The Blog is still here!

Wow, its been a while since I've thought of this page.  I love that it is still here.  I love seeing all of my old thoughts.  I truly believe I was part of my best self when I was sitting and reflecting on life.  As many know about me, I am usually NOT a deep thinker.  What you see is what you get, I usually say out loud what's on my mind and don't usually have hidden agendas....  

Reflecting today is kind of fun.   I'm off of work for summer break and it feels good.  Work is a lot with this busy household of boys and I am not sure my family is crazy about the lack of mom this situation has created.   Less meals... dirtier house...  forgotten things... missed opportunities... and a tired less present #1 supporter.  Being a mom and homemaker was all I had transpired to be when I was thinking about my life after high school graduation and now trying to support our household with a second income has brought many changes for everyone and we are marching through it post covid trying to love every minute of "getting back to normal".   

Next school year will be the last year with the boys all in the Lynden School District and I am SO sad.  They will all finally be back in the same building together making things a little less tricky but wow, how did we get here already?  I am learning how to help teenagers navigate into adulthood and it is hard!  The constant worry about their choices, their safety, their movement into their adult lives and the decisions they need to make now to pave that way.  I yearn to talk to my mom about all of it.  I wish I could ask her questions about what she felt like at this stage in her own life.  Did she stress about these things?  It didn't feel like it.  At this point in my life that is what I miss the most about not having her around.  I wish I had her wisdom and guidance with raising these boys.  Someone to help calm my anxieties about decisions we are making inside our household.

Life is crazy and hard.  All the twists and turns, easy times and hard times, and all the moments I am trying to "take it all in".  I wish it would all slow down and simplify but yet every moment we are busy doing things I feel like I am living my best life and wouldn't want it any other way.  We do less and less all 5 of us together and slowly I am accepting those little changes of our life.  I just hope I never regret a decision we make or a situation I put us all in.  I pray daily for God's continued guidance as my boys' mom.  I continue to remind myself that he chose me for them and HE has my back.

Your Hands

Your Hands by JJ Heller....  I discovered this song when my mom was dying. I listened to it over and over.  I love this song.   I was able to listen to it live last night. I got to hear JJ Heller explain the background to this song and explain how so many people had reached out to her to tell her how much they loved the song and how much it had related to their lives.
My heart started beating so fast in her explanation as I knew the moment was coming where I would get to hear her sing this for me... I never expected my response.  I sobbed... I trembled... I was brought right back to every emotion I felt around that time 8 short years ago. It hurt.  I could hardly breath.  It was so hard.
I sat as silent as I could, trying to really take in those few minutes and those flooding emotions.  I know I don’t do that often enough because it... is... hard...

But wow, it felt so good.  It was exactly what I needed.  Thank you God for guiding me there and surrounding me with those that love me.

7 years in Heaven

My mom...  May I always remember her exactly like this photo.... Smiling in the sunshine surrounded by her family and grandchildren.

Today marks 7 years.... while it seems so long ago it also feels like yesterday.  I miss this women more than I thought I still would.  I miss her voice, her laugh, her hands, her home cooked meals, her phone calls, her guidance, her love...

I had a great day today at home thinking of her all day.  The music station played old country hymns that were exactly what I wanted to hear and were a constant reminder of her.  I was able to reflect on my life and the things she has taught me.
  * Remember others when they need help, bring a meal, mail a card. Be present.
  * Speak your mind but know when to hold your tongue.
  * It is ok to be vulnerable.
  * Being a wife and a mom is a gift.  Cook the meals, clean the mess, provide.
  * Have fun and enjoy your life.

Through it all I have come away knowing more about myself, caring more for others, and creating deeper relationships.  I am so thankful I wrote on this blog.  I can truly say it was therapy as I would never have said these things out loud to anyone and it has also allowed me to remember moments amongst my grieving.

Thanks mom, I wish I would have told you that more.

Kelli

Are there still readers out there....

