Labor Day Weekend...

...we headed up to Michigan to visit friends and family. We got to hang out with a friend of mine from high school in the Philippines. It was great fun, and I laughed...A LOT! Drew hit it off with M, my friends daughter. We laughed some more about how alike they are, those two! (We are really in for it when they get older, E! Glad we can share our mortifying stories together!)

(I snapped a few pics with my totally disfunctional camera!! It only works when it wants to...sigh...I know, it's blurry...but, you get the picture...)

Then we had another family BIRTHDAY PARTY. We celebrated Drew's b-day and he was so excited to rip open his gift and find Spiderman golf clubs!! Now he can get in on the golf action that Mike and Trent have enjoyed together. He also got a fishing pole and walkie-talkies :)

Ready...

...get set...

...S-W-I-N-G!...

On Monday, while the boys went golfing, I headed out to the beach with some of my nieces. It was fun to walk across the warm sand, indulge in reading a book while soaking in some rays, play a "lively" game of cards, and walk out on the pier. Thanks for including your "old" aunt girls! It was a blast!

Bored?...No way!!

Thought you'd like to see what Drew and I have been up to while Trent is playing with rubber bands and glue sticks, talking with his deskmate while he's supposed to be listening, scribbling outside the lines, keeping a very clean desk (no doubt), and thinking about playing football at recess hard at work in school..."For 8 hours!"...Drew likes to make sure everyone knows just how long his buddy, playmate, Lego-building, car racing brother is away at school. Really, though, it has been a lot of fun for me to hang out and have some 1-on-1 time with my Drewboy. Can't believe he'll be 5 in just two weeks. YIKES!! He just loves life and lives it to the fullest. He makes me laugh and is a ray of sunshine on my cloudy days.

Building with Legos...note the driving clone trooper :)Hanging out at the zoo...I guess he heard enough of the drums. Daydreaming in the tree house...well, at least for about 15 seconds... Sittin' on the komodo dragon.Treats from Tokens-n-Tickets...Driving his "motorcycle"... And just before you get to thinkin' that our time is all fun and games...here is what happened today...during a few minutes of unsupervision quiet...I went to check on him outside and found the van doors locked and Drew holding my keys!! YEP, UH OH!! He was unlocking and locking the secret compartment under the passengers seat :)

He had already unlocked the doors when he jumped over to the driver's seat so I jumped in and took my keys away. This is the same boy I found on top of the fridge one morning a couple of years ago...

He was trying to get the refillable popcorn bucket for the zoo...he was evidently hungry...
...and the boy who fell in the pond while feeding the ducks..."I just don't know how I fell in, but the the alligators just didn't get me, mom!" ...and the boy who got into my black and gold stamp pads and "colored" a wall in his bedroom... ...and wanted ice cream for breakfast...he got the cones out of the pantry and the ice cream out of the freezer all before I was even out of bed!...

...so glad the "mischievous three's" are behind us!! Although (*shaking head*), I'm not convinced he'll really ever grow out of it :) But I wouldn't miss it for the world!

Fishtail...fishtale...

Grr....I just lost my original post...

Here we go again...

Trent has been asking Mike to "go" fishing. So last night, we took advantage of the pond in our backyard and really had fun!! This is what Trent scored on the first cast...a big catfish! (Scroll down to see how "big" Trent was showing me it was.) Mike had quite the time trying to get the hook out. I offered to gracefully jog up the lawn to the house where I took in a deep breath completely wishing that I was not so out of shape or out of breath from ALL the exertion ran back up to the house to get the needle nose pliers, but to no avail...the line broke and the fish swam off. I saw nothing "floating" out there this morning, so it must have been alright. I still feel bad though. Mike told me not to worry because the hook will eventually work it's way out. (I guess humans pierce their lips, cheeks, noses, and eyebrows for fun, so this fish can just start the trend for our backyard pond.)

It was so nice out last night. We enjoyed being outside together...I stayed out a few extra minutes - while Mike got pj's on the boys - to take some pictures looking out at our backyard...so peaceful!!

I love these leaves. This Canadian Choke Cherry tree was planted right after Drew was born.

SPLASH...

