A Place in Heaven

Drew has spent several months praying for so many during his bedtime prayers. Most of those for whom he has been praying were/are afflicted with cancer. He has been so faithful, on his own, to remember each one, every night. In November, we explained how one of those friends he was praying for had graduated to Heaven. It was the first experience we had with trying to explain this in relation to someone he knew, to help his four-year-old brain conceptualize our/his friend dying on earth and living in Heaven with Jesus forever.

In the last week, we lost another friend to cancer. However, once again, we are comforted by her being in the presence of her King. However, it was once again time to attempt explaining to Drew. With one discussion like this under our belt in recent history, we tried to be a little more specific with our explanation. It seemed that perhaps that helped a little.

Fast forward to last night, when it was once again time for bedtime prayers. When listing all the names he was going to remember in his prayers, he asked if he could pray for the two friends mentioned above. We affirmed his desire to do that; however, we reminded him that it is the families of those two friends who need our prayers now and that our friends are in heaven, so they have been healed completely. He was in need of further explanation, so we reviewed the concept of them not being on earth anymore and our not seeing them again until we are in Heaven.

Then came the statement that melted my heart, and my tears fell: "Daddy, is cancer a place in Heaven?"

Oh, sweet precious Andrew. It is so hard to explain these things... these are not things that are easy for Daddy and Mommy to know the words that are perfect. It is so important that we share all these things with you, even when we know the news will hurt and cause your heart to be sad for a little while.

My tears, my melted heart... they were a result of his strong desire to think, to consider, all the things being discussed... his attempt at grasping two very abstract concepts... his desire to understand why it was their time to go to Heaven.

In the meantime, just a reminder that we are so grateful for what each of these two special ladies was to our family over the years, and that we are thankful for the years the Lord did give them on this Earth... our lives, including the lives of our children, have been enriched because of them.

What to Do with Christmas Photo Cards...

... once Christmas is long gone?

You want to keep them for the keepsakes they are, but where do you keep them so that you will eventually revisit them?

This idea was adapted from another mom who shared what she did with hers a few years ago. She keeps the photos and includes them in her weekly planning calendar that hangs on her family's refrigerator. Her family then spends that week praying for the family whose photo appears.

I don't use a weekly calendar method, nor do I have my calendar on my refrigerator. Instead, I cut out the photos, tape/glue them to card stock, write the family name under the photo, and thread them on to two binder rings. We flip to the next card each day. They hang on my calendar, right near my desk, where we all see the family for that day. The idea is that we individually, and corporately, pray for that family as much as possible in our prayer times that day. Now, some days go by, and I (or we) haven't been as faithful as originally intended. Then, we just leave that family up for another day, so that we are sure they have a full day during which their family is covered in prayer. Once Christmas is over, I look forward to making many more beautiful additions.

Pineapple and Banana Cake

I made this recipe yesterday for dessert. We joined another family for dinner at their house, so they were tasting this for the first time right along with us. Dan, Erin, Dave, Drew and I all gave this recipe a thumbs up. Sorry I didn't get a good picture of the cake - this was taken today when Drew was enjoying a leftover piece. I don't think it is a secret how he felt about the cake. And, Hope and Brad did not sample the cake - they were too busy looking cute in their Chicago get-ups.

BFFs and Babies

Not everyone knows the story of how Jen and I met in 1996, my freshman year of college. She was the one assigned to a group of freshmen, including me, to show around the campus for 3 or 4 days before everyone else arrived. We lived together our sophomore year, and spent many late nights goofing off and playing jokes on each other and our other roommates.

That's how we met, and it would take me FOREVER to write a post on all the in between stuff, but while we DID NOT EVER plan things this way, we both always secretly hoped one day we could be pregnant together. Well, we were (duh!) and now we both have newborns, four weeks apart. Here is Jen with her sweet Sarah Kate, born Oct. 24th.

David's Daddy Shower

The team of teachers with which David works threw him a "Daddy Shower" at work yesterday. It was very cute and lots of fun. Drew and I joined the festivities as we watched Daddy at a shower in his honor, which, in my opinion, is nice for a change.

A version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was devised for Dave to play, appropriately titled instead Who Wants to Be a Daddy. He had to wear this crazy cool Super Daddy apron made for his diaper changing duties, and his arsenal was complete with three lifelines he could use while answering questions during the course of the game.


