In Christ Alone our Hope is Found

It's been 6 years since Micah relapsed. That day and the months following were days that we clung to the Lord in a way that I am not sure how to describe. It was also a time that the Lord drew near to us in a way that I sometimes long for.  When I think of Dec 7, 2009- March 2010 (and even into that next year), I think of it as a time that is set apart. In a way it was a time that our world stopped. I remembered that this day was coming this past Saturday and have been thinking about writing this post. Over the past days I have gone through my binder and read the emails I had sent out at that time to all of our pray-ers and it brought it back to me. It was not a time of sadness for me. Just a time of remembering. This morning when I was on facebook, my 'facebook memories' came up and a post that I had shared one year past Micah's relapse came up. I am going to share that one today. We are definitely through the storm and the sadness and darkness are far behind us....

The leaves are falling and the change of season is so refreshing. My little baby is now 21 weeks and I am just starting to feel some kicks and twirls and I just love that. I haven't been pregnant for quite some time and when I would see expecting ladies in the last years, it made me long to feel a baby kick just one more time. My longing has been fulfilled. I think as a woman, I may long for that feeling even when I am old. It just is. (: I had an ultrasound in Canada last Monday and we took 4 of the kids. Natalie was counting down the weeks for 10 weeks. Grace counted down the last 5 days. Last Friday morning she came to me in a high pitched, fevered voice. "3 MORE DAYS until we see the baby and I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!" My ultrasound was beautiful. The kids were just amazed and were tickled that we could find out what we are having. (It's a family secret. (wink). The older I get, the more of a miracle life is. The ultrasound date was Nov 9. That morning it dawned o...

The kids have done 2 weeks of school at home and started the Homeschool Building this past Friday. It's good to be in the swing of things again. Ken and Josh are into their last years. Josh as a senior and Ken is finishing up his M-Div. It's crazy to think about. In the last months, there have been things that have unfolded in regards to the path that the Lord has put Ken on. At first it was really hard to process. It tested our trust and reliance on the Lord. It has also been an opportunity for people to show us love and we sure have been loved! We have been reminded that when things don't go as we plan, that there is such a beauty in trusting the Lord with a quiet and simple trust. Knowing that the Lord always knows best and that He is on His throne is such a comfort. Knowing that to Him nothing is a surprise and that He has something beautiful planned for us and that we will see it in His time is so reassuring.  I am so thankful that knowing WHO God is can change persp...

We have been in BC for more than a month as a family. We have 10 more days left. Even though it's stunning here and the people are so very kind, we are starting to wind down and be ready for home and routine again. I am starting to really miss my people in GR and our church family. There truly is no place like home, even if the ocean and mountains are not there. (: Grace has been asking when we are going home to our 'orange house'. She says that her train set is better than the dog (Buddy) that we are babysitting! She makes me smile! Josh has been seriously blessed to work full time here with the ability to take days off if we want to go somewhere as a family. My mom flew out to spend a week with us last week.  When we are in St Thomas, my parents are still living their lives. In Grand Rapids when my mom comes, we still have to fulfill our responsibilities. Here neither of us have responsibilities. It was a great time.  (: With the exception of one, Ken has taken Mo...

 I found this post from last summer in my drafts. I thought I would slip it in here because it still made me smile! (: 1. We went to Michigan Adventures this (last)summer as a family. For my Canada people, it's similar to Canada's Wonderland. We had an amazing time. We left Grace at a friend's house. She had fun playing with her friend Esther!! (:. She was too little to enjoy and having a big kid day was great. Ken told the kids that there was no way he was going on the big coasters and then surprised them by going on all of them. I loved the big rides too, but one thing that the kids and I loved were the bumper cars. I think I liked them so much because that is really how I would love to drive. For real. It's appealing to me. Sometimes the kids and I start laughing as I am driving when we talk about how fun it would be if we could really just slam into every thing! (: 2. Grace is growing and learning.  She can rarely remember the word grandpa. So she calls her gran...

We went to White Rock in Vancouver on Tuesday night. After supper, we left the dishes on the table and went. We needed to get out. It's only half an hour from our house and it's a favourite. The first time we went was on the way home from the airport. It was afternoon and the tide was out so the kids had fun finding shells and crabs. They were expecting to do that again. We didn't think about the fact that it was evening and the tide would be in! (:  It's not a great swimming spot. But the big boys enjoyed jumping off the pier. It's a decent jump! I love all the houses on the hill. It seems very 'West Coast' to me. I am a lover of the ocean. There are tracks right beside the boardwalk.  How neat!! My people. We also went to Cedar Cove, which is in Deep Cove. There is a TV show called Cedar Cove. They were setting up to shoot a wedding scene there the next day. Kinda neat.  We were hoping to let the kids kayak there, but ...

We have been in BC for almost a week and it feels like much longer (in a good way). The kids and I flew out last Wednesday and had a fabulous day. It was the most fun I have had in a long time. Ken's cousin Rob had us at the airport just before 6. We checked in baggage, went through security and just hung out. I wish I had a picture of Grace's face when she had to put bunny in the bowl to go through the XRAY machine. She didn't understand what was happening and she was so worried. It made us all laugh, although the airport people were awful serious! (: The kids did some plane watching, but mostly just sat. Since some of them were awake at 4, by 7:30 they were tired already.   Girls on one side.... (These pics are super fuzzy. Too bad!)  Boys on the other..... These guys did so well.   I knew Natalie would be nervous on the plane, but I was also concerned about Grace, so I put her favourite music on my phone and put headphones on her as we starte...