alive...

much has been happening around our home. as time progresses, I know that we will be letting you a little more into our lives. I really believe that God continues to teach me through each trial, error and success.  I'm sorry for the huge lull.  When things started getting crazy around here about a month ago, I really had every intention of putting up a new post.

So, even though things are tough right now, I thought I'd let you know we are still alive.  

The other day, we got out all our Christmas stuff and one of the things that came out of hiding was a Little People Nativity set. Ephram has been having a hay-day with all the parts. The other day, all the parts got thrown into the toy box and so I decided to go rescue it. Well, I could find every part but the most important part- baby Jesus. Hmmm... where did it go? I looked through every conceivable place and still, no baby Jesus. So, I thought I'd go to Noah who always seems to know where all the random stuff is around the house. I said, "Noah, where is baby Jesus? I can't find him anywhere."  He sort of looked at me for a few seconds and then said, "Well, He's not lost. He's in my heart."  

Okay, the kid might actually be getting it (I still couldn't find the baby Jesus toy). So, the last few days, as we've been looking for Jesus, he keeps talking about how Jesus lives in his heart. I started out thinking we had lost the most important part of the nativity set and ended up thinking that it may be the most appropriate.


By the way, we found Jesus today. He was hiding under Ephram's bed behind a basket I SWORE I moved. :-) Is anyone else as hair-brained as me?

friends

I have amazing friends... When I moved to Grand Rapids, I didn't know anyone but my sister. I figured my sister would always be enough, and she is, but a great circle of friends is a blessing. I sat at a coffee shop tonight for a Bible Study with five moms from church and was amazed at how God had brought us together. Each one of them has a special story, each one of them is connected to my heart in a special way. God has taught me so much through each of my friends. I often wonder if that is why so many of my friends are different from each other. How would I learn from each of them if they were all similar? We sat around the table and we each had a turn to say what the others had in their personality that was a blessing to us. It turned out to be such a blessing to be able to tell others how they have touched my life. Some of these girls did not come into my life until after Josh got hurt and some of them came within weeks of Ava's death. Each of them have been a source of strength and encouragement to me when times are hard. Thank you girls for an amazing friendship. It sometimes seems like I've lost a lot in life but then I look at what I've gained because of those losses and I am amazed. I would still never have chosen for life to take the path it has, but it has all the same. My losses are great but my blessings are greater. Please be praying for Josh. He is struggling with a bad cough that is getting him down both physically and emotionally. Because he does not have abdominal muscles, coughing is very difficult. He sort of throws himself forward in his chair to get a small cough out. It looks a bit ridiculous but it seems to help a bit. He is wearing himself out doing this. We have tried quite a few cough medicines, etc but they don't seem to do the trick. Because it is so hard on him physically, it starts to get him down emotionally. He laid in bed a few hours ago, gagging because his need to cough was so great with tears rolling down his face. I was unsure if the tears were from the cough or from the emotions. His mind tends to start running too fast when he is down and gets him down further. He asked me to pray with him specifically about this. I figured I could ask you to do the same. :-) Both kids are doing better in school all the time. Zoe has pajama day tomorrow and is excited about that. Noah loves to play basketball on the playground and talk the ear off of his bus drivers. Ephrams new mobility is keeping me on my toes. He is starting to try and run a bit and it is quite a sight. He still does a lot of falling but it is getting better all the time. Zoe and I are going to take a pumpkin to put on Ava's grave tomorrow. She just realized a few weeks ago that Ava's body is in the ground there. We had never been very explicit on where Ava's body went after she died. Not sure how she figured that one out. I guess is was inevitable. That was an interesting conversation... That's the summary of my kiddos. :-) I guess that's all that's going on here. I hope all of you are doing well and enjoying fall. The colors here are so vibrant! This is my favorite season!!!

shucks...

