Rest in peace, sweet Megan

My heart hurts. 
Monday was a day I don't want to remember. 
My brother wishes it was a bad dream.
But he hasn't woken up from that dream yet. 

On Monday, he woke up and made breakfast for his girlfriend, Megan, took it to her, and found her dead.

It has been a tough week.

As the tears well up, I cannot imagine his pain. 

He and Megan had been dating for a year. He had known her since elementary school.

She literally was his everything.

She referred to them, when I talked with her, as "two peas in a pod."

She was really his other half. 

This is hard. 

This Monday will be her funeral, and my parents will go with him, then he will be alone in Washington state. 

He is going to need some serious prayer.

She does have some very good family, whom he has become very close to, and he will probably spend the holidays with them, and he is also going to stay with a friend during this time, so he doesn't have to be in the house too much for a little while. That would be a bit too rough.

She leaves behind a sweet little four year old, Trent, as well. He doesn't understand where mommy is right now. 

I am so glad I got to know Megan though. 

She and Phil (my brother) came down to visit us this summer, and I felt an instant connection to her sweet spirit. We had some weird similarities - such as her love for Sour Patch Kids (lol!) and keeping her house clean! She was so easy to talk to, and she even called me to chat. I felt like I could talk to her about anything, really, and instantly understood why my brother loved her. 

I thank the Lord for her spirit, and pray for her family right now - for their comfort, for answers, and so much more.

Megan,

I thank Jesus for your brief time with us. 
I am so sorry that I was not able to get to know you more. Oh, how I wish I could have sat down with you and spent quality "sister" time with you. I looked forward to our sisterly times together so much. 

I was so excited for Phil when I found out he had found such a sweet girl - someone I even felt close to, after just a brief time of knowing you.
You were funny, and sweet and a very good companion to my brother, and there is a reason you were in his life - I know this. 

I don't understand why you had to go so suddenly.

Or why you left us so early.

But we will rest in knowing the God of the Universe is good, and He always knows what He is doing. 

Many people who knew you now say what a good mommy you were, too.

Although I didn't ever get to meet your son, I can see why they would say it. You took care of our two children during my grandfather's funeral, and you were very good with them. 

Sweet Megan, you left us early, but you will never be forgotten. 

Thank you for gracing us with your presence during your short time here. We look forward to meeting you on the other side, where you can greet us with that beautiful smile and sweet spirit once again. 

Rest in peace, sweet girl, and I love you, sister. 
Always will. 

Love,
your sis,
Amber

"You call me out upon the waters...the great unknown, where feet may fail. 
And there, I find you in the mystery, in oceans deep, my faith will stand.
And I will call upon your name.
And keep my eyes above the waves, when oceans rise.
My soul will rest in your embrace.
For I am yours, and you are mine.

Your grace abounds in deepest waters.
Your sovereign hand will be my guide.
My feet may fail when fear surrounds me.
You've never failed.
And you won't stop now.

So I will call upon your name.
And keep my eyes above the waves
when oceans rise.
My soul will rest in your embrace
for I am yours, and you are mine.

Spirit lead me when my trust is without borders.
Let me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me.
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
and my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior..."

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) - Hillsong UNITED 

http://youtu.be/dy9nwe9_xzw

Happy Fall, ya'll!

Hello, fall, and hello all!  :) 
So...this fall, is such a turning point in our lives. The kids have been saying and doing some really cute things, lately, and I wanted to write it down before I forgot.
A few of the cutesy things they have done/said, lately are, (and this is only what I can think of off the top of my head!):
Kaleb - 
*I recently got my hair cut and colored reddish brown (for fall - I'm crazy like that!;) and when I got home, Kaleb was like, "Momma, you're brown!" and he came and gave me a big hug, and said, "I like brown," and started petting my hair. Guess he was happy to see me! Now, a a little over a week later, he's still petting me sometimes, and saying, "I like brown." I think it's his love language! Makes me smile, anyway!
*Today while I was mixing something up in a bowl for dinner that I let Kaleb play with often, I was letting him stand on a stool and watch. When he got up to look, he said, "Momma, my helmet's all dirty!"...Usually when I let him use the bowl, he puts it on his head as a "helmet". :)
*Yesterday while on a walk, we passed by a truck that was parked outside of a closed garage. He said, "That truck is waiting to go in." And then a few moments later, we passed by some pumpkins on a bench, and he said, "Those pumpkins are sitting down on that bench, momma." Cute!
*Brookelynn loves to sit in my lap! I laugh at her a lot because she is just so cute, and sometimes she'll look at me and start giggling back, and we just sit there and laugh at each other. 
*B also loves to hug me and watch the mirror while she does it. She just loves being snuggly, and the mirror just makes it more fun, I guess! 

