Company:)

Some of my most precious memories of seminary life were with my dear lady friends...

My Sunday Night Club girls...

Oh the laughs we would have as we shared half price appetizers at Applebee's after 9pm on Sunday nights:)

Oh the deep conversations that were shared as we all adjusted to the fact that each of our husbands had left  "real world"jobs to answer Gods call to go back to school to become a pastor...

Oh the fun we would have at the Seminary Wives Valentines Dance... seriously memories that I still smile and giggle about to this day...

Oh the fun of Friday night family BBQ's right outside our back door on campus in the Woods...

Just a couple of weeks ago, I was blessed by my upstairs Seminary neighbor MaryAnne coming to stay the night while Greg and that big boys were in Haiti... 

Last week I got to visit over the phone with my dearest most precious Friend Becky... oh the passions, and loves that we have in common!

 And last Monday my sweet Sunday night club friend Shari and her family came and visited from Texas! 

We used to be right on their way when we lived in Texas and were able to be a good stopping point for them on their road trips home... 

It blessed my heart to be with their family... The big boys got to experience exploring downtown on Segways with them.  And most of all, I just loved getting to visit!  

What a gift to my heart to either see or hear from 3 of my dear precious Seminary friends all in the last couple of weeks...

All 3 of these families tied blankets for our 4 kids after Samuel died,  and all together (with one additional family) made a huge family blanket for us... They stood tying that blanket and praying over us ... Those gestures won't ever be forgotten... And all 5 blankets still get loads of use in this house! 

Tonight my heart is thankful for friends... new and old...

IT DOESN'T MATTER...:)

ANNA ON CHRISTMAS DAY 2007

IT DOESN'T MATTER...


WHAT COLOR YOUR SKIN IS...






WHEN YOU ARE SISTERS....:)








A short little story here...


Christmas was different when we were at the seminary, living on only what I made teaching my childbirth classes, Greg's very part time job at the seminary cafeteria, and the extreme generosity of friends, and loved ones...





We had a campus re-sell it shop. We found great deals here all through out the year... but at Christmas they had a morning where they put out all that they had stockpiled through out the year. Anytime they got a gift that was actually new or in really good condition they put it aside for this morning. In the early hours on that Saturday in December, you could go down to the
re-sell it shop and pick out one toy per child in your family. It was awesome.





I think it was our second year there and I stumbled upon this precious little black baby doll and I knew that was the gift for Anna. You see, I had a little black baby doll when I was little and it was one of my favorites.





Some of my friends sort of laughed when I picked it out. I really didn't think anything of it... I just thought it was precious. I did wonder a little what Anna would think of it.





The absolute best thing about it was that when Anna opened that present on Christmas morning... she just snuggled that baby doll and truly she didn't even notice what color it was. We actually had to point it out to her at some point...





She named that dolly SCHNOOKEMS... and she is SCHNOOKEMS to this day:)

GIRL'S WEEKEND

BECKY, DEEDEE, AND MYSELF

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF "MAN CANDLES"?
THEY ARE PRETTY FUNNY AND STINKY...
SCENTS LIKE, FOOTBALL, BEER AND GARAGE...YUCK!


HANGING OUT IN DOWNTOWN COWETA...COWTOWN AS THEY AFFECTIONATELY CALL IT. I WOULD NEVER TAKE A PICTURE LIKE THIS, BUT THEY WOULDN'T LET ME SAY NO... A BIT GOOFY I KNOW.

