Growing

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Bloomed

At eighteen, when I was thrown from my comfortable life into college, I felt lost. I hear this is common. My love of creative arts was just about to blossom, but was still only a bud showing its first hint of color. I didn't find any majors in scrap booking. I toyed with the idea of jewelry-making for about a minute. Cosmetology teased my thoughts several times. I always found a reason to reject concentrating in any one area, because frankly, I was lazy. I couldn't wait to graduate high school, and to be perfectly honest, only went to college because my loving parents urged me to. (This is not news to you, right, Mom and Dad?) The closest major to anything "artsy" that my small Christian college had was Liberal Arts. So after a year, I transferred to a state university. When I started my second year of college, I looked into Early Childhood Education, hoping that would satisfy my creative side. After sitting through my first class, I dropped it, and changed my major to Liberal Arts. (The official major of Un-decideds everywhere.) I was really only interested in one major at that point: marriage. I didn't even want to finish my second semester. I had a wonderful man who wanted to marry me just as much as I wanted to marry him. Why bother finishing? But once again, loving parents to the rescue. After reminders that I only had one semester left to get my Associates in Liberal Arts, I trudged back to school and graduated.

Fast forward ten years. I am now a twenty-eight year old mom of three. My oldest is three. I stay busy. My interest in creative arts is now in full bloom. (Who knew it took seven years of marriage and three kids to open that bud?) My interests have matured, and now I see a dozen different paths I would love to run down. Photography, writing, interior design, painting, wedding planning, sewing, fashion...

But for now, my biggest interest is my family. My children. My husband. Perhaps someday I'll have time to pursue these passions more intensely, but for now, I photograph my kids, I write on my blog, I decorate our house, I paint art for our walls, I sew blankets for our beds and curtains for our windows, and well, my fashion right now is thrift store made. (Who am I wearing? Oh, my shoes are Goodveel, but this top is Valyoo!) But I love it. I love it all. I love how easily my interests fit into my daily life as a wife, mother, homemaker.

Conversation

Sophia was in the midst of instruction after committing a series of heinous crimes, when the following conversation ensued...

Me: Sophia, you are letting sin win in your heart. Jesus is fighting against the sin in your heart, but you need to need fight against the sin too, and help Jesus to win in your heart. Do you want sin to win? Or Jesus to win?

Sophia, (pointing to her chest): Mom, Jesus is playing golf in there?

Moving Forward

I must confess, I have had a hard time posting again, (even though I have no shortage of material to post) because as soon as I publish a new post, that means that the posts about Flynn aren't on top anymore. They aren't the first thing I see when I log on. As the days march on, the hurt of losing Flynn grows a little dimmer, and that terrifies me. So I log on at least once a day to watch the "Tribute to Flynn" video. I don't want to forget. I want to remember Flynn and what he meant to me, to our family, just as much as the day we lost him.

But God is healing my heart, and teaching me that I will never forget our precious babe. That it is okay to continue with normal life. That moving forward, does not mean forgetting. So here come the posts... Flynn will always be in my heart, even if he is not the topic of my latest post.

Tribute to Flynn

This is much more for my benefit than any of yours. It was a crucial step for me in grieving and moving forward. I need to make sure Flynn's life, though it was very short, is still recognized as a life. He was here. He was part of our family. Part of our present. Part of our future. So I made this video to capture the memories we made as a family during his short life. So I can look back and remember these days.

Celebration of Life

We set today aside as a celebration of life in honor of Flynn. Jared took the day off, and we spent the morning together as a family.

First thing this morning, we woke up and headed to Lakefront Park to feed the ducks

Next stop, the CANDY SHOP. Naturally.

Knokes





Then, off to the park...

the boys chillin at the park

Sophie Cole

The Brode Toad!

Restin with Mama

Jazi Lu

i love him.

By that time, the kids needed naps, and Mom and Dad needed some quality time alone to digest everything. So my amazing sister, Anna, came to play with the kids while we escaped for awhile. We enjoyed a delicious lunch at Agave Kitchen, talked, cried together, and made the final decision on his middle name, Vidal (full of life).

It wasn't all smiles today. Many tears were shed. I broke down (again) when our onion petals arrived and this was the first one Jared picked up.

YUM-O

Chimichanga!

Me and my loves

Tonight, to finish off the celebration, I am making a big batch of banana smoothie. For the past several weeks during the pregnancy, one of the things that always sounded good when nothing else did, was a banana smoothie. Ironic, since I'm normally not crazy about banana flavored things. But I guess Flynn was ; )

Flynn Vidal

Flynn Vidal

The good Lord saw fit to invite our sweet precious baby to live with Him in heaven today. Through our deep sadness at missing out on Flynn's life here in our family, we know in our hearts that he got the best life possible right from the start. So we have cause to be jealous of sweet baby Flynn.

