six months today!

our sweet rowan caroline is six months old today! she has grown and changed so much over the past few months. and just in the past few weeks she has started eating fruits and veggies, scooching all over, and sitting up by herself! she is a girl in every sense of the word -- highly emotional, super dramatic, and boy oh boy, can her moods just turn on a dime! she and i "get" each other in that way. :) john, on the other hand, just doesn't always understand her highs and lows...but she still has him completely wrapped around her little finger! when she smiles -- oh, she lights up the room...and it is not hard to get those smiles out of her! she loves to interact, and be spoiled with endless amounts of love and attention....and i love to give her all the attention she wants! she is a pure joy and we can't imagine our family without her!

she wakes up so happy! i love to see these smiles as soon as i walk into the room!

look how big she is getting! no big thigh rolls yet, but i think they might still be coming. :)

john loving on his little princess!

rowan is the little girl that i never knew i wanted so badly! i don't know what i would do without her!

happy girl!these were taken just today...she loves playing with her feet and pulling them to her mouth. she looks so bored in this picture, but i still think it's cute. :)lovin' her paci.everything goes in the mouth! we keep feeling for those teeth, but nothing yet!

happy six-month day, sweet girl!

big girl!

look who's sitting up all by herself!

seriously...when did she get so big???

how is it possible that she is almost six months old already???

this girl has completely captured my heart.

i absolutely can not get enough of her!

yay rowie!! what a big girl!

(sort-of) camping weekend

we're not really campers. especially not with a baby....and a tent. so while the rest of my family stayed out at hungry horse campground last weekend, we had our own modified version of camping. it was a bit cleaner, the beds were definitely cozier, and we didn't have to shower with our flip-flops on. we decided that tenting it with four of us just sounded like too much work, so we spent our days at the campground, but then slept (and showered) at home. it was the best of both worlds, really. we had a wonderful time. trey especially loved being able to play with his cousins. we all enjoyed pool time, good food, and lots of relaxation.

oh yeah, we could get used to being this lazy all the time.

trey loved the pool. he was so brave and wasn't afraid to try anything! i just can't believe how big he is getting.

trey had so much fun in the pool with his cousin brady!

rowan enjoyed her pool time too! this is her after she just woke up from a poolside nap."hi mom!"

messy rowan after her meal of rice cereal and pears!

the kids all stayed so busy playing together the entire time.

trey's very first s'more!!

fun by the campfire...

summer fun with friends

we have been busy around here, and many of our plans have included time with good friends! last week friday, we drove up to traverse city to spend the day with our good friends mike and taffetta, and their little guy trent. trent just turned a year old and we had never met him, so we knew that the visit was way past due! john and mike played football together at hope, and i think it's fair to say that they have a similar sense of humor. we always laugh a lot when we are all together, and we had a great time taking in some family-friendly fun and enjoying some of the tastiest ice cream ever! thanks for having us mike and taff -- let's not wait so long to do this again!

we had the most beautiful weather the day we were there, so we went to a park right along the water that had this fun little train. trey especially loved the ride!

of course we had to dip our toes in the water seeing as we were right there!

after the park we headed to moomers for ice cream. i never pass up ice cream, and this place was awesome! the ice cream shop was located right next to a cow pasture, so we had to have a photo with the cows (as if we don't see enough of them!). fun!

it was so fun to see trey and trent play together. trent is such a cutie, and has the biggest, best smile!
mike and john with their boys....future teammates at hope???? :)

on to our next adventure....
yesterday was another fantastic day, so trey and i decided to make the most of it and headed to the beach with our good friends jodi and jackson. trey and jackson are only three months apart, and they had so much fun splashing in the lake, chasing each other around, and talking to each other in the car! of course beach days mean lots of clean-up when you get home, but they are so worth it! trey was one tired little guy when we got home, but we are so looking forward to another beach day with jodi and jackson in the near future. these teacher mommies have to make the most of our summer break!

trey loved playing in the sand and came home with sand pretty much everywhere!
what's a fun beach day without lunch in the sand???
playing chase...look at those smiles!
me and my boy...he was shivering, but was having a ball!

our fun continues tomorrow as we head to chicago for the day (gotta make the most of this time...football starts back in full swing on monday!) to see our besties abby and nolan. it will only be for a few hours, but we are sure to have a blast!

we love summer :)

eight years

Today marks eight years since Matt was called home to be with Jesus. There really are no words today to exlain how much his life inspired me, how much his death has changed me, or how deeply I miss him. Eight years without my little brother….it just doesn’t seem right, and yet each time I struggle with living without him, God gently reminds me that He healed him in the best way. He healed him in the way that brought Him the most glory….that pointed the most people to His love, grace, and faithfulness. He reminds me that Matt is so happy…happy beyond my deepest comprehension. He reminds me that without his struggle, his illness, his death….I would know and understand only a fraction of God's mercy. I wouldn’t be as generous, I wouldn’t love as deeply, I wouldn’t strive to shine for Him the way I do now. I wouldn’t be as good of a wife, mother, friend, daughter, sister, teacher, or woman. I wouldn’t know the pain of grief that goes to the depths of my soul, but I also wouldn’t know the joy that comes from witnessing God’s grace firsthand. He pulled me back to Him when I didn’t want to be pulled. He loved me unconditionally as I pushed Him aside – heart-broken and angry. He was tender and loving as He helped me understand that in the midst of my grief, I could choose one of two paths – bitterness or joy. Anger or love. Resentment or peace. Most of the time, I am able to rest in the knowledge that His plan is always best. It makes it easier to be here without Matt – knowing that his death has brought so much life. But sometimes, in moments of true selfishness, I would trade all of the good that’s come from it just to have him back.

There are many times that I look at Trey and Rowan and wish so badly that they could know him. It makes me even more determined to make sure that they see bits of him in John and I...bits of his courage, strength, and faith. Bits of this sixteen-year old who was asked to fight a battle that is only for the strongest of us. He did it with courage and unwavering faith.

You did it, Matt. I am so proud of you, and so thankful for the way you fought. And today, I celebrate eight years for you in Heaven! Thank you God, for healing Matt....not in the way we wanted at the time, but in the way that you knew was best.