Catching up...

Okay.. so I've been saying I'd fill you in on what we've been doing. I finally have a moment and if you do too then grab your favorite beverage and get COMFY! This may take a while. HA!!!

On the most serious of notes (and to get the bad out of the way first) I told you that last week I'd been in a "slump." Well, there was another "milestone" in our walk without Brent that we had to cross. See, the church where he was laid to rest had it's "Memorial" this past Sunday. I knew it was coming and my mood seemed to be all over the place.

Brent, Zach & Gabe all used to go every year with their grandpa to clean the family grave sites. I don't want it to sound morbid when I say it was something the boys enjoyed doing. It wasn't "fun" to hang at the cemetery... it was FUN because they were hanging with their grandpa. (And at the time there was NOBODY that they had ever known or loved buried there.. until now)

So this year Link went with his dad to clean up and we (Link & I) took the boys back on Saturday to put new flowers out. It's an INCREDIBLY hard thing to do. I KNOW that our boy isn't REALLY there - he's doing whatever it is that the "saints" do when they get to HEAVEN. (I'm assuming that's sitting at the feet of JESUS, or BOWING in PRAISE?) All that really matters is that he's EXPERIENCING LIFE like we can't even imagine here. He's not hurting or sick and we WILL see him again! (GLORY!)

See, we take care of things "up there" (at the cemetery) out of love and respect... but it's not to "go visit." Brent is MORE ALIVE to me when I'm at home remembering all of his funny antics or the special times he'd walk up, put his arms around me and tell me that he loved me. (And also those moments that I'd find the boys actually being sweet to each other... THOSE memories are PRICELESS) Thanks to JESUS, the grave isn't the end! (It may seem to be to people that aren't "believers" but as Christians we know it's TRULY THE BEGINNING)

So... that catches us up on why I tried so hard to keep my mind busy last week... and why I spent so little time online. Believe me, you guys were MISSED! =-) While I'm sharing stories about the 3 boys, I've got another picture I'd like to share. It was taken of them not long after we moved into our new house...




Okay, I thought I'd share more in this post, but if I do it's going to be really, REALLY LONG! I'll share the funny pictures I mentioned in my last update and the story behind them the next time I post.

THANKS SO MUCH for stopping in and for the prayers that many of you have lifted for our family. GOD is TRULY our STRENGTH, JOY, AND HOPE!


Until next time...