Vacation 2015 ~ Holiday World

Darin officiates at weddings, presides at funerals, and plays gigs, and the money he earns from these events is above and beyond his normal paycheck.  After tithing on this extra money, Darin saves it...and after saving for over a year, we had enough money to go on vacation!  We joined Darin's parents for a fun day at Holiday World on July 3rd.

Just look at that cutie.

This awesome kid took off his shirt and played in the little splash park.  He pretended that the water was his enemy, and he had to fight it!

Driving the little jeep ~ he was pretty proud of himself.

The boys.

My honey.

Owen took a nap in his stroller, and the first thing he said when he woke up was, "I wanna get some ice cream!".   We were only too happy to oblige.

Can't go to Holiday World without getting red and blue ice cream!

Daddy won a game and of course, Owen picked the pink basketball.

June 2015

School's out for summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Here are some snapshots of what we've been up to this month...

Making cookies with Grandma.

Cornstarch putty while Daddy was away!

In the pool without getting wet!

Relaxin'

Listening to "Frozen" songs with Q.

Getting every last drop of ice cream!

Messy!

Cutting the grass.

Rolling down the hill without a care in the world.

Officially graduated from OT on 6/24/15!  Jon's handprint is the colorful one on the bottom left (as well as the lonely one in the middle).

Weeeee!

Teaching Jonathan how to play Spoons!!!

Visiting "Papa Donuts" at the store.

Hope in Grief

Death is never easy.  It isn't supposed to be; it's not part of God's original plan.  It makes it easier knowing without a doubt that a loved one is in Heaven, but it's so hard to be without that special someone on Earth.

My uncle Bob passed away on Saturday, and it is a heartbreaking loss for our entire family.  He will forever be remembered for so many things: his service to the community, his compassion and care for others, his amazing wisdom that he willingly shared with so many, his loyalty, his faith, his generosity, his leadership, and especially his role as a husband, father, uncle, brother, and grandfather.

I struggled to share with my close friends that my beloved uncle had passed away.  I anticipated that it would be even more difficult when sharing the sad news with Jonathan, but the response that I got was incredible....

Jonathan: Is he in Heaven?
Me: People are not the ultimate Judge, but I know that Uncle Bob loved Jesus very much, so I'm certain he is.
Jonathan: Well, aren't people alive again in Heaven?
Me: Yes, the Bible tells us they are.
Jonathan: Well, then I don't think you need to cry because he's not really dead since he's alive in Heaven with Jesus.

You see, we grieve because we will never hear Uncle Bob's laughter, see him dance, feel his embrace, or bend his ear for a heart-to-heart again.  Not this side of Heaven.  But those who put their hope in Jesus will see him again in Heaven.  Our grief is real.  Our pain is terrible.  But we can celebrate for Uncle Bob.  Because he is without pain and in the arms of Jesus.  It is so hard to wrap our minds around this because we hurt.  Selfishly, we want him back, but we know he is happy and pain-free now.

And then Jonathan told me that he wanted to die soon so that he can be in Heaven with Jesus.  He has actually shared this with me before.  Many are shocked when they hear this.  I know.  I am one of them.  I want to see my son grow and do great things for the kingdom of God.  But I get it.  You see, Jonathan is a very loving and intelligent little boy.  He is wise beyond his years.  He knows that we are not to live this life accumulating things and living for ourselves, for this life.  His heart and mind are set on the only thing that never changes and never fails - Jesus.

My prayer for myself and all those reading this is that we will have the strong faith that Jonathan demonstrates, and that we will have the goal of eternity on our hearts.