Welcome to the Family, David

I've been too busy enjoying newborn snuggles {and fighting sleep deprivation!} to have updated my space here. It's far past time to introduce the newest love of our lives:

David Robert Perry
Born March 31, 2016
9:38 am
8 lbs 8 oz
20.5 inches

David, born at 39 weeks and 4 days

David came out in an awful hurry, and thankfully I delivered him in the natural birthing center in our hospital, but only just! That will be my next post, to share David's birth story.

Besides David's grand entrance to the world, the week of his arrival contained its fair share of drama. After keeping our family healthy all winter long, Makenna became sick with a fever on Tuesday {David was born on Thursday}. I also came down with a scratchy throat and cough on Tuesday evening. Makenna was diagnosed with croup and on Wednesday morning, Matt took Makenna to the ER for a breathing treatment since her breathing had become too labored. Matt explained to the doctors they saw about Makenna's illness coinciding with the impending arrival of our second born, and they all stressed the importance of Makenna staying away from her newborn brother until her symptoms subsided. I was extremely stressed by what was occuring! When I was at my weekly OB appointment on Tuesday, my membranes had been stripped in an effort to bring on labor, so I was very worried about the timing of all of this.

We basically needed Makenna out of our house. for the safety of our baby about to arrive. So, my mom was our hero and drove over four hours to our house Wednesday afternoon, picked up Makenna, and turned around and drove our sweet girl another four hours back to her home in Indianapolis.

The timing was perfect for Makenna to be taken away, as David was born about 18 hours after Makenna left with my mom. And by God's grace, my own symptoms were not getting worse--I mostly felt as if I had a mild cold.

In retrospect, we can see God's hand in how the week played out, with Makenna's sickness requiring her to be taken away. We had originally planned that Matt's dad would drive over to stay with Makenna once I went into labor. Matt's parents live just under 2 hours away, so we of course had local friends who were on stand-by as backup. However, with the way my labor played out, especially how quickly it went, we realized Matt's dad would not have made it in time to watch Makenna for us, and our local friends were also occupied those morning hours. Thus, we've concluded that because Matt would have needed to stay with Makenna, and David came out so quickly, that its highly likely Matt would have missed David's birth before someone arrived to watch Makenna for us. God works in mysterious ways! He was certainly watching out for us and we are so thankful.

David is such a special little guy! At 8 lbs 8 oz, David weighed almost 2.5 more than Makenna did at birth {6 lbs 2 oz}. He is stocky and super strong! Even his forearms have rolls, which makes him look a bit like Popeye. He has the best chubby cheeks that are oh-so-kissable. He LOVES to eat and in his first month of life gained nearly three pounds!

David is named after Matt's dad, Dave, and after my dad, Bob. It was a joy for me to give him the middle name Robert, especially since both my brother and sister have had sons whom they have also given the middle names Robert after my dad. So I was privileged to be given a son to complete this circle!

Makenna was well enough to meet David when he was three days old. And now, we are all adjusting really well to becoming a family of four! David has been a relatively easy-going baby and that is a huge part of it. Makenna also adores being a big sister. She just loves David and thinks he is the cutest thing ever. {We'll see how long that lasts, once he becomes mobile and starts touching all of her things!} But for now, she loves helping take care of him, kissing him, reading to him, and snuggling him. Be still my heart!

It truly feels as though David has helped to complete our little family. He has already filled our lives and hearts with more joy than we ever could have imagined! He's seven weeks old as of today and we can't believe how much he's grown and changed in these few weeks. He's mostly wearing 3 month clothing and we are about ready to move him up to size 2 diapers. He's started smiling now and is very responsive to interaction, giving us lots of coos and gurgles. We just can't get enough of this little man!

I'm so excited to watch his little personality develop. He's already such a sweetie pie and my mother's heart is just beaming with pride. Thank you, Jesus, for our incredible blessing!

Thirty Two

I've returned once again to this little blog of mine after experiencing many weeks of wondrous things, the biggest of all being our trip to Scotland. It was amazing, it was beautiful, it was dreamy, it was epic. I will be sharing many posts all about our trip in the coming days, so please stay tuned!

But first, a little something about my birthday...

Last week I celebrated my thirty second birthday. The funny thing is, I don't feel an ounce of sadness about "getting older." I feel it is a wonderful milestone, getting to celebrating living thirty two, wonderful, joy-filled years here on this earth. Maybe I feel this way because I've shed too many tears this past year for those who have passed away. A few, like my Gramma Dorsey, lived long, full lives, but many others were lives that were much, much shorter than anticipated, making the sorrow of being parted and the sting of death that much deeper.

