Praise the One who gives and takes away

Recently our family found out that we were expecting another child.  We were overjoyed and SURPRISED!  Suddenly thoughts of new baby joy filled our house.  Going through old clothes and marveling at teeny tiny sock and shoes, imagining how we will fit another child into a room with a brother or sister.  Our kids daily expressed their desire to have a sister!  It was all so wonderful and unexpected.

We made our appointment with our doctor to see the first image of the new life growing inside of me.  Then, there it was a strong rapid heart beat.  Such a wonderful feeling to know that this little blessing was thriving and growing.

6 weeks 3 days.  A very early ultrasound and hard to see.



Sadly, at 9 1/2 weeks we lost our precious baby.  We now have had two babies born to heaven resting in the arms of Jesus.  This has been very difficult for all of us and we are still in shock and disbelief.  Despite our loss we will continue to praise the God who gives and takes away.  We know that he will carry us through this storm.  I will look forward to the day that I will be able to parent my heavenly babies.



A BERRY SPECIAL BIRTHDAY!

Today we celebrated Kathryn's third birthday with friends and family.  We had her party at her gymnastics academy, her favorite place these days.  We enjoyed playing with everyone and are so grateful that we have wonderful people in our lives to celebrate this little miracle.

Our little gymnast getting a birthday boost from daddy!

Getting a boost from brother.  Excited is an understatement.

I didn't take many pictures in the gym for some reason, I'm going to have to rely on pictures taken from family members.

Fun with a friend.

This years cake creation.  This one is definitely not my best and Strawberry Shortcake has a wonky eye but Kathryn recognized her so that's all that mattered.  Strawberry Shortcake was the the theme of the party this year.  Kathryn is way into Strawberry Shortcake at the moment but also anything princess or Tinkerbell.  She's certainly all girl!  Don't you just love how all the Strawberry Shortcake toys still smell like strawberries?

Yummy spread.

Many prayers for many more wonderful years to come!











MY BABY IS THREE!

Today my baby turns three!  I cannot believe she is so big already.  She is a delight and a joy and we cannot imagine life without her.  Happy birthday Kathryn Grace Bennett.

Year one.  My little ladybug.

Year Two.  My quiet and gentle child.

Year three.  A darling mess!



Boyhood Blunders

Yesterday evening we went outside to enjoy some family time in the back yard.  The weather was beautiful and we played a lovely game of t-ball.  Doug and I went to have a sit on the porch while the kids played a little longer in the back yard before we planned on heading inside.  Then it happened...a rite of passage for most boys and some girls even.  While trying to scoot off of a wooden post stuck in some concrete Michael's jeans hung on the post and he fell chin first to the ground landing on some broken concrete rock.  There were tears and wailing and lots of blood!  His sister was horrified and being the good sister that she is broke into sobs as well.  I rushed him inside and cleaned the wound to get a better idea of the damage.  Of course it would require a trip to the Urgent Care Center for some sutures.

The doctors and nurses at the clinic were great.  They did a wonderful job attending to and being sensitive toward a hurt little boy.  They definitely get this pediatric nurses approval!  After some numbing cream they laid him down and got down to business of repairing his chin.  He was a champ,  he couldn't feel a thing due to the aforementioned numbing cream.  They injected him with some more Lidocaine and began cleaning and stitching the wound.  Michael did so well with it all he was getting a little bored.  Asking how long it was going to take already!  He even took up telling knock knock jokes to pass the time.  Like this one "knock, knock"  "who's there"  "chicken"  "chicken who"  "chicken bock, bock, bocked".  I mean all while literally getting stitched!

This is what his chin looks like today.  He's going to have a scar to match his moms.  He's going to have to be a little more ambitious if he wants to match his dad's chin scar.

Showing off some scrapes on his arm.  There are scrapes on his chest and thighs also.  To add insult to injury he landed on an ant mound too!

Giving the "it's all good" thumbs up.

He's back to his old tricks.  Jumping on/off stuff.

As I end this post I hear Doug in the background telling the kids "be careful, no cracked heads".  Yeah, things are definitely back to normal.

Little Gymnast

Recently Kathryn has started gymnastics.  She loves it so much.  Every time we drive by the gym she asks  for "more nastics".  Took some pictures today during her class.  How cute is she in her little leotard and zebra booty shorts?

balance beam walking.  She loves this because at the end of the beam is the foam pit she get to jump in.

Not sure why these pictures were so dark.  Even with the flash it wouldn't turn out.  At least she has something for the baby book.

My monkey girl!

This is how my little gymnast finishes not only at the gym but even small accomplishments at home.  With a big "tee-dah!" as Kathryn likes to call it.



Shrove Tuesday...Preparing for Ash Wednesday

Today is Shrove Tuesday.  The kids and I are preparing for Ash Wednesday.

