I Think I’m Back!! {No Really This Time…}

Oh my goodness.  Can a blog be brought back to life after a year’s sabbatical?  Maybe? Possibly? 

Well I’m about to find out if it can be done, aren’t I? :)

2015 has been the most emotionally draining year of my life…yes, even more than the incredibly sad and nerve-wracking early months of 2013 leading up to Olivia’s heart surgery – which I had previously thought was the worst and hardest part of my life.  Luke has been dealing with an extremely rare and challenging issue that I’m not sure if I’m ready to delve into publicly yet…but let’s just say that this past April saw us flying across the country to Arizona out of desperation to see a (quite literally) one-in-a-million doctor who could treat him for a weekend intensive session.  The end of January through mid-April of this year were some of the darkest, most soul-agonizing, literal on-our-knees sobbing and praying months we’ve ever lived through. 

And here we are six months later, in mid-October.  You could say we are a little very battle-weary and scarred, but after 9 months of grieving and sadness we are finally feeling like our heads are above water again and we can face the sun. 

Is that cryptic enough for you?! lol  Sometime I might be brave enough to write out all that has happened to us this year, but for now I’m just happy to have finally clicked open Windows Live Writer after thinking about it approximately 498 times in the last 12 months…and to be here typing. ;)

I hate that there’s been such a “blackout” of our lives since last year and I want to start recording memories again here.  So I’m going to try again to do this thing. ;)


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So, what does life look like for us now? 

Ummmm…we are older and more tired! Ha!!

Us at PF Changs’ in September celebrating Chris’s 32nd birthday

Chris works for the same company and continues to be my solid rock through our crazy life.  He also makes me laugh every.single.day.  I would be lost without him!

I still sell for Thirty-One and I HOMESCHOOL now (no one was more shocked than me! LOL).  I also try to keep this crazy crew of ours together, clean, and fed. ;)

The kids at the pumpkin patch last Saturday – Luke is going through a phase
where he is like, literally incapable of smiling and staring at the camera
simultaneously – so this was basically as good as it was gonna get! Haha!

Luke is in first grade now and loves to draw and create with whatever he can get his hands on.  He is sweet and compassionate and funny and sensitive and is so good with Olivia.  He is, of course, not a perfect child, but he has such a good heart.  He will often spontaneously give me hugs,  and tell me he loves me and that I’m the best mom ever (ha! Bless his heart!) – and he loves to pat Livi on the head and give her a squeeze and say to me, “Mom, isn’t Livi SO cute?!”

He asks incredibly insightful questions about the world around him and some super good theology questions, too, which keeps us on our toes! lol (Today in the car it was, “Mom, why is God always an adult but Jesus came to earth as a baby?”  SEE WHAT I MEAN?!! LOL!!)

 He loves Legos, anything Minions, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and Wild Kratts (he has always had a love/fascination with animals).   He and Liv are the best of friends, let me tell you -  everyone always sings the praises of same-gendered siblings, but these two are 3.5 years apart and play together all day long.  It’s the best! (Don’t misunderstand me – they can fight like cats and dogs, too! They know how to get under each other’s skin! lol But mostly I’ve been shocked at well they play together. )



And Miss Olivia makes us laugh every day with her two-year-old antics.  Her most recent thing is when you tell her something will happen in say, five minutes, she says, “No, two ow-ahs (hours)!”  and holds up two fingers.  ;) She is so incredibly cute right now and the three of us get a kick out of her daily.  Luke had a speech delay and didn’t really speak much until age 3, so we are LOVING hearing a little two-year-old’s voice and thoughts each day around the house. 

She is currently obsessed with her dollies and babies, coloring, Dora the Explorer and Peppa Pig.  She also loves to pile as many toys and gadets as humanly possible into her little Minnie Mouse pink shopping cart and push it slowly around the house like a little granny.  Hehe! She is super active and praise God has had great cardiology check-ups the last 2.5 years.  We had her most recent one in September and were told her next surgery is hopefully still a decade away!  Hooray!  

So that’s life with us right now.  Busy with church, small group, homeschool activities, and just plain old life!  I’m so happy to be back! I’ve missed my blog!