Mommy & Daddy

These pictures were taken by a great photographer we know. He did an awesome job capturing the love that Mark and I share. We felt free just to be ourselves probably because he is our seven year old son. Great job with the photography Moses. We love you!

Photo Shoot

 Saturday afternoon was supposed to be rainy and overcast but the sun broke through the clouds and the day ended beautiful! It reminded me of the grave clothes been taken off and new life coming forth. There is something about sunshine that makes my spirit feel like singing! I had been wanting to take some Easter pictures and we decided to take them Saturday instead of in the midst of the Sunday morning craziness. I always have these high expectations of how I think the pictures are going to turn out and somehow they never turn out how I expect but we usually still get some good shots. I guess that is kind of like life sometimes...not always what I expect but still good and sometimes even better than I could have imagined...
Here is a little glimpse of our "photo shoot"...

 The girls were not so much into the whole photo thing. Sarah would have rather been running through the meadow and Hope screamed every time I tried to take the bag of animal crackers from her so you will see her holding that bag tightly in her little hand in every picture!

 Again...not so much into taking pictures...Moses stepped on her toe and Sarah is kissing it...

Happy Easter....

Oh Glorious Day...

Phillies.

 Mark and I had such a great time on our date to Philadelphia. Getting there was half the fun as we stopped along the way for a bite to eat and did a little shopping. Mark indulged me and stopped at Anthropologie outside of Philly. Although I did not buy anything it was fun to look around!

 It was so good to talk and laugh, listen to music as we drove along, spend time together and just be in love...

So the game was sold out but somehow I managed to get tickets only a week before the game. We were in the nose bleed section but we still had fun. This was our view of the field.

We did however have a great view of the city and an awesome view of the sun setting over the park...

Such a good time. It was my first Phillies game ever which Mark found amusing. I am not a huge baseball fan and missed several plays because I was too busy people watching! It was freezing cold and windy and Mark and I were bundled up with long underwear and coats and blankets and hats but a lot of people were just wearing sweat shirts. The little boy next to me was just wearing a thin sweat shirt and before the game even started his teeth were rattling. I ended up sharing my blanket and snuggling with him and his brother!
I felt refreshed the next morning as I slept in till 8:30 and was then served coffee and breakfast in bed (um..whose birthday was it?) ! I was actually excited to go get the kids from Mark's parents and it was a good feeling to miss them.

 It is good to steal away sometimes....

It's Friday...

 and the sun is shining...

and the kids are off to Grandma's house for an overnight visit....

and Mommy & Daddy are headed to a Phillies game to celebrate 37 years of life...

Friday is here and life is good.

Happy Birthday Mark

Mark~
Happy 37 years to the man of my dreams. It is crazy to look back and see how much God knew what I needed in a husband. (surprise, surprise). I knew I was going to marry you and then fell in love after the ring was already on (and off again) but I wouldn't re-write the story any other way. Just the other Sunday when we were sharing our love story it hit me in a whole new way the path God had us on was really HIM!
I love the way we have been laughing so much more together. Even when I am trying to be uptight you don't let me because you are cracking a joke or imitating me till I see how ridicoulous I am being! I love how you love our children and how they adore you in return. I love seeing you share the Father's heart with those who come into your path. I love walking through life with you...
Happy Birthday Baby...
love,
Heather

Where memories are made...

 We have officially hit new territory in our marriage. We have lived over two years in the same house! That is reason to shout. After 8 houses in 8 years of marriage it truly is a milestone...

 We feel blessed to call Blossom View our home for now. We love the wide open space the Lord has brought us into and the planting and settling He is doing in our hearts.

 Yesterday was another milestone, well kind of, we had our first picnic of the year! It was so beautiful outside with tempartures reaching into the 80's. Time to throw off the shoes and...

 Jump into the creek....

 Honestly the creek is sometimes the last place I want to spend my time but the kids LOVE it and I am learning to love it too....Moses is really into building dams and changing the flow of the creek and Silas well he just loves to throw rocks and Hope & Sarah love to strip down and splash around. Squeals of pure joy could be heard coming from the meadow as the girls splashed each other and giggled.

This is the place where memories are made...

I'm not afraid anymore...

    Sometimes I think about what our life would have looked like if we would not have lost the twins last October. Life with six kids would definitely have been crazy, awesome, full, and something I can only imagine at this point. The twins would have been due sometime at the end of March/beginning of April. Sometimes I still feel sad when I think of what could have been, other days I feel thankful for the family I currently have, and most of all I feel blessed for the Father's hand holding mine on the journey.
     A couple weeks ago the kids and I got to talking about life and death. My sister in law's mom has cancer as well as my grandmother and aunt so the word "cancer" has been floating around our house recently. Sarah had a lot of questions about cancer and specifically "if you have cancer will you die?" I started to talk with her about how God can heal people of cancer like he did a woman at our church but sometimes people aren't healed and we don't always understand, just like we lost the twins and don't always understand why.  
     Silas piped up in the conversation, "But Jesus is taking care of the twins in heaven, right Mom?". My heart overflowed. "Yes Silas, the twins are in heaven with Jesus and someday we will get to see them and play with them in heaven too. Won't that be cool..."
    "Is that true we can play with the twins in heaven?" Sarah asked. I could almost see the wheels in her head spinning. " Wow, I used to be afraid of dying but now I am not afraid anymore."
    I stood there in my kitchen tears rolling down my face, "now I'm not afraid anymore" still echoing in my ears and the simplicity of child like faith leaving an impression on my heart. I too deal with fear about dying or bad things happening. But I can trust the Father that even if bad things do happen He will be there and someday I will get to hold my babies and play with them and there is only good things waiting ahead. And I can walk in freedom from fear today.  
     Yes, I don't want to be afraid anymore either.




"Jesus and the twins"-The framed picture that sits on my dresser that was given to me after we lost the twins. A reminder that Jesus is fathering them and me too along this journey.



Mud Sale

 This morning after a pancake breakfast we decided to check out the mud sale at Rawlinsville Fire Company.  As advertised there was mud.  Heather enjoyed the antique sale while the kids and I played in the mud and had fun watching our Amish neighbors play volleyball. This was a  true Southern End cultural experience.  I am sure my Pappy Shank would have been proud.  Mud, Amish, horses, mud, farm equipment, pulled pork, mud, french fries, amish, mud, antiques, auctioneers, amish, mud, cigar smoke, valley road speeders, mud.  There was a lot to see.  It is the first time I have used my camera this much in a long time. I had fun - but I felt like I could have captured thousands more images - there were so many unique sights along the way. Here are a few of my favorites.

 

the soundtrack of life...



If there was a soundtrack with these pictures it would be the sound of pure joy! When these two get together it can turn into some serious giggling. 

 

 One of life's simple joys...wheelbarrow rides

 

If this picture had a soundtrack it would be the sound of motorcycle noises coming from a four year old boy's mouth as he happily pedals along...

Just like Dad...Moses all geared up riding his "motorcycle". Notice the boots, goggles, i-pod with ear buds (an old one that went thru the wash), and the extra gear strapped to the back of the bike with bungee cords! Makes my heart smile.

Happy Wednesday...