So, that's just a very short list of course, but I may update it. :) 
Other updates...Lately, our weeks, since the fall season has begun, have looked a bit different than they were in the summer, and I LOVE it! This is such a new "season" in our lives, and I am taking full advantage of it.
I now take Kaleb to Library Time on Mondays, and B stays with either Daddy or GG, since the one on one time with K is best (it's easiest that way, getting him to sit still!). He is doing amazing, and I am so proud of him. At first, I was a bit nervous about taking him because I didn't know how he would do. He's still a bit "new" at the sitting down thing for long periods of time, and being still. But, it's just his speed! He sits down for longer than I've ever seen him sit still during the story. And, when little hand motions or body motions go with the story time, he participates so well, and I'm just a proud momma right now! I have a feeling I'm going to LOVE the age of 3! ;) Sigh...FINALLY. His attention span is ALL boy, and up until very recently, he couldn't sit down for anything. But lately he has started settling down a bit and I am SO enjoying this stage! Anyway, off my rant, now! ;) 
So, yes, Mondays are library days, then Tuesdays I go to a bible study in the evening at church. It is awesome, and I love it. Just a bit of "me" time, and I have enjoyed it immensely! ;) Being a full time mommy is great, trust me, but a little time away is definitely needed. Justin has been amazing in telling me he doesn't mind that I go and leave him with the kids when he's off, and he'll feed them dinner while I'm gone. Such a sweetie, he is. I couldn't ask for someone better...I really couldn't. Okay, I'll stop, again! :) 
Wednesdays, I do a bit of "school" with the kids, or a project, or whatever. Lately we've just been doing projects again, which is great. I haven't worked on the letters with them or the tot school trays in quite a while, but we've been doing other things! :) I plan to continue, though! Just been busy with other things!
Thursdays, we go to bible club in the park, where we play on the playground a bit, I hang out with other mommas, and then we sing songs and hear a short bible story. It's great - a bit of me time with the other mommies, and the kids get to play! And, just recently, I have taken both K and B again. Last year, because K just was SO active, I could only take one at a time, to focus just on them. I even stopped going for a while, because K just had such a hard time sitting still! He is just such a smart boy, and always needing to be busy! Anyway, so, last time I went, and took both of them, was remarkable. BOTH K and B sat nicely in their seats and sang. It was music to momma's ears! :) Like I said, I am loving the age of 3...Friends of babies this age and older have told me this would happen (that he would start settling down), but I really wasn't sure...So far, it is proving to be true. Praise the Lord!
Fridays, I plan to go to MOPS, but haven't gotten back into it yet. I was going to go today, but wasn't able to. But I do plan to get back into it. It's great, also for the momma's and the kids. 
Saturdays, we just hang out, of course, and get ready for church on Sundays.
We go to this great church that I have begun to love, and the people are precious.Not only do I attend the bible study there on Tuesdays, but I have also started singing on the praise team, and it is such a blessing. Lovin it. 
This season has been a season of change so far, and I am so excited to see what happens. I am excited to meet more mommies this year and get more involved than I've been the last couple of years, because the kids were so little. And B is a very easy little girl - she is pretty laid back. So I'm not really concerned about her 2's and taking her places. But - that said, she has had a few more "episodes," lately, as far as tantrums go, so we'll see. She's not 2, yet! ;)
But anyway, I feel change in the air this season. Loving it - bring it on! :) 

Here are some more pictures from this fall so far...

Pumpkin painting! :) This didn't last very long, but it was more fun for me I think than it was for them!
  

 We went to White Buffalo Days this year (something our town does every year - they have concessions and music and a few animals for the kids!) and they got to see their first buffalo close up. VERY! B was afraid, K just watched it.

 Pictures with my best friend. She really is.

Pretty fall sunset! Got this on the way home from bible study one night. Jesus never ceases to amaze! :) 

Our "train ride" with the Burks!! We went to the Abilene Zoo recently with them and it was so fun!

Just a fun shot of us on the train.

And...the babies on the train!

This snake was interesting - it had a pot it was slithering into, so we had to get a shot of that. There was already a lot of snake in the pot...Eeeewwww, yuck.

 
This snake was, for some reason, rather friendly, and would follow the kids back and forth as they moved. Yep. Scary. And their faces were right.next.to.it. Again, ew yuck. But, on another note, B, for some reason right now, is fascinated with snakes, and she loves to say, "Nake." So, couldn't resist a shot of her with Mr. Friendly Snake...or...not so friendly, depending on how you look at it. He may have been hungry for a bite. Ya never know.

