Priceless memories

A little look into our lives the last few months...

Yummy rice krispy treats!

"The heavens declare the glory of God..."

My sweet little cutie! Yellow is one of her colors. ;)

We had David and Luke (cousins!) over one night and had lots of fun!

Yes, we are always silly

Love our walks!

Box time!

Minnie Mouse (with crooked ears, of course!) and Superman!

We went to "Trunk Or Treat" at the church again this year -  a great little thing if you don't want to go door to door. And we saw our friend Alyssa! She was a cute little kitty! 

And a sweet one!

Gotta rock the sunglasses while you watch t.v. This girl is every bit of a girly girl. She loves to accessorize!

Puzzle time!

We just had some fun one day and made a monkey. :) 

Yes, I finally gave in to extensions. I have literally been trying to grow out my hair for years. I have a hard time staying away from scissors though. Can't decide if I'm going to go crazy and wear them every day yet. Kinda thinkin not. ;) They are a great accessory though.

Daddo is a great horse. Just "be careful, Daddo!" (as K would put it)

K decided that underwear made a great hat. Had to take the pic.

He is so smart. Thought of this all on his own.

"Popcorn" He tries to feed it to me daily.

One day we got creative and made an alligator. :)

Cousin Timothy's first birthday! :) Love how we have an excuse to party all the time!

Ice! Even though it wasn't "snow," the kids LOVED it! They cried when they had to come in.

IPad time. I think he may be ready for his own. (LeapPad, that is, or something like it.)

And...she already has the diva stance down. She's so funny - just recently, when she meets someone for the first time, she'll do the whole "Talk to the hand," thing. Really have no idea where she got this! 

GG and Grandpa time! Not quite sure where Nana is at this moment, but I need to get more of her in the pics! :) 

"Fixing" it. He is always, always fixing something!

Sand and sun and swing time! 82 degrees, anyone, in December? Sure! I'll take it!

This is his other love! Building his RC airplane! He is amazing with it.

This is Mr. Matthew, whom we recently got the pleasure to watch while mommy and daddy got to go on a much needed date. Love him to pieces! He is so mellow and sweet.

Gingerbread house in the making!! 

He loves his elf hat.

Dislike. Major dislike.

Singing Christmas songs at the library. Thanks, Oma for taking this sweet picture. I am so proud that she got it - he didn't stay in this position for very long!

Thanks to our sweet neighbors, our son is dressing in pink glittery heels. :) Our sweet neighbor brought over a box of dress up stuff for girls (used to be theirs). He tends to get into it from time to time, and I never know what he'll be wearing. We seriously need to get the poor boy a few super hero suits.

Family pic! A huge thank you to Aunt Deb and Uncle Jeremy for taking these! This is one of the few that everyone is smiling in and not jumping, or moving around, or crying. ;)

Her "Talk to the hand," pose. See? She does it well.

Silly faces. I love that I have a daughter and a son who like to be silly with me sometimes. :) 

Finished house.

Oma and K and cousin Isaac at the Christmas concert tonight at their church. :)

B and Miss Abigail, sweet cousins

Me and cousin David

I always wonder if people make it to the end of my pictures! :) 

I understand if ya'll don't...I include every one of the ones I consider "keepsake worthy". 

So, I have to be honest here. I am so thankful for these sweet memories we are making, and the pictures I am able to take. I am so incredibly blessed.

Tonight, while I was rocking my baby girl to sleep, (yes, I still rock her to sleep - I am THAT mom!) I treasured every breath she took, in and out.

Ya'll, we just never know. Life is like that.

You literally never know how long your loved ones have - or that you have with them. 

Treasure. Every. Moment. 

Tomorrow, my brother will have to do probably the hardest thing he has ever had to do in his life, and that is to bury the love of his life. He will attend her funeral, and say goodbye to her one last time before her body is gone forever from his sight. A week ago, she was still breathing.

Seriously, treasure your time with your loved ones. You just never know.

I am sorry to be so somber. But it's really just difficult to understand right now.

I have questioned God, "Why?" 

Why, my brother, of all people, who is so sweet, who can hardly harm a fly?

Why did she have to die now? Why not at 85, like so many other people in this world?

He informed us this past weekend that he had been thinking of proposing next summer to her. Now that dream is gone.

We will never understand, fully, the reason behind her sudden, early death, leaving behind a man who loved her so much.

But right now I am trying to lean on the things I do know. 

And one is that our time is short, and we never know how long we have.

And that we serve a God who knows best, and His timing is always perfect. 

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18

He knows my brother's pain better than anyone else on the planet. He knows how to fix his heart. And I pray he does, as only He knows how.

And I lean on his promises. They are true, they are holy, and they will never, ever fail. 

Satan's plan is for our death and destruction. Jesus' plan is for LIFE, eternal. Praise Jesus that...

"Where, o death is your victory? Where, o death is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:55-57

One day we will all face death. We may not all die at the same time or place, but - we will die, and it could be tomorrow. That's a reality that we cannot escape. 

Enjoy that precious time with your loved ones, ya'll. You just never know.