We told Sophia and Jazlyn how wonderful their brother's life is in Heaven, and that he is playing with Jesus, and Grandma Jan, right now. Sophia has shed several tears for her lost sibling, which is one of the first glimpses of true compassion we have seen born in her heart (and thus makes Mama burst into a fresh round of tears).

HIS NAME 

FLYNN

I was seven weeks along when Flynn went to his new home. We asked Sophia and Jazlyn if they thought the baby was a boy or girl. They both shouted "BOY!" So there ya have it. It was a boy. And when asked what we should name our baby boy, Sophia dreamily crooned, "Flynn Ryyyyder." (Tangled, anyone?) Jazlyn agreed wholeheartedly. And that's how Flynn was chosen.

VIDAL

Jared has a lot of Italian blood in his veins, so we had decided last week that for this baby we wanted to choose an Italian name. After I realized I was miscarrying, I felt an urgent need to find a perfect name to honor our precious baby. When I read the meaning of the name "Vidal," I couldn't hold it together anymore. I knew it was the right name. It was perfect. Vidal means "full of life." We know that Flynn is more full of life now than he ever would've been here.

We love you Flynn Vidal.

Family Photo

Check out our new family photo we had taken this weekend...

Oh Brody! You Shouldn't Have!

Ok, perhaps a little self-indulgent.

I'll take my thanks however I can get it right now.

I'm T-t-t-t-tired

We hung this up, well, for Father's Day. Four days ago.

Apparently, I have a stutter when I write. OR an extreme case of sleep deprivation, which would also explain why I just noticed this now.

Momcation

Sophia, with bag slung over her shoulder: "Mom, you won't see me tomorrow. I'm going on a trip."
Me: "Oh! I'll miss you! Have a fun trip!"
(Sophia leaves, throwing kisses as she walks into her room. Re-enters five minutes later.)

Me: "Oh! Are you back from your trip? How was it?"
Sophia: "There were kids all over me."
Me: "Ooooh, yep. Sounds about right."

My Garden is on a Diet.

This "summer" is doing wonders for my garden...

...and my waistline.

Nathrena



CONGRATULATIONS

NATHAN & SARENA!

It rained ALL day during their (outdoor) wedding, but in a sheer stroke of genious last winter, they decided to order a white umbrella for each guest on the off chance it would rain on their wedding day. I think the pictures are going to be positively charming. A sea of white umbrellas. The wedding party also did a series of pictures with the umbrellas, which I am just dying to see. It was a gorgeous wedding, and everything went amazingly well. And the dance was a riot. Fun times had by all.

Nate and Sarena, we pray that your marriage will reflect Christ's love for the Church, just as it was created to do. We pray your marriage is centered always on Christ, and that you grow together in love and devotion, so that you may experience a small taste of the extreme love Christ has for us. WE LOVE YOU!


Huz and Wife



First dance

Cake!

My new sis and me

Me and my dearest Love

Screen Shot

The screen on our digital camera broke.
Or rather, got stepped on.
Or dropped.
I'm not sure which.

The point is, it looks like a rainbow... on steroids. And this happens to be a very modern camera. Modern cameras have no need for viewfinders, cuz hey, you've got that 3 inch HD screen on the back.

Until...
It gets stepped on.
Or dropped.
I'm not sure which.

Here She Comes Again...

Here Comes the Bride(s)...

With all of the wedding buzz we are in the midst of, the girls have discovered the transforming power of a veil. It instantly makes them feel like the most beautiful princess that ever existed. That much is apparent with one glance at the tender glow emanating from their eyes. Their whole face and body language changed drastically as soon as that veil touched their little heads. It made Mama a little emotional.

Jazlyn Lucia

Here comes the bride

Ready to kiss her groom



Sophia Colette



The bride and her daddy

Mr. and Mrs.

Last weekend, I got to play wedding coordinator at Kyle and Haylee's wedding! It was a long couple of months, and a lot of work, but it all paid off that night. It was the best wedding I've been to in a long time. (Thank you AGAIN, to everyone who helped set up/clean up!! You made my job easy!) 

Me and the GORGEOUS Mrs. Sommer





BFFs



Wiggin Out

I get another sister this weekend!

Sarena is marrying Jared's brother, Nathan

(Sorry Sarena, I gave you fair warning)

Ha!! Love you!



Sarena and me partying hardy at the bachelorette party!
(Yes, I am a closet poet)



Irresistable

Night and Day

Every morning, without fail, Jazlyn springs out of bed at 7:30 with a smile on her face, enthusiastically greets the day, throws open the door, skips down the hallway to our room, and jumps into bed with me. She is the happiest (and most annoying) alarm clock I have ever had.

Every morning, without fail, Sophia sleeps until breakfast is a distant memory, scowls at anyone who dares to enter her room, and rolls out of bed only after a good 30 minutes of forethought, blinking slowly as if she can just not handle the thought of wakefulness.