I Can Only Imagine

We have safely returned home from Michigan. I will post a picture from the wedding tomorrow.

My family received some sad news. I lost two cousins this weekend. My cousin, Kevin, on my mom's side died Friday evening. My cousin, Robbie, on my dad's side, died Saturday night. My family has not had a death in 12 years. The best way I can memorialize them in this blog, is to post the words to Mercy Me's "I Can Only Imagine". Robbie was unable to walk due to a disability he was born with and Kevin was unable to walk due to an accident when he was little. This song makes their transition from life here on Earth, to life in Heaven even more beautiful because it talks about walking and dancing with Jesus. To not only imagine them in Heaven, but DANCING makes me smile.

"I Can Only Imagine" by Mercy Me

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk
By your side

I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When your face
Is before me
I can only imagine

Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all

I can only imagine

I can only imagine

When that day comes
And I find myself
Standing in the Son
I can only imagine

When all I will do Is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine

Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all

I can only imagine

I can only imagine

When all I will do Is forever, forever worship you

A Sticks and Stones Wedding!

It has been a fairytale! Our friends, Cristi and Iony, will be married tomorrow in Troy, Michigan. We can't wait to be there to support them and wish them well on their blessed day.

Cristi has been with us since "Day One" of Sticks and Stones. This website is functional because of him - his positive, can-do attitude make him a joy to work with.

We love you Cristi and Iony! Happy Wedding Day! Wedding pics on Monday!

My Favorite Sister

In yesterday's blog, I told you a little bit about my upbringing. Today, I feel like talking about that some more. Specifically, my sister. She's 15 months younger than I am, but she feels like my twin. Obviously, I don't remember a second of my life without her. We don't really resemble each other and our personalities are very different. She's sensible. I'm crazy. She's understated. I'm over-the-top. She's quiet. I'm loud. Seriously...we are nothing alike. Except that we are each other's best, best, bestest friend. There are five people on this Earth I could not live without: Brad, my girls, and my Sis (sorry Mom and Dad).

We were raised on a farm in the middle of nowhere. The nearest house was a mile away. To get to my house, you went ten miles south of town and down a mile-long gravel road. When someone went down our road, we all stopped what we were doing and watched them drive by. I think that because my sister and I were raised in our house by ourselves (no neighborhood kids to play with) we had no choice but to be nice each other. If you were fighting, you didn't have anyone to play with. So it's hard for me when my girls fight because I'm not used to that. Sisters don't fight, or at least that's what I thought. I think my Sis and I have fought less than 10 times in our lifetime. Brad assures me it's totally normal since he used to beat the living daylights out of his little brother (but he still loved him). But I digress...

We were only a year apart in school and went to college together. She went on to grad school and I got married. Then she met a friend of ours at Brad's 30th birthday party. Mark and Brad had been friends for years - even before Brad and I knew each other. They got married and then she moved away. Far away. Well, not THAT far away, but far enough that I can't jump in the car and see her whenever I want to. And that makes me sad. I miss her a lot. She's lived far away for 8 years this month and it's STILL not any easier. I wish we could meet for coffee. I wish we could have playdates. I wish we could go out for drinks during Happy Hour. But I get to see her next month and I'm excited about that. When we see each other now, we make the most of it - probably to the point that we get sick of each other, if that's even possible.

So thanks, Mom and Dad, for giving me the MOST PERFECT one in the history of Sisters. I love you, Sis.

Autumn Days

The weather here in the Midwest has been beautiful lately. Not at all late-summer-in-Illinois-feeling. It definitely feels like Autumn and we're taking full advantage of it. I'm burning my pumpkin candles, the windows are open, the heavier, soft blankets are already on the beds and the hooks by the back door no longer hold beach towels and pool cover-ups, but light jackets and back packs. The picture I've included with this blog was taken over the weekend as they listen to their ipods.

This time of year I'm reminded of all of the fun family traditions we had growing up and that we've carried over to our family. Like every September 1, we make a trek to our storage locker where we gather all of our fall decor and bring it home to decorate (yeah, I have a storage locker full of my seasonal decor...it's an addiction). The girls love to help me decorate the house for any holiday. They put the things at their level or in the funniest places (like a witch hat right in front of the fridge)....I leave them there for the day and if I must, I will relocate them when the girls go to bed that night. They have yet to call me out on it. Brad also gets into as much as we do, which is kind of funny because he's this big, football-player-type who's straight up masculine but gets giddy about decorating for the holidays. :)

Another fall tradition is Tanner's Orchard. I'm not sure who loves it more: the girls or us. Tanner's has pick-your-own apples and pumpkins, cider barrel rides, pony rides, a huge playground, lunch, shopping...it's adorable and such a fun way to spend a Saturday.

Then there's Hayrides and Hotdogs. In October, we go to Sommer Park for a wiener roast, smores, hot chocolate, and a hayrack ride. Since I'm a farmgirl, this was kind of the way we entertained growing up....for my "city" girls, this is a special fall treat.

I love this time of year. It makes me a little homesick for the farm I grew up on. My sister and I talk about that, how even after 15 years away from home, we still miss home certain times of the year. For us, it's right now: harvest. Being a farmer's daughter is a very good thing.

I love the lovely years

Who says an anniversary trip should be for two? We did something unorthodox for our 10th, which we celebrated on August 15.

Allie LOVES theme parks. She's been begging us to go to Six Flags. Apparently, it's frequently advertised on Nickelodeon between McDonald's and Burger King commercials. Lovely. This begging intensified when we took a long weekend to Big Cedar in southern Missouri last month and, on our way, we drove right past Six Flags St. Louis. She drooled on the window as we passed the roller coasters and bungee rides. I tried to distract her by pointing out the tall, vacant, warehouse building on the other side of the interstate. It didn't work.

For our 10th, I was sure Brad would plan a romantic, beach getaway. He's like that and it's a monumental anniversary. He LOVES to surprise me and I LOVE to be surprised. He kept telling me his mom couldn't keep the girls for the weekend, but I was sure that was all part of his plan. He wasn't lying.

We loaded up on Thursday morning heading North. I had no idea where we were going, but I was positive the car had our 3 children in it. It wasn't until that moment that I realized that they were really coming with us. That was fine. I just needed to adjust my thinking. Romantic walks on the beach and mid-morning coffee would be replaced by stroller rides at the zoo and pizza-by-the-slice. That's fun too. We arrived at Key Lime Cove in Gurnee, IL around Noon. It was then that I realized Six Flags was across the street.

Key Lime Cove is adorable. In typical Brad fashion, he had made appointments at the spa for the girls and me. Lily even got her first pedicure. They all got their tiny little toe nails painted a very bright blue. There's a great indoor water park and fun restaurants and kid-activity rooms all over. The concept is great and we took full advantage of it.

We spent all day Friday at Six Flags and their water park. We had so much fun. We headed back to our room around 5 as we had a sitter coming to keep the girls so we could go out to dinner, plus Allie was entered in a Guitar Hero contest, which she wasn't about to let us forget. Our sitter arrived, we went to dinner, and although we had considered a movie, there was no way we could miss the contest, so we cut our evening short and headed back to the hotel. I'm glad we did - she won - her "Mississippi Queen" solo rocks - making her guitar-playing dad very proud. Her prize winnings were coins for the arcade which she sweetly shared with her sisters. We wrapped the evening and crawled into bed for a well-deserved rest after a day of roller coasters and water slides.

We were all sad to go home the next day. It was the perfect anniversary.