Although I couldn't tell you the exact reason why, I so often found myself in quiet introspection over this past year. This has left me in a place of thankfulness, joy, and contentedness such that I've never known before.

Shades of pink: peonies from our garden. They are in full bloom every year just
in time for my birthday.

So to me, turning thirty two has symbolized the turning of a page in my life. And anyhow, I've always felt like the passing of each birthday was more of a fresh start at new beginnings than the passing of each New Year's. But that's just me.

On my actual birthday, I received a gift in the mail from my sister, Erin. We don't normally exchange birthday gifts, but she surprised me this year. She presented me with the most perfectly perfect gift because 1). I've been in need of a new daily devotional book, and 2). the title and theme of this book coincides exactly with my current state of mind.

The beautiful cover to this book makes it a worthy edition to be displayed on the coffee table.

The title sums up my newest mission: to truly savor life and all it's little moments.

It's taking a step back, removing unnecessary distractions, and truly being present in each moment. It's very much what I endeavor this blog to be all about--noticing little details and taking delight in the small things of life.

A few weeks ago, I was busily washing dishes at the sink. I glanced up out the window and noticed a small sparrow sitting on the fence. It was windy out, and I could see the breeze ruffling his feathers. I turned off the water and watched him for the remaining thirty seconds or so he sat on the fence. I took in the details of his adorable face, noticed the whiteness of the feathers on his chest, and watched the branches of the lilac tree next to him sway in the wind. It was such a small and quiet moment, but it was so very lovely.

I enjoyed that moment so deeply and I was so happy I glanced up from my busy work. It was a moment of perspective where I realized that taking in the small things must become a daily exercise. I need to put forth a real effort everyday to push aside distractions and take notice of the life that is happening all around me, of the beauty that is so near.

May I take it all in, little by little: the bright blue shade of the summer sky, the smell of the flowers in our garden, the feeling of the breeze brushing my skin, the smell of my daughter's hair as she rests her head on my shoulder, the sounds of birds chirping and neighborhood kids playing at the park. I want to slowly and deliberately savor the flavor of my food and drink. I want to relish the comfort of laying in my own bed. I want to write handwritten notes and letters instead of texts or emails. I want to drink tea from china teacups. I want to stop saying I'll do this and that later, saving it for a special occasion. Today is a special occasion, filled with endless gifts orchestrated just for me by my loving Savior, and he's just waiting for me to unwrap each one of them, if only I'll take notice.

Now I begin the next year of my life, filling the hours with these exercises in savoring. My prayer is that after diligent practice, I'll no longer need to force myself to take notice, that savoring the moments will become my second nature.

A Letter to Gramma

As I sit here in the quiet, sipping tea from the bone china teacup and saucer passed down to me from my Grandma, I find myself at a loss for words.

It has been a little over one month now since my Grandma Dorsey passed away. This is the third grandparent I have lost in less than three years' time. But I have to admit I'm processing the loss of my "Gramma" much differently than when I lost my Grandpa's.

I suppose it is quite natural that typically, a granddaughter should feel closer to her grandmother and a grandson to his grandfather, with being of the same gender. It is no exception with me. I will freely admit I feel closer to both of my grandma's than I did to my grandpa's, simply because we have bonded over so many female-things, similar interests, and shared personality traits. As a girl, I spent much more time in the company of my grandmas than my grandpas. My love for all four of my grandparents is equal, but yes, I share a special closeness with my Grandmas that I didn't share with my Grandpas.

Now I have lost one of my Grandmas. My sweet, beloved Gramma, Ethel Dorsey, passed away peacefully on Christmas Eve. It was perfectly fitting--Christmas Eve was her favorite day of the year, the day when her entire family of kids and grandkids came together to celebrate Christmas.

I had the distinct privilege of reading my Gramma's life story at her funeral service. I was nervous because I am quite an emotional person and when I get emotional and try to speak at the same time, the result is less than pretty. Thankfully I made it through, with some emotional shakiness to my voice near the end. I added in a few personal words about my Gramma. I sincerely would have loved to say so much more but I knew I lacked the strength to say all I wanted to say without completely breaking into sobs.

Since the day of my Gramma's funeral, I have wanted to write something here to commemorate her life and my deep love for her. Yet I have found so much rolling around within my mind and so many emotions in my heart that I truly didn't know where to begin. I have laid awake many nights, staring at the sky through our sunroof, trying to carefully piece through all I want to say about my Gramma. I knew I needed to write about her and as writing is a form of therapy for me, my need to write has grown with each passing day.

Finally, it came to me that I can best process the loss of my Gramma by writing to her. So, I shall.

