Catch up...

Well, things have been rather hectic this last month. February is always a kind of busy month for us with our anniversary and Grace's birthday, but this month seems to have been even more busy than normal. On top of that, I haven't been too much in a mood to blog, as I feel like I have been either too sad to again talk about my daughters beautiful smiles, or I am too tired and just want to sleep. I am going to try to get caught up over next week (or maybe a couple weeks).

As a summary, the month started out with a trip to visit my grandpa and to visit my grandma's grave. The trip was to celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary since we love road trips and Grace LOVES going to the Hilton Ranch.

The next week was Grace's 4th birthday. We had a party at my parents house and also we had cupcakes at church for the superbowl party on Sunday.

The next week was Valentines day (we went to a dinner with the folks from Valley Baptist and The Chapel). I didn't get any picutres from that. That weekend was also George and Evie's going away, which I will post picures and share about. Last weekend was the funeral and graveside service for Tom, a man from our church who went to be with the Lord. Gunnar had been with the family the night he died, and it was a sad time for all of us. I didn't get any pictures from that either, but it kept us busy.

Last Monday, we crashed my parents trip to Warner Springs. I was so tired, I only took one picture. And it was as we were getting into the car. We had a great time relaxing though, and my parents even watched the girls so I could go in the hot pool. I was super excited!! Thanks Dick, for lining everything up!

This week was also Elizabeth's half birthday. She is crawling all over the place, and I took some cute pictures of her on her almost big day. We actually went to the mall and met her cutie cousin Elena and Auntie Ann for lunch. So I will be sharing those pictures.

Other than that, we met up with friends for lunch. We hung out at the house, did laundry, preschool, all the usual. The girls went to the Dr., Gunnar threw his back out, I have been trying to be more independent in preparation for Gunnar's trip to Mongolia. I am not really a fan of going places by myself with the kids as it is a lot of work, but I have been working on that. Oh, and speaking of independence, Elizabeth has started crawling and is into everything. No shoes or scraps of paper are safe at our house anymore! :)

Well, I think that sums things up. :) Now I just have to sort through the pictures and post them. Or maybe take a nap instead. :)

6 months old

Today sweet Elizabeth Lee turns 6 months old! On the one hand, it seems like she has been around forever, on the other, it seems like she was just born. Her sweeter than sweet smiles have brightened our lives. She truly is a bundle of joy!

Happy 6 month Birthday, Elizabeth Lee!

Comfort

You might have noticed I was a little sad when I blogged yesterday. I was.

Shortly after I posted that, I was standing in the kitchen, doing dishes and going over Grace's memory verses with her. We do this most days, to review and keep up on the verses she is learning. When we review we take turns, she quotes a passage, then I quote a passage. When it came to my turn as I started quoting it hit me.

It was in front of me the whole time, yet I missed it.

2 Corinthians 4:16-19:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

We are wasting away. It is just a fact of life. But we are also being renewed day by day. And the eternal glory that awaits us far outweighs the grief and sorrows that we have in this life.

My perspective had been so off. I wasn't fixing my eyes on the unseen. I was fixing my eyes on the here and now.
I took this picture a week or two ago and had forgotten about it. Grace had planted these flowers last year from a packet of seeds my grandma had sent her last Easter. They had sprouted and just as the flowers had started to bloom, the dog had rolled in them uprooted the plants. Grace had cried about it. After my grandma died, she had brought it up one day randomly in the car and cried about it again. I had wondered if crying about the flowers was her way of dealing with my grandmas death. We had promised her we would get more seeds in the spring.

A few months later after the rain, we found these flowers had sprouted again. Not where they had been planted, but 6 ft down by the corner of the garage. The rain had washed the seeds from the dead flowers down and had been reborn. Grace and I were both so excited.

When I thought of that verse yesterday, the flowers came to mind.

I am going to try to remember them. And not loose heart. Because outwardly I am wasting away, but inwardly, I am being renewed, day by day.

When sorrow like sea billows roll

When sorrows like sea billows roll. The line from the classic hymn has been stuck in my head for a while now.

Today marks the 6 month anniversary of my grandma's death. It has been a rough 6 months for me. I have felt so guilty for missing the funeral (even though it was out of my control). I had felt bad that I hadn't been able to talk to her or to say goodbye. I wasn't expecting her to die so soon. I wasn't ready. She was supposed to meet my new baby, not die the week before. She never even got to find out if it was a boy or girl. I miss her.

When sorrows like sea billows roll.

Last week, a man from our church passed away. He was 70. His wife is a gracious, sweet lady, who is truly a good example for a godly wife. They have been at our church for 3 years and have been a huge help and encouragement to us. Gunnar is doing the interment on Monday and helping with the memorial this weekend.

When sorrows like sea billows roll.

This week, our dear friends, George and Evie, are moving away. They are in their 80's and are moving to be closer to family. They have been like grandparents to us and a huge encouragement and help to us since moving to Valley Center. George is a retired pastor and they are roll models for Gunnar and I. They will be greatly missed.

When sorrows like sea billows roll.

