Remembering

Because it's throwback Thursday on social media; I thought I'd post these pics here too. Two very important men in my life. If it weren't for Aaron I never would have met and married Steve and therefore there would be no Jorie or Joshua or a child waiting for us in heaven. I can't believe the way life works out sometimes. I can vividly remember the days both photos were taken. The top picture of Aaron and I was a selfie at my house. He wanted to take it. :) And the bottom is Steve and I (still dating at that point) attending a valentine banquet at our church. Sweet memories of very sweet men in my life. :-)

Our trip

If you would keep me in your prayers it would be greatly appreciated. Last night after a week of trying to figure out what I had.... I was diagnosed with Shingles. I have heard some horror stories about it. Moms can't get sick! We have too much to do! Steve and I got away this past week to SanFransisco. A trip we have been planning for quite some time now. It was still fun despite me not feeling 100%.

 

Update on Ryan

Many people have asked what Ryan is doing this year. So I thought I would do a quick post about it. Ryan started school at the age of 2 so that he could be in a specialized preschool for kids with different disablities. He only attended a couple days a week. However, he feels that he has put in his fair share of school having started younger than most kids! So he is taking a year off. He is praying about it (as are we) that the Lord would lead him. Currently, he is making YouTube videos and shares a verse from the Bible a few times a week. But our days are much like they were years ago before Jorie and Josh came along and it was just me and Ryan home all day. Only difference now is that Ryan is much bigger and getting harder for me to lift. If he does remain at home indefinitely; we may need to look into getting some sort of lift for me to use. And we also may be getting a nurse or aide to come in and relieve me for times during the day. It has been an adjustment. Of course my mom still helps out too which is very nice. We know the Lord has a plan for Ryan's life!! 

Zoe and her pumpkin

We got a small pumpkin for Zoe this year. She loved it and wanted to eat it. But we were able to snap a few quick photos of her with it first. Happy Fall!! 🎃

Zoe

Now that Zoe has had all her shots; we have been having fun taking her places!!

The butte, the river trail, the kids' soccer games and today we tried the dog park. She's getting better at obeying and we can tell she's starting to calm down just a bit from when we first got her. Although she is still definitely in puppy mode!! She has been a fun addition to our family. 

Cousin pix

Just a couple pictures of all the cousins on Steve's side of the family. They are all growing up way too fast!

Cousins 😁

We have had quite a bit of family in town over the last couple of weeks. I'm so thankful that each of my kids has at least one cousin their age that they can play with. Actually, Alaina is the only girl cousin so Jorie is thrilled when she comes out with big brother, Darren. They usually stay with us for one week each summer. All of our cousins except for Elliott live out of town so it's always fun to get together with them. 😀

New family member

So if you didn't know; we added a new member to our family this past July. Steve and I had been planning it for a while and keeping it a secret from the kids. They had absolutely no clue when we brought them all out to the backyard in early July to reveal the surprise. The kids decided to name her Zoe. She is a mini golden-doodle. Her dad is a mini poodle and her mom is a golden retriever. She is just so sweet and super smart. She is fitting into our family just fine so far. Although training a puppy has been a LOT of work. Our last experience with a dog was Ryan's service dog and she came FULLY trained. She was amazing. I have removed most of our throw rugs in the house and we try to keep her on the hard floors as it's much easier to clean if she should have an accident. 

Bowling fun

We took the kids bowling Saturday. Josh absolutely loved it. Jorie did as well. They did pretty good too for only having bowled a couple times in their life. Ryan decided not to play but just to watch this time. Summer is here! It's going to be a fun one! 

Two more!!!

Last night we celebrated Jorie's graduation from 5th grade into middle school. The school put on a lovely performance. Josh and Jorie both sang in the performance with their classes. They do such an amazing job honoring the students. Each student is presented with a bible of their own at the end of the ceremony. Ryan said to me when it was all over "wow mom, that was better than my graduation!" Today we had Josh's graduation from kindergarten. And that will be it for graduating kids for a while! Phew. It has been an emotional week. 

I can't even think of a title for this blog post. I am just in awe at how fast time flies. Just yesterday I had a tiny, blonde haired little boy. The sweetest little boy a mom could ask for. And now he's a man. It really does happen in the blink of an eye. Ryan has grown into an amazing and bright young man. He makes me laugh on a daily basis and I consider him one of my best friends. The Lord truly has blessed us with his life. His life truly is a miracle. Congratulations buddy! We are so proud of you !!!! Xoxoxo

Car accident

Thanking God tonight that we were all ok. And that I wasn't driving our wheelchair van! Ryan might have been trapped inside if his door had been smashed in. :( It happened this morning on my way to drop the kids off at school. An older gentleman ran a stop sign and crashed into Josh's door. Yikes!!!

A trip to Vegas!

Getting away with my husband just us two is such a blessing. We recently took a trip to Las Vegas. Four nights away was just enough time for us to relax and have a great time. Oddly enough we go to Vegas but neither of us gamble or drink. We go for the food, shopping and just walking around and seeing the sights. Sometimes we will see a show but that didn't work out this time. We did however see 2 movies together! Just being together is so much fun!!!