Spotlight - Konnie!

I am so thankful that tax season is officially over for me!! I am so happy!! Now I will have more time with my wonderful family and more time for blogging! I hope to post at least weekly...but we will have to wait and see. :)

So today, we will spotlight our little ballerina...Konnie.



Getting ready to warm up



Stretching









Isn't she lovely?! We sure think so...but I suppose that we may be biased. It really is such a true joy to watch her dance. I look forward to many years of watching Konnie dance.



We are so excited...we are heading to the beach in just 36 hours and WE CAN'T WAIT!!! This will be our first true camping trip with the boys. Konnie and I both absolutely adore the beach. We are really looking forward to getting away from it all. It will be a great weekend with our family and with great friends!! Stay tuned for some more pictures!!!

Easter

So very thankful for Jesus today, especially today...

Here are some cute pictures of this morning!!!

Tax season is sure busy...

Sorry that I haven't posted for so long...beyond busy lately. Well, here are a few recent pictures.











Guess who learned to ride her bike this weekend, without training wheels!! Yahoo!!!! We are so proud of Konnie!!!









I hope to be back to more blogging after April 15th!!

Wonderful Day at the Playground

The weather was pretty nice here today, so we decided to go to the playground at the Evergreen Aviation Museum. Which happens to only be about 7 minutes away from our house. We all had such a great time playing and are looking so forward to spring.

Kory enjoying the tunnel



Konnie climbing just like a monkey



Kaden enjoying being chased after



Kory having a blast on the climbing structure



Brotherly love





Such a wonderful day!!!

I couldn't help but share this cute picture of Konnie from the other day...can you tell she misses the beach? She came up with this idea all on her own and got the scene all set up. She sure makes us smile. Kids are absolutely THE BEST!!!

We have a ballerina in our house!

One of Konnie's dreams has come true...she is now a ballerina!!

She had her first lesson last week and absolutely loved it. It was so sweet seeing these little 4 and 5 year olds all decked out in pink - pink tights, pink leotards, pink ballet slippes, and pink chiffon skirts - with their hair in cute little buns, learning to little graceful, elegant ladies. It brought back a lot of great memories of my early childhood when I spent several years taking ballet.

I think Konnie is going to be so much more elegant and graceful than I ever was.















We sure hope that we will have many more years to watch Konnie blossom as a ballerina and that she will continue to love ballet!!

Christmas 2009

A belated Merry Christmas to you all!!

Wow, it was sure busy here at our house. Everybody has been sick, with the exception of Kraig. He has the "bug" first a couple of weeks earlier. It all started with Kaden having a fever last Sunday. The first three nights were pretty rough. He would wake up every few hours screaming and mad. It was a wrestling match trying to get him to settle down. We have never seen Kaden like that before. He was feeling pretty normal during the day, but at night, not so much - strange!! Then Kory and Konnie got their fevers and then Kaden started wheezing so we had to start the breathing treatments. He did pretty well sitting still for them, thank God!!

On Christmas Eve morning we always celebrate Kenny and Katie's birthday - and it is always a sad time. But this year, we spent most of the morning at the pediatrician's office and didn't have much time to spend on our grief. I must say that I am relieved that it didn't hurt so much this year. I think that the anticipation of their birthday is nearly always worse than the actual day itself. Of course, the first few years were the worst. Each year it gets a little bit easier - I know that having our miracles on earth is the best medicine of all. Happy 7th birthday my sweet babes - we look forward to seeing you again in Heaven!!

We had to cancel our Christmas gatherings at our house so as not to expose others to our illness. What a major bummer!! Fortunately, we had a Merry Christmas through the fevers, wheezing and runny noses!! We hope you all did too!!

Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure...

Bittersweet Season

For most people, the holidays are a season filled with pure joy. But for us, Christmas is very bittersweet. Our first set of twins were born and died, on Christmas Eve 2002, due to incompetent cervix. Kenny and Katie were 21 weeks and were simply born too soon. Both babies lived for over an hour. They would be 7 years old this Christmas, had they survived.

Every year the pain lessens, ever so slightly, and now having our precious Konnie, Kaden and Kory, their joy for the season is great medicine for our broken hearts. No on can ever replace the babies we lost, but our precious earth angels help us heal over the deep wounds in our hearts.

Having lost such precious little babies, has forever changed us for the better, in countless ways. We truly appreciate so many things in life that we used to take for granted. Our hearts are more sensitive and soft towards others and their situations. But most importantly, we have grown in our walk with the Lord.

Fortunately, my husband is a man of great faith, and was with me through my darkest hours. He always reminded me when I was grieving the hardest, and angry at God that we no longer had our precious babies with us, that we needed to pray. Kraig would grab my hands and we would get down on our knees and PRAY. Immediately after Kraig began to pray the words out loud, I could feel God's peace and calm washing over me. It was an amazing feeling. As a child I always believed in God, but didn't really have a true personal relationship with Him until after their deaths. I knew God was always with me, every step of the way. I would be driving in my car alone, and hurting so intensely, then a specific song would come on the radio. The song is by FFH and is called "You Found Me." Here are the lyrics.

FFH - You Found Me

I've got nowhere to turn, I've got
nowhere to hide, and I've got no alibi,
You've been following me, you know
my history, and no matter how hard I try,
I can't explain away
The way I feel today
There's only one thing I can say:

(Chorus)
You, You've found me.
You found me and You called me from the wilderness,
From my cave of emptiness,
Yeah, You, You've found me.
You found me in the places of my lonliness
You told me there was more than this,
You captured me with tenderness,
Yeah, You've found me.

There was so many days, trying to
figure out ways to explain what I feel inside,
I tried to fill up my soul without
using control, this desire never did subside,
I'm ready to give in
I know I'll never win
The hide and seek that I've been in

(Chorus)

In the pit of despair, I was all alone there.
I wasn't looking for You, but You found me anyway.
You put Your hand on face, then you changed my ways.
Nothing can separate me from...

(Chorus)


The lyrics were heaven sent for me. This song came on the radio countless times, in moments of great sadness, and simply made me smile. It was a reminder from Him that I wasn't alone and that He loves me.