Here is our Alleluia.  "Alleluia" is said during worship before the proclamation of the Gospel at every Mass except during Lent.  We will bury the Alleluia today because it is considered an Easter word.  By not using "Alleluia" for the 40 days of Lent perhaps we will come to appreciate more just how joyful this acclimation is.  It will come out again at Easter.  Before we buried the Alleluia we sang a little song that some of you might remember from childhood.  We sang...Allelu, Allelu, Allelu, Allelu  Praise ye the Lord!

Burying the Alleluia.

Close it up until Easter.

The kids gave up their favorite toys this year for Lent.  There was a lot of negotiating on the things that should go in the box.  It was a good opportunity to remind them that we do this for Jesus and he made the ultimate sacrifice for us.  Can we not make a good sacrifice for Him?

Seal the toys up tight!

Our coloring page that will help the kids count down the 40 days of Lent.  Each day we will have a Lenten devotion as a family and then the kids will get to color off the days square.

We made a crown of thorns this year.  With each good deed or sacrifice the kids make they will get to take a thorn out of the crown.  Ideally this would be done in secret but because of their ages we will make a point of talking about it before we take the thorn out.  The goal is to have all the thorns gone by Easter morning.


Praying everyone has a deep and meaningful Lent this year.  Take time for fasting, prayer, almsgiving and Scripture reading.

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

Wishing all of my loves a happy St. Valentine's day!

Yummy pancake breakfast with sprinkles!





Two of my loves enjoying their Valentine's gifts.  I have no idea what the draw is to these things but my kids have been asking for Pillow Pets forever.  Michael was very specific in his request.  He wanted a Pterodactyls, not one you can easily find at your local Walgreens.  I knew Kathryn would love her kitty.  It looks just like our family pet. 

Praying everyone has a wonderful day enjoying the ones you love!



Saying Goodbye

My grandmother passed away February 1, 2011.  My parents got the call that she was dying on a Monday night and raced there way out to West Texas to be with her when she passed.  They were also racing against a winter storm that was blowing in.  In the end they were unable to make it and had to stop in Abilene.  They were stuck there until Friday morning.

The rest of us here at home were desperately trying to find a way to get to Odessa to be at her funeral.  This is all taking place during our rare Texas ice/ snowpocalypse of 2011.  My sister and her family tried to set out on a route that would take them further south but to no avail.  They had to turn around and come home.  My husband's employer would not give him the time off to go with me, not that we could have made it by car anyway, so I booked a ticket to fly.

The snow came by Thursday night and my Friday flight was canceled.  I did not get to go to her funeral and neither did my sister.  The good news is that my parents did get out of Abilene on Friday and will make it to her funeral on Saturday. 

It is very hard to understand how the Lord was working in this situation.  Why did choose to take her when he did?  When he knew we would not be able to get to her to say goodbye.  I don't know but God is good and he made a way for my mom to get to the funeral to say goodbye.  We know it's just her body, Jesus is gone from her.  He has taken her home.  We spend our lifetimes here on earth practicing what we will be doing forever in heaven...worshiping Him.  She will spend eternity worshiping her Saviour and gazing upon His beauty.  She is also with her beloved husband.

May His eternal light shine upon her.

Amen

Psalm 27:4-5

One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock

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Guess what, that's not the end of the story.  As I finished writing the the above post the sun came out and the snow was melting.  My sister called and said she and her husband were going to try one more time by car to get there.  Well since God sent the snow that morning schools were closed.  One of my two sweet sister-in-laws, Joy was able to watch my kids on last minute notice.  My mother-in-law was going to watch them the next morning.  Had he not sent the snow Joy would have been working that day and I would have had no one to watch them so I could leave with my sister.  We hit the road and aside from the slightly icy conditions in Abilene it was a smooth ride.  We did not tell my parents we were coming, partly because we thought we would have to turn around and come home and partly not to give them heart attacks!  We rode into town only to discover that there were no vacancies in the local hotels.  Oi vey...what now.  Well again God made a way.  I had called all the hotels in the area and no one had room.  We finally fessed up to our parents that we were there, thinking we may have to sleep on the floor in their room.  It took some convincing before my mom could believe it.  We headed over to their hotel and my mom tried to get a roll away bed to add to their room.  It was a no go, fire hazard.  The sweet lady at the front desk called a hotel competitor in town and was able to snag us the last room!  His ways are unsearchable but he knows our every need.

We were able to lay her to rest and say our goodbyes as a family.  Celebrating the life of a sweet lady who replaced her old rugged cross for a crown.



House Hunting

The Bennett's are officially house hunting.  We have decided to get our house ready to sell.  I love my house, I have mixed feelings on leaving it.  We bought this house to live in and raise our family.  I readied two rooms in this house to bring home two babies.  As the years have passed we find ourselves wanting a little more room and a little space.  We will stay in the area but will hopefully move westward.  There is one community that we love where the kids could fish and swim, where mom could workout and take the kids to the community park.  We'll see what happens but for right now we are looking.  It's fun to look and hard to leave at the same time.