A Celebration of Hope

Last week marked a very special day for our family and for Jonah Asher!

He is now 6 months old!!!

Part of me can't believe he's been with us for half a year already, while the other part of me feels like he's been here all along. It truly is amazing how quickly time passes.

As his "half birthday" approached, I just found myself thanking God...

For Jonah.

For our family.

And for hope.

He always has and will continue to be a symbol of hope in our lives.

When I wake to his smiling face every morning, I'm reminded. I give a sigh of relief and thank the Lord for another day with him.

I'm sure over time, the fear will subside, but I'm still so thankful and hopeful I will get to watch him grow up.

When he was born, God brought our hope to sight and renewed it completely.

Everyday, as we watch him grow and learn, we continue to pray that he will stay with this family for the rest of our lives.

He is holding true his name and I'm so happy that he fits it. Jonah = Dove. Asher = happy and blessed. We surely feel happy and blessed by our sweet little birdie boy.


He has brought complete happiness back to our family. Who knew someone so small could make an impact so big? Yet another way he takes after his big sister. =)

He truly is amazing.

The day he was born, my life changed forever. I will never forget this moment...

Sometimes I find myself holding him and still crying. I'm just so thankful that God gave us this sweet, precious bundle of hope.

He will always remind us to never give up and to trust that God knows best... always.

When I think of Maddie not being here and I am missing her so much, I just thank God that she made a way for her precious brother to be with us. Watching him grow is so fulfilling. He will always remind me of his sister in so many ways, but for that I am thankful.

The last six months have truly been amazing and I just can't wait for the next six and the years to follow.

We love our Jonah Bear more than words can express. He is a wonderful addition to our family. Not a day goes by that one of my boys don't say how happy they are that he's here, or how happy they are to have a little brother.

Jonah will truly never know what he did for our family. There was just no greater gift that God could have given us than him. And so with that being said... Enjoy some pictures of our little "half" birthday celebration.

Featuring... Our sweet Rainbow of Hope.

He truly has helped carry us through the greatest storm of our lives. Thank you to all of you for walking through it with us as well.

Enjoy!!!

Rainbow cupcakes the boys made for Jonah Asher...

They enjoyed the candy too. :)

My boysie's... not sure what Eli was doing with his shorts. lol.

Our sweet Rainbow...

Hmmmm...

Oooooh, what's this?

He wasn't sure...

Until he got the whole plate...

I think he liked it!

Don't worry, he only got to feel the cake.. He'll have to wait till a year for a taste...

The aftermath... Lol

Thanks for taking a peak into our sweet boy's half birthday! I will be sure to update some recent pictures and what he's been up too soon. Also, I have some sweet "Maddie Grace" moments I want to share. In the mean time, I hope all of you have a happy and blessed week!

Much Love,

Natalie

A time for everything...

Well it's summertime... and officially our busiest time of the year! I have had so many things to write about but I just haven't had a free moment to do so. But today, in between feeding three little mouths and tackling a mound of laundry, I wanted to take a few minutes to share my heart.

I have to be honest, and what I'm about to say I never thought I could possibly say again.

I absolutely LOVE my life.

I remember thinking to myself, just a year ago, I'll never be able to find complete and total happiness again in my life time. My heart just hurt way to much. I missed Maddie Grace way to much.

And while I still miss her and still do hurt. I'm finding myself in a complete state of happiness again.

I'm just so in love with my Husband and our three little boys.

I'm loving watching our sons grow up and learn new things. I love having a little baby around again and watching my Husband during this precious stage of life. I love feeling so depended upon and to know I'm so needed again. My heart is just so full of joy.

People have always said, in time, I would get here again.. And maybe so. Time definitely helps.

But God heals.

I'm feeling stronger day by day. I'm feeling happier day by day.

God is giving me reminders and blessings and "moments" of complete bliss.

Moments I didn't know if I truly would ever experience again...

This last week has been special for us.

Our Church sent our Pastor and his wife (my in laws) on a very deserved cruise to Alaska. So with our Pastor being away, Rick has been leading and preaching the services. It's been wonderful.

Since we were young (and by that I mean 16) I've always loved listening to Rick preach. God truly has blessed him with the gift of speaking and I love to hear him.

Every message he has preached in the last 3 services have been so very good. They have blessed my heart in such a wonderful way.

I've watched my Husband grow into such an amazing Man of God through the last 14 years. I've seen the Lord work in his (and my) life in so many ways. It's truly been an honor.

But this last year, God has really molded my Husband into something great.

It's funny. I live with my Husband. I know everything about him. He is my best friend and I am his.. But when he stands to preach, he's not that person to me. He truly is a great Man of God.

God uses his words and messages to speak to and convict me (along with so many others.) It's truly a blessing to be a part of.

If you would have told me as a young girl, I would marry a Preacher and be full time in the ministry, I probably wouldn't have believed you. But yet, God saw me fit to be a part of the life of my amazing Husband and our wonderful Church, and it really is an honor.

We get to watch lives change and grow in such wonderful ways. I've seen God do miracles and help families through the worst of times (including ours.)

As Rick spoke last week he quoted this scripture...

Ecclesiastes 3

1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

² A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

³ A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

⁴ A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

⁵ A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

⁶ A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

⁷ A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

⁸ A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

⁹ What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?

¹⁰ I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

¹¹ He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.


There truly is a time for everything in our lives. And though it may not happen in the time frame we think it should, God has such purpose with His timing. He has such a plan with His ways. He knows all things.

