remembering grandpa

This Father's Day took a really unexpected turn.

We were celebrating Michael and the amazing father that he is to our boys when I got a call from my sister saying that my grandpa had taken a turn for the worse.

She said I needed to get in the car and go...right then.

I prayed I would make it in time to see him one last time and talk with him.

He was unresponsive when I got there but still with us.

Family surrounded him and he was not alone.

So very thankful for that.

He was just shy of turning 88.

We are going to miss him terribly.

And somehow I am full of regrets about how we should have made more time....

He was such a wonderful grandpa.

Funny...really, really, really funny.

Genuine.

Tender.

An amazing story teller.

Did I mention he was funny?

Oh, and he cussed like a sailor.

But I know he had Jesus in his heart and I have hope that I will see him again.

No matter what the age and how prepared we think we are...

It's just never easy.

He will be greatly missed.

Gramps,

So thankful you have shed the pains that crippled your body and you are dancing with grandma on the golden streets of heaven.

I can hear the laughter now.

What a blessing and joy you were to me and to my boys.

You will not soon be forgotten.

All my love.

i heart summer...

fill the pool, run around in a diaper, eat watermelon, play outside all day...

SUMMER!

It's finally here!

And we have been l.o.v.i.n.g. it...

does a heart LOTS of good.

chaos.

Gotta love it.

And the only post worthy of following my nice tidy kitchen :)

so we moved.

I'm pretty sure you know this.

And I'm pretty sure you know that I stink at keeping this blog up while other BIG things are happening...like moving, unpacking, and getting settled...with two busy little boys in tow.

We've been living here a little over a month now.

We love it...

and yet it still totally overwhelms me.

I used to be a quick settler...get in and get it done.

This time? Not so much.

But for now, let's pretend that we have every box unpacked and everything in its place.

I'll give you a little glimpse of the only room I bothered to clean up kitchen with some "awe" inspiring before and after photos....

drum roll please...

Here is our gorgeous kitchen prior to some updating.

(please note the BABY on the counter! Can't believe how fast Tanner is growing!)

Feast your eyes...

The pictures really don't do it justice. It really was a beauty.

And now for the AFTER photos....





Pretty amazing, huh?

We had a pretty stinkin' awesome cabinet guy come all the way from Kansas to install the custom cabinets...

the custom cabinets that he made.

HE would be Matt Beverlin...and HE is incredible.

Seriously.

I kept introducing him to people as "my best friend's little brother"...

and then it dawned on me...

that kind of makes him sound like he is 12 and making boxes for me in the garage with his dad's nail gun.

In reality, He does have a name... and he is a grown man...with a beautiful wife and two adorable children...

and he is UBBER talented with a business that I KNOW will be incredibly successful.

Matt truly has a gift.

BUT... he is still like a little brother to me and I am just sooooo soooo stinkin proud of him.

So that is the kitchen remodel in a nut shell.

I have so much to update on this blog that I like to avoid it all together.

Slowly but surely I will return and get my act together...

until then, I'm going to go sit and stare at my kitchen...

instead of unpacking and organizing all the other rooms in my house :)

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

scarlett

My little niece, Scarlett, has arrived...

and she is a precious little bundle.

Welcome, sweet Scarlett.

We already love you.  

Congrats to Ryan & Kendra...

and big brother, Sawyer.  

Bring on the pink.

Tanner {the first year...in pictures}

Tanner turned ONE today.

How did that happen?

Born April 8th at 8:33am

6 lbs 15 oz, 20 inches

(2 hours old)

(3 days old)

(10 days old)

(1 month)

(2 months)

(3 months)

(4 months)

(5 months)

(6 months)

(7 months)

(8 months)

(9 months)

(10 months)

(11 months)

ONE YEAR PICTURE COMING SOON!

(i left my camera --full of cute 12 mos pics-- at our new house. lame. i know.)

We can't imagine life without you, Tanner.

Happy Birthday little buddy.

We love you so much.

happenings

Admittedly, I've been a little quite in blog land.

So much has happened in the last month.

Here is a quick re-cap...

We took the boys to California....



We went to Disneyland...





We went to the beach...




We had a lot of fun...

Except for the ER trip we took the night before we left.

Michael had a blood clot in his leg.

It was scary.

He is doing better now.


We are moving to this house...



We are knee deep in remodeling said house.


Tanner, Michael, and most recently, Hunter, have all been to the ER in the last month.

Lovely.

We took Hunter in two nights ago because he had been throwing up all day and became very dehydrated.

He was one sick little buddy.

Thankfully, our favorite Doctor (my sister, Kendra) was working at the hospital that night and spent some time with us.



Hunter is still fighting off the icky bug, I'm sick, and Tanner is sick.

Stay away from us.

We are no fun.

Hopefully one day I will blog more regularly...

but until then, hang on....

I know you can hardly control the anticipation.

:)