A look back at 2014

2014 was a very blessed year. A look back at it with joy over all the 'firsts' we had and with sadness at how quickly it went by. Thankfully this was a year I did not wish away, and just wanted to write a blog post about the highlights of the year.

This was our first year as Disney seasonal pass holders. The boys loved it and we spent a lot of time there over the year.

This was a cute picture of Palmer and Jack strawberry picking in the spring... one of my favorite pictures of the two of them.

In the Spring we joined a couples bible study going over the book 'Forgotten God' by Francis Chan. It was led by our friends Matt and Laura who did a wonderful job in leading it! Definitely one of my favorite studies so far and we really cherished the friendships we made. This Spring we are excited to start another couples bible study in our home, excited to be back in a bible study once again!

Jack finished off his 4 year old class in May. His teacher Mrs. Poole is wonderful and we are so thankful to have had her as his teacher. 

In April 2014 I stepped in as coordinator for the Fishhawk CARES group at our church Fishhawk Fellowship. The mission of the group is to suport foster and adoptive families, as well as encourage people to get involved in helping children in need. It has been a very busy year working on this, but I am passionate to be leading this group... and always excited to see how God is at work through this!

Palmer turned 2 on May 4th. We had a small construction themed party at grandpa's house, and he enjoyed every bit of that cake!

On June 7th, my sister Mariela got married to Courtney in Washington DC. She had a beautiful wedding in the country and I really enjoyed our time together. It was wonderful to have a weekend with my sisters and mom.

On June 13th, Steve's brother Brett got married to Lauren. They had a beautiful wedding in Clearwater beach and we were honored to be part of it.

At the end of June we traveled to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic to spend a week with my dad. My dad was in good spirits and health, and we really enjoyed our time with him. On August of this year my dad had a stroke, and shortly after another accident which has left him with very limited use of his arm. We are praying for his healing and hoping he will be able to come to the US soon.

Jack started VPK in the fall of this year. Thankful for Mrs. Koutz, another wonderful teacher that loves on these kiddos so much.

In the fall Jack started his first season of Tball. Steve coached the team along with grandpa, uncle Brett, Mr. Larry and some other men. Jack was spoiled to have his family as coaches but he really enjoyed playing baseball, and we plan on playing again next fall.

On September 14th Jack turned 5 years old! Can't believe how quickly time goes by... We celebrated with a very small birthday party at grandpa's house.

On October 29, 2014 we took our first family road trip to North Carolina to visit friends. The kids did surprisingly well on the ride up and we really enjoyed our time with the Shah and Clark families. Hoping to be back again to visit soon!

I don't have a picture for this, but in December 2014 I started working again part time. I work at a small consulting company in Brandon approximately 10 hours a week as a financial analyst. It was a much bigger adjustment than anticipated (I thought 10 hours a week would be easy!) but I am finally getting into a routine. I am thankful for a very good and flexible work environment, and a place to use these skills I have been given. I love what I do as a financial analyst, and am thankful for this job even though it wasn't something I was looking for.

I am thankful for God's blessings this past year and am looking forward to what God has in store this next year. To Him be all the glory!

Outback's Blooming Onion

Recently I had a small glimpse of how God continues to use the pain of my past for good in the present. It has been going through my mind for a few weeks, and just wanted to write about and share here.  Because it’s all about giving God the glory.

Outback’s Blooming Onion has always reminded me of Andrew. Steve and I had dinner at Outback the night before I went into labor with Andrew. After giving birth we joked that it must have been that blooming onion that sent me into labor, and we blamed his very chubby cheeks on those fried onions rings. 

On what would’ve been Andrew’s first birthday we went back to Outback for dinner. It was really hard, as it was the first time we had been there since that night before he was born.  Somehow we ended up being seated on the exact same table that we had been seated a year before. It was so painful but we decided to order the dinner, with of course the blooming onion as an appetizer in remembrance of Andrew. 

We have been back to Outback every year around his birthday since then. And every year we order the blooming onion as a small way of remembering him.  

A few weeks ago we went to Sunday morning service at our church Fishhawk Fellowship. Our friend Ashanti came with us that morning, she is a sweet girl I have been mentoring for some time and she enjoys coming to service on Sundays.  That day we went out to Outback for lunch, and as we were getting ready to order she mentioned she had never been to Outback before. Steve of course jumped in and said ‘Well then, we have to get the blooming onion!’ And she smiled and nodded, as I told her to get ready for the best meal of her life :)

And later that day it hit me. Something that had been a reminder of Andrew and the pain of losing him, would now going forward be a reminder of Ashanti of the day she tried the blooming onion for the first time. It would be a reminder of how blessed we are just to even be able to go to Outback. It would be a reminder of the joy I’ve experienced over the last few months in being her mentor. Now don’t get me wrong- it will always remind me of Andrew, but now there is great joy associated with it.

And for that I am thankful.

The truth is I could still be Ashanti’s mentor today even if we had not lost Andrew six years ago. God could’ve laid it on my heart, convicted me, asked me to be her mentor in a million different ways. In an alternate universe I could be sitting in Outback with Steve, three boys, and her trying a blooming onion for the first time. But I would not have been able to connect with her as we have over the last six months. I would not have been able to relate to her pain. I would not have had any platform to tell her to trust God even when life seems really unfair. Yes that horrible pain of my past, the loss I really didn’t want to walk through... is something that feels so precious to me today.  And although I would never choose the loss and will never be able to understand why it happened, I am thankful that God is using some of it for good and for His purposes.

Please keep Ashanti in your prayers as she will be moving to Pinellas county sometime over the next few weeks.