At the Oregon Coast, March 2009

Dear Gramma,

I am sure you knew that as your granddaughter, I loved you very, very much. Yet I'm not sure you ever really knew just how deeply I loved you and sincerely adored you. Even now as an adult, I feel a great sense of awe and reverence for you. I respect you, and I want to be like you in many ways.

Reflecting back over the years, I am overwhelmed by the warm, happy, and loving memories we share together. I can remember how wonderful it was to be wrapped in your big "hello" hug and I can still remember your sweet smell. I close my eyes and I hear your voice. Then I am there in yours and Grampa's house, sharing a meal at the kitchen table or playing cards and board games for hours. I hear your chuckle and as we chat you say, "Oh, is that right?" as your most frequent exclamation. I hear the tick, tick, tick in the stairwell as I climb the stairs to the bathroom with the red velvet-striped walls. I hop on the stepping stones in your beloved garden and dip my finger in the stone bird bath. I admire all of your lovely collectibles you've brought home from your many travels abroad. I sit on the smooth stone in front of the living room fireplace as you and Grandpa sit in your blue chairs in front of the big picture window, trying your hardest not to doze off {sometimes unsuccessfully}. I felt so safe, so warm, so happy in your home--it was a real second home to me, filled with delightful memories.

You never ceased to amaze me at how many details you remembered about my life, my friends, and my hobbies, despite the fact that I was your tenth grandchild, one who lived on the other side of the US. You always made me feel so incredibly special. I was yours, your one and only precious Deanne. You doted on me and I knew just how much you loved me.

This past Thanksgiving, a few weeks before you passed away, I shared a very special and sacred moment with my mom and Erin. For the very first time ever, we took out your wedding dress. You had never taken it out of the box it was preserved in, even to show it to my mom.

A hushed silence came over the three of us as we took in the beauty and significance of this satin gown. It was exquisite. We were in awe, and suddenly, I felt your presence there in the room with us.

And then, a monumental moment in my life: I tried on your wedding dress. I stepped out of the changing room and instantly my mom's eyes flowed with tears. We embraced for a long time. We admired every detail of your dress: the point at the cuff of the sleeves, the long, silky train, the very slight puff of the sleeves at the shoulder, the gathering of the fabric at the waist, the delicate trail of buttons all the way down the back, and the lovely veil. It was so simple but so unbelievably elegant. I had seen your wedding photos but seeing your dress in person took my breath away. It was one of the loveliest things I have ever seen.

As I stood in front of the mirror, wearing your dress and admiring it, a very profound thought came into my mind: I would not exist if it weren't for this dress. 

Because you put on that dress and pledged your heart to Grandpa on your wedding day, I exist. You gave my mom life, and therefore you gave me life. It's all a rather simple premise, yet in that moment I was overwhelmed by your contribution to my life. It was one my top life-moments, and I became acutely aware of how you and I belong to one another; how I truly came from you.

Mom, Erin, and I also shuffled through all of the other mementos you saved along with the dress. Most of it consisted of ticket stubs from your honeymoon to the seaside, the receipts of the purchase of your gown, veil, and Grandpa's wedding suit, and records scribbled in your handwriting of various other wedding or honeymoon-related expenses. In that moment, I realized how very much I am like you in that way--keeping mementos from special occasions and events.

And then I suddenly remembered a very specific memory from my early childhood and realized that it was you who taught me to keep scrapbooks. I must have been about six, and you were visiting our home in Spokane, Washington. I vividly remember sitting at the dining room table with you. You presented me with a brown leather book with the words "Scrapbook" in gold on the front. It was the kind were you peeled back the cellophane from each page and stuck things down onto the sticky page. We sat for a long time, you and I, as you helped me leaf through lots of magazines to find pictures I liked to cut out and add to the scrapbook. We added lots of other things like postcards, stickers, and the front of greeting cards. We had filled the scrapbook together and it was something I treasured throughout my childhood. 

Now I have scrapbooks filled with all sorts of important little things. I save movie ticket stubs {and note who I saw the movie with}, old photos, newspaper clippings, wedding or baby shower invites from family or close friends, museum tickets, old driver's licenses or photo ID cards from high school and college...the list goes on. I've realized my affinity for the saving and scrapbooking of these sorts of things came from you. I really love these scrapbooks and I continue to create them to this day. I wish I could show them to you.

I have to tell you how excruciatingly difficult it was to watch you struggle with dementia over these past many years. You were you, yet you weren't, and with time more of you slipped away, little by little. My heart was so sad as I watched you struggle with forgetfulness, confusion, and sadness. It was cruel to watch, but more cruel to experience, I am quite sure. You told us many times you were ready to "go home" to heaven and as your family, none of us wanted to see you struggle with this awful illness any longer, lest it worsen. Now, we praise the Lord, not only because you are home with our Heavenly Father, but because you are finally free.

