Family Fun

After the race the boys and I spent the rest of the week in Texas with cousins. We had the best time! We got back yesterday and my house is a mess. ; ) 

Love these pics of the boys with Jason's parents. 

Grandparents are the BEST!

The Find Joy in the Journey book giveaway ends today!

I am the LORD your GOD, who teaches you for your benefit, who leads you in the way you should go.

Isaiah 48:17

Race to Remember 2013

So finally some race pics! It was SUCH a special night for Jason and me. Our family and friends' support mean everything to us.

Hunter, Colson, Z, Abby, Mary & Allie

 My sis with her family

Meredith with her girls

Bunny and Pappy with some of their grandkids

It was sunny and bright at my parents' house then poured down rain the next hour as we drove to the race. Crazy! Thankfully it blew over just in time. Thank you, Lord! I would have been so sad if it had been cancelled. I didn't even want to think about it. Team Reese (a few people are missing)

 The kids did great and finished strong. It was so funny how they started running when they saw all the people at the finish line. The rest of the day Colson said, "I won the race!" So cute.

 Two of my besties Jenny and Sarah

Shannon, me, & Trish

My dad won third place in his age division. So proud of him AND everyone else! It was Jenny and Sarah's very first 5K. So if you want to be on Team Reese next year start training. ; )

Don't forget about the Find Joy in the Journey book giveaway!

You hem me in behind and before, and You lay your hand upon me.

Psalm 139:5

Race to Remember News Clip

Team Reese was on the news! Well, it showed some of us walking. ; ) I decided to walk this year, and I'm so glad I did! It was kind of hard for me not to run, but I can run anytime. I just took it all in talking and laughing with my friends and family. 

It's a wonderful news clip featuring the race and how it began. Click HERE. You can't miss us all in red. ; )

Hope you've had a good Tuesday!

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18

Find Joy in the Journey Giveaway

A few years ago Erin from Worthy of the Prize asked me if I would be interested in sharing our story about Reese in her ebook "Finding Joy in the Journey." My life without Reese is definitely a journey, and I was honored to talk about her sweet life.

 The ebook is now complete and includes eleven other testimonies sharing how people have stayed faithful to Christ through trials because of His faithfulness to us.

Erin is doing a celebration giveaway including all sorts of goodies.

- A large utility tote from Thirty-One gifts

- A 16x20 canvas painting from Bee Creative

- A handmade summer bag from NeeJee Wear

- A kindle e-reader with our ebook downloaded to it

It is a summer fun package to inspire reading by the beach (or 

pool!) and there will be 4 different winners.

To enter the giveaway, follow the prompts in the Rafflecopter form below. You MUST answer the first question (after you login, click where it says Answer A Question!) to be eligible for the giveaway! All other entries are simply to increase your chances of winning!

Good luck! You can enter through Sunday, June 30th. All 4 winners will be randomly selected and announced Monday, July 1st on the ebook website. 

Go visit Find Joy in the Journey book website for more details! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.

Psalm 34:5

Team Reese

The Race to Remember was tonight, and Team Reese rocked it. ; )

Aren't our red shirts fun? I love how they turned out! It was a very special time. A wonderful atmosphere, family, friends, food, and laughter. 

Losing a child is a tremendous burden to bear and having such amazing families and friends sure helps ease the pain.

I'll share more pics soon!

...all the stages of my life were spread out before You,
The days of my life all prepared
    before I’d even lived one day.

Psalm 139:16

My Happy Place Winner

The winner of My Happy Place is #110 Christy Reynolds! 

Congrats Christy! I'll be contacting you soon.

Thank you all SO much for entering!

Wherever the Lord's Spirit is, there is freedom.

2 Corinthians 3:17

My Happy Place Giveaway

I have a fun Monday giveaway for ya'll!

Nicole from My Happy Place is giving away one piece of jewelry to one of my readers!

Here is a little bit of her story...

"In September 2011, my husband was involved in a serious motorcycle accident which he is still healing and recovering from today.  Our children were 3 years old and 4 months when the accident happened, and we both quickly realized how short life can be and how in one instant it can be flipped upside down!  

About a year later, once things started to settle down a bit with his recovery, I found myself heading to my craft room once the kids were asleep for some much needed "me" time. I have always loved to craft and create things and after I made a few bracelets for myself, my friends and family they encouraged me to open an Etsy shop. 

So this past January "My Happy Place" was born. I am enjoying making beautiful jewelry for others and even if I have to still work full time outside of the house, it's nice to come home and spend some time doing what I love! I have a variety of bracelets and necklaces available but my favorite and most popular are my cross bracelets.  I love to wear my faith right on my wrist and hope to use this little business of mine to glorify God in some way. 

After reading Katie's blog for years, I opened it one day to read and something pulled at my heart to contact her. (God has a funny way of doing that, huh?!) I have a friend who lost a baby girl just a few months before Reese was born. She has told me that one of the hardest things is feeling like her daughter is forgotten. 

I do my best to always remember her at holidays or special occasions and on this day when I was reading Katie's blog, it hit me that I wanted to send her a pretty piece of jewelry to wear and remember Reese by every time she saw it. She graciously emailed me back, and after she received her jewelry we decided to open a giveaway to all of you readers! 

