HALLOWEEN

Well, our costume choices were EASY this year.  The boys wanted to be the same thing as last year.
So, again, Drew was spiderman...although this year he actually wore the face mask! Progress!  Trent dressed up as his father's favoirte team and his mother actually let is happen...again...what?  GO BUCKEYES!!

Here's the familiar duo... from October 2008.

LEAVES

The boys and I went out to rake the few leaves that fell into our yard from our neighbors tree...

The boys really wanted to jump in them...unfortunately we had to settle for this...

When they got bored, they both headed in to change into their "basketball clothes."  I laughed so hard when they came outside!!...Just take it all in...I guess they expected their feet to get cold...But I love the cape!

We Remember You...

We Do Not Need A Special Day

By Connie Dyer

We do not need a special day

To bring you to our minds,

The days we do not think of you
Are very hard to find.

Each morning when we awake
We know that you are gone,
And no one knows the heartache
As we try to carry on.

Our hearts still ache with sadness
And secret tears still flow,
What it meant to lose you
No one will ever know

Our thoughts are always with you
Your place no one can fill,
In life we loved you dearly
In death we love you still

There will always be heartache

And often a silent tear,

But always a precious memory

Of the days when you were here.

If tears could build a staircase

And heartaches make a lane

We’d walk the path to Heaven

And bring you back home again.

We hold you close, within our hearts

And there you will remain,
To walk with us throughout our lives
Until we meet again.

Our family chain is broken now
And nothing seems the same
But as God calls us one by one
The chain will link again

Today was Joanna's actual due date.

We will never forget...

My heart hurts for the little girl that is not with us. 

My arms ache to hold her while she sleeps.

My mind tells me I should be awake at night with my baby, sleep deprived. 

I long to sing her lullabys, kiss her chubby cheeks, and tickle her little toes. 

We sure miss you Joanna Claire!

We find comfort knowing you'll just have heaven before we do...

These candle's were lit in honor and memory of both my babies, Noah and Joanna, and many other babies whose families live in the area.  We lit these earlier this month, participating in the Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrace Day. 

We Remember You

In the rising of the sun

And in it’s going down,

In the blowing of the wind

And in the chill of winter,

In the opening of buds

And in the rebirth of spring,

We will remember you.

In the blueness of the sky

And in the warmth of summer,

In the rustling of leaves

And in the beauty of autumn,

In the beginning of the year

And when it ends,

We will remember you.

When we are weary

And in need of strength,

When we are lost and sick at heart,

When we have joys we yearn to share,

We will remember you.

For long as we live, you too shall live,

For you are a part of us,

And we will always remember.

Alabama

I'm gonna send you over to Jen's blog.  She posted a slideshow of pictures from our visit with the Palmers and the night of the Sav-a-Life Banquet.

Here are a few of my pictures...

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Jen and I arrived in Alabama last night.  The trip was uneventful for the most part.  We were delayed a bit in Fort Wayne as there was a ground delay in Detroit.  Then when we got to Detroit, we couldn't deplane because the ramp was broken.  It took a while for us to get off too, because we had to wait for a representitive to escort us since we were on a "live" tarmack.  Believe it or not it happened again when we got to Alabama...bizzare! Anyway, the fall foliage was spectacular!!  We saw lots of patches of "forrest" full of reds, oranges, yellows, and greens...simply beautiful!  I'll try to get some pictures on our way home.  Jen was laughing at me because the at the beginning of our flight to Alabama the captian came on and was giving all the stats of our flight and I THOUGHT he said that "we will be experiencing some turbulence" and Jen started laughing at me because he REALLY said, "Our flight will be an hour and thirty two minutes."  It was pretty funny...

Goodnight for now and I'll keep you posted.

Hittin' the Road...

We (Jen and I) are very excited about a new opportunity to share about our life experiences and our children. We will be traveling to Alabama in just two weeks, and speaking on the 20th! While we relflect on the value and miracle of new life, we will be focusing on how our children, Noah, Owen, and Joanna are WONDERFULLY MADE too.

Please be in prayer for us...
* that God would be glorified by all that we say and do
* as we pen out and prepare to share what is on our hearts -we are
  in the thick of this now!
* that our message would be heard loud and clear
* that we can deal effectively with the emotions that companion
  "going back there" (and specifically for me as Joanna's due date
  would have been Oct. 24 - these milestone anniversary dates can
  be emotional)
* that all the details come together smoothly
* for our physical health
* safety as we travel
* as our husbands care for our kids while we are away
* that we have an encouraging time with friends, old and new

THANK YOU, FRIENDS!