Brody at Age 4

Brody is now 4 years old, almost 5. Life at 4 is good.  He is in pre-school half days and learning lots.  He loves hockey, soccer, piano, guitars, camping, and riding his bike.  When he grows up, he wants to be a fire fighter, cowboy, and to drive a motorcycle.  He likes to have books read to him.  He enjoys legos and trying to figure out how things work.  He watches Dad in the garage and likes to help whenever he can.  He is a very thoughtful young man with concern for other people.

Preschool Picture

4th Birthday cake at home - an alligator cake

Birthday party at his favorite place - Chuck E Cheese

Fun times fishing off the dock at Grandma and Papa's
He enjoys swimming and the pontoon

One of his favorite things to do is go to Daddy's hockey games

I'm back

I haven't put anything on this blog for a long time, but I want to try to pick it up again. I reminisce on this blog often, looking back at all the old memories.  It is now January of 2016.  Brody is four years old and enrolled in Preschool. He has grown into such a wonderful young guy.  We are expecting a girl on April 18th.  I started a home daycare business and have been doing this for a year now.  Russ is still at Eye Surgeons and Physicians and enjoys refereeing hockey still.  I hope to post more soon.

It Has Been A While

What is Jenny up to?

It has been a long time since my last post.  But, I am grateful for a little bit of time this morning.

In 2011, I started this blog, not having the slightest inclination of what was about to come.  We had our little miracle baby and went on a roller coaster ride of ups and downs.  For a while there, we didn't know if he would survive, much less how he would grow up.  Just as we were feeling comfortable with the fact that we actually would get to keep our son with us, he got sick and we almost lost him again.  I thank God every day he is still here, truly the biggest joy anybody could have the privilege to mother.

As you know, I was laid off from my job at Creative Memories one year ago today, and I have been grieving the loss of our second son, Isaac, on December 30th. This has been a very tough year for us, emotionally and financially.  Hell, it has been a tough 3.5 years.

Throughout this process, I have been pondering on my faith and trying to reflect on what God is trying to reveal to me.  What lessons am I to learn from all this?  I learned that, in tough times, God and family is really all we have.  At any moment, I can be thrust out of my comfort zone and be forced to adapt.  I learned about needs versus wants.  I certainly learned about priorities.

In the words of Gary Allen, Every Storm Runs Out of Rain.  I am still struggling on a daily basis, but it seems like the thunder and lightening are subsiding a bit.  There is no rainbow in sight, but at least the rain seems to be letting up a bit.  If you have not heard this song, please listen and this paragraph will make a lot more sense.

http://youtu.be/1q3LEadIk3w?list=RD1q3LEadIk3w

During this past year, I have been thinking a lot about what I want to do next for a career.  I attended a week long Career Path workshop at the Workforce Center and explored some different ideas based on my strengths and interests.

I volunteered at the St. Cloud Hospital NICU in the March of Dimes Parent To Parent Support Program.  I volunteered at my church on an initiative to create a Youth Ministry Leadership Team.

I am currently working a temporary job, full time, at Bluestem Brands as a Supervisor in the Packing Department.  This assignment will go until the end of December.  There is a lot of stress right now, dealing with the uncertainty of what I will be doing to bring in income and sustain our family in 2015.  Please pray for me because I need help discerning the right path.

Wow, I feel like I just wrote one of those holiday newsletters (a pretty sad one!).  I've been asked in job interviews what I have been doing during my "lay off".  Ha! I'd like to give them a copy of this post. :)

Time with My Cousins

And, Brody learning how to use the hose.

Brody is enjoying summer. He is getting tall; 35 inches now (about 3 feet). He is talking quite fluently with a few times when we need to ask for clarification. We are making small progress on potty training. He goes every morning, but after that he does not. This is a new thing, so we are excited to be making progress and will work on the next steps. He is enjoying his daycare and friends. We like to go to the splash pad or wading pool and parks. He is in PT twice per week and wearing ankle braces. All said, he is a thriving, happy guy. We love our boy!

Thank you to everybody who donated to the March For Babies this year. Our team raised $1,300 for research to prevent premature birth and to support families facing NICU experiences. It was pretty cool to see our team name mentioned in the program. Can't wait to walk again next year.

Reminiscing

Brody just turned 3 this past Thursday and it is hard to believe the time has passed as quick as it has. At one point, Brody's hand was THIS small:

Here are a few more from that first month of Brody's life:

On Saturday, April 12th, we are going to walk 5 miles for the March of Dimes Walk For Babies. It starts at the SCSU Fieldhouse at 10:00 (registration at 8:00). If you would like to join us or donate to the cause, please go to:

We March For Life Team Page

The March of Dimes raises money for research to prevent premature birth and help babies who are born too early. Without this research, Brody wouldn't be here today. Perhaps with further research, babies like Isaac could one day be saved.

The March Of Dimes has a NICU Family Support Program which offers emotional support and activities for the families to help get them through the tough times. I recently began volunteering at the hospital and visiting families going through similar situations to what we did. There are amazing things happening every day with those babies and their families. Life is a miracle, never to be taken for granted.

Thank you for reading our blog and for your support in these past three years and beyond.