As I've observed your mind slip away over the past years, I found myself feeling more drawn to you, longing for a connection. I wanted to feel you here with me, despite all the thousands of miles between us physically and all the growing fuzziness of your mind. So I have found ways in which I keep you with me and I cling to these things all the more now that you are physically gone.

Do you remember when you gave me the gold heart locket, the one with the delicate engraving on the front? It has two pictures inside: one of you when you were four years old, and a picture of my mom when she was four years old. You mailed it to me without explanation in high school. I began wearing it frequently over the past ten years or so. In fact, I consider it one of my very most treasured belongings. I wore it on the day of your funeral, and I will wear it for the rest of my life, feeling a wonderful connectedness to you as it hangs near my heart.

I am also proud to possess the beautiful oil painting of the sun setting over the ocean shore, done by your sister, Pinky. Because it hung on the wall opposite the bed of your guest room, I grew up gazing at that painting each time I stayed in your home. I loved the painting so much that I even used to go up to the bedroom just to "nap," which was really an excuse to lay on the bed, listen to my portable CD player, and gaze at the painting. I loved doing that as my little way to "recharge" in my own introverted manner. Now the painting proudly hangs in our beach-themed guest room. I have other mementos from the Oregon coast in that room which always remind me of you and Grampa, yet it is this painting alone that evokes such strong memories of our happy visits to your home.

In all of these little ways, Gramma, I carry you with me each day. Yet I hope that I can best honor you and your life by the way I live mine. So many of the things that were most important to you are also the things that Matt and I value and practice within our own home. Most namely: the love of family and the love of Christ. We cherish and adore our family, both immediate and extended, just as you and Grampa did. And we strive to center our daily lives around Christ and honoring Him, just as you and Grampa did. In practicing our faith and raising our children to come to know and love Jesus is the most important and meaningful way I believe we can honor your life and Grampa's life.

I always knew how proud you were of me and I hope I can continue to make you proud. You may be physically gone from this earth, but I hold onto your love and memory in my heart. I will never be able to thank you enough for all the memories, the love, the life you have given to me. I praise God for knowing that I can thank you again one day in person when we reunite in heaven. I will once again be wrapped in your wonderful, loving arms, and I will never let you go.

In loving memory of one of the loveliest women I've ever known.

A Lot Going On

This is the end of my second week back to work with my wonderful part-time, work from home job. And these last two weeks have been crazy, to say the least.

But first, let me back up to update a little more on Project P.R.B. If you remember, two of three goals I set to achieve by the end of July were to hold a yard sale {to help eliminate all the items from the major household purge} and to paint our office desk.

Sadly, neither of those were achieved by July's end. We had arranged and made plans to have the yard sale on the last Saturday in July. To my immense frustration, the weather forecast was threatening rain with multiple possible thunderstorms, so we decided to postpone the event. And then during the final days of July when I had planned to tackle the desk project and get it painted before I began my seasonal work, Makenna came down with some sort of virus which had her running a fever for nearly two days.

I vowed not to despair over my foiled plans.

So then, on the first Monday of August, I officially started working again. On Tuesday, it seemed Makenna could be coming down with yet another sickness. This time, it was much worse--she contracted croup. Our poor darling was coughing the most awful sound, and by Wednesday she started with a fever, too. Caring for her took up much of my free time.

And on top of this, I was finishing any last-minute preparations for our yard sale, because this past Saturday was our rescheduled yard sale day. By Friday, our house was a complete and utter disaster with the categorized piles of items sorted here and there, ready to be taken out and displayed in the early hours of Saturday.

I am happy to report that our garage sale was a success! Not only did we bypass the minimum amount I was wanting to make in order to feel that the whole effort was worth it, but we made just $1.50 short of my overall goal. What we earned was exactly enough to put together a new coffee bar in our dining room, which will give me a lot more usable counter space in our little kitchen. {I will be blogging the results soon when the coffee bar is all put together!} I can't even begin to tell you how wonderfully free I felt after eradicating all that stuff for the yard sale, whether it was purchased or later dropped off at the Salvation Army. It was as if a thousand pounds were lifted off of my shoulders, I tell you!

Then this past week, we had another big event. If you might recall, we live in the greater Metro Detroit area, and we had some massive rainstorms come through Monday evening that left a wake of devastating flooding. I'm not talking about flooding up to the rooftops or anything that severe, but rather several feet of water in many folks' basements, and most major roadways closed due to the flooding {which in places, flooded enough to almost submerge cars}. Apparently there were even a few elderly folks who drowned.

