Back to School

Amelia, Claire and Alaina

Henry's First Day "Sad Eyes"

Summer Days

Some pictures from Summer that didn't make my earlier posts.  

  

Picking Strawberries

Unlike George who ate most all the berries he picked, 

Claire was proud to have gathered a whole pound on her own.

 

The highlight of my summer.  Sounds silly, I know, but watching these two kids take off on their two-wheelers was truly a "Thanks be to God, Hallelujah!" moment.

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids


Touring the Fire Station




Thankful for the fire fighters who took time from their day to show us around.

Well, that's cozy!

Two brothers; Two very different sleeping patterns.

While I'm on the subject of sleeping patterns...
the poor kid couldn't even make it to dinner.

Loves his house projects.


Spring Hill Camp awards ceremony

We are so grateful for all the support we received after the loss of Joshua.  Though we went through a roller coaster of emotions, we certainly never felt alone...or hungry.

Dr. Tabor delivered both George (on the left) and Joshua (on the right).  Two very different deliveries, but he was the perfect person for each one.  

I didn't have the heart to pack his "big brother" shirt away quite yet. 

Heading into Fall, we were excited for all three Back-to-School Open Houses.

More pictures from this Fall to come!

July

[ A look back on our July ]

We were a little late to assemble George's birthday present, 

but he didn't seem to mind.

Fourth of July fireworks in Overisel.

Thanks to Grandma and Gord for their hospitality.

Joe and I took a couple days away to celebrate our 10 year anniversary.  We found a nice spot in Harbor Springs where we spent most of our time, but we did venture out to Traverse City and Petoskey as well. 

My ideal vacation includes quirky little tourist spots like

 this trailer alongside the road that made amazing crepes.  

Joe has an amazing ability to connect with the locals on our little getaways.  I love this about him.  But this particular guy who worked in the Crepe trailer was having none of it.  No charm; all business.  But at least Joe's "strike out" gave us a good laugh.  

Driving the Tunnel of Trees

Another quirky tourist spot - Pond Hill Farm.  

Known for their famous "Spud Catapult".

Where else could you use a giant catapult to hurl potatoes 

into a field of grazing sheep?

Also in July, the kids took swimming lessons at Briggs Park.

George loves the water.  He cried most days when his lessons were done.

Claire made huge improvements in just two weeks.  She is now jumping off the diving board, and more importantly, swimming on her own.  No more swimmies!

Henry was so brave.  He is our most cautious child in terms of getting into the water.  But each day, he faced his fears and put forth a valiant effort.

Remembering

This morning we celebrated the short, but beloved, life of our son, Joshua.

 

We gathered in the morning.  As we joined together around the tree, Joe opened in prayer.  Our pastor spoke about the (almost) shortest verse in the Bible, "Jesus wept." John 11:35.  He shared about how Mary fell at Jesus' feet, grieving the loss of her brother, Lazarus.  And he wept.  Not because he didn't have hope for an eternal redemption, but because we will always feel the sting of loss in this life.

We then buried Joshua, the kids each laying flowers in his grave.  As we buried him, we sang "This Little Light of Mine".  Claire then passed out stones to each of us.  We took turns piling them at the base of the tree, assembling an Ebenezer (a biblical symbol used to convey God's faithfulness in times of trouble). 

In closing, we sang "Oh How I Love Jesus" - our special family rendition.  And then our pastor led us in prayer.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following the service, we went out to breakfast.  Then after dropping Claire and Henry off at school, Joe and I took George back to the house.  As George played outside, Joe and I sat in silence around the gravesite.  Not planned, but a beautiful pause.  It was a lovely way to celebrate his life and mourn our loss.