Where did January go?

I can't believe January is done. We have been doing the usual running the kids to karate, basketball, guitar, piano, broadway babies and church. I am feeling a little full of emotion at this time as I think back on last year. I was trying so hard to prepare for Luke. Trying to get the house ready, his things ready, mentally preparing to have a baby after quite a few years...if I had only known I would have sat down more with him and just cherished the moments while he was still inside me. Two neat things have happened this month. One day I received a letter from Scottish-Rite hospital where Luke was. They asked me to come share Luke's story at a lunch with hospital staff to let them know how our experience had gone. I hope to be able to share how God worked in us during that time too. Also that day I received an email from a lady who had come across our blog in following up on some of Luke's charts. She read his story and emailed me to say how thankful she was and how touched she was by what she read. Her 19 year-old son died last year in June just after Luke. God is still using his story. I continue to enjoy my time with two of Luke's nurses. Their friendships will always be special to me because they knew Luke and took care of him when I couldn't.

My friend Lynne shared this verse with me this week. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort."

I love that God does comfort us in our sufferings and gives us his words and our own stories of how he has worked in our lives so that we can help others in their sufferings.

Oh how they change!

When we were in Kansas City over Christmas we took the kids by Crown Center on the way home from the Plaza lights. They love to climb on these big wooden vehicles they have out by the ice rink. I was taking the pictures off my camera and went back a few years to some old climbing adventures. They have changed to much! Here are Caleb, Hogan, Sarah, Sydney and Ben - 2003 and 2008.

Laughter is the best medicine!

I have always heard that saying, but really lived it this week. We all headed to my mom's in Kansas City. Four adults, five kids, one dog and lots of chaos. We had food, movies, friends. loud music, games, food, toys, fighting, food, tv and lots of laughter. We always seem to laugh when we are together. Eric even said Rob's laugh sounded like my dad. We laughed over the kids, laughed at each other, laughed over cards and just had a lot of fun. It really lifted my spirits which hadn't been very merry. I am thankful God gave us humor and the ability to laugh. It just makes the world easier!