It is quite a sight to presently drive up and down our street and the surrounding neighborhoods. Every house has piled furniture, carpeting, and boxes upon boxes of personal items at the curb for the garbage service to haul away. I was blown away when I went on a walk with Makenna to see all the damage that was done. And that's when I realized exactly how lucky we are.

Most people had inches, if not feet, of flooding in their basements due to sewer backup. We, however, did not have that. We have a sump pump in our basement and for the first forty five minutes or so of the torrential rains, we didn't realize that our sump pump didn't trigger for some reason. Matt was able to trip it and the pump started working immediately and stayed working, thankfully. But we did have a carpeted area of about five feet by ten feet that had gotten well-soaked from water coming up through our sump pump hole. {Our basement is partially finished with dry wall and carpeting, and one area of our basement is completely finished, which we have made into a cozy little family room.}

We diligently worked at getting the water out, cleaning the carpet, and drying it as much as possible. But the damage had been done and there was no question that unless we wanted a super-stinky basement {that likely would have ended up moldy, too}, we'd have to pull out the wet carpet. The wetness had spread to a very large area, so about half of our basement carpet was taken out.

And then, by some miracle, we discovered that we have some kind of allowance in our homeowners insurance policy that would help cover damages. We don't have flood insurance so I don't know how this worked out exactly, but when they said they wanted to send us a check and waive our need to meet the deductible, I was beyond ecstatic. We haven't heard of anyone who has had any kind of insurance coverage to help with repair and replacement, which is such a shame given that most people had much worse damage than we did.

The carpet company came out today and we can re carpet our entire basement for $20 less than the amount of the check we're receiving from the insurance company. We are still in disbelief!!! Oh my goodness, what an incredible blessing we have received. We are praising the Lord because truly in this situation, it is only His hand that could have provided this gift for us.

Next week, this beauty will be in our basement:

A tremendous blessing in disguise from the water damage.

And now, here's to hoping things quiet down around here and we can settle into a little bit more normalcy!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there! We're busy enjoying our sunny, lazy Sunday afternoon, but I just wanted to pop in to say a few things...

We are so blessed, so grateful, to have two amazing fathers in our lives. Matt and I feel so fortunate to have been raised by two men who love and serve the Lord with all their hearts. They are such tremendous examples of what a Godly man looks like. They both shower us with love and generosity, and we know they are always there to help when we need them (which is often!). Not only are they exceptional Dads, but Grandfathers too! Makenna adores her Grampa and Papa with all of her little heart. Thank you to you both for who you are and all you do for us--we know we wouldn't be where we are in life without your wise and loving guidance.

And moving on to Matt--to gush even a little bit more, you may have heard the quote, "I never knew how much I loved your Daddy until I saw how much he loved you"...

I just have to say--that is so true. There is very little in this world that brings my heart more joy than watching Matt as a dad and seeing how deeply Makenna adores him.

Ok, enough gushing.

Happy Father's Day!

Check Us Out at DaveRamsey.com

I am quite sure that every US citizen is aware of our current government shutdown. {Don't worry, I'm not about to go on a political rant here}.

If you didn't think you knew anyone whose job was one of those affected, well, now you do! Matt works for the goverment and his office closed on Tuesday. This, of course, means he's not getting paid. And though some government employees will get retroactive pay when Washington is up and running again, not everyone will, and we anticipate that Matt will not be one of them.

We are trying to stay positive over here!

Some ways we are making lemonade:
1. Yesterday was Matt's birthday, and he didn't have to work.
2. Lots of good family time and Makenna getting some extra Daddy-Daughter time!
3. Getting some projects done around the house.
4. Matt is getting to kick up his feet a bit and he's been enjoying playing Xbox, which he doesn't do much anymore. {Trust me when I say Matt deserves this...he works so very hard to provide for our family and I appreciate his work ethic to no end.}

We were going over finances today...not going to lie--this has been a big financial year for us, and not always in the best way. However, we are still very blessed to have emergency savings for situations such as this.

I was feeling so blessed despite our current situation that I decided to write to the Dave Ramsey website to share a bit of our story, and low and behold, they published it right away! Look for the story titled "Peace in the Midst of a Stormy Financial Year."

Check it out here:
http://www.daveramsey.com/articles/article-list/category/lifeandmoney_wedidit_user_generated/

I will urge any and all of you once again to implement the life money-principles Dave Ramsey teaches. It's hard spending and saving so very deliberately, but I promise it is all worth it.

