Saying Good-bye to Becca

This summer has been a wonderful time for me.  I have had so much fun being at home with Nathan and Jack and the addition of Juliana has just made our family feel complete.  Lots of visits from family members and friends have been the icing on the cake.  The only downer has been saying good-bye to the Shank family, especially Becca.  Becca has been a special friend since college and these last years together in Colorado have brought us even closer.  Before leaving for Virginia, she drove down to Colorado Springs to meet Juliana and say good-bye. She is kind, generous, talented, and one of the best friends of my life.  I will miss her so much.

 

Rebecca's Baby Shower & Blessing Way

Becca is expecting twin girls in late December!

~the spread~

~two peas in a pod cupcakes~

(these cupcakes were the most delicious cupcakes I've ever eaten!)

~shadia, the hostess with the mostest!~

~jessica, the other hostess with the mostest!~

~becca's mom sharing~

~becca (of the disney princesses): "who are these people, anyway?!"~

~the proud parents got lots of tutus!~

What a wonderful celebration of Rebecca, Perry, Simon, Lukas, and the new double blessing that is completing their family!

Breakfast with Friends

Anne & Tim Visit

Recently, my good friend Anne and her hubby Tim were driving through Colorado on their way back from Anne's brother's wedding.  We were lucky enough to have them stay with us!  We had a lovely visit and I was so glad they got to meet Jack.  (If only I hadn't gotten my annual back-to-school head cold during the exact hours of their visit!)  I'm sorry I was feeling so under the weather since we rarely get the chance to visit.  Regardless, it was great to see them!

A Morning With Friends

Earlier this week we spent a terrific morning with the Shank family. We went to Focus on the Family and spent time in their wonderful childrens' area, and then headed to The Egg and I for breakfast. It was a great morning with great friends!

( My appreciation for the Focus on the Family childrens' area is not to be interpreted as direct support of the debatable politics of "family values".)

Summer Highlights

I haven't been blogging much lately.

This summer has had a blanket of sadness covering it, and the blogging break (although unexpected) seemed appropriate.

But there have been many bright and happy moments this summer and as I look ahead to returning to work in a couple of weeks I want to remember those moments too.  Here are some highlights...

We've made a lot of progress on the house this summer (updates on that to come) and, as a result, were able to get some new roommates moved in downstairs!

roomies

In an act of maturity that surpasses his 14 months, Jackson has decided to take full control of the fate of his baby chompers and is successfully brushing all five teeth every night before bed.  We are very proud!

we take brushing our teeth very seriously around here

This summer we have enjoyed (at least twice every week) walking to the Drive In for ice cream.  Jack is developing quite the taste for it, much like his daddy.  His favorite so far?  The hot fudge sundae.  And Jack likes the banana split!

ice cream at the drive in

We were so excited to have our dear friends Nate and Liz visit us all the way from Nicaragua!  We had a terrific time with them.  Our only complaint was that the visit was way too short!

Jack had his first trip to the pool this summer thanks to his friends, Evan, Elise, and Kyle!  Jack really seemed to like the water (for short periods of time) and didn't even complain that Mom had accidentally bought the bright pink girl floatie rather than the dark blue boy one. 

jack at the pool

One of my personal bright spots of the summer was getting bookshelves for our library and finally unpacking some of my books.  After being in storage for two years, it was a satisfying feeling to have them on display and so easy for me to get to.  The rest of my plans for the library include a bookshelf for my kids' books, a window seat, and a desk for the corner with more bookshelves above it.  All in good time...

ahhh, this makes my heart feel good

One of my favorite summer time activities has been meeting Erin and Ben at the park!  Erin and I often spend much of the time monitoring our own little guys.  This means Erin is chasing Ben all over the place while I am making sure my much less mobile 14-month-old isn't putting bark/sand/grass into his mouth in between picking it up and letting it trickle down into his eyes.  Somehow we manage to share book recommendations and child updates in between! 

 

Of course, I've had lots of time to do my absolute favorite thing this summer... hang out with Nathan and Jack!  

hanging around the house

building lots of towers

going on fun outings (downtown at pancake breakfast)

cruising around in the car with the windows rolled down and the wind blowing through our hair

We hope you are having a good summer!  I will be updating more regularly again.  Thanks for sticking with me during the lull!

Isaac

 

Please continue to pray for Isaac.  Yesterday, his tumor was removed successfully but it was malignant.  Once he heals from brain surgery, he will have to start cancer treatments.  Isaac is 5 years old.  

I grew up with Isaac's mom, Sarah.  For most of my elementary years, I called her my best friend.  I can only imagine the absolute and utter helplessness and all-consuming worry she must be feeling right now, especially since this, specifically, was a fear of hers.  As a new mom, I worry for my child all the time.  Even obsessively.  And, despite always thinking the worst might happen, I cannot imagine this.  And so my heart aches for Sarah.

I have lit a candle in my home for Isaac.  I am thinking about and praying for him and his family all the time.  But, I feel helpless at this distance and so I am doing the only thing I can.  I ask for your prayers.  As another  blogging friend of Sarah's wrote..."the more people pulling for this little boy the better."

And, if you want, you can follow Isaac's story by clicking here and leave a comment including the place where you are from.  This way, Sarah, Rob, Jonah, Eli, and Isaac will know that the prayers are being lifted up from all over.

Thank you.

The Birthday Babies

A year after these beautiful babies joined our lives, we gathered for a mini celebration of one year of life.  Where does the time go?!  Chase, Analeyna, and Jack are growing up so quickly!

Seeing them together today got me reminiscing a bit so I dug out some old pictures...

Here are the three kiddos the last time we got together in October: 

And, before that, in August...

And almost exactly one year ago, here are the mommas...