cOrt aNd cOhEn

May 4, 2010

Big Tent

I'm still in major catch up mode...this one is from before Easter..yep, I still haven't even posted Easter!!

But anyway, we were invited to go to a the Shriner's circus with some new friends, Meredith and Mackenzie. Mackenzie is in Cort's class at school. Anyway, the circus was a bit long but the kids had a really good time. Plus, it's always nice for me to get some one on one time with Cort!!

During the intermission, in a moment of a weakness, I actually paid to let Cort ride a pony. I was surprised he wanted to, as he is typically unsure of things like this. He really enjoyed though!!

His two favorite things were the elephants and the men on the motorcycles in the cage.

Apr 25, 2010

Celebrating Cohen's Birthday on his Birthday

Cohen's birthday(March 5th) fell on a Friday this year, which was perfect for us to have a fun family day(Chris is off on Fridays).
We started out with our usual...decorated door and The Beatles blasting down the hallway. Cort really enjoyed being a part of decorating the door. He drew several pictures for us to put on it. Cohen loved seeing the door in the morning - especially the dogs and the balloons- and loved dancing around the living room too!!

We gave him a little push car for his birthday because he has really been interested in other kids bikes, trikes, etc. and isn't physically ready for that so we thought it might be a good option for him. He loves it!!

We headed to Krispy Kreme and all enjoyed some yummy donuts and then went to the zoo.

My parents came in just before dinner and we celebrated afterwards with ice cream ( one of cohen's favorites!!). We even stuck a candle in it!!

And so we had it... a simple, normal birthday celebration for Cohen. Just a normal family day, celebrating one of our sons....it was so surreal to me, something I was so afraid to hope for when we were pregnant with him. I was asked of his birthday this year, If I really thought much about it or if everything that happen with Cohen just seems far away and life just seems normal, and the simple answer, is I always think about it, I never forget, and I am very aware, sometimes painfully aware, of how undeserving we are and how blessed each and every day is. Even though there are frequent hard things, hard days, I am never ungrateful. I think about it every day...the blessing of Cohen's life. And almost as often, I think of how it could have been, and of others for whom it was, and am overcome with so many emotions. And even though on paper...in pictures..we had a "normal" birthday celebration for a two year old...there is really nothing "normal" about it. Our God is big, no matter life's outcome, and Cort and Cohen are both daily reminders of that to me.

Apr 21, 2010

Beach Reunion

* can't get it not to underline - sorry!!

Back in February( i know, i know, I am more behind then I have EVER been),we had an awesome opportunity to go to the beach for half a week with some old college friends. Our friends, Paul and Jessica, were generously gifted with a week stay at an incredible beach house, and they generously invited their friends to join in. The first half of the week, Jessica, had her "college girls" and their families( complete with 2 sets of twins!!) and for the second half, Paul, had his "college guys" and their families.

We stayed in an incredible 9 bedroom( if I remember correctly) house right on the beach! We really had such an amazing time of just relaxing, encouraging, relating, and catching up. We don't all get to see each other a lot since college and it really was so nice to spend that time together and to get to know each others families better.

After a great evening of everyone just really sharing about life and where they are in it, I walked away feeling so grateful to have been in contact and to know so many amazing people who just truly love the Lord and above all else, seek Him. Life is messy, it's hard, and in one room each and every family shared of God's blessing in their life amidst some of the most heartbreaking struggles. I felt blessed to be a part of it, encouraged by so many people suffering well. That might sound weird, it's not that I'm glad any of us have have suffered, it's that I feel humbled and blessed to know that God placed in each of our lives, years ago, people who would not falter, and who 8 years after graduating could come together again and encourage, laugh, and cry with each other, all while giving God the glory...learning to trust Him in ways they could not have imagined. I continue to constantly be in awe of the way God brings people together and can not say enough how important community is!!

The kids also had a great time with each other and I just loved getting to really know and see all the families in action!!

I bet this was not exactly the way Chris and Paul imagined they'd hang out when they were still in college...

The guys reunited in an "orange nation" game of ultimate frisbee against some of Paul' s youth kids....we won't mention the score!! And the moms all played on the playground with the kids next to the field.