sweet home colorado: January

2016 did not exactly start off for us the way we expected it to.

It has left us clinging to HOPE that can only be found in HIM.

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

This was the verse that was read at our wedding. And a verse that has given us comfort and encouragement many times throughout our marriage. We don't always understand God's plans and we wrestle with disappointment, anger, and grief over the loss of our nephew, but we know that through it all, God is good.

We trust that He has amazing things in store for our family and we give thanks in all situations. We have so much to be grateful for.

And I am so thankful to have my amazing sister to do life with. She is walking through unbelievable sadness with such grace and strength.

A former student made this sweet drawing for me. Her mom had shared with her about our loss. It's Dylan. I'm not sure why he has a cat on his shirt. But I love the cute little diaper and wings and halo. We love our little angel baby.

January was sad. But it was also joyful. These three kiddos of ours bring us so much joy.

And blue sky does too. Thank goodness for blue sky! We love, love, love, love, love living in Colorado! Warm January days just make you happy, no matter what else is going on in your life!

A fun Saturday at the pool!

We love our rec center.

The boys slide and splash and swim and I don't even have to get in the pool anymore.

This one. He's Mr. Cool and Mr. Independent. But he still needs his Mommy. And I still need his snuggles. I've been holding these guys extra tight these days.

I just needed a change. So I chopped and went blonder. It felt good!

And I ordered this beauty too. And it just so happened to come in an elephant bag. Which was perfect. Because Dylan's first stuffed animal was a Dumbo elephant that his Mommy picked out for him in Disney World. So now when we see elephants we are reminded of him.

Heath was Student of the Week-

He worked hard to create his "It's All About me Tee". And it was perfectly him!

He got to take Brownie the Bear home with him for a few days during his special week!

And he loved every second!

Brownie came with a few different clothes options. Heath changed his clothes a couple of times a day. It was cute to see him do this, because we've never had dolls or dress up clothes around. But he took such good care of Brownie! He will make a very fun and sweet Dad some day.

We documented all the fun stuff we did with him!

Heath even rushed to bed that night because he knew he got to sleep with Brownie.

That next morning we got a SURPRISE Snow Day!

So Heath got even more time with Brownie! They played Power Rangers and played in the snow.

The boys had the best time playing outside! They were out for hours!

Daddy built them a snow cave!

They loved crawling through the tunnel!

Helping shovel!

Caught eating snow!

Snow Angels are a must!

And so are Snow Ball Fights...

I got him!

Making dinosaur caves.

They had a great time. The snow was nice and the extra day off is always welcomed, but I'm always ready for the snow to go again! And it's done just that. We've had a few mild and sunny weeks since this storm!

Heath's sweet writing about his week with Brownie...

Nolan had some fun this month too...

He was a Science Star!

And he auditioned for a special instrument part at choir that month. He played the drums and tambourine! He took his part very seriously and practiced at home and did AWESOME during his 4 performances. He felt so proud of himself…and his parents were beaming too!

Heath and I both celebrated our 100th days of school! Heath had to create a t-shirt with 100 things on it. He chose minions. We found a roll of Minion duct tape. Mark and I cut them out and he stuck them on. It was just so funny how his personality showed through the creation of his shirt. Nolan created his with 10 rows of 10. Heath just slapped his Minions on any which way. Attention to detail just isn't his thang!