delinquent

i have been a blog delinquent. 

so bear with me as i catch up on a few things. 

as far as justin goes...it is just going. we are sitting in a very awkward place right now. we are trying our hardest not to allow this illness to take over our lives. and then we are trying our hardest to steer clear of complacency with his condition. God does not desire for us to get comfortable in illness and earthly hurts. He does call us to fight for His truth, but finding a healthy place between
gratefulness and fear is tough.
like, real tough. 

 we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. 

we are stuck between contentment and complacency. 

we are stuck between a desire for healing and gratefulness in the life our Creator chose for us. 

we are stuck between not letting illness define our family and knowing that we have serious limitations. 

we have reached a challenging spot. we will get past it and there will be a new obstacle to overcome. and we will. because God is good...all the time. 

psalm 68:19 reminds us that He daily bears our burdens

i may need that tattooed on my...everything. 

He has equipped us FULLY for this battle. one of my dearest friends sent me a bit of encouragement tonight and she hit the nail on the head. 2 corinthians 6:10 says that even when beaten down and sorrowful we are  rejoicing, poor yet making many rich, having nothing yet possessing everthing. 

sometimes i feel like this family has been beaten to the ground, but there is still ALWAYS so much (and i mean soooooo much) to be grateful for. our precious children, our home, our friends, our family, our community, the fact that we found a family in this town when we needed a family the most, my health, Bryce's health, Brody's health (which this is HUGE ya'll. he was "supposed" to have all kinds of issues), Braxton's health, Justin's job, the financial burdens that are constantly lifted from us, and so much more. we are broken in many ways, but we won't be defeated. we have lost much, but we have so much more. we have the gift of eternal life with our Father.
 that cannot be beat. 

in other news...

the first week of school was great!

everyone is adjusting...i am even adjusting to the new 22 minute commute vs. our 30 second commute from last year :) its tough but worth it!

big boy brody gets to ride a BUS. yup. he pretty much knows that he is the coolest mac up in this shack. brothers are jealous. he loves it. tues-thurs he gets a ride from ppcd to church. his bus driver (who is ADORABLE and i wish she would drive me somewhere) says "he sure is one friendly fella" yeah. we know :)

i hosted a girls art night for our sunday school class. 

coffee, corks and canvas came and set up my living room like a studio...fun night for sure. 

braxton and i have enjoyed our mornings alone. brax sure enjoys being the center of attention.

 and i sure like how much i can get done with just ONE kid :)

these crazy heads started preschool today! look at those dapper boys in their "daddy shirts"
it sure was weird to be on the mommy side of today rather than the teacher side!
grateful for this time to spend with my main squeeze

and on a final picture note...

now that bryce is a big first grader he gets to be in charge of bedtime stories. 

precious moment for sure. 

God is faithful to us...always.

And just in case you have a little extra reading time...
Check this out!
www.boernefusionfitness.com
Katie and I are excited to announce our new business!
Please pass this website along...we are anxious to get the word out :)

Also, please stop on over to www.takingittothestreets.com
There is a FUN event coming up that your family will NOT want to miss!!