Shining through the Sorrow

The other day I posted a pretty sad tweet, and immediately wasn’t sure if I should have “put it out there.”   But you know what?   Making myself vulnerable shows people the real me.   I’ve never had a filter, and I can’t hide my emotions at all.   And the best part about opening up when you need prayer?   People pray! Anyway, I was feeling like I wanted to expand on that day for those of you who were genuinely concerned for us. There wasn’t really a trigger to the sadness, but both Kyle and I just felt off.   Like I said on Twitter, “ There's always a gaping hole where Gabe should be, but I'm trying to pray my way through the pain .”   There is not a day that goes by that we don’t think about the missing piece to our immediate family.   I know that may be hard to understand, but I think it’s just one of those things that other people in our position understand too well.   So, Kyle was outside with the kids the other day.   Enjoying our new (to us) swing set.   Zoe’s

Zoe turned eleven months old the other day, so I thought I’d give you a little update on our angel.   She’s so amazing.   Kyle and I often just look at her, crawling around, and just say to each other, “Isn’t she so pretty?   Isn’t she just the loveliest thing ever?” She is now on goat’s milk (easier to digest and the closest thing to human milk) and is doing extremely well on it.   Now I just have to find a place that sells it cheaper than $5 a gallon…   That, or just get a few goats, I guess.   Ha! She continues to be such a joy to our family.   Her temperament is very similar to her oldest brother, happy and laughing most of the time.   She is crawling very fast now and has even stood on her own for a few seconds.   She loves to walk along furniture or walk while holding someone’s hand, so I think we’ll be entering the walking stage soon. Enjoy these pictures of our little lovebug.

A few days before Father’s Day, Joel helped me make a card for Daddy.   I got the idea of tracing the kids’ hands from Pinterest (gasp in surprise, go ahead), but I did come up with the rest on my own!   Go me!   If you can’t read it, it says “We are so grateful you hold our (hearts) in your hands. Love you, Joel and Zoe, June 2012.”   Cute, huh? We had the opportunity to surprise my dad this year for Father’s Day.   His amazingly sweet girlfriend has a daughter who is just as amazing and sweet.   She came up with the idea to have a mustache themed BBQ party.   It was such a great day!   I’m anxiously awaiting the pictures to show up on Facebook, but for now I can share this one with you – Zoe’s turn wearing a mustache, haha!   She hated it, but it was too cute not to capture! It was also lovely to see my brother, who lives in NYC, and his awesome girlfriend, Amanda.   It was seriously such a great day.   Hope you enjoyed the dads in your life, too!

I’ve been trying to write this blog for awhile now.   But, it’s hard to put my emotions into words.   Something BIG changed the day I had my daughter.   In so many ways.   On so many levels.   See what I mean?   It’s complicated.   But, I’ll try my best to explain… First of all, my darling baby girl is the epitome of hope.   I actually wanted to name her Hope, but Daddy had the name Zoe picked out for years.   She is our Rainbow Baby, our Beauty after our Storm.   My gracious midwife allowed me to just hold and stare at her after she was born and placed on me, because she knew what happened the last time I gave birth.   She knew what a moment it was.   And the moment hasn’t ended.   Every time I look at her, I realize how blessed I am to have a healthy baby.   And how lucky am I that she also happens to be the prettiest baby ever made?! Secondly, the fact that she is my first (and only?) girl has had a huge impact on me – from my self esteem to my outlook on life.   Having a gi

My firstborn just turned four years old.   And I have been equal parts happy and sad about this fact.   I literally cannot believe that four years have just flown by.   I cannot believe that he’s turned into this superhero-loving, sarcastic-like-his-father, well-mannered little man. I spent time trying to find cute, inspired ideas for his birthday party this year.   (And just like this amazing blog suggests, how did we ever plan parties before Pinterest??)   So, I thought I’d share some pictures with you!   Enjoy! Handmade Welcome Banner Candy Centerpieces Balloon Chanderlier Loved the tent with hanging lanterns! Joel Banner - Birthday Blessings The Handsome Birthday Boy PUZZLES!! So precious - this whole process took a LONG time. A BRAND NEW BIKE!!  :)

I saw this on Pinterest and knew as soon as Joel had his next birthday, I wanted to try it out!  Was so fun to "interview" Joel for the questions.  Enjoy!