So here is your chance to win one piece of jewelry from My Happy Place Shop. Anything that is listed in my shop is up for grabs! I hope that this giveaway will bless one of you in a great way!"

Nicole is also offering 10% off your total order through June 30th. The code is KATIE10. Custom orders are welcome, too! 

There are two ways to enter. Please leave a separate comment for each entry.

1. Simply leave a comment.

2. "Like" her facebook page and leave a comment telling me you liked it.

I will announce the winner Wednesday night!

He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies.

Psalm 103:4

Pink Roses

We've been doing some landscaping in our front yard, and Jason recently bought ten red rose bushes. The men only planted nine and brought the extra one later. They assumed it was red but Jason noticed yesterday it has pink blooms. 

For me this pink bush is a little sign from the LORD when I needed one that Reese is still very present in our lives on this special day.

Happy Father's Day!

You are the same, and Your years will never end.

Psalm 102:27

VBX & Cookbook

My friend Candy and I had so much fun leading Vacation Bible eXtreme this past week. ; ) I loved our little three year old class! So sweet. It's amazing to see them loving Jesus so young.

Our wild bunch

The last day we studied how Jesus died on the cross and rose three days later. Each day the kids' snacks reinforced what they were learning.

 We made gram crackers with white icing and green sprinkles (grass). The chocolate donut is the tomb and the miniature Oreo is the stone that was rolled away. So creative!

I mentioned this awhile ago, but our close friends Clint and Ashley Smith are adopting a little boy from Ethiopia. We are so happy for them and hope they bring Jaden home very soon! The cookbooks that several friends and families help put together have arrived so it you are interested please go HERE.

 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me...even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You.

Psalm 139:11-12

Lucerne, Switzerland

My last trip post. ; ) Yea!

After the cruise Jason and I went to Lucerne. It has been my dream since college to go there with him.  

It was cold and rainy a lot of the time, but it was still wonderful!

Saturday morning market

Cheese anyone? ; )

The Chapel Bridge

Confiserie H & M Kurmann is a cute local candy store. We bought lots of Swiss chocolates to bring home. They didn't last long. ; )

Lion Monument

A few views from our hotel room. Aren't they amazing?! I just want to hop back into the pictures.

This is on the other side of Lake Lucerne. Our hotel is the Montana (top left).

The Montana had two bikes for guests so Jason and I rode them one day. They were free! Ha. It was so much fun. The Hotel Europe is where I stayed in college.

We spent an afternoon in Zurich before we flew home. We walked down Bahnhofstrasse (a famous street) to Lake Zurich.

It's crazy reading about the Danube River flooding. My heart goes out to everyone affected. Every picture I see is right where we were! I still cannot believe our trip went off without a hitch. I'm so thankful!

...holiness is the beauty of Your house for all the days to come.

Psalm 93:5

Summer Thoughts

1. What's not to love about summer? I will admit it was a little adjustment the first week. Z walked around the house wondering what to do but thankfully this didn't last long. There's not much water guns and water balloons won't solve on a sunny day!
2. I think I'm getting later and later in printing out our blog book each year. I received a coupon in the mail so it was just the motivation I needed! It really doesn't take long I just needed to jump in and do it. Whenever I look back through the others I have made it makes me so thankful I did it. ; )

 I was so happy when I saw that you can order medium or large pictures! I have always wished they would offer this choice.

3. I think we'll pretty much be at the pool everyday this summer. It's the first time I've felt brave enough to take the boys by myself. It wears them out, too! Oh my goodness they come home and crash.

4. Several people have noticed how dark the boys are getting, and I think it's too funny since it's only the beginning of summer! 

5. I'm getting so excited about the Race to Remember. I guess "excited" it not really the right word, but I'm just thankful for this chance to do something for Reese with my family and friends.

6. It's Vacation Bible Extreme week at our church, and I'm teaching the three year olds with my friend Candy. It's been so much fun! And a little crazy and exhausting, but SO rewarding!
7. I have some fun giveaways coming up this month!

This is a hint. ; )

Happy Wednesday!

Underneath are the everlasting arms.

Deuteronomy 33:27

Swim Ranch 2013

This was our fourth summer at Swim Ranch, and the boys loved it. One thing I really like about SR is that it's always so calm. You would think any place with kids would be loud and a little (or a lot) crazy, but it's not at all. So happy for no rained out lessons or make-up days!

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. ; )

 Colson's teacher Ms. Susan

Zach was in lane one this year, and next year he'll move to lane two. So proud of our boys!

He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless.

Isaiah 40:29

Swim Lesson Pics by Cols

The boys are in swim lessons this week. Fun fun! Three days down two more to go. A few of our friends are also in the class so there's always something to laugh at. ; ) The boys are learning so much and love every minute of it.

Normally June is hot but not so much right now. The water is freezing! Ok I take that back. It is heated, but I wish it was more like jacuzzi heated.

Colson grabbed my phone and took a few pics.

the pool

 Colson's lesson is first (I get in with him) so Zach eats his lunch while he watches. I set up a little picnic for him.

 silly boy

 I had no idea Colson took this picture which makes it even more scary that I was making this face. What in the world was I thinking? Ha!

I'm so thankful none of their lessons have been rained out. I'm crossing my fingers!

The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:24