A Sudden Goodbye...

A week's hiatus after such a promising blogging start... Instead, we spent last Monday saying goodbye to my Grandpa. He passed away suddenly on Thursday, April 15 at his home from an apparent heart attack and last Monday was his funeral. Although the occasion was for a very sad reason, the comfort and joy I got from being part of an impromptu family reunion was wonderful. Just being in the room with all of my mom's family makes me feel so incredibly happy to be part of such a wonderful legacy...

"We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord for ever. Therefore encourage one another with these words."         - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Lather, Rinse, Repeat...

No, it's not hair-washing day... Yet...  :)  It's my new mantra for getting a rhythm down since I have all of this unstructured time on my hands. Last week felt like a lightning-quick dash to Friday. I don't think I've had a week go that quickly in ages! We got a lot of little things done around the house, but nothing monumental. And that's ok...

Josh is settling in quite nicely with this whole "stay-home day" schedule. We've had a couple of PJ days already and play dates with some pals. Jacob - on the surface - is not quite as fond of his little brother getting to sleep in and ride to school in PJs. But the smile on his face when he gets off the bus and bounds up the porch steps is like the cliche "window to his soul." I think he rather enjoys coming home to familiar faces. :)

The next few weeks are getting us all wound up for the crazy summer we have looming on the horizon. I know this time will be short-lived, so I'm gonna take it one day at a time...

Happy MONDAY!

Today is the first day of the rest of your life...

Here we are. For those of you that don't know, I (Amy) have voluntarily decided to leave my 13-year career at Hallmark to become a stay-at-home mom. Wow. I never in a million years thought that this would be my life, but I am so incredibly excited to begin this next chapter of my life. I will miss my friends at Hallmark (and my discount!), but I have been drifting in this direction since I went back to work after Josh was born. Jamie and I have been blessed in ways too numerous to count that made all of this possible. I honestly felt that saying "no" to this opportunity - as many improbable doors were opened - was being disobedient to God and His will for my life.

So, today is the first day of this new life. No case of the Mondays here! Jacob is actually out of school today for teacher in-service, so I don't think we'll have a true glimpse into the new life until tomorrow. This morning has already been active - thunderstorms rolling through at sunrise (yay!), taking Josh to a soccer class - and this afternoon is a movie date with my boys. Oh, yeah, and it's Opening Day, so we'll grill out for dinner! The sun is shining and the birds are chirping in a Disney-esque way to start the week.

After multiple promises to keep this blog updated, I think I have removed all of my obstacles (um, that would be "excuses" in non-Corporate America speak!). My 2010 objective is to live life to its fullest and spend time rediscovering my boys... Pool passes go on sale in a couple of weeks! :)

Annie said it best... "I think I'm gonna like it here!"