B with a pretty friendly giraffe.

These cranes were dancing. Yep. Dancing. Kinda fun!



And, that's all I got for ya. Wasn't quite as long as last time, was it? :) 

Happy Fall, ya'll!! Here's to new seasons! :)

Warning...longest blog post ever...Washington trip and K's birthday!

This is my excuse this month for taking so long to blog...isn't she beautiful? She's my new niece! :) Welcome to the world, Miss Elianna London! You are perfect in every way!! Congratulations to Kelly and Craig!!

And this is Brookey in the car on the way to Dallas to catch a flight to see her! Craig and Kelly very generously offered to help pay our way, and well, how can you say no to that??? 

Getting ready to head to the Evergreen state! We left for Washington state (my home state for 17 years) on September 6 and stayed for about a week.  

This is Brookelynn in her hotel room bed the morning we were getting on the airplane. She was NOT having it! I don't blame her...! It was pretty early.  

But riding the escalator for the first time, with Daddo? That was FUN!

That's our airplane! Waiting to get onboard!

Beautiful Washington! We arrived in one piece, after much craziness, I must add...;)

It was so worth it, though. Just lots of new sights for the kids, and Justin was impressed with the shopping/customer service experience there. Lol. We went shopping one day at Safeway, and were even impressed with the shopping carts. 

This is one of the many, many playgrounds we saw and played on! That was a definite highlight. They have the coolest playgrounds there! This one was in our friends housing development that we stayed with.

I seriously love Texas sunsets. But man, this is one that took my breath away. I forgot how beautiful the trees are there. This was also taken in their housing development.

We also got to visit a really good friend of mine who has children almost the same ages as ours (well, her oldest is like two weeks older than K, I think. The youngest is quite a bit younger than B.) Jenna, on the far right, and Kaleb got along really, really well. She was just his speed, which was awesome!!

She is such a good friend, I hated to leave her house knowing we wouldn't see her again for who knows how long, so we got together again the next day before we left! LOVE her and her family! We had to take several shots here to get all the kids to look the same direction...not sure if we ever got that far, though!

One of the many really awesome playgrounds the kids played on. :)

Beautiful Bradley Park! It's one I used to go to quite often. Ahh, good memories.

Elianna and Mommy. :) I LOVE these two and their little family to pieces!! 

Here we are on a stroll with them. We surprisingly got a lot of fresh air while we were there! It's not usually rainy right now. They are just heading into the really rainy season again. September is perfect!

Mukilteo Park - another one of our favorite playgrounds now! See the fog in the distance? It stayed that way til noon, but it wasn't cold at all. 

Took several last pics around the Mukilteo area to capture the beauty. Kaleb is enjoying the view here!

Airplane time. The kids did amazing, when it comes down to it. The first trip was eight hours total on the airplane (the route we took - it was a roundabout way, just the way it worked out) and the second trip was about six. They only went completely nuts on the way there, on the five hour plane ride...well, if you call jumping up and down in their seats and yelling nuts...I do. And I was getting there myself! But most of the time, they were doing pretty good, all things considered. We brought a LOT of things to distract. But even after five hours of sitting in one tiny spot, an adult starts getting weary. :)

Oh, be still my beating heart. I just love this picture. We took it when we were all completely exhausted, in an IHOP in Weatherford, Texas, where we stayed the last night before heading home. 

SO, we had a lovely time in Washington visiting with sweet friends and a new niece, AND THEN, when we got home, guess who's birthday it was?? Our Kaleb turned three. 

Cannot believe that time has gone by that fast. Here are just a few shots of his "blue" birthday! (That is specifically what he requested!)

Presents!!

Yummy blue cupcakes...Yes, this is what he wanted!! Some of them were blue raspberry, and the others were cotton candy! They actually didn't taste bad at all!

Daddo birthday hugs are the best!!

We did have all the cousins over, but weren't able to get shots of everyone, sadly! But, here are two of the boys - Isaac and Andrew! :) Kaleb has five boy cousins, and one girl cousin!!

Brookey in her blue, celebrating big brother's day! 

And of course, we had to celebrate with blue balloons! Grandpa had fun with the grandchildren! 

