Hard stuff

It seems like the world is full of hard stuff lately. Natural disasters, intentional disasters, life disasters, sadness, loss... sometimes it feels like too much. As a mom it feels so heavy to send our kids out into a world where they are going to face adversity and hate. But I feel it a privilege and a duty to teach my kids that while hard things happen to everyone and while sometimes life can seem unfair, they have the power to do good and there is a whole slew of people around them that are on a mission to do good as well. 

A family that we knew in Ann Arbor is going through something terribly hard right now. Their 18 year old daughter fell 50 feet from a cliff while hiking with her brother. She suffered severe trauma and is in a coma. Her prognosis is unknown at this point, and the family is relying on their faith and miracle to see their daughter's eyes open again. Such a freak accident, and no one is immune from that type of tragedy. I can't imagine the pain of having a healthy child one minute and then see that same child struggling to survive the next. My heart goes out to those grieving parents and her siblings who so desperately want their sister back. In support of that family, we've been posting pics of our family in Michigan gear #conqueringheroesforAbby. It's amazing to see people from around the country uniting in support for her recovery. 

And then there's the scary stuff that makes headlines every day. It's hard to feel safe anywhere any more. I love this quote by MLK Jr:

We can't raise the next generation to accept hatred, racism, and disrespect as a way of life. But if it's what they are seeing, it's what they will repeat. We can break the cycle. We can role model how we deal with differences in a civil way. We can show them how to love and be kind, even if we are hurting. We have no other option if we want our nation to not become divided against itself. Love and kindness are powerful gestures that can solve problems, smooth over differences, unite us, and heal our broken hearts. We know that there will be adversity in this life, but it's how we deal with it. Blaming and continuing to hurt the "other side" will NEVER bring about peace. It will only perpetuate the cycle. We've come so far... I just don't want us to go back. 

Brotherly love photos

My mom and I took the boys to get some photos taken of the boys while I was home. They came out so cute! Love these three, unique cuties so much!

Chesapeake Friends

Over the past two years, we've come to love living here. Aside from being so far from extended family, we've met some wonderful friends who have been there for us, made memories with us, and and made us glad that we had the opportunity to cross paths with them. We had a Memorial Day BBQ with some of our best friends and it was a blast.

There were SO many kids in the pool!

This is Jackson's best friend Trevor. Trevor moved here last summer, and their family is about to move to Germany. Trevor is in Pete's class that he teaches at church and every week, Trevor is the one that takes care of Jackson. He is so good with him and will often bring him toys to play with. We adore Trevor and I'm so thankful that he's been kind of enough to help us out at church. We're going to miss the whole Coyle family! They are salt of the earth people and their attitude about moving and making friends and serving, has shaped how I want to be going forward with each move I make.



Us, Cheryl Alsop, Connie and Keven Coyle (moving to Germany), Shelley and Steve Detton, and Heather and Matt Dudley (Bishop and one of the families I would most like mine to be like).

Soccer days and the museum

We headed back to the children's museum and it was so fun. Love that place for the ages my kids are at.

Parker lost tooth #2 on the bottom. His top tooth is now slightly wiggly.

Soccer is now done. He had a total of 23 goals and had a blast. The other kids didn't take it quite as seriously so we are looking forward to something more competitive in the fall. We are also getting him in this summer long soccer camp which should really hone his skills. He loves soccer.

And Jackson loves cheering him on!

And so does Austin.


I gave Aussie a dollar to go the snack shack and said pick something "healthy." He came back proudly stating, "I GOT CHOCOLATE DONUTS!!!!" It was so hot that they were already melty in the package. No thanks. I asked if he'd rather exchange them for something less messy, unless he was really passionate about them. "I'm really passionate about them," he said. STill, he exchanged for... Cheetos. I guess that's better than melted chocolate.

Matchy Matchy at church. Matching isn't just for sisters or mother/daughter duos. They looked so cute!

Beachy beach

We tried out a new beach last week and it was great. It's a beach on one of the Bases, so it's far less crowded than public ones around here. There's a parking lot and convenient bathroom. Win win. The boys had a blast, and Austin and Parker loved chasing the waves. Jackson just liked taking it all in. While I am there I thought, "This is the best. We should do this every day this summer." And then as we were packing up the car and the sand mess started and the changing out of wet closed commenced, I started rethinking that plan. And then when we actually got home and I had an hour of car cleanup, I swore I'd never return. haha. It was fun while it lasted.

Constant wrestling

The boys are in a constant state of wrestling. All the time... not just sometimes... all the time! Someone is always on the verge of being tackled. And now Jackson is in on it.





Parker wanted to show Austin how his pants had split down the middle...

11 months old!

I don't even know how many teeth he has, because they are popping up all over the place. He is crawling like a maniac and into everything. He is learning to be a comedian and loves to get our attention. He is FINALLY figuring out how to chew and swallow food. But he's still only eating baby food, cheerios, broken up graham crackers, yogurt melts, etc... He's getting more of a wild streak in him, so we'll see what his budding personality holds for us! He's simply the cutest and I get stopped EVERYWHERE about his eyes!





And he ADORES his brothers. He wants to be in on all the action.