Sorry but this is going to be short and sweet. I somehow managed to delete a huge post and I am a little disgusted with myself. Oh well. For a few of you who wanted to see a few more pics of the blessing otherwise known as our home, go to www.thebuckproject.com and you should be able to view a bunch more. An amazing guy from Calvary came and took a bunch of pictures with a wide angle lens. They turned out amazing. You will have to copy and paste to get to the web site. Sorry, I'm not so techno savvy. Noah is continuing to do great. Zoe is doing better going to school. She is not so anxious or teary eyed in the morning which makes this momma happy. Ephram is walking and talking like crazy and is very clearly calling his daddy "Josh." It cracks me up! Josh and I took a quick trip to the Eastern Shore for my cousin Erin's wedding. It went off nearly flawlessly. This was such a blessing! It was a long drive but we figured it was much easier than flying and having to transfer from all kinds of wheelchairs and plane seats. Josh's office is nearing completion. We are so excited to have it almost done. We are having some countertops put in so he can have access to all of the stuff he needs like printers and faxes. Yay! No more cords for me! The carpet looks great and all of his office furniture is now put together. He has a ton of bookshelves to put his massive amounts of books on. It will be nice to not have to dig through boxes looking for specific books he needs to prepare messages. He's just excited to have everything in one place. We went to grandpa and grandma's today for breakfast and it lasted past lunch. They had been on vacation for a little over two weeks and Noah was on serious grandpa withdrawal. They helped make breakfast, pick apples, took tractor rides and all the traditional stuff. Zoe wanted to plant her apple seeds by Ava's tree in my parents yard so my dad helped her. My precious little girl, always thinking of her baby sister. That's all for now. Heading off to bed. sorry so short...

Life...

This past week has flown by. I am so thankful for amazing friends and family.  My life has been a whirlwind of activity since the open house.  I went out to NYC last weekend while my sister and brother-in-law stayed here at the house with our kids and helped Josh.  My cousin and one of my best friends is getting married next week and I went out for her personal shower.  I had not been to NYC since I was a fourth grader and we were only there for a day. I loved the city, the people, the activity, almost everything about it.  What I loved the most was how much it made me appreciate where I live.  Going out for a few days was ideal. I was ready to come home to my hubby and kids. 

The kids have been adjusting to school life quite well. Noah continues to go to school like a champ.  Zoe is struggling with going all day.  She says it's too long. She loves to go on Fridays when she only goes for a half day. It's hard to send her out the door when she is upset, with tears in her eyes, saying she liked preschool better than kindergarten. I know it's what's best for her but it's kind of feels like she's ripping my heart out and stomping on it. 

Ephram is finally walking!!! I can't remember if that happened the day of the last post or not, so if you already know, I'm sorry. :-) We are so excited for him and even more excited for non-calloused knees and clean hands. He is so proud of himself. He just cheeses this big crazy grin when he starts walking toward us. It melts this mommy's heart.

Josh is continuing to stay busy and enjoying having his own space in the house. His office is hopefully being carpeted on Friday. We can then start decorating a bit and getting his massive amount of books out and getting them onto shelves. This wife is tired of rifling through boxes every few days looking for a specific book or cord. :-) I know how much he will love having a place to call his own. He is staying busy working on graphic design projects and church stuff.

We had Fall Kickoff for church this past Sunday.  One thing that we are really excited about is having all the kids come together for a time of worship. Each family got a CD with the 10 songs on it they will be singing this semester. This way, all the kids will learn the music. Each Sunday, they get their own live band and the kids are pumped. Zoe and Emmy got to help lead worship this past Sunday. What an amazing opportunity for her. Singing was the first thing Noah talked about on Monday morning. I love how much my kids love church. It solidifies that we are in the right church for us and that God is working in their lives.

Saturday is Family Fun Day in Allendale.  We had it last year and had a blast!!! It is an amazing afternoon of fun for the kids and the adults had fun just talking and hanging out while the kids played. They have bounce houses, face painting, cotton candy, rides, and all kinds of fun stuff. There is also a silent auction and free food. It was a great success last year and a huge help to our family.  I just loved how much my kids enjoyed themselves and all the other kids there. So, if you're looking for something to do on Satuday (the weather is supposed to be great!) from 3p-7p, head out to Allendale Middle School. It's right on Lake Michigan Drive between 64th and 68th avenue on the north side of the road (or mapquest it). It's guaranteed to be a great time. Hope to see you there!