As I heard my Husband preach on these things and see the response of so many, it really lead me to trust the Lord. To know His ways are best and good. And to look for the good in them.

I still have sad moments and find my heart longing. Just like I did last week as I drove to the cemetery to visit Madeline's grave.

That for me, will never be easy.... but, I'm finding it easier.. 

The Lord calmed my heart and helped me to "be still" and see beauty there; see the good, and I did.

I watched a breeze go through and the sun shine down across a cemetery full of waving flags. It was such a beautiful sight and gave me such a moment of peace.

I watched three little robins hoping around Maddie's spot and it made me smile... As I approached they flew away, but another little robin flew close by and stayed the whole time I was there..

It was beautiful. It gave my heart such peace and comfort. I know that all my children are still close, though one seems far away.

God knows just how to bring me comfort if I'm willing to look for the beauty around me among the ashes. And I've seen Him do it in the lives of so many others recently.

I'm thankful God is giving me the time of my life again with my Husband and children.

I'm thankful for His grace and just what it means to me.

I'm thankful I can talk of my Maddie Grace and share her story. And I love that Rick can use her story in his messages as a testimony of God's mercy and grace; and that her story continues to affect and help change the lives of so many.

I'm thankful for two little boys who now have a little brother to watch grow up, and for how his smile continues to teach us what hope is and just how much it means to us.

I'm thankful that I'm the mother to a beautiful baby boy who needs me just as much as I need him, and who has restored a piece of my heart I thought was gone forever. I'm thankful that I have I written this entire blog one handed today, as he is in my other arm sleeping peacefully. :)

And lastly, I'm thankful for God's timing. He knows all things best and because I've been open to seeing the beauty there, He is teaching me and helping me grow from them.

I'm not quite out of my 20's yet, but God has done so much with me, and still has a further plan and will for my life. Please pray with me as I strive to follow it and let Him make everything in my life beautiful in His time.

Much Love,
Natalie

The prayers of a child...

In our home, prayer is a very large part of our everyday routines.

We believe that God hears and answers these prayers and we believe that He knows our hearts.

The moment I found out we were expecting each of our children, we started bathing them in prayer. Praying for their health, their futures. But now that they are here and growing up, we are teaching them to pray.

I don't think there is anything more precious than hearing my children's little voices as they talk to God. I love to hear them ask Him for things and believe that He will provide what we need.

This last week, my boys were really taught a lesson. And in a way.. their faith has become sight.

Last week I received a friend request on Facebook. I didn't recognize the name, so I pulled up the profile picture to see if I maybe recognized the face of this person. When I saw this profile picture, it took my breath away.

I couldn't believe what I was looking at..

Rewind a year ago, we were just a few months away from Madeline going to Heaven and we were devastated with the grief of missing her. All of us were. It was so difficult to go visit the cemetery and even more difficult to take a 3 and 5 year old there with us. Though my boys were young, Rick wanted them to learn that visiting there would now be a part of our lives, because Maddie was part of our lives.

So, amidst our grief and heartache of visiting there, Rick did something that amazed me (You may remember me mentioning this before.) He took my boys by the hands and asked them to pick out a grave of another child so we could pray for their families too.

I'll never forget thinking how amazing my Husband was in that moment and it honestly made me fall even more in love with him and his heart than I already was. To think that in such a time of devastation and weakness, he was teaching our children to not think of ourselves, but others.

So, our sweet little boys picked out a grave and read the name of a little boys, Travys. Sweet little Travys. I remember his little stone and the pair of baby shoes and the angel so vividly.

So that night, as we asked God to help our hearts, we also prayed for Travys' family. And my sweet boys have prayed for Travys' mom and family every night since.

There is not a night that goes by that we do not pray for them. My sweet boys lift the name of this precious family to the Lord... Even 16 months later. Because we know that no time frame will ever heal the hearts of a family who has lost a child. These babies are missed every single day...


So...

As I opened this picture and looked to see who this was, you'll NEVER guess what I saw.

It was a picture of sweet little Travys' headstone. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't breathe.

Immediately I thought, do I know this person? All this time we've been praying for this family and asking God to help them.

It turns out I do not know them, but God brought us together.

I messaged sweet Travys' Mama and told her this story. I told her how her sweet little boys name is mentioned in our home nightly and how we pray for her. Even though we do not know her, we pray. Because we know what prayer can do in our lives; during the heartache and during the pain.

Prayers carry us.

She wrote me back in complete Awe. She couldn't believe that all this time, my precious little boys have been praying for her. Mentioning her child. She told me this was the nicest thing anyone has ever done. It was such a blessing.

We plan to meet with Travys' Mommy and their family, and I hope to share more about our experience, but in the mean time I just wanted to share what a special moment this was for all of us.

She told me that God brought her family to mine for a reason. I just can't wait to see what the Lord is going to do...

I'm so very thankful for the prayers of my children. They are so precious and faithful. I'm so glad that we have instilled in them, when we have a need for us or others, we can go to the Lord and He will hear us. He will answer us.

And every now and then... He let's our faith become sight.

What a blessing this has been for our family. I sure am thankful for these little prayer warriors. <3

Every time we go visit Madeline's spot at the cemetery, the boys pick a new stone of a child's family to pray for. It's kind of become their little ministry and it sure has become a blessing.

I would like to encourage you to pray with your children, you just never know when God will answer one of them, and it teaches our children, first hand, the power of God.

Romans 1;9

For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;

Much Love (and prayers to you)

Natalie