Nana, and Grandpa, Oma, and all of Brookey's and Kaleb's cousins, Isaac, Abigail, Andrew, David, Luke and Timothy all came to celebrate his birthday with him. The coolest part was that we actually celebrated on his birthday! :) He had been waiting very patiently for that blue cupcake, too, for weeks, I will add. We had talked about what kind of party he wanted, and he had told me he wanted blue cupcakes at least three weeks beforehand. And almost every day we'd talk about the blue cupcakes. So, I am sure that first bite tasted wonderful! :)

He also LOVED his gifts from everyone. 

He loves to "fix" things, and the toolbelt with tools from Oma and Opa was perfect, along with the tools from Nana and Grandpa. 

"Fixing" his new dump truck. Brookey loves all the toys too! And we had a lot of fun this morning with his new play dough fun factory from his cousins! 

Thank you, all who have actually stayed to read this long...I know it's really long, and I'm sorry!
That said, I am going to end with letters to K and B. I keep this blog for many reasons. One is so that ya'll can catch up on our lives. Another is so that we will have something to look back on. And so that my children will have something to look back on. 
I have wanted to do a post on their progress for a couple months now, but have not been able to. So, I feel letters to them are fitting! :) I know, this blog is kind of a combination of a lot of things this time! But, here goes, sweet babies...

Kaleb, my BIG three year old, and the one who made me "mommy,"
First of all, I am so glad to be able to write to you, knowing you might read this one day and know how much you are loved. I never, ever want you to wonder. I know there are and will be hard days in your life. But I know that you are SO special in God's eyes. Know why? Here are just a few reasons!
I see your daddy in you.
You tickle me every day. You are FULL of boundless energy and you keep me on my toes. You are SO important to the Lord, and he has GREAT plans for your life, because, my child, YOU are full of life!
You are passionate, and you are SO smart. You completely amaze me. Having just turned three a couple of days ago, you know all of your colors, most of your shapes, can count almost all the way to twenty, and you know plenty of letters of the alphabet. You have grown by leaps and bounds this year! Every day we do a bit of school, and you work on a letter, and do a project of some sort. You are awesome at stringing beads, and working with your hands. Your hand eye coordination is amazing to me!
You are also always taking things apart just to try and fix them. 
You have also begun to tell me stories. You are a very good talker - have been ever since you could form sounds, and it was really early. You say all sentences now and you are a good communicator (in many ways!). You still throw tantrums, but they are fewer and fewer these days, so that is really good. 
You love to see me laugh at your silliness. Like today, you were throwing a balloon, then you stuck one on one side of your head, and another on the other side of your head, and squeezed, all while laughing and watching me, seeing if I was laughing. You are funny, and you try to be!
Before you were born, Mr. K, I prayed you'd be just like your Daddy. And the Lord answered yes! You are smart, you keep me on my toes, and you make me laugh! 
But I see me in you, too. Today, you told me you needed to go tee tee in the potty. You were on your tricycle, but when you tried climbing off, you fell over with it, and all the toy cars you had stuck inside the back of its compartment fell out. I tried getting you to go to the bathroom right away, but instead, you said, "Oh, let me put my cars back!" 
You may need to go to the bathroom, but you always have to do one last thing first and make sure things are in order! Lol!
You tickle me, and I love you, sweet boy. Cannot wait to see how you grow in the coming years, and just what the Lord has created you to do. I know that it's something big!
Love you to pieces, sweet boy!

Miss B, my sweet pea girl,
You say and do way too many cute things lately to even mention. 
But the sweetest thing recently was when we were leaving GG's house late at night and taking Daddy some food on the night shift. Normally I don't go late at night, but this time we had spent some overdue time with family we hadn't seen in a while, and time had gotten away. I think Kaleb had gone to sleep, but I heard the sweetest sound coming from your side of the backseat...You were singing to yourself, like you do often now, and every couple seconds I would hear, "Jesus". Guess you were singing about him! :) It was just very sweet to hear. 
On a different note, you have also recently added the letter "T" to everything. Like, when you want down from a chair, you say, "Downt". Not sure where you get that from, but it's funny! And bath is "Bat". You also say "Nena," for "Nana". 
You also have a very hearty laugh for such a small body. You're really kind of tough for being such a sweet girl. Sometimes you go up to brother and hit him, hard! And you are not afraid of him. You fight back well too. We are working on hitting, on both ends (yours, and brothers). 
And, the other day at Aunt Shelly's, they had a pinata for cousins Abigail and Andrew's birthdays, and they let you swing at it too. You did a good job - you made it twirl fast like the rest of them! Then, as your "grand finale," you would throw down the stick as hard as you could on the ground - I think that's what you thought you were supposed to do! I'm glad no one got hurt!
On your lighter side, though, you love Minnie Mouse, hugs (especially when you're in trouble), kisses "mwah," using the hand to the mouth of course, saying "Wee you," (translation - "love you"), shoes, because it means you're going outside, talking to and laughing at yourself in the mirror, dancing, even in your high chair (sitting down of course), laughing in general, any type of ball (and you LOVE to kick it!) patty cake, high fives and fist punches, spaghetti, your "biddy," (translation - "blanket" or "blankey"), playing with your blankets corners to fall asleep, having me tickle the inside of your hands to fall asleep, sleeping on your tummy with your bottom in the air, putting on leggings for some reason makes you giggle, feeding your baby dolls, reading the story about Baby Jesus, babies in general (when we went to visit Auntie Kelly with the new baby, all you wanted to do was hug and squeeze her and give her kisses, and while you'd do it, you'd say, "Aw, sweet baby") and many other things.
You are precious, in our sight, and in God's. Cannot wait to see what he does with your life, princess!
Love, 
Mommy and Daddy


