The Bright Spots

To say the last few months have been tough for our family would be an understatement. It has been, and will continue to be, difficult to start living our lives again within our "new normal." 

One of the things that Matthew and I have always shared was our love of music and it was hard for me to listen to any for a while but once I did again an album by Phil Wickham, Heaven & Earth, has really inspired me. I love every song but this is one I find myself thinking of all the time.

To the one who's dreams are falling all apart
And all you're left with is a tired and broken heart
I can tell by your eyes you think your on your own
but you're not all alone

Have you heard of the One who can calm the raging seas
Give sight to the blind, pull the lame up to their feet
With a love so strong he'll never let you go
oh you're not alone

You will be safe in His arms
You will be safe in His arms
'Cause the hands that hold the world are holding your heart
This is the promise He made
He will be with You always
When everything is falling apart
You will be safe in His arms

Did you know that the voice that brings the dead to life
Is the very same voice that calls you to rise
So hear Him now He's calling you home
You will never be alone

These are the hands that built the mountains
the hands that calm the seas
These are the arms that hold the heavens, they are holding you and me

These are hands that healed the leper
Pulled the lame up to their feet
These are the arms that were nailed to a cross
to break our chains and set us free

We are relying on God for our strength and hope and He is carrying us through the ups and downs. I have always wondered how strong my faith really is and would it stand the test of a "real test?" He is bringing me there and teaching me so much about His plans and the fact that His ways are not my ways. Jesus and his sacrifice is the reason I am managing to find joy in the midst of my grief. He has given us so much and knowing that Matthew is with Him makes it all the more real to me. 

The hope that we have doesn't mean that we are missing Matthew any less and we continue to really appreciate the prayers and support from everyone. 

On that note, I hope you enjoy our "bright spots" - Henry and Jane really are that for us.

My mom and I hosted an engagement party for Shaina & Matt in July. 

Jane loves being with her cousin Micah -he's always so much fun.

Watching Shaina & Matt open presents.

Thanks to my generous Great-Grandmother and my parents, in the middle of July I had LASIK! After wearing glasses or contacts since I was 8 years old, it is amazing to be able to see. I still sometimes look for my contact case at night. :)

Silly boy, hiding in Nana's playroom.

Nana starting early with the sewing lessons.

New train table

Shaina and Nathan had their 10 year High School reunion the last weekend in July so we all got dressed up and went together. 

The kids, playing in Papa's chess table - my mom has almost identical pictures of my sister, brother and I doing the same thing.

Gramma and Granddad were out for a visit at the beginning of August for Britt Perrich's wedding. The kids were excited to see them and they had lunch at Chuckee Cheese one day. 

Jane, coloring while we were waiting for Britt to walk in. She was paying very close attention to the flower girl since she will be one very soon in Aunt Shaina's wedding!

My handsome little man all dressed up for the day.

Henry got all the kids spinning on the dance floor.

Mr. and Mrs. Drew Clark - dancing with Jane of course!

Henry lasted for a while but then he was a tired out little guy.

Big sister reading a story...

Playing at a splash park after a boring afternoon of shopping with Mommy, Nana and Aunt Shaina

Henry was playing the lifeguard

Dancing to Daddy playing the guitar

Eating "alfresco" - Jane's favorite thing

Helping Granddad wash the Harley

Jane thought it was crazy that Mommy let her paint on herself - then she thought it was hilarious to paint her brother. :)

I know it's hard to count all of those candles but yes, there are 30 on that cake. I was happy to celebrate with my family and Jane helped me blow out my trick candles...

...we had to enlist some help to finish the job.

For some reason Henry thinks it is so fun to put his food on his head. It probably doesn't help that Jane laughs every time.

Driving cars is Henry's favorite thing to do. You can't leave the keys in it though because he knows how to get them in the ignition!

One of the local shopping centers had a free Animal Days with a petting zoo one day so we took the kids. Henry loves donkeys so this is where he stayed the whole time. I think it's because he likes saying, "hee haw!" 

Jane held every baby chick they had at least once. 

We didn't want to wait in the line for face painting so we looked up a recipe for making your own and we painted when we got home.

So fun to paint Mommy's face!

Serious LEGO building going on...

Oh how I wish he was really ready for this! :)

A mid-day visit with a story.

