Amazing miracles and the love of family...

So sorry for the lack of updated posts. I am not trying to make excuses, you know how it is this time of year. I know you want to get straight to updates so let's take a look at what has been going on and what we are planning in the coming weeks, shall we?

First and Foremost...Happy Halloween! I love this Holiday! Normally, every year, Parish and I spend the night at our house with Jackson, handing out candy to all of the little ghosts and goblins of our neighborhood. This year, since Halloween lands on a Friday we are skipping our normal tradition and heading out for a costume party at the Bednar's! I am not going to reveal what we are planning to be (I will post pictures on Sunday or Monday).

I've been doing a lot of thinking the last week or so about things. Its no secret that we've had a strange year...with many ups and downs. Most recently, we both experienced a death of a close family member within the last 2 weeks. It's kind of surreal how when you are faced with a life-altering event some families become closer, and others - well they drift apart. I never understood how you could do that.

I am so thankful that our family, stuck together and is able to become stronger because of the love and support that we show each other. If I have learned anything this year, it is family is [can be] stronger than anything. When my mom was diagnosed with cancer - our whole family talked almost 4X's a day, sometimes even more. When Parish's dad passed away, even though our loss didn't seem fair, we were all supportive of each other and understood that no matter the role that you played in his life - you were hurting too. I have been following a blog, that I have mentioned several times before - that proves that family is number one.

I just wanted to share that with you again...

What an amazing miracle that has happened for “MckMama” and her sweet little boy. As I mentioned in previous blogs, if you haven’t had a chance to review their site – please do. The link is: http://www.mycharmingkids.net.

Here is an excerpt from her blog…

MckMuffin is our sweet newborn son S! In the womb, he was diagnosed with heart failure: premature atrial contractions at 20 weeks; supraventricular tachycardia, hydrops, and intermittent advanced secondary heart block at 23 weeks; and enlargement of the heart at 32 weeks. When the doctors told us at 24 weeks that our very ill baby would surely die, we chose to give our son completely to God, for He alone knows best. We have not stopped praising our Lord since then, for MckMuffin was healed and was born a well and whole full-term baby!!

And this from one of her entries…

"We can't find anything wrong with his heart at all!" After a barrage of tests, Stellan's heart has proved to look like nothing but a perfectly healthy newborn heart. "I would never have known anything was wrong with him!" The head NICU nurse who attended Stellan's delivery couldn't stop talking about how glad she was to have come to a birth where she ended up not being needed!!!

That is amazing!! I am so happy for that family! If you haven't had a chance to read it - I highly recommend it!!

We are looking forward to some family pictures soon (haven't booked the date yet), and my favorite time of year is coming up...Xmas shopping! I love searching for that perfect gift...

Haylee, our niece turned 3 (although, I can honestly say she is 3 going on 6). Her quick wit and smarts are so impressive! Every time we see her, she amazes us more.

Brooklyn, our cousin - who is pretty much like our niece, turned 4 on the 24th and I spent almost a whole day with her singing the Apples and Bananas song - I love those precious moments.

And lastly, Parish turned 31 on October 16th! He now is the proud new owner of a surround sound system in our living room. He now has the perfect combination for viewing his weekly football games.

Have a Happy Halloween and be safe!