I was so blessed this week by the visit of my girlfriends from our Seminary years. I can not tell you how much I have looked forward to this and how WONDERFUL it was for me. I have often said that I think my grief journey would have looked different if we had lost Samuel during our time at the seminary... and that would have been because of these great gals. While we were at the seminary, I think all but 1 of us lived on campus in the married housing. It was like college, but with families. This group of gals went out most Sunday nights. We would head out after 8 so the kids were mostly in bed. Last year 4 of them came down just a few weeks before Samuel died. I remember my sweet, sweet friend Becky telling me about when she had gotten them all together to tell them about Samuel and what had happened after we knew he was gone. She was one of the first couple people we called. They were all standing outside on what had been our back porch at the seminary when we had lived there. She said they were all just crying, tears dropping on our concrete, just praying and mourning with us. That spoke volumes to me. They were the ones that made the blankets for us last year. All getting together to tie them and pray for us and our kids. We all still sleep with those blankets. For some reason our "Samuel" blanket helps me feel close to him.

Anyways I get to rambling.... It was so nice, they kind of trickled in and trickled out. Some came in as early as last Tuesday night and the last gal left today at 2:00. That was such a good thing. I knew I would be so sad if they had all left at once.

I can't tell you how nice it was to have them here.... it felt like home having them here. We ate lots... laughed a lot, watched a chick flick, went for walks and runs in the neighborhood, went shopping in downtown Coweta, and mostly just hung out and visited. There are only 2 of us left at the Seminary and the rest have been placed in Nebraska, Florida, Massachusetts, and Texas. They brought us a gift of a cross that we can put in Samuel's garden. They all wrote words about our sweet boy. That was given to me right away once they had all arrived. My friend Becky even went as far as to have a card that had a leaf on it... it kind of reminded her of the one that was on our hospital room door when we had Samuel and when Faith had Joel. She remembered that ( that amazes me and just shows how much she is listening to me and absorbing the things that I tell her) and they all remembered my boy... that touched me deeply.

I had lots of opportunity to talk and continue to process things with people who knew me before this all happened and who love our family deeply. They are like family to us.... We so miss being with all of them at the seminary.

I was so blessed by our time... I miss having them all here... There was already talk of another get together next year.

I am so thankful tonight for friends... loving, caring, compassionate, sister's in Christ, friends who understand me, friends who are ok with where I am at, friends who will laugh or cry with you, friends who are really there in your deepest darkest moments (when they can be there then... you know they will be there for anything), friends who have husbands who all have the same job as pastors, friends who are so different in many ways, yet so much the same in others... friends who really love each other. Ahhhh, tonight I am thankful... missing them all again... but so thankful:)

ST. LOUIS

WE FINALLY GOT OUR FAMILY PICTURES BY THE WATERFALL

IN FOREST PARK...

CAN YOU SEE JOJO'S GUM IN HIS MOUTH??

OUR KIDS WITH THE HAYTER KIDS, OUR UPSTAIRS NEIGHBORS AT THE SEM... WE MISS THEM ALL!


OUR PRECIOUS GODSON ASHER:)... I KNOW, NOT THE BEST PHOTO
OF THE ADULTS, BUT ISN'T HE JUST ADORABLE?

OUR DEAR BOGGS FRIENDS

Well, we are back from St. Louis... it was too quick. Honestly, all day I kind had a pit in my stomach as we drove back. I miss the life at the sem. and all of our friends there. I think part of it is that we have just had such a hard year since we left there that we remember life there as pretty carefree and happy. (I know I wasn't the one studying like crazy:)

Now life is far from carefree. Sometimes the reality of my life just hits me like a ton of bricks. We can't go back, we are forever changed. The ignorance and bliss of life is gone. I want to embrace this new life we have. But honestly it can be difficult. Each day is not easy, and it takes perseverence and determination just to get myself out of bed some morning. Not to mention all the prayer:) I continue to pray that the Lord will guide us as we journey forward as a different family than we were last fall. I pray he will use the pain we have gone through to somehow bring him glory.

I have such a way of getting off track...

I knew when we were living there, at the seminary, it was kind of like living on this Christian island, certainly it wasn't perfect, and certainly not real normal life. But it was such a good life, such a precious time for a few years. I remember thinking before we went to the sem. that we were pretty much going for Greg's education. I never could have anticipated making such incredible, precious, life long friends there.

