's family will remember him as described in this quote by Dr. John Rice:
"For the Christian, death is not a tragedy but a glorious promotion, not the sad end, but the glorious beginning. Sometimes we hear people say how sad it is that one should die so young. Many of the fairest buds that ever grew on earth have blossomed in heaven."
Sandra Kuntzweiler
Happy Heavenly Birthday to my best little buddy! The pictures were wonderful. Will always remember his big smile whenever I talked to him. Love you lots sweet boy!! -
Bench dedicated in Keaton's honor
Pella, Iowa
Mandy tells about the bench dedicated in Keaton's name at his elementary school. "This is a bench that Keaton's elementary school put out in front of the school in memory of him. I just love it! The school colors are green. The saying is just perfect for Keaton. It is a saying by Winnie the Pooh. The bench says,"Always wear a smile because your smile is a reason for many others to smile." Nothing could describe Keaton better than his smile. He always had such a big smile when he went to school, and always. He just loved his teachers and all the kids. They were so kind and loving to him and we are truly blessed by the many people who touched our lives and Keaton's at Madison Elementary School. The little tree planted behind the bench was also planted in memory of Keaton. It is a tulip tree. It's winter so obviously there are no leaves on it, but in the spring it will have a beautiful yellow flowers. After I took these pictures and was looking at them on my phone, I thought the picture of the nameplate was blurry. Then all of a sudden I realized it was beautiful sunbeams shining through the letters of the bench. It brought a smile to my face thinking about how Keaton was such a beautiful ray of sunshine in our lives, and how he must be shining his beautiful light down from Heaven to be a part of that picture. I also love the rays of sunshine coming down on our kids as they are sitting on Keaton's bench in the last picture. Just a reminder that sometimes it feels like Keaton is so far away, but we know he is not and we will be with him again someday in glory!"
jose
Mar 7, 2018