10/24/2009

We Remember You...























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


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.

10/22/2009

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...

10/18/2009

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.

10/05/2009

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!

9/28/2009

Song of the Grieving



My mom gave me a cd before Noah was born. I like this song...you can hear part of it here.



Song of the Grieving

Lord, you can see our hearts filled with sorrow,
The tears that are falling down,
Someone we love has gone on before us,
And we're left with the questions now,

And we know in the bigger scheme it would seem
We'll see you again 'fore we know it,
But the truth is it feels like this wound might not heal,
We need Your mercy, Lord show it,
Please, hear our Prayer...

Give us grace to weather this storm,
And strength to grieve our loss,
And trust that you have not abandoned us in our pain,
Give us faith to believe that there's more than this,
And hope for out final home,
We stand here before You broken but still believing,
The song of the grieving.

We smile at the fact that your journey is done,
And your spirit is where it has longed to be,
We picture you now as you laugh with the angels,
Thanking the Lord that you're finally free,

And we know in the bigger scheme it would seem
We'll see you again 'fore we know it,
But the truth is it feels like this wound might not heal,
We need Your mercy, Lord show it,
Please hear our cry...

The song of the grieving
We're broken and beaten
We need your healing

-Matt Rexford

9/26/2009

Nestled in Peace...

When I returned home from Iowa, Mike said the cemetery had called to let us know that Joanna's headstone had been placed. So, on Tuesday - the first day of fall - the boys and I took some flowers to the cemetery.
"May the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way."

II Thess 3:16

9/25/2009

ROAD TRIP

My mom and brother, Perry, picked me up last Friday and we headed to Iowa. The 8-9 hour car ride really wasn't too bad with 3 drivers. My cousin, who is stationed in Guam, flew "home" to get married. The weather was beautiful for the outdoor wedding. The scenery was lush and green. We stayed with a family from my uncle and aunt's church. My boys would have LOVED to explore around their farm!! I was able to snap a few shots at sunrise on Sunday morning while our host took our flat tire to the milk house to plug the hole! We were blessed to have hosts that could do just about anything! If we'd have been anywhere else, it would have been a much bigger and longer task! I don't think the donut tire would have lasted very long on all the gravel roads either.