My mom and brother joined us at the pool a couple weeks ago when they were up for the memorial service. We had a great time enjoying the sun, heat, and of course the water. The boys could hardly wait to get there and I heard about it all morning! Trent had fun as he was catapulted into the air...thankfully no belly flops ensued! And Drew...he's just too cute!! He was so happy to be a part of all the action in the big pool, I heard no complaints about wearing a life jacket.

The Results...

...all came back perfectly normal.

We decided to have some genetic testing done after Joanna was born. We specifically wanted to check her chromosomes. At the beginning of my pregnancy, the doctor said he was pretty confident that Joanna's heart defect was an isolated thing. Later in my pregnancy he tossed out the possibility Joanna had trisomy. I thought this was a bit odd, considering there were no other signs of any abnormalities. I was never convinced that this was the underlying issue.

When I talked to the nurse last Friday, she said all the tests came back perfectly normal. It was simply Joanna's heart that had not formed correctly. A bittersweet answer. As a mom, I felt relief that I could not blame myself or feel guilty for "contributing" to her abnormalities...it wasn't something I passed on to her. Yet, I wonder why God allowed this to happen...THIS WAY. Though I realize I will not get any answers this lifetime, I trust that God will turn even our most tragic circumstances into something good. He was and still is in control, He formed each part of her. His love for her runs even deeper than mine.

This video is the way we introduced our baby girl to everyone attending her memorial service.
Enjoy meeting her and celebrating her life with us, too.

A package, some cards, and our Mail Lady...

You just never know who God will allow you to cross paths with. Yesterday it was our sweet mail lady. She's been delivering our mail since we've lived here (5 years), usually we wave and smile and sometimes there is opportunity for small talk. Yesterday was one of those days...

I got such a special package! My friends from college complied cards and notes and sent them all to me with a Willow Tree memory box entitled, "Angel of Mine." Brought me to tears! Thanks again girls, you really made my day!!

Since the package wouldn't fit in our mailbox, our mail lady brought it up to the door and rang the bell. I said "Thanks!" and she casually asked if it was my birthday. I said, "No, actually it's just a lot of love and support from our friends...we just had a stillborn 3 weeks ago." She said how sorry she was and she began to tear up. She said that her daughter just went through the same thing on July 30th. She shared that her own birthday was the 28th, like Joanna's, so her daughter waited to be induced until the 30th. She wiped her eyes and said, "This grandma just hasn't stopped crying yet." She apologized and told me she didn't want to get me started either. She asked how I was doing physically and she went on to share that on top of the loss, they found cancer, and her daughter is now going to have a hysterectomy. Her daughter is dealing with the reality of not being able to have any more children. I told her about the support group I've been going to at one of the local hospitals. It's been good to be able to relate to moms who have "been there," and know that I'm not alone in this. After reassuring her I was doing okay, that we were "hanging in there" and "taking one day at a time," we said goodbye. As she walked away, I swallowed the lump in my throat, and wished I would have been better prepared to share about Joanna and the hope we clung/cling to through all of this...How Joanna directed our thoughts heavenward. Who knows if she shares that hope or if that was my only opportunity to talk her (BUT I hope it is not!) I wondered too if her daughter received our Noah's Hope photo book. I'm praying for another opportunity to talk with her.

Just think, I would never have had the opportunity to talk with her without getting this package from friends! Because of their love and encouragement, I was able to share with a grandma who needed a little love and encouragement too. Keep praying...and be ready to pass on a little love and encouragement to someone who needs it...God can work amidst my/your pain...are you ready?

Back to School

Trent has been back in school a week now. He seems to really be enjoying 1st grade. Here are a few memorable pics from the first day of school...his class was actually on the front page of the local newspaper. The article was written about the students going back to school at their brand new school "on time" as there was a carpenters strike this summer that halted the progress. I've been enjoying a few extra minutes to sleep in...Trent's bus picks him up 10 minutes before school starts. (Last year the bus came 20 minutes earlier) Drew has done well too. He plays well on his own. He has built some really neat Lego cars, boats, and planes. Drew and I also went to story time at the library this week. It has been fun to have some time together - just the two of us!

I guess they think they are rockstars!? They were very excited!