SO....happy almost October, ya'll!!! Thanks for sticking around, and have a great month...hopefully the next one won't be as long...! ;) 

July fun!!!

This month has been great! I LOVE July. It's one of the hottest months, there is so much fun to be had in the sun, and most of the time everyone is in a good mood because of all the vitamin D! :) And July in Texas is just the best. I am kind of partial to my Texas sun - always have been, always will be. :) Here are some of our great moments this month! And, of course, our Tot school moments!

Justin got a fun little toy...well, not so little. Actually it's about the size of me! :) 

The letter "D"!

I have been "trying" to organize for Tot School...We shall see how long this lasts! :) Just trying to figure out a system that works!

One of last Monday's projects was pipe cleaner beading with pony beads. It.was.a.hit.

Out of order, but here is the foam letter sorting/sticking onto construction paper project! 

He stayed on this for like twenty minutes straight, just stringing beads along, happily. I had no idea he was so good already! 

Brookelynn trying really, really hard to string her beads onto her pipe cleaner! :) She is SO close to getting it!

Kaleb's creation, done completely by himself! A "snake"! (He came up with the name too!)

Foam letter sorting

They pulled the chairs up to the window so they could watch the rain like the second rainy day we've had here this month. What a good rain it was, though! They love to watch it, because we don't see it often!

Another one out of order, but K was trying to be cool or something. He put the hat on and started acting really funny, almost like he knew it was "cool". Lol. "Sup?"

And after the rain, the rainbow! God is good, all the time, ya'll! 

Sand!!! They LOVE it. Got some funnels this week to try out in it, and I'm so excited!

Waterpark! We took my mom with us this day to the Big Spring Aquatic Center, and had a blast. I think the kids are going to be little fish. :) 

Family photos! My sweet friend Deb came with her sweet boyfriend who is also a photographer, so we got like double the great shots between the two of them. They are both awesome! 

The letter "F"!

Just using beads to shovel and scoop

She loved it...so much that...

...afterward, the floor looked like this. Oops.

But we did get some water action in today. Gotta love the waterhose.

Kaleb made me an "ice cream cone," too, after we were done with our water fun. He found one of the funnels I bought for the sandbox and put a rock into it, and told me it was my yummy ice cream. He also made some for sister. I am continuously amazed at his imagination. :) (And p.s. - the water play today was totally random, so the clothes were...well, wet.)

Notice her drink. This is where she sets it after she is done, and ready for her nap. :) I love this girl!

Like I said, we've had a great month. I am almost sad to see it go! Justin was off from work for a few days and we went to the waterpark in Dallas, just the two of us. Nana watched the kiddos for us, and so did Oma for a few days. We have been SPOILED. :) We also had the privilege of being in a good friend's wedding, which was awesome, too. What else...Oh, very, very excited that one of my best friends, Kristine, will be having her baby tomorrow by C section. That's random, I know, but very excited to see her cute little Lily. Kristine has had quite a time with this pregnancy and I know she is very ready to meet her! Pray for her recovery too, if ya'll get a chance and think about it. She is a bit nervous about it. She's had a C section before, but this one entails a bit more, and also involves having to go up a flight of stairs each day. Wow.  
That's about all I can recall at this moment. I am ready for August. I think it has great things in store, too - one is that one of my other very best friends, Kelly, is having her baby. SO excited for her, too! Her little one is also a girl. 
In September we will make it to Washington for the first time in four years (AND the first airplane trip for the kiddos - PRAY for us!) since I've been back, to see her little one. So very excited for that. 

Well, blessings to you all, and happy August, everyone! :) Yay for more sun! (Can you tell what season is my favorite yet???) :)