A Holy Pursuit

The past year has been a rough one. Almost exactly a year ago my mom was told the endometrial cancer, that the doctors thought they had taken care of, had actually spread throughout her abdomen. Chemotherapy treatment started quickly with the hopes of shrinking the tumors enough to do surgery to remove the rest. Mom battled through six months of chemo only to find out that it had done almost no good and surgery was not an option. Outside of a miraculous work of God she would only have a few short months left with us. God chose not to heal Mom on this side of Heaven, but we certainly made the most of this last year with her. We crossed things off our bucket lists and she left us with some wonderful handmade treasures and keepsakes, as well as many, many photos to cherish. We had Mom's homegoing celebration last week and I was blessed to be able to speak at it. It was genuinely a miracle that I made it through without completely breaking down. Mom was my dearest friend and someo...

Dear Little Bear, We had a big, eventful second trimester! The coolest thing was definitely finding out that you are a GIRL! We're so excited to have you in our family, sweet girl, and we're excited to see you have a big, protective brother, too. I've had some fun already beginning to transform the nursery into a girl's room. That was another big thing this trimester- moving Milan into his new room and bed, to make room for you and all the girl stuff in the nursery. He made the transition so smoothly, which has been a big blessing! Next up is some paint and laundering the girl stuff we have already.  You've been a great little travel buddy this trimester, too. We've made many trips back and forth to Indiana to see family, especially Grandma (aka- Bama, as Milan calls her), as much as possible. Bama is sick, and we're not sure how much time we have left with her, but we are making the best of whatever time we have left! We've been working on yo...

I'm currently blessed to be in my second pregnancy. From the very beginning of this one I thought I was having another boy because everything seemed so similar to my first pregnancy. However, I was so excited and shocked to find out that baby #2 is a girl! With both of my pregnancies I have been blessed to have pretty minimal symptoms. Yes, I was tired during the first trimester, but other than that, nothing crazy. I can count on one hand the number of times I felt nauseous with either pregnancy. Maybe I'm just a "pregnancy unicorn" as one of my cousins and dear friend dubbed me, but I have also been very intentional in a few specific areas during my pregnancies that I think provided significant results. I'm going to share with you some of the things I tried and seemed to work well for me. Obviously I can't guarantee the same results for you, but many of the things I tried were just good for me anyway, regardless of being pregnant. I'll post a couple of ...

Dear Little Bear, I have to admit our first trimester together was pretty uneventful. I had just a little bit of nausea a couple of times, but nothing that prohibited my daily life and activities. In this sense you’re behaving just like your big brother did; and I’m so thankful!  It was so fun announcing to our families at Milan’s 2nd birthday that you are on your way! Almost everyone we’ve told say they already knew, but I think they just didn’t want to feel left out of our little secret. :) We did try to keep you a little family secret for the first 12 weeks, which was surprisingly difficult since you made my belly pop a bit sooner than your brother did, but I didn’t mind… I love any little sign that you are alive and well in there. Dad, Milan, and I all loved seeing you on the first ultrasound and seeing/hearing your heartbeat. It is so reassuring to experience those things, and so special for all of us to be there for it! Daddy and Milan are pr...

When I was growing up, fall was always my least favorite season. To me it was a depressing end to beautiful, warm summers with all the fun outdoor recreation, and a terrible lead up to the most wonderful time of the year complete with coziness and skiing adventures. Jammed right in between those two fantastic seasons was fall; when the leaves on the trees spoke of death and dying. I just wasn't a fan. However, fall has always been one of my mom's favorite times of the year and she taught me to see the true beauty in it. She has always pointed out the beautiful changing colors of fall leaves, and she taught me to appreciate the sound of crunching leaves underfoot. I also began to have a deep appreciation and love for the feelings of gratitude and thanksgiving that accompanied this season. Then three years ago I started to have a newfound sense of appreciation for the fall season. I know that it's pretty typical to have those feelings and thoughts around Thanksgiving, bu...

Dear little Miles, There were times I wondered if this milestone would ever come, and other times when I wished it wasn't coming quite so quickly. It has been a whirlwind year with you and one I wouldn't trade for anything! You are becoming such a personable little guy, always jabbering and smiling, and so busy! I think you would be super eager to start walking if you didn't crawl so stinking fast. Why walk slow when you can crawl fast, right? We had a wonderful time celebrating your first birthday on Saturday evening, the day after your birthday, with so many family members. It was so fun having so many of them here to celebrate you. You also started getting your fourth tooth on your birthday, which was exciting but caused you to be a little more cranky than normal. It was exciting having Asher here for the first time with Uncle Jordan and Auntie Erica, too. It was fun going to your doctor's appointment this week and seeing how much you've grown and developed...

Dear Miles, How is it possible you are only a month away from being one?! This has been another fun, busy month, and it wraps up mama's first summer off with you. Here's a glimpse at some of your fun this month! Miles[tones]: - Had vacation and visited Columbus and reconnected with so many of our sweet friends. Spent the second part of vacation at the cottage where we enjoyed rides on the pontoon, hiking, visiting Amish country, and relaxing. - Visited Lorain County Fair for the first time and loved all the busy, bustling activity. The Dock Dogs were a favorite, too! - You sprouted your third tooth (top lateral incisor- baby Dracula? haha) on Aug. 11, the day cousin Alexandria moved in with us! - It appears as though teeth number four and five are not far behind! And it seems they may be giving you some soreness and occasional crankiness. Poor little guy. - You love to look at, laugh at, talk to, and kiss your reflection in the mirror. - You are constantly pulling you...