Matt and I have a pretty unique story in regards to how we were able to eliminate our debt. You can ready plenty of other testimonies to see how other people have become debt-free.

We heart Dave Ramsey!

July Fourth Fun

Our Fourth of July started with a lazy day of sleeping in. {It was delicious!}

In the evening, our church held its annual community Fourth of July event. The church property is a prime location for watching the fireworks, so we offer an outing for families full of free food, games, and musical entertainment. Matt and I took turns volunteering to help run some of the games {so the other one could be with Makenna}. We had such great fun!

Matt's parents also stopped by for a bit, so Makenna got some good "Papa and Nana" time.

Makenna and her best friend, Melanie

We were excited to introduce Makenna to magical fireworks...that is, if she were still awake. And she was!

Makenna's initial wide-eyed reaction to the fireworks display. About ten minutes later, she fell asleep.

We adore our church and we have met and made some of our very closest friends through this wonderful community of believers. How endlessly thankful we are for these friendships.

What a lovely Fourth of July we had celebrating our great nation! God bless America!

Going Home

I am such a lucky girl. Up until just under a year ago, all four of my grandparents were living. Then, last August, I lost my Grandpa Moss.

And now I have lost my other Grandpa. Life isn't fair and often brings new grief into our hearts before we have had time to heal from old grief.

In my Grampa, I am losing such a dear friend. I think it is more commonly assumed that children bring joy into the lives of adults, but I can tell you that such a special man as my Grampa brought incredible fun and joy into my life.

I don't think any single person on this earth could know my Grampa, Cecil Dorsey, and not love him. He is quite likely one of the most lovable people I'll ever know. He always had a twinkle in his eye, a giggle {yes, a giggle!} to share, and a heart as pure as gold.

My Grampa was the definition of so many things: a loving, devoted husband and father, a hardworking business man, a hunter, a craftsman, a family man through and through, but most of all, a fierce and passionate follower of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He worked hard, played hard, and loved deeply.

My Grampa invested into each one of his grandchildren and loved us immensely. He has filled our lives with so many happy memories and impacted us all in different ways. He has imparted pieces of himself into all of us and so we will always carry him in our hearts.

At the Oregon Coast, March 2009

I only wish words could convey how privileged I feel to have the honor of being a granddaughter to my Grampa. The most tender spot in my heart is reserved only for him, and his legacy will live on through all of us who love him so.

Today, as I stood in church, I looked up at the cross and imagined that moment when my sweet Grampa will enter his eternal home. I couldn't keep tears from streaming down my cheeks as I imagined him finally meeting our Heavenly Father. I can so clearly envision the moment when Jesus lovingly looks into my Grampa's face and says, "Well done, my good and faithful servant," and then enfolds my Grampa in His most loving embrace.

My heart is utterly broken for my family's loss of this great man. Life won't be the same without him and he will be missed every day. 

Though I can't contain the sadness in my heart in having to say goodbye to my Grampa, my heart is also filled with the utmost joy to know my Grampa is finally home where he belongs, happy and free in ways we can never imagine. And my heart is at peace because I know this isn't really goodbye --I will be reunited with my Grampa one day in the best moment of love and happiness.

So for now, I say goodbye to you, my dear, sweet Grampa. How I love you, how we all do.

My Grampa adored the Oregon coast. Here is the last time he ever walked the beach, arm in arm with his "Baby Girl", my mom.

Our Nephew Noah

You might remember that a few months ago, I mentioned the exciting news that my big sister, Erin, is basically pregnant simultaneously alongside me, with her due date falling a mere twelve days after my own. You also might remember that Erin and my brother-in-law, Dan, adopted little Will back in August of 2011. 

The sweet little boy that Erin's carrying now has not been born yet. BUT. Dan, Erin, and Will have just welcomed a new baby boy into their family! How can this be, you might ask??? Instead of me writing it all out here, you need to jump over to their new blog and read this...


A beautiful, amazing, touching story of love if I do say so myself!

Without further ado, here is my nephew Noah James Taylor, our newest family member!!! We are so in love with him already and he has already brought so much joy into our lives and hearts.

P.S. Please do not ask if Matt and I have met him yet. This is so hard for me...our new little Noah is in Indianapolis and of course we cannot travel to meet him at this stage in our own pregnancy. Ugh. I can't let myself think about it. I just want to hold my nephew and snuggle him and kiss those adorable cheeks!!!

My Father's Arms

{I know this post is "late" with it being post-Father's Day and all, but my dad is a man who deserves to be celebrated every single day of the year.}

My Father's Arms






My father's arms have always been there,
safe and strong, guiding me through life.