A few weeks ago we visited my grandpa. He misses his wife of 55 years. He isn't one to show emotion, but he did say that her flowers would be blooming in the spring and he planned on taking some to her grave for her birthday. My uncle told me that he often comes over in the morning to find my grandpa in his chair, looking at a picture of her.

When sorrow like sea billows roll.

I guess in all this, I keep trying to remind myself that the song doesn't end there. The next line says:

Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, It is well, It is well, with my soul.

The author of the songs says that God has taught him to be at peace. It didn't come naturally. I think I am in a season of learning this. Or trying to learn this.

The other thought that has been impressed upon me is this:
"Only one life, will soon be past, Only what is done for Christ, will last"

Life is here one day and gone the next. I really want to make the most of my time. It is hard though. Somedays, I want to sit on in front of the computer and refresh my facebook page the entire day. I need to start sleeping more soon, too, as I am a firm believer that sleep cures most of the worlds problems. :) I just need to convince Elizabeth of this truth.

In closing, here are some pictures from our trip to my grandma's grave a few weeks ago. I felt like going to the grave was a good step in the healing process in my heart. My dad's grandparents are also buried there, which was interesting to see.

Beach Evening

I love living in such a beautiful place. We went to the beach the other night to let the dogs run around. Grace was a bit intimidated by the dogs and stayed safely away on Gunnar's shoulders.When he took the dogs to the car, however and she had the beach free and clear, she discovered the joy of being a kid and being around puddles.

At first she was cautious:But in no time she was running from puddle to puddle.
Times like these are what being a kid is all about!

I can't hear you

I was singing to calm down Elizabeth and next thing I know I looked over and Grace was asleep like this.

My first major knitted project

I was pretty pleased with the finished project, although of course the first things I notice are the imperfections. It helps that I have an adorable model though, everything looks better on her.

4 years ago today

My life changed forever. My perspective changed. My world would forever be different.

I had never been so tired or emotionally drained, but would do it all over again in a minute.

I can't imagine life without her, and can barely remember what it was like to not always have her on my mind.

She is my buddy and self appointed BFF. She entertains me to no end. There is always an interesting conversation to be had. She is affectionate, smart, funny and beautiful. I couldn't ask for anything more.



Happy Birthday 4 year old!

The cousinhood of the traveling sweater vest

I love that my girls have a cousin that not only is close to their age, but they get to see fairly often. I was never super close to my cousins, becuase we lived so far away, so it is super sweet to see the strong bond between them. Another awesome thing is the trading clothes and baby gear. It is nice that we have all had girls and those pink clothes are getting well worn.

This outfit in particular was one of my favorites for Grace. Elena wore it too and now Elizabeth is having her turn. I dug up pictures of each of them and it was fun to see them side by side. Elena and Elizabeth were 5 months old (the outfit is 3-6 months). Tiny Grace, however wore the outfit at 9 months (which is why her head is so proportionately smaller).

If that's not a great looking bunch of girls, I don't know what is!

Mary Jesse

Grace has a friend named Mary Jesse.

I personally love Mary Jesse, even though often time times she has been blamed for teaching Grace bad behavior.

Mary Jesse once fell in a hole and the gophers ate her hands off.

Mary Jesse also has a friend named Lolly-pop Jesse, who is a little more boring and sweet than Mary Jesse, who is quite the adventurer.

Mary Jesse loves Jesus, all the way up to her neck.

Mary Jesse had a tini facebook, because it was on a tini computer.

Mary Jesse has a lot of stories involving falling in holes with various substances falling on top of her, such as gardening stuff, groceries, etc.

Mary Jesse lives in heaven. She got there by climbing a tree and jumping and Jesus caught her and took her the rest of the way up.

For months now, I have heard so many Mary Jesse stories but Grace would always tell me that I had never seen her. Finally though, I think I got a glimpse of her and Grace chatting the other day. :)

Flashback Friday: Cafe con leche

This flashback Friday doesn't take us that far back. Only 7 years actually. The first Christmas Gunnar and I were married we took a trip to Spain. Whenever it comes up, Gunnar always says his favorite part was the coffee....aka Cafe con leche. However, I don't think most people realize how much he LOVED that part of the trip. So in case you were one of those doubters, now you can see for yourself. Besides that, I am thinking thee pictures alone might be enough to motivate Gunnar for another trip. :)

This is pretty much how it goes

This is pretty much life at our house, and I love it!

Newest additions

If you haven't figured it out by now, we enjoy getting new animals. Ironically, I am not an "animal person" so it makes me laugh that we have ended up with the mass amounts of animals that we have. Almost all of them have not been my idea, but I end up liking most of them, so I guess it works out. I do think they are good for Grace, and until we can have more kids, she needs something to keep her company. :)

The latest additions came a few weeks back when there was all that rain. Gunnar brought them home as a treat for his girls. When we set out to name them, we told Grace that we would like a couple from the Bible, and she settled with Adam and Eve.

So here you have them. The newest member's of our heard. Or maybe that should be school.

Adam:Eve:

My love

From here:
To here:
And everything in between:

Happy Anniversary to my one true love!

Hey there!

The other day at Costco Gunnar picked up a little something for little sister. It helps her sit up and she loves looking around like a big girl.