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Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Easter Basket Surprise!

Hi friends. 

I bet some of you were starting to wonder if there was going to be another post in 2016? Had we disappeared again? 

Not at all! 

I haven't been feeling so great lately so when Nora naps...mommy naps too. :) 

Nora is actually starting to wake up from her nap at the moment so I quickly wanted to share a few things with you. 

On the 17th we celebrated eleven years of marriage. Some days, it feels as though all I do is fight for our marriage and other days we seem to more easily settle into Mr. & Mrs. I cling tight to the moments of bliss and thank God for all the smiles we have daily. 


This girl is my favorite little lady to have a date with-


Mama is home! HOME! I was telling a friend last week, we didn't just survive, our little family thrived! I'm so so so grateful. The last couple weeks she was gone were a bit more of a challenge for us because of how I was feeling but overall, our time was great! And...we're oh so thankful Mama is back with us! :) She made it home right in time to celebrate Easter with us...



And...






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The Darling's Easter basket had a little surprise in it...












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Happy. 
















Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Just us 3...

Hello! 

We're just here, hanging out.

I was telling a friend last week that with Mama being gone and knowing that our days and what they look like right now aren't normal, we're kind of living in this vacation world. 

Not that this couldn't be our normal life and not that our life resembles a vacation anyone would want to be on...but in different ways, my mind knows this isn't reality...does that make sense?

And, we may be enjoying going out for ice cream, to the bakery, to the coffee shops and out to dinner a little more than we would normally ;) 

It's fun. 

And, probably one of my favorite parts has been that I've been noticing moments with Nora and Cale and for some reason over the last few weeks, they hit me differently. A little more heart throbbing ya know?



Not in a highchair this time! 


Tea Party with Daddy...and Mommy...and whoever else will come have one with her :)


They were both very into the game. She would repeat things Daddy was saying and every now and then say "uh oh! ice skating!" haha.


The magical taste of summer-berries.


The three of us sat in the driveway and devoured a whole bowl of them while soaking up the warmth of the sun. Perfect. 


"Eat it Daddy!!"


<3 p="">





We baked cookies together and it was the first time she lasted through the whole process! She even helped clean up...which meant water everywhere! :) 



A couple months ago Mama and I tried to trim her bangs. It was a fail...like really bad fail. They were able to get fixed by our friends DIL but they were super super short for a bit. This time we took her to get it done like a big girl! 




"Wings for Daddy!"


"Mommy! Mommy! Pretty flowers!!"


Before we moved, our friends built Nora this sandbox. It was the sweetest gift. A few dads were getting together to build them for their kiddos and knew that Cale wouldn't be able to. This meant the world to me! Well...about the time it was finished, we had decided to move. Yesterday Cale went with his RS, bought sand and filled it up! She loooooves it.  


Splish Splash! Fun in the water :)



Today was free cone at DQ...and it was wonderful! This little lady was didn't quite know how to handle the excitement! 

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I hope you enjoyed the photo dump! 

















Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Covered in Grace.

I feel as though my brain has been all over the place this last week. Super scattered with lots of thoughts, which makes the idea of sitting and typing something out-very daunting. 

Where do I start?
What do I actually say?

Computer is up and running and I'm typing...and I still have no idea. 
haha. 

So...be patient with me as this may just be a few babbles!

There has been a lot of time with the three of us together. A lot. Sometimes this has been great and at times, it feels as though we just need a break...which can be very normal but breaks are just a little more difficult for us to take :)

Thankfully we have had some really great days! This last weekend was full of visiting with friends, walks, sunshine and enjoying being a family!

We also took a trip to see my brother and his family which we always loooooove! 

The sun has continued so we've been soaking in as much as possible! As of today temperatures are already dropping a little...although we still made sure to get outside for a bit! 



I love how hard she was laughing in this picture! 
                                              

please enjoy her face. 



Do you see Cale's hands there? He's scared she's going to fall. He is such a protector.



Nora adores Cici! 



We went for a walk to a park yesterday with our neighbors. These two girls are SO sweet!! I'm excited for summer and these two walking and all the fun adventures we'll have! :)




We had some extra apples slices from breakfast that we were too full to finish. We decided to share!

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Life is full. While we've been having great days together and enjoying being here and there, brain injury is intertwined with everything that we do. It's always there-I'm always reminded. 

I'm always at battle. 

Daily (sometimes minute by minute!) I have to choose if I'm going to let my emotions overtake me. I have to choose if the little things are going to become big. I have to choose if I'm going to love him; my husband. I have to choose if I'm going to be joyful and allow the Holy Spirit to lead me.

Yesterday morning the three of us went on a short walk on a trail and on the way back stopped at a little park. Cale was instantly bored while Nora was playing and running from thing to thing. He sat at a table that had an umbrella for shade and played games on his phone while I played in the sand with Nora. 

I could feel myself getting frustrated. 

I just wanted him to interact with us. I wanted him to show Nora how to fill the truck with sand and dump it. I wanted him to play with us rather than check out. 

After a short time passed, Cale let me know he was bored and was going to walk home. Well, he can't just walk home alone and he can't be at home alone so it meant that we were all going to have to leave. Nora wasn't too happy and neither was I. 

I wanted to continue enjoying our little family time but my mood was already changing.

I knew I needed to be thankful. I knew it. 

I was wrestling. 

Finally about half way home I broke the silence, "Thank you for taking a walk with us." Cale quickly replied, "I did good. I went yeah? I didn't stay home." 

It came so fast and strong. 

Thankfulness.

Why had I not just simply been thankful that he was willing to step outside with us? We went on a walk and it was good. It's ok that it was short. It's ok that we didn't play a long time. 

Sometimes it's hard to confess and admit when we've messed up. I too often have to swallow hard and let my husband know I'm sorry. That I messed up again. That I allowed my flesh to rule again. Thankfully, Cale continues to love me.

Thankfully I'm covered in grace.

And so are you.

Our days seem to go a lot smoother when I choose to reflect Jesus. 

Surprise, surprise. ;)


I so very much enjoy the sweetness this girl brings to us. She's refreshing, ya know? Such a gift littles can be...even when they're busy bees who make you sleepy! 



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