Life Lately

How in the world is it already April 23? The last few weeks have been filled with such deep sorrow, I feel like I've been in such a fog. When you "do life" with people who are going through horrible suffering, you go through that suffering too. So I just haven't felt like it's been necessary or even appropriate to write posts about Harper. Sure, there have been some funny moments and good times together as a family, but I just haven't been up to writing. And honestly, I am still not there. My heart still aches all day long for Mare. I flew to Little Rock last Tuesday for her mom's funeral, and then I went to the beautiful memorial service for the 3 Grandle girls on Saturday. So, yes, she buried her mom and babies all in one week. Every time I think about that, I am filled with shock and disbelief. No person should have to deal with all of that in one lifetime, let alone a week. Yet, Mare and Reid were the most perfect picture of strength on Saturday. I still don't know how they held it together. She has posted about the service, so go read her words... she's such a gifted writer! She also posted pictures of sweet Olivia! Oh my word, get ready... she couldn't be any cuter! In fact, when I showed Harper the pictures today, she said, "Oh momma, she is just so cute!" I love Harper's heart and love for Olivia. Really, it's for all 4 Grandle girls. She continues to ask about them all, in fact, she wanted to see pictures of the other 3. I know it will take time for her to fully understand, but she will tell you that they are in Heaven with Jesus. Last night, her prayer was so precious for Olivia. You could tell that she had listened well to our prayers for her, including different things like "protect her", prayers to get "stronger", and to get "helfy (healthy) every day". These 2 will be such a great friends! We love you, Olivia!!! You may not know it yet, but you seriously have the greatest parents in the world!!!

Happy Easter!

Our Easter weekend was spent here in Dallas...just the 3 of us! We went to an egg hunt on Saturday morning that was much more successful than the neighborhood hunt! They had a bunch of games and activities too...Harper had a blast! Sunday, she opened her Easter basket and then dyed eggs. We enjoyed brunch at a fairly new restaurant in our area and then came home to get lunch ready! We had a couple from our small group over and we enjoyed steaks and twice baked potatoes! It was delicious! Our day ended with going to church...we go in the evenings.

If you've been to my friend Mare's blog then you know she had her babies on Friday. They are such little fighters. It just made having any kind of celebration feel off. So, I don't know...I've just felt like I'm in a bit of a fog. But, we did have a nice day together as family...here are a few pictures!


Excited about her day


She got an Easter egg painted on her face


She decorated a cookie with pink icing and sprinkles...of course!


She got a bunch of eggs this time!


Making a bracelet


Participating in a bunny sack hop!


She didn't drop her egg during the egg walk


We didn't think she'd be able to climb this by herself...obviously we were wrong!


Super excited about her Easter basket!


Harper and her dyed eggs


Wearing her Easter dress before heading to church!


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Neighborhood Egg Hunt

On Saturday, our neighborhood association hosted an Easter egg hunt. The actual hunting of eggs lasted about 90 seconds! We were in the 0-3 section and several parents forgot it was for children...so Harper only got 3 eggs! We consoled her by telling her she'll have her own egg hunt next weekend, and that put a smile on her face...especially when we confirmed that candy will be in the eggs!


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Sweet Catherine Della Grandle

This week didn't turn out quite like I expected. On Monday, I had texted a lot with my friend, Mare, throughout the day. We laughed a lot... especially about how large and in charge Jessica Simpson is as a pregnant lady! Poor girl is so short! Anyway, I got a text around 4:30 saying, "I need you here now". Thankfully my neighbor was home, so I dropped Harper off and drove (like a wild woman) to the hospital. Her husband was in Memphis, so I was so glad I was able to be there so quickly. Things weren't good, and it was obvious the moment I saw Mare. She has written some great posts about the last few days... so go to her blog.

Among all of the heartache that has come with losing Catherine, I have been reminded of some simple truths. These are the concepts Harper has learned at church. God is good. He is ALWAYS good. God is in charge of everything. Everything. Mare's water breaking...He knew that was going to happen. Sweet Catherine going to be with Jesus forever... He knew that was going to happen too. And through all of this, He is still good. It doesn't make this easy, but it helps me to know that someone is actually in charge of all of this. Please pray for Mare and Reid. Peace as they deal with the loss of Catherine. Strength for each day, not knowing what each hour will bring. Stability for her body, to keep those babies inside and growing. Thank you in advance for the prayers!

Gymnastics Day Camp!

Harper and her friend, Saylor, went to a day camp at ASI Gymnastics on Friday. They had such a great time! It was from 8-1, so she was completely worn out when she got home! We will definitely be going more this summer! She has talked about it every day, so I think gymnastics might be her fall activity...ballet might be getting the boot!

THREE!!!

Harper turned 3 yesterday, and I really can't believe it! I wasn't quite on top of her party like I have been in years past, and I think that was due to my mind being in a million places! My niece was in the hospital for the entire week last week, and I simply wanted to be there. So any time I would think of all I needed to do, I just didn't do it... because I was so overwhelmed. I felt like it showed, but as my friend Mare said, "Nobody knows what ideas you had...all they'll see is what you did". It was true, and I just had to move on. It was a Candy Land themed party, but really it ended up just being more about candy, rather than the game. I was so flustered on Saturday, rushing to get everything done... which wouldn't have happened if my family hadn't been there, that I didn't get many pictures! Thank you again to my mom and Leah for helping SO much!!! And once the party started, I didn't get a single picture. I feel like I completely failed on that one! Oh well...life goes on! Here's what I did get...

The "3" lollipop on the front door

I'm not sure who put the 1 gingerbread man there...

but the lollipop cookies were the party favor

Birthday sign in the living room

The food table:

Candy topped cupcakes

Icecream

Fruit kabobs

Pretzels covered in pink white chocolate

The lollipops in the kitchen with candy and kettle corn

Cheesy face from the birthday girl!

An even cheesier face with her Tia!!!

10K...check!

In December, my older sister, Lindsey, called to see if I would run in a 10K with her. She is battling lyme disease, and he doctor told her to make a workout goal. So we all signed up for the 10K in Little Rock. If you know me at all, you know this was a big deal. I am not a runner... or at least I hadn't ever been one before. Leah and I trained pretty hard for it, but Lindsey's body just wasn't allowing it. So my mom decided they would walk it together. If you know anything about my sister's life, you know that on top of her terrible illness, she doesn't get any sleep due to her child. So the weekend of the race came, and she wasn't able to do it. In fact, she had to stay in bed while we went and ran. It was heartbreaking for all of us, because we know that this just isn't her! But...we had even more adrenaline because we were doing this for her. My mom, who had only walked one 5 mile stretch, ran for the first 4 miles with us! It was quite maddening/impressive. We were glad to do it with her, but we tried to ignore how long we had been training for it. In the end, Leah and I finished together and had a great time doing it. My mom finished shortly after we did! It definitely made me want to do more, and possibly go for a half marathon. That's probably something that will happen later in life, but I do think I want to try one someday. So, I definitely need to thank my sister for encouraging me to do this! I certainly hope that one day we can all do at least a 5K together!!!

Before the race... it was pretty chilly!

But the weather was perfect in my opinion!

If you look hard, you can see our lime shoe strings...

which helped us think of Lindsey the whole time!

We finished it!!!

Harper loved cheering us on whenever we passed her!

Thank you again, Uncle Mike, for hanging out with her!!!