Remembering Marie

This is Marie.



That smile you see? That’s the true embodiment of who she was.

To know her smile was to know her. The warmth, love, joy, sense of welcoming that personified her smile defined the person she was. Ever thoughtful, putting others ahead of herself, and enabling a sense of peace within anyone she came into contact with during her short life.



And indeed, her life was too short. To imagine the things she could have done, the things she wanted to do, the things she dreamed of, is to doubt God’s plan. And while it is hard not to do just that, and not to question why such an incredible person was taken so unexpectedly, so abruptly from our lives, we must remember the faith Marie held and exercise that same faith in her death.

During this time of loss, we must remember the way Marie loved and take care of one another. Mickey, I hope you never doubt the love she had for you. The twinkle in her eyes and the smile on her lips when she was with you was unmistakable. You were her true love, and I am so happy you found one another.



She truly was an angel on Earth. I am thankful to God for lending her to us, for choosing me to be one of the people she touched in her time with us. I am thankful to have shared in so many of her happy, defining memories. To have been a gift bearer in her wedding while my husband stood beside her groom on the altar. To have shared with her a love of children and of teaching. To have made such fond memories while on vacation with her just three short months ago.









It has been said that if you live on in the hearts and lives of the ones you have touched, you will never truly die. Marie has touched so many lives, her legacy will thrive. Of that, I have no doubt. Marie executed such a gracious life full of faith, hope, and love, hers will be the Kingdom of Heaven. Of that, I am certain. Rest in peace, Marie. Our hearts are heavy, and the tears still fall, but you are where you are destined to be. Of that, I have absolute faith.

Carnivals and Costumes

Today we headed out to the Fall Carnival for the girls' daycare. There was face painting, nail painting, pumpkin painting, games, and goodies! The girls got dressed up in costume (Molly insisted she wanted to be Cinderella instead of Alice today) and we had a fun time.





After the school carnival and lunch, we headed to another Pumpkin Patch Festival at a local high school. More goodies, games, and a hayride later, it was all the fall festival fun we could stand for one day!

Pumpkin Carving

This past weekend, we had some company! Nanny, Mason, and Emily came to visit us. We took them to the pumpkin patch on Saturday morning and browsed through the craft fair on the church grounds.





Later that day, we headed over to the Spicers' house for a pumpkin carving party. When all was said and done, we had a variety of pumpkin designs, including Minnie Mouse by yours truly!



And while Molly and the girls were still a little young to actually participate in the carving, I think they were quite pleased with the end results...

Wonderland!

Last night, I decided to take Molly to her first theatre performance. The school where I teach was putting on a showing of "Alice in Wonderland" and given that Molly loves Alice (so much so that she will be Alice for Halloween!) I decided to give it a go.

When I told her about it, I asked if she wanted to wear her Alice headband, and she said that she actually wanted to wear her entire Alice costume. Who am I to argue? She was sure the center of attention and many, many other theatre-goers commented on how sweet and cute she looked all dressed up like Alice.



After the show was over, she even got to say hello and get a hug from Alice herself. I was proud of my big girl for doing so well and look forward to taking her to many more theatre experiences!

Our Ghost Family

It was rainy today. It's been so long since we had a day full of nothing but rain, that we didn't really know what to do with ourselves. Molly kept asking to go out and blow bubbles, which obvisouly was not going to happen.

So I decided to make good on a promise I made to myself - I was going to re-create at least one project this month (and hopefully each month!) from a website called Pinterest. If you haven't become a part of Pinterest, you are unlucky. Or, if you don't have the time to get drawn in for endless inspiration - and then the time to try out that inspiration - you are lucky. I am still not sure which I am; I love the website, but it sure does make me want to do a lot of stuff!

So here is my very first Pinterest creation - family of ghosts! We had a fun time painting and printing together as a family and it made our rainy day a lot more entertaining. And we have a cute new Halloween decoration too. I'd say that's pretty lucky, indeed!

9 Months Old

You finally say "mama"!

You pull up on everything and are starting to cruise around the room while holding onto the furniture.

As of tonight, you have FOUR teeth! Two on top and two on bottom.



You are a delight and a joy and we love you beyond words. Thank you, Lord, for this perfect blessing.

Pumpkin Patch!

We headed out to the pumpkin patch this weekend to take some pictures of the girls and bring home a few symbols that fall has finally arrived! They both had fun exploring the pumpkin patch - which we had all to ourselves!