My father's arms snuggled and held me close

in my life's first moments.

My father's arms were outstretched to me,

willing me onward as I took my first steps.

My father's arms caught me up as I leapt into them with joy

each day upon his arrival home from work.

My father's arms held me as he read me books

before bed, said bedtime prayers, then lovingly tucked

me in and kissed me goodnight.

My father's arms took me on bike rides, balancing me

ever so carefully as I sat on the crossbar--these were 

trips to get ice cream, just the two of us.

My father's arms were always there, cheering me on

as I performed with the dance team at high school sporting events,

at my dance recitals, and even at college dance performances.

My father's arms have always been my personal handyman,

maintaining my cars, fixing things for me, and building countless things,

like a tree fort and the loft for my college dorm room.

My father's arms have always been there to wrap me in a warm embrace,

while he encourages me, tells me it's going to be OK, and that he is proud of me.

My father's arms have held a Bible as he preached sermons every Sunday

since I can remember; he is a great and wise teacher who taught me

about Jesus Christ--our Lord, Savior, and friend.

My father's Arms gently tucked mine into his own

as he proudly led me down the aisle on my wedding day.

My father's Arms held me tightly as we danced our Father/Daughter

dance on my wedding day, a magical moment I cherish always.

My father's Arms have shown me that he would to anything

for me and that he loves me more than anyone in this world.

My father's Arms have taught me what a true servant of the Lord is,

one who lives a life each day worthy of our Lord and one who gives

his life completely in the service of God's Kingdom.

My father's Arms have taught me that I have the best Dad in the world--

that he is a man who loves, cherishes, and provides for his family

above all else.

My father's Arms are always open to welcome me, and no

matter where we are, when I am in my Father's arms, I am home.

I love you, Daddy. No daughter has ever loved and adored a Father more...of that I am certain.

Passion

On this day, Good Friday, we focus on the cross upon which Jesus died.
It's always so hard to imagine the physical pain and torment Christ endured those two thousand years ago. Many films depicting Christ's death have been made, but none can really compare to The Passion of the Christ.

via

As beautiful and moving as this historical depiction is, it is also equally graphic. The film is rated R for the intense violence. You will see Christ's torture and death in great detail. The film aims for viewers to experience what Christ did and hides nothing.

via

This is beyond a shadow of a doubt the most difficult movie I have ever watched. I find myself wanting to look away so often, but I won't allow myself to do so. This film pains my heart, makes my soul cry out, and causes tears to flow freely from my eyes. Yet I am so thankful for this film--it has made me feel so much closer to the true experience of Christ's crucifixion, of His ultimate sacrifice.

I urge you all to see this film if you haven't yet. It will change you forever.

A Visit with the Gerber Family

This past weekend, Matt and I traveled to Indiana to visit our close friends Chris and Laura. We were so excited to not only get to see them, but their adorable daughter Eden, and to finally meet their 8 week-old baby girl, Addison!

Little 18-month old Eden is such a busy girl! She kept us very entertained.

I snuggled little Addie as much as I possibly could. She is such a good baby...calm, content, and as sweet as can be!

Adorable baby hands:

Both of Chris and Laura's girls are super-sweet and very "easy." They're the kind of children anyone would dream of having!

Eden loves books.

Several weeks ago, I mailed Addie some special onesies I had made for her. It was fun to see her wearing one in person!

I also made Addie a little frame for her nursery:

{Made with my Cricut machine}

It was an excellent visit! Matt and I had lots of time with the girls, but since babies and toddlers sleep a lot, we also had plenty of adult-time with Chris and Laura. We dined at a fabulous authentic Mexican restaurant, got to visit Chris and Laura's church on Sunday, played games, watched movies, and got to enjoy some very delicious home cooked meals. It was the perfect visit!

Finally, please keep Chris, Laura, and all of their family in your prayers. Chris' dad passed away about two weeks ago after losing a battle with cancer. Matt and I knew him--he was a very great man, indeed. Chris and Laura are also grieving that their girls won't have any memory of one of their grandpa's. They could really use prayer during this difficult time.

2011 Year in Review

2011 began for me with life as I knew it in Hungary continuing along fabulously. Matt's deployment was a little more than half over, and I was loving every minute of my life in Hungary.

Towards the beginning of January, I had to move out of the Bridge building {where I had my own living space}, but was so infinitely blessed to be invited to live with the Szasz Family:

Even in the three months I lived with them, they made me feel like a true member of their lovely family. And those precious girls became like sisters!!

