In Christ Alone our Hope is Found

(I started this post a week before Micah's birthday. His birthday was January 7. Better late than never! (: ) I am a numbers girl. As we start 2017, I can't help but look at our new numbers. They are big ones. 20 years married. Kids turning 19,15,13,11,7,1. It's our odd year! (: Today's number is 15. That is Micah's number. His birthday is on Saturday. We celebrate all of our kids' birthdays. The Lord has blessed them all with each of their years, but this week we are thanking the Lord for Micah's life.   I tried to do 15 years in 15 pictures, but it didn't' work! (: My dark little baby, whom we prayed for for 3 years. Such a beautiful blessing.I thought that Tessa looked like Micah at birth. But looking at this pic, I realized that she really didn't.  Our little men, Josh and Micah. They were so cute together. This was the toughest camping trip of our lives. I think the kids were 1, 3, 7. I am pretty sure I was just expecting...

Just a quick Tessa post. I started it when she turned 9 months, but now she is 6 days away from 10 months.(;  She doesn't weigh much more than 16lbs. She is tiny but mighty. She has incredible drive. Is super sweet, but has shown us that there is a temper under those smiles. She is the best eater that I ever had. She has been eating off the table since 6 months and now is eating. - eggs, yogurt,  cottage cheese, tuna, all meat, all veggies including raw peppers, oatmeal, pablum, whole milk, peanut butter and banana sandwiches.....  She can drink out of straw - I know, it's a major life accomplishment! (: She has been crawling for quite awhile and is walking around tables. She is always on her tippy toes. I realized yesterday it's because she is so short. She needs to do it to see over things. She wants to walk but I don't think her feet are big enough. It sounds nuts, but it seems like there is nothing to balance on.  (:  Sometimes she plays for an hour jus...

Fall is a time of memories for us. November is diagnosis month and December is relapse month for Micah. Today is the first time that I have had an urge to write in a long time. December 7, 2009, happened so long ago, yet I can remember this day detail by detail. I remember the tears and the intense sorrow rushing out of me. I can still feel how deep the despair was. This is the one anniversary of Micah's that makes me sad and hurts me. As weird as it sounds, I find the other ones a sort of celebration. This day was so different than the rest. I have had a blog post swirling around in my mind all day, but find that I have already done it and I can't say it any better a second time. So I have decided to share a post from 6 years ago. After reading the post below and wiping away my tears of sadness and thankfulness, I realized how life has changed. Our hearts were sore and so tender then. We lived one day at a time, wondering what the next would hold. It was like we were waiti...

Oh, I have missed this place. I think this is the longest I have ever gone without blogging. Life is at it's busiest. My days are full with wife-ing, mothering, teaching, music lessons, speech therapy and family chiropractor appts 2 times a week in Strathroy.  Miss Tessa takes up a lot of my energy. She is now mobile and not sleeping through the night.  My days are good full, but to be honest it's hard to keep up sometimes. I  hesitate to say that because I know a handful of women who long for a family (or a bigger one) and would trade their quiet homes for my full, busy, crazy, sleepless one in a moment. So I can tell you that I am exhausted, but I say it with a qualifier: I am so grateful for each one of my people and jobs and for the fact that the Lord gives me strength for each day. Hard does always equal bad. It can be good hard too. (: Ken is teaching and enjoying it very much. It took it a bit to get used to being the teacher again instead of the student. He is ...

I took a picture of Grace on Sunday morning because it was the first time that I actually brushed her hair in like a month. Coming out of the bath, I have been putting it up in a messy bun. So every time I took her hair out it was a huge tangle so I would just throw it back up. It worked for both of us and looked cute. (: When I looked at this picture, I couldn't believe how old Grace is getting. She has shot up and has lost her baby chubs and looks so much more like a girl rather than a little one. In my mind she has stayed my little one for so long. I call her and Tessa the "little girls". But I think she needs to go into the "middles" now. So then we will have one little, one big and 4 middles. I know, I am a weirdo! (: Our summer is officially over. We went to MBC for 5 days and we went camping with Ken's family for two sleeps. This past Thursday night we got home from our church 'Family Camp' that was held just south of Grand Rapids. It was...

Here is our boofie at 4 months. I am not organized enough to use my cute little boxy number things. But at least it's on the right day! (:  I love her hair in these 2 pictures. It's wild! She loves it when we put monkey's legs around her waist so she can look at it's face and play with it's arms. She is a player for sure! I have had a few people asking where we have settled, what our house looks like and what we see. I am starting to fall in love with country living. The wind through the trees and the open space is amazing. The stars are brighter. The sounds are different and quieter. Ken is contemplating chickens, so we can sell eggs and maybe even raising a pig for meat. My country boy is making an appearance. (:  This is the side view of our house. The square on the right is the original house. The part on the left of the door is a living-bathroom and basement addition. Our house is super old (like at least a hundred years old), but has been ...