One of the last weekends in August we took the kids to Water World and then had dinner at Casa Bonita. I guess we wore them out because they fell asleep immediately once we started home.

Jane started preschool at the beginning of September! She is going two mornings a week to Wee Love, formerly Trinity Episcopal, where her Mommy, Daddy, Aunt Shaina, Uncle Matthew and Aunt Emily all went too! 

She loves everything about it and wants to go all the other days too. Her favorite thing is learning all of the new songs and she comes home singing them to us.

Nathan and I took Jane on a date to the Olive Garden, a "fancy" restaurant and then to see Ice Age 3D.

She had a great time having us all to herself and liked how the movie "popped out of the screen" at her.

Henry hung out with Nana while we were at the movie. He had fun rearranging furniture.

Enjoying a pre-bedtime dip in the hot tub

What a beautiful family I have! 

"Fancy Jane"

My Aunt Barb and cousin Kelsey hosted a family bridal shower for Shaina. It was a beautiful day and we had a fun time celebrating Shaina.

Jane bonded with her fellow flower girl, Matt's cousin, Bella. They got special gift bags from Aunt Barb to keep them entertained.

Eating at "The King's Crown" - what they call Burger King in Jane's Fancy Nancy books. :)

We decided to take our first camping trip as a family on Labor Day weekend. It actually ended up going really well - everyone slept and there were no major injuries! We set up camp at a site near Estes Park. The kids really liked exploring and the novelty of sleeping in a tent.

Henry actually slept in a pack-n-play but he snuggled with Jane in the morning.

We hiked around Alluvial Fan in Rocky Mountain National Park one morning.

Playing in the river

The before...

My great grandfather built this dollhouse for my Aunt Lori when she was a little girl. She only had boys so she passed it on to my sister and I and we loved playing with it. When we got older we passed it on to our cousins Briana and Ashley. It had been at my Uncle and Aunt's house and when they moved they sent it to me for Jane! It was in pretty rough shape with all of the passing around and time. I decided to do a big makeover and renewal so Jane could enjoy it as much as Shaina and I did.

It's pretty special that she has something made by her great-great grandfather!

The after...

Sanding, new paint, new floors and a new rooftop garden with railing! Nana & Papa brought it over and set it up while we were camping so it was a big happy surprise!

I found a little doll set called Loving Family by Fisher Price that fits pretty well in the house. It is plastic and has lots of different pieces and dolls.

We made it home Sunday morning from camping in time to go to church. 

Henry fell asleep during lunch after church - I guess we wore him out with all the hiking!

Aunt Shaina was visiting for the weekend to work on her wedding invitations! It is coming very soon!

Our friends have a membership to a private pool in Greeley and they invited us to go on Labor Day. Jane loves her friends Sophie and Madeline!

Nathan and I decided that we really needed some time away so we booked a trip kind of last minute to see our friends the Tatums in California. We stayed in their grandparents' house in San Luis Obispo - very close to the beach. The kids were great travelers - Henry slept both ways on the plane and Jane watched movies on the iPad - what did parents do before that? :)

I really love this picture - taken with my phone!

This is what we did when kids went to bed... :)

We mostly played at the beach but one day we went to a farm/farmers market where the kids got to see and feed a lot of different animals.

Even Miles got to try!

It was really fun to be around Miles. He had just started walking a couple weeks earlier so he was on the move and you could just imagine what he and Henry will be like soon. Trouble! :)

Lunch out at the beach

Checking out the seals that hang out under one of the piers.

A year ago when we moved to Greeley my mom and I had this grand idea to build Jane a castle headboard...something that was finally finished while we were in California! I bought the headboard on Craigslist for $20 and then my dad found the side pieces. It kind of became my parent's project at that point. :) Nathan helped with the painting one night but other than that they did it all.

Isn't that so fun!?

They set it all up while we were in California so it was another big surprise for Jane! Check out the tops of the castle, and the vines! 

Jane loved it - she was actually speechless. I'm afraid she's going to think whenever we go somewhere there will be a big surprise waiting for her though. :)

During preschool Henry and I have time all to ourselves and we usually spend part of it at the park. He really likes being in charge of what we're doing for once!

I hope to start updating more regularly again so I don't have blogs with 100+ pictures anymore. Updating the blog has been low on my priority list this summer but since it is my version of scrap-booking I am going to attempt to do better!