Also in January, my dear friend Sarah came to visit me on her way back to study in Scotland, and we had all sorts of glorious adventures in Budapest:

February kept me busy with all my "regulars" in Hungary--teaching in the high school, spending time with the church youth, teaching my many private English lessons, and taking my own private Hungarian lessons.

I also went to my first-ever water polo match--Hungary versus Canada:

The Magyars (Hungarians) totally whipped the Canadians. Ojra Magyarorszag!!

March was such a whirlwind month. It was very bittersweet for me; I never imagined how difficult it was going to be to leave Hungary. I had spent eight months there, and even though they were difficult because Matt and I were apart, God blessed them in such a way that I count them as some of the very best months of my entire life.

I had to say goodbye to my students at the high school:

One of the four classes of students I taught.

And I had so many, many dear friends to which I had to say goodbye. These goodbyes were some of the hardest of my life, to be honest, and there were so many tears.

But again, March was bittersweet; the sweet being because not only was I coming home to family I hadn't seen in eight long months, but God provided a very unexpected and utterly wonderful surprise for me and Matt:

A two week-long reunion for me and Matt in El Paso, Texas, while Matt was still on deployment! He was
one of a handful chosen to come back to the US from Afghanistan for two weeks on a special assignment, and I was able to meet him in Texas. We actually had more free time together than expected, but I lounged at the pool when Matt was working. :)

After our two weeks in Texas finished in April, Matt had to go back to Afghanistan for a few more weeks, and I returned to Michigan to find us a new place to live {in a whole new area of Michigan} since we'd be relocating for Matt's new job when he returned.

I found a perfect little apartment, and both my family and Matt's family undertook the big job of pulling all of our belongings our of storage and moving them into our new place. I had just enough time to get things all unpacked and settled at the end of April/beginning of May.

The view from our patio.

And then, on May 9th, Matt's deployment finally ended!



Also in May, we celebrated Matt's return by taking a week-long trip to Orlando with his family. It was such an amazingly fun week, complete with Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Sea World, a day at the beach, Medieval Times, and swimming with manatees!

Since Matt wasn't required to return to work until the middle of June, the two of us went on a little getaway to the Smokey Mountains at the beginning of June. We rented a private cabin with a view {and a hot tub on the deck!} and enjoyed hikes in the mountains, as well as the touristy areas in Gatlinburg.

Then our dear friends, Nick and Jaela, got married in June and had a gorgeous beach wedding at Lake Michigan:

In July, we had a couple of little getaways.

First, we were able to spend a weekend in the gorgeous Amway Grand hotel in downtown Grand Rapids, courtesy of Matt's National Guard Unit holding the post-deployment gathering there.

We also went to Shipshewana, Indiana {Amish Country} with Matt's parents and JJ and Jennie. We stayed in a cozy Bed & Breakfast, did some shopping, and enjoyed good 'ole-fashioned Amish cooking.

August began with the good and the bad; Matt's Grandma passed away suddenly. She was a beautiful woman inside and out, and we miss her a lot. Just about the same time, the MOST wonderful, exciting thing happened on my side of the family...my sister Erin and her husband, Dan, adopted a beautiful, newborn baby boy! They named him Will, and oh boy, is he ever a heart-breaker.

I then jetted out to the city that has my heart, Portland, Oregon, where so many of my family and friends live. I stayed with my brother Brandon, his beautiful wife Karyl, and my niece and nephew, Krista and Sam. I was relishing the time with them...it hurts me to only get to see them every so often. I had the perfect excuse to fly out there--I was a bridesmaid in my best friend Katie's wedding! {sadly Matt couldn't get the time off of work to come, too}

Sam and Krista.

In September, Matt and spent much of our free time taking our dog, Annabelle, on hikes at a State Park. It was the perfect was to enjoy the gorgeous fall weather.

October brought a visit from my very-pregnant best friend, Laura, and her darling little girl, Eden:

I also got to see baby Will again at his baby dedication:

And October wouldn't be complete without a Halloween party with friends and a trip or two to the local orchards:

November was a bit quieter, but we had a lovely time celebrating Thanksgiving at my grandparents' home in northeastern Ohio.



I know this is random, but did anyone else see Daniel Radcliffe singing and dancing on TV at the
Macy's Parade? It kind of weirded me out!



And December has brought so many lovely Christmas traditions, celebrations, and fun times with family.

To say that 2011 was a memorable year would be a tremendous understatement. God blessed it beyond our wildest imaginations and filled it with love and happiness.

We joyfully anticipate 2012 and whatever it may bring, knowing that God holds our future in His perfect plans.

Happy New Year, everyone!

{be sure to check out my "Delighted Archives" to read more about 2011's adventures...}