The three ladies that are part of the 4th/5th grade team with David are amazing. Here is a photo of them all together after the party. From left to right: Mary, Janet, Tammie, and of course, the Daddy.

Dad and Mom... You are SO Two Hours Ago!

Last week, we visited with some friends, Dan, Erin, and Baby Hope, at their house, for dinner. Hope was awake for a little while but then it was bed time. We enjoyed dinner together, which by the way, was delicious! Then we visited in the living room and Drew was playing with Hope's toys. He also had brought some 'toys' of his own (plastic bugs). He was playing with Dan and Erin, having so much fun. We watched and reveled in the fun they were all having. It was so funny to see Drew be so excited to have another set of adults besides Mom and Dad to play with. He was so excited to have their attention, and was quite the ham. Here are some photos Erin took while they were playing.

Playdate with Elmo

Several months ago, my friend Jennifer told me about a toy store in town where Elmo makes regularly scheduled appearances. She knows how much Drew loves Elmo, and wanted me to know when I could take him to visit one of his favorite characters.

The months passed, and, honestly, I forgot about Elmo :( Yesterday morning, Drew slept unusually late, so I had a little extra free time in the morning. I was perusing the local newspaper website and clicked on a link that took me to another website. The end result was my finding a local calendar of events that included the listing for Elmo's appearance at the toy store Jen had told me about so long ago.

I called one of my friends to see if she and her daughter would like to join us at the store to see Elmo. Then we ended up inviting another friend and her two girls. We all met at the toy store, and the kids had a blast. Surprisingly, Drew was not afraid of Elmo (I wasn't sure what his reaction would be), and, in fact, was playing with Elmo much of the time we were there. Elmo just sat in the floor and played with the kids. What a nice change of pace for a week that has had us spending a little more time in the house than usual.

Drew and Some of His Best Buddies

Evan, Aidan and Drew


Hannah Mae and Drew


Hunter and Drew

Uncle Jason and Aunt Jo-Jo

We spent some time at the park last Saturday with Uncle Jason and Aunt Jo-Jo... I will let the photos speak for themselves. Of course, Andrew had a ball and it was extra special because it has been a long time since we've been able to visit with them.

I Want to Tell You About My Friend, Karen

Karen is one of those friends, who, no matter how little or much time has passed between conversations or meetings, she is ready to pick up with me right where we left off.

I wish I could tell you that we are able to hang out as much as we used to, but that isn't the case. However, everytime I meet up with Karen or talk to her, we are able to purely enjoy our relationship, without any pretenses or silly expectations.

Karen is one of the most business savvy individuals I know. The Lord has blessed her with an astute mind that is full of wisdom and discernment. She is a top-notch professional in her field, and through the Lord's blessing, accomplished so much in her young life. I am very proud of all she has set her mind to do, and am always amazed at her drive and determinination. She has been able to 'take on' numerous endeavors that most folks our age would balk at, and she is a success at all she puts her mind to. Now, she would tell you that this is because of the Lord, and of course, I agree with her. I just know that the Lord can only use the vessel that is willing.

Karen and I used to spend more time together when I was still working. Our time was always special to me for many reasons, and one of those was because I didn't have many female friends who were also involved in the business community. It was a blessing to be able to 'talk shop' with another woman!

Obviously, once Drew was born and I was promoted to stay-at-home mom, my opportunities to have business lunches were not as abundant. However, Karen has never, ever let that affect our friendship. She was supportive and excited during my pregnancy, she was even more thrilled when Andrew was born, and when we are able to get together, she welcomes Andrew as part of our time together.

Andrew and I were blessed to have lunch with Karen last week. True to form, Karen was the Karen I remember. She was even very patient when I had to discipline Drew, a few times. Karen never talks down to me the way some people do after you've walked away from your 'professional' career to be home. She talks to me just the same, and I love it! I will admit that I don't always have something intelligent to say to her, but she doesn't care! The old me sometimes craves the details she handles every day, but the new me knows that I would not be able to keep that pace (physically or mentally) anymore.

Karen is someone I admire, and I am very thankful for God's provision in her life. She is a true testimony to what God can do in the life of a young woman. She is loyal to those she loves and is a loving daughter and sister. She doesn't play games and she is real. She has a very sound business mind and uses that to glorify God. She is a faithful member of her church family and serves in various capacities to futher His kingdom. Karen, I love you!

Drew and Hunter

Photos from last week at the Pence's house; Teri gets Mom of the Week award for giving the boys shaving cream to play with!