In Christ Alone our Hope is Found

I finally took some time to download some pictures. This is what has been going on the last few weeks. This is my new favourite picture. Ken and I went to Saugatuk together for our anniversary and waited for the sun to go down. It was stunning. I just snapped a picture without even thinking that Ken was in it. But it turned out kind of nice! (: My girls are growing up.  Natalie's 4rth of July center piece! We got the flags from the parade.  These next ones were taken at our first set of fireworks on the July 4rth week! (:  Sorry kids, this is the best one I could get! (:   Grace was getting tired of waiting! Micah got to play on the All Star team this year.  Home from his last game. I thought the black paint was cute! (: They didn't come close to winning, but it was still a good experience for him! (:      The girlies! Ken took the ki...

May 31st was our 17 year anniversary. That means that this August will mark our 21st year together.  Ken and I promised that we would marry each other when I was 16 and he was 20. It was one week before he went away to Redeemer. He was in school the whole time we dated, but came home every weekend. We were so young and thought we were so old and knew pretty much everything. Not so much! (: Ken and I traveled from Grand Rapids to St Thomas and then through to New Jersey in May. We had a lot of quiet hours to chat. It was nice! (: As we drove, we smiled about the places we drove through. We passed through the place that Ken went to University, where we stayed the first night of our honeymoon, were we lived at his first teaching job, then second, then third and fourth! (:  We lived in more than a handful of houses in our first years of marriage. We know every Value Village from Sarnia to Niagara Falls. Just so you know! (: The more I thought about our lives, the more I want...

Some people call it sorrow overload. I am not sure why at times the weight of other's pain and sorrow overwhelms, when other times we can pray on, without crumbling under the weight. ... a year and a half after a car accident a young husband and father is taken to be with the Lord. ... a 15 year old boy dies in a car accident. His mom still in a coma, will wake to her boy with the Lord and already buried. Think of her husband who buried his boy and holds his wife's hand waiting for her to wake, while holding his other children in their grief. ... a man suffers with ALS, as his "tent pegs are being pulled up one by one" ... a family tries to find their feet again after the Lord takes their little boy to Himself, leaving behind his twin, a little sister and another little sister on the way. On this side of heaven they will never be a complete family. ... a wife mourns the loss of another husband I could go on. In all these situations, these people are a testim...

Summer is here!!!! Josh has been done school for a few weeks already. Ken has been done for longer, but is still working in his office most days. But it's more of a relaxed working! (: The other kids and I are doing an hour of school a day to keep things going. The extra lessons we get done in the summer allows us to take every 7th week off during the school year. It's so worth it. (:  I have also started with Grace. She is a school-crazy woman. She loves learning and working in her books. She takes joy in new pencils and books. She is my little friend. She might be smelling crayons like her mama before long! haha!( : We have been pretty separated and back and forth the last few weeks. We were in Ontario because Ken had meetings for 4 days. Josh worked in St Thomas with my dad for a few weeks. Ken and Micah went to Ontario for the weekend because Ken had to preach. It was his first Sunday. It was special that he could start in our home church. Now it's nice to be back t...

Life is sure moving on. It's hard to believe that it is actually warm outside. Baseball is in full swing for all 4 kids and Josh is going into exam week. He is finishing off his sophmore year and next year he will be a junior. I was just showing off that I finally got the American lingo. It has taken me two years to remember what grade has what title!lol.  Ken is done his second year of school. That deserves a big NO WAY!!!!!!! I can't believe we are half way. It seems like just a few months ago that we moved, but we feel too settled for that to be the case. I am excited about what the future holds for us, but there is a small part of my heart that will always be here in GR. We have made some beautiful connections here that I will be so sad to leave. We are so thankful for the Lord's blessing and leading in the last two years. He has shown us in various ways and given us such peace that we are right where He wants us. It makes me so thankful.  My Grace girl is going...

Micah's scan came back clear. The gratitude we feel is indescribable. The amazement is just as profound as the first clear results we received years ago. The day we spent at the hospital was a gift to Micah and I. The scan was smooth, we connected with old friends and he spent some beautiful time in Art Therapy. He did two new canvases with paint. We are going to frame them to remember this day by. Not only did we enjoy ourselves, more importantly we got the news that Micah is ready to move into 'aftercare'. Aftercare is a word that I have heard for six and a half years but didn't really understand what it was. Now I do and it has made me cry many happy tears in the last week. It means that Micah just had his last scan.    Micah is 4 years post cancer (relapse). This is the point that we will stop looking for a relapse. He will have an appointment once a year and we will start focusing on how his body is coping with all the chemo and radiation he has had. They w...

We are in Canada for part of Spring Break. We have many appointments booked, including new passports, dentist, MRI, speech therapy and a few more!  It will be great to get them all done. (: This morning we got our passports done. Phew! I was thankful to get that checked off of our list. They should be done Wednesday by 12. That is service! It has been so nice to see family and step out of our regular paces. We always love to come and worship in St Thomas, even though it's not exactly home anymore. In the past year we have become more comfortable in the Grand Rapids church. But connecting in person with the people that we have known for most of our lives feels like a big giant hug. It's a beautiful thing that almost made me cry. We didn't realize how much we needed it!  We love these people and they will always be special. Tomorrow morning at 8:30, Micah has a scan. The past 6 months have gone so quickly. It's hard to believe. We would appreciate prayers for peace ...