The Power of the Resurrection on Easter and saying Good-bye [for now] to Gram

Easter was bittersweet for us this year. A week or so before Easter, my Grandma got sick, and on Easter Sunday, she left this world to be with Christ in Heaven.

 

 

As much as I miss her dearly, there is no greater promise than that of Christ, who died and rose again, so that we will be with her again some day for eternity. Gram (or G.G. as she was called) was an incredible woman who lived a life full of faith and love for family. She instilled the importance of family in me and all of us. She lived an incredible life.

 

I can't help but to think of how fitting it was as a testament to her life the moment she left this world. It was on Easter Sunday. The entire family was together celebrating Easter near by, and we had just sat down at her house to eat Easter Dinner.

 

She loved her family and the fact that we were all together couldn't have made her happier. We sure do miss her, but because of Easter, we know that we will see her again someday.

 

 

Love you Gram. That was one hell of a life you lived here on this earth! :) If I can even lead 1/2 the life that you did, I'd be a happy woman. Uff-da!

 

 

Nov 2014: Thanksgiving Week festivities

So much happened during the week of Thanksgiving, that I decided to just do it all in 1 post in the interest of saving time. A few notable things: 1) Michael was gone this whole week leading a mission trip for my church (what an incredible husband). A few weeks after planning and reserving flights for the first ever Jamaica Mission trip for my new church up here in Aitkin, we found out we were expecting and that Charlye would be born a short 10 days before the trip was to take place (If you remember, we didn't exactly "plan" this pregnancy...but we sure did welcome it!). 2) Because of this trip, instead of attempting to be a mother on my own to 3 kids as I was still recovering from giving birth, I decided it would be best to head to my parents' house in the cities for the week for a bit more help:) So we got to do lots of stuff this week that we may not have otherwise gotten to do if we were working and/or up in Aitkin.

Thanksgiving was a blast! For many of my family, it was the first time they got to meet Charlye, so she got lots of snuggle time in with people on Thanksgiving! Turkey was great...company was great...just an overall great day of eating food and being thankful for so many things!

 

 

The day after Thanksgiving, my aunt Terri and cousin Kelsi offered to take all 3 kids for a few hours so I could get some shopping in...what a blessing this was!! (I think I was in shock the entire time I was gone that I was out...ALONE...with no kids!). They got to hang out with cousin Ryley and Rhett! 

 

Here's me in shock that I was in the car with no kids...

 

And then the weekend after Thanksgiving we always have our annual Simon Girls' Christmas outing. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend this event, as it was baby Sophia's funeral day, but my family took Adelyn and Olivya with them for the day as they went and saw The Grinch at the Children's Theater and then out to lunch afterwards. I was able to enjoy some coffee and breakfast with them before they headed out for the day. What a great family I have! Here's G.G. (Great Grandma) with all her great grandkids!

 

And that following week, my cousins Andrea and Sara took Adelyn on her first sleep-over along with Sara's daughter Sydney! They went up to Duluth and got to see all the lights at Bentleyville, spend the night in a hotel, and even get a little bit of pool time in too! (I had to steal my cousin's pictures of this since I wasn't there). Adelyn talked about it for days afterwards! She had so much fun!

 

And my favorite was when Adelyn got home from her sleepover, she kept saying that she missed Charlye so much and she needed to give her lots of snuggles to make up for her being gone:

 

 

A great week. So much to be thankful for! Was great to be with family and friends over this week but also was great when Michael touched American soil and was back with us again;) Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

October 2014: Halloween and Halloween Festivities

Lots of great activities this year to do with the girls as we geared up for Halloween...

The girls' daycare threw a halloween party night for families where we got to go and make some fun crafts, paint pumpkins and even decorate their own cookies!! I love that these girls LOVE their daycare and their teachers! 

We also spent a fun Sunday afternoon at the annual Fall Family Festival at Camp Hiawatha (the camp I work with at my church). Michael was on his mission trip, so my mom was able to join us for a few days and come to this event with us! 

And of course, Halloween was an absolute blast this year! Though it was a little chilly (35 degrees when we were out trick-or-treating), this was the first year that Adelyn really got it! She LOVED being princess Sophia and kept up with her cousins quite well as she went house to house filling up her bag with "tricks or treats" as she calls them. Olivya, on the other hand, didn't quite grasp the concept of this whole thing. She wasn't a fan of her care bear costume and only lasted about 5 houses before I took her back to my aunt's house (our home base for the night) where she helped hand out candy instead. Maybe next year for her...

As always, we had a great time with cousins and family and enjoyed our annual Tuna Burgers for dinner! This year was extra great for us too as my Simon family threw Michael and I a "diaper bash" that night after the halloween festivities as we prepare for the arrival of baby #3!

Happy Halloween to all!