It's crazy to me that it has been over 3 years since I have been on this blog.... Where has the time gone??? I had almost completely forgotten about my writings here. How is it possible I could forget when this was such a vital piece of my grieving process!
I have loved reading back through these posts and reliving some of these emotions and highlights of life.  It was such an outlet for me and I am so thankful I have this to look back on because I don't want to forget, especially when I can compare how far I have come.
Life is still hard some days, I miss my mom like crazy but in this journey I am getting better at life without her and her daily guidance. I can't believe we are going on 7 years..... 7 years!
I hope to continue my thoughts on this blog on a more consistent basis.
Are there still readers out there....?

Can my baby really be 5 today!

With every birthday I am amazed on how fast time has went.  I know that everyone feels the same way but I love reflecting with each special day of these boys on their age cause really I can not believe that my baby is 5 today!

It makes me sad when I look at all these old photos because it was such a fun time with them when they were all really small.  It was busy but fun.  And I am not sure I was really thinking it was that fun at the time...

I love how close these brothers are.  Most days they love eachother whole heartedly and other days they can not stand eachother.  I love watching this Baar boy unit play, explore, learn, grow, praise, giggle, and love.  I AM SO BLESSED!!!

Treyman is 7

Trey's 7th birthday was yesterday.  It has been a weekend filled with TREY which has been so much fun and I am exhausted!  He got to be the special person at school all week and had different activites to do all week.  He loved his week!

 

 

He had friends over on Saturday and we played games in the backyard.  We were so thankful for the beautiful sunshine which allowed these boys to burn some energy and compete in games which kept this rowdy bunch from destroying this place.  He has such a great group of boys in his class and we are thankful for these buddies who will hopefully keep this kid in line the next 10-15 years.

 

Trey trying to act like Goofy in Disney.  He was so proud of this purchase he made with his money.  Typical Trey :)

 

I am so proud of this little man!  He has such a kind & sweet heart and is loved by so many people.  I know he will keep me on my toes in the future but he will also keep me laughing with his goofy self and ideas.  I pray that God gives me the patience, guidance, and wisdom to help this boy grow into a Man of God who can do something real special in this world.

Disneyland & 3 years in Heaven

Wow!  I have been unable to log into by blogger account for a couple of months and I have felt lost not being able to share on here and also in being able to keep up on daily writings of some of the people I like to follow on here.  But.... I'M BACK!  Yay!!

Disneyland-  At the end of Feb. we took a 6 day trip to Anaheim, CA with our kids, Kip's parents, and Chad, Kandi, Dakota, & Faith.  We had SO much fun!  This was my first time and also my boys' first time in Disneyland. It was so much more than I imagined and hoped.  I have many pictures but will only share a few.

 

They had no idea what to expect of their first airplane ride or Disneyland.  That made it so much more fun and special.

 

 

We LOVED CarsLand! 

 

This was the only picture we got of our whole group and obviously the random person taking the photo didn't do the best job. 

 

This was a huge highlight of our trip for me, not the best picture but I had to share.  We had just gotten off  California Screamin which we skipped the first time our group of riders hopped on.  I was horrified, (so was Kandi) of that rollercoaster but I did it, We did it!  We were so proud of us!  My mom loved rollercoasters and I thought of her the whole time.  She would have been so proud of me!

 

 

Moms 3rd Anniversary in Heaven-  Feb. 27 was my moms 3rd anniversary in Heaven and we just happened to be in "The Happiest Place on Earth".  I was reminded of her so many times during the day.  I was flooded with text & facebook messages from my loved ones back home but also I was reminded of her in the Park.  We were on "Soarin" and I was overwhelmed with the beauty of California and the sights we were seeing.  My mom loved California.  She was born there and as we were flying over many sights I just couldn't help but think of her.  I was brought to tears by the whole experience.

We also kept up our tradition of sending her a balloon with special messages.  The boys got to write her special things on this Mickey balloon that they knew she would LOVE.  They knew she would be excited to see this coming from Disneyland and feel really special to get a Mickey balloon.  It reminded me how much we miss her.  She should still be here to do these fun things with us!

 

We ended the night watching the World of Color.  That was so awesome and it even included a rainbow which I was waiting all day to see.   The rainbows seem to magically appear around special days for us and I was hoping she wouldn't let us down this time.  Along with a clear rainbow in the show the vibrant rainbow colors shown the entire show.  It was incredible!  Thanks mom...