Man am I behind... (a random update of the good, sad & funny lately)

Other than writing about it being 9 months since losing Annabelle, the other day, I have not blogged in awhile. I realized I really needed to get some pictures in today since I am now printing off my blog each year instead of scrapbooking it because right now my life is too busy to do a full family scrapbook so i'll just little event/special scrapbooks here and there and use my blog to print off each year for our family scrapbook to remember all we did each year!

So life has been busy and fun lately! I now am the receptionist at our church where we go and I absolutely LOVE it. I work 3 days a week for 6 hours so I don't have to be away from Isaac that much and it brings in the little bit of extra income we need right now, so I am very thankful for it. I am having so much fun designing the bulletin each week and all the other things I do. I'm very grateful for this job and my co-workers! I also have been busy with my other part-time job with Grace & Strength as a coach.  It is so amazing because my first clients I had as coach are now two months in and posting some pictures showing the difference already in how just two months has changed them and it brings me such joy to see the incredible changes happening on the inside and outside of them all!

Thursdays are crazy for us as I work both jobs on that day and dont finish until 10-10:30pm at night but Thursdays are my Fridays and I get 3 full days off (Fri-Sun) which I love. I get to spend it with Jim and Isaac and my church family and I just look forward to these days every week!

This week I have grieved, missed and bawled more than I have probably since the first two months, since losing Annabelle. I think it was a combination of it being 9 months since losing her and then my beautiful cousin who lost her precious baby girl Lily on the 3rd. I was honored and thankful God gave me the opportunity to help them in whatever small way I could with some of the details. My heart hurts so bad that they had to go through this too. This is the very fresh, raw, deepest, hardest time right now that they are going through, I remember it all too clearly and so I just ask you all to be praying for them daily! If you know them and are reading this, I encourage you to send them a card or care package of some sort. No words, no scripture, no nothing right now can truly comfort or help them in the beginning, BUT I remember looking forward to cards every day because it showed me that people hadn't forgotten about Annabelle and when the cards stopped coming in, it was sad. So I encourage you all, if you know them or even if you don't know them but have them on your heart, let me know and i'll give you an address for you to send them one.

Picture we took a month or so ago while visiting her grave.

I went out the day of Lily's funeral and went and saw Annabelle because it was 9 months on that day since we lost her. So I hurried out after the service and before they got there to bury their precious Lily. Already the cemetery caretakers had the chairs out and green box ready over the grave for Lily. They had asked if it was ok to place Lily right beside Annabelle. We thought it was beautiful because they are family and now when each of us goes out to visit our little girl, we will see the other ones headstone and be reminded to pray for each other. Two precious beautiful baby girls now in the presence of their Savior. I bawled harder than I had since the beginning that day when I went out to her grave. It's so hard on this side of eternity, to see things the way God sees them. So part of me wondered what it would have been like if she would have been here still, 5 1/2 months old and how she would have looked like even now. Yet I knew in my heart that God, who see's how things WILL be one day and how He is using her life for His good, His glory and for a purpose, a reason...He knew this was best, He is Sovereign and I believe He creates us not just for earthly purposes but also for eternal purposes too that one day we will find out what they are. I smile, imagining what His purpose is for Annabelle not just in this short little life but for all of eternity.

hahaha...speaking of who I was going to talk about next...I just looked down and saw Isaac dipping his spoon in his ketchup and eating it like its pudding or something. yuck ;0) Yesterday he cheered me up, I was having a rough time driving home from work as I went to pick him up at grammi's house and shed tears in the car on the way there but as soon as I saw his smiling, giggling face all my cares melted away. He brings me such laughter, happiness and God has used him in so many ways through our healing since losing Annabelle. Isaac is such a gift from our God to us. Our laughter.

Here are some random pictures of our family lately.... (get ready for some cuteness)

Crawling under the chairs with Daddy.

So beautiful!

Turned his infant nursery more into a toddler nursery. Before we know it, his crib will be turned into a toddler bed. He is growing up so fast.

Isaac and I before my first 5k last Saturday!

Two friends from church who also ran. Andrea, Crystal and I! Crystal is also the one who babysits Isaac two days out of the week when I work!

Starting line! I was definitely not in the front! ;0)

My two beautiful nieces and I after the race!