hangin' with the fam

I'm in Vegas this week, loving on my nephew Levi and my new niece Stella. My parents were here for a couple days, too, but they left this morning. Now I get the kiddos all to myself! Levi and I ran some errands (can you say "Trader Joes"? Loooove it!) and ended up at Starbucks for some special auntie/nephew time. Soooo wish I could do this every week! Jason and Megan, you know, if you just move to Colorado, you have a built in FREE babysitter, just waiting to be abused! Just saying...

Some pics of the week so far...

Levi sporting the Broncos jersey that Micah sent to him.

Poor kiddo has a yucky cold. His face is all chapped from all that nose wipin'!

(Speaking of noses, Copper got his in on the action)

Papa sharing a moment with his newest granddaughter.

Adorable. Period.

nella

This is the most amazing birth story. Heart-wrenchingly beautiful.

valentine's day, 2010

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite days for family traditions. I'm not even sure when our traditions began, they just seemed to happen organically. One year, the kids said, "We always...(fill in the blank)...on Valentine's Day." And, thus, the traditions were set.

One of the things we "always" do is our special family breakfast. I wait until the kids are in bed the night before, then set to work on decorating the table. As the kids have gotten older (and stay up LATER), this has gotten more challenging. And, actually, I'm not sure I'd do it anymore, but Maddie LOVES coming down to the excitement of the decorated table, I love it, too, so the tradition continues. Can I just say, I am sooooooo thankful for Maddie? The boys don't get into our traditions like they used to (unless, of course, food is involved!). I believe at some point they will care again (wishful thinking???), but for now, Maddie and I enjoy it together, and the boys appease us.

I should make a side note here and let you know that Valentine's Day this year came on February 13th for our family. With working at the church, Sundays are early mornings around here, so I decided to not even try to do all of this on Sunday. I think we all enjoyed our lazy morning much more than trying to rush it all before church.

So, along with the decorated table, the kids each get a Valentine from God (a verse about how much God loves us, personalized to each of the kids, signed, "I love you, God." From Mom and Dad, they get a small box of chocolates. And I make heart-shaped oatmeal pancakes with strawberries on top. Every year. Always.

Yummy breakfast

hot chocolate, too!

(Notice that Nate's chocolates are disappearing quickly, we hadn't even started breakfast, yet)

Our festivities continued with talking through 1 Corinthians 13, and discussing how well we are doing with loving each other. We all agreed that we are far from perfect, and so very thankful that God is PERFECT love. We went to Starbucks that night and laughed a lot while talking about our "love languages." With a family of 6 people, it can get to be a challenge trying to love others in the way they most need it. We will continue to try, though, and mess up, and occasionally, get it right.

^{How thankful I am that we are a family that loves each other! We are not always patient or kind. We have been known to envy and boast, and are often full of pride. We each take our turns being rude and self-seeking. And, let me tell you, we all struggle with getting angry way to easily and keeping long lists of how we have been wronged. Sometimes, I'm sorry to admit, we delight in things going wrong for someone else, and don't celebrate their joys. We don't always protect each other, trust each other, hope together, and we sometimes give up when it gets hard. We fail each other from time to time.}

But, we love each other. As best we can. And I will continue to do everything I can to build that love. That's why I love traditions.

heavy heart

I have not been able to blog lately. I feel as though I have nothing to say. Nothing. I have been journeying with Renee during these weeks of uncertainty, waiting for answers, praying for a miracle. Yesterday, we received answers. Not the answers we were hoping for. Here is the statement from Kelly Williams, our Senior Pastor...

Remains believed to be that of our dear friend David Adam Hames, have been recovered from the Hotel Montana and are in the custody of the U.S. government and are waiting to be transferred to Dover (DE) for final forensic examination. We don’t know how long this final examination will take nor how long it will take the military to transport the remains to Dover due to the snowstorm on the East Coast. We will post again when Renee receives the results of this examination. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

Pastor Kelly

I have been wrestling through so many questions, so much confusion over the past four weeks. Questions that go way beyond "Why?" These questions go to the heart of Who God is, and where we all fit in the Big Picture. And my questions aren't simply related to the tragedy surrounding Renee and her sons. My heart is overwhelmed by the circumstances of so many friends and loved ones right now. And in the midst of it all, I feel an incredible unrest, discontentment in my own spirit. I'm throwing a lot of questions at God right now, getting some answers to a few things, but silence in response to so many.

BUT, one thing remains. Trust. I trust God. I do. I believe Him when He says He has a plan. When He says He is Sovereign. My heart is settled in knowing that my God LOVES me, He LOVES Renee, and Aidan, and Zander. He is a God of redemption, a God who restores and redeems. Who brings beauty from ashes. And He is a God who can handle my questions and patiently walks with me through my anger, doubt, grief.

And, even now, I see the Light breaking on the horizon.

Somehow, in the darkness, always there is Light.