Right when we arrived it was about 7:30 on Sunday night... Yeah!!! Just in time for Ladies Night Out. When we were living there a group of my friends would try to get the kids down for the night, or at least close to it:), and then we would head out for a couple of hours. It was such a precious time each week... so shortly after we pulled in we were able to get together with those that were still at the sem. A lot of the families have already left for the year, but it was so sweet to be together again with some of them. I know I am a sap, but for me it was so wonderful to be able to sit, laugh, talk, share, and just be together.

Our friends were so sweet to arrange their basement so we could all eat together in the evenings, the Boggs, the Hayters, and our crew. It was such a great time of just getting to hang out together like old times... I know I am getting all sappy again:) You know those friends where you just pick up right where you left off, that is how it is with them. And we so treasure our friendships with them.

It was soooo hot and humid... like CRAZY hot, but the kids loved getting to spend time with their friends again, playing games inside, splashing around in the water and just being together.

On Monday morning we went to the zoo. On Tues.-Wed. I got to go the home school conference. We tried to see a few things while we were there since our birth mom had never been there. Greg took her and the kids to the arch and Grant's Farm. It was so nice to have Greg with us, I had planned on going by myself with the kids, but it was so much nicer having him with us. We desperately needed that family time.

So we headed home today... shed a few tears saying goodbye, as usual. We pulled in around 4:15 and our company arrived at 5:00. Yeah, we are so happy to have the Stinettes here with us for a couple of days. They are headed to their vicarage in Texas so they stopped on their way down. We are so thankful these days for the distraction of having company and being busy. Normally, I love company, but don't necessarily like being super busy. But right now it feels great as we sort of look towards September with anxious hearts.

I will try to share more pictures and more about the conference soon. Ahhh, heading to bed in my own bed tonight:)

WE'VE ARRIVED

We pulled in later Sunday night after spending 2 nights with the Boggs crew...(pictures to come:) They were so gracious to let us hunker down with them. It was really a blessing to be able to see some of our friends there at the seminary. I loved hanging out and visiting with my friends. I even got to stop by the resell it shop and campus food bank. We volunteered there at least once a week, the kids still talk about how fun that was for them. Boy do we miss those places. The kids immediately were out running around with all of their old buddies. It was so fun to see that. We will never live in a community like that again. I remember kind of dreading moving there, it is sad to even admit that. I really felt like we were really moving there for Greg's education alone. Wow, God knocked my socks off with that one. He blessed us beyond our wildest dreams with our time there, the friends he gave us, the community of like-minded people to live with, it still amazes me. It was so neat to have great, wonderful people in the exact same boat you were in right outside your door, ready and available at any minute. It was awesome. So it was a treat to be in that community again.

Then we were able to see my friend Rebecca and her family. I have known her for as long as I can remember. I have pictures of her in my photo album from my birthday parties when I was probably 5. We grew up in the same church. We have been friends ever since. What a treat to sit and eat the traditional Sunday night dinner of popcorn and fruit. We laughed... all these years we never knew that she and I both grew up doing that and have carried it over to our families. I would encourage all you ladies out there to do it. It is one free night of cooking... throw some peanut butter or cheese out there and you are good to go.

Yesterday my sweet college roommate Samantha and my brother John and his wife Katy came and hung out with us. The kids had a sleepover with cousins and are already begging to stay as long as we can. Right now they are out feeding the goats, cats, and chickens. They are having a ball. I just can't say how wonderful it is to be home and feel the love of family and long time friends. My heart has needed this so badly.


Thank you Lord for the comfort of those close to me. Thank you for the healing and peace that it brings to my heart. Thank you Lord for taking care of my sweet son Samuel for the last 4 months. Thank you for holding him in you arms. I can't wait till I can join him and scoop that precious boy up in my arms and hold him myself. Will it even matter then Lord? Will he even be small enough to hold? Lord I just can't wait to be in his presence again and more importantly be in your presence for eternity. Come Lord Jesus Come!