A little catching up to do

Ok I admit I am not the best at making myself sit down and complete this blogging stuff. I guess I haven't really jumped in with both feet. I found myself thinking the other day that I can't really believe that it is almost April. I really don't know where the time has gone this year so far.

McKade outside in front of the house

Since the first of the year it seems like our lives have not really been our own. After new Years, My Aunt passed away and so I headed out west to her funeral and bach again to Iowa, in which a couple days later, Carl and I took a much needed trip to Texas. It was nice to get a way from it all and just spend time alone with each other and kind of catch our breath.

After that trip, we have just been busy at home learning how to deal with ALL THE SNOW that seemed to come our way. We have had almost record amounts of snow. It was so amazing the amount of snow Northeastern Iowa got this year. There were so many school days that the kids missed that I was truely losing my mind. My schedule was so out of whack, that I didn't know what to do when. I have to say that the kids had a blast though. I took them sledding a few times but for the most of the winter the kids have just played outside and built snow forts and had a lot of fun. Mom has had lots of fun, (lol) putting on snow pants, hats and gloves and boots then 15 minutes later taking off snow pants boots and hats and gloves. My kids have loved it the winter, but they are finally getting to the point where they are just as sick of snow as us parents. They really won't like the fact that they will be going to school in June.

Snow on the side of the streets outside Carls office

I have included a few of the pictures that I took of all the snow that is around us. Just so you can get an understanding of how much we really had around.

Driving down the road Snow along old highway 20

Since all of the snow, So much has seem to have occured during the last six weeks, I once again traveled west for a family issue and I must admit that since that time I feel as if I have been living in a fog. All I can really say is that the last couple of months have been very challenging for our family as a whole. Our family has been dealing with some issues that surround my brother and it has been a challenge for all of us in one way or another. Even though we all knew about this last fall, and we have had time to process it in some sense of the word, it certainly wasn't easy once it arrived. I think right now the hardest part is to continue to put your faith into our heavenly father and in his plan. I often times find myself struggling with just the understanding that I'm seeking in what ever challenge is before me. I have often times never had the understanding or purpose of some trials that I wish would come, and that is very hard for me to deal with. I recognize that our challenges are there for us to become stronger and closer to the Lord but I guess the natural man side of me sometimes overcomes the spiritual side and I lose that faith. Right now, with all that has been happening during the first part of this year, I kind of just feel completely numb. Just almost like I'm just going through the motions, I am looking forward to spring and going through the "spring cleaning event" that occurs every year at our home. Maybe then things will begain to even out and become a little more normal. As for my brother and his family and all we are kind of in a time warp, not knowing the outcome and how all this will play out and the effect it will have on all of us is kind of still hard.

I guess the Lord didn't feel that we had enough with all that was going on, so we had additonal challenges our youngest son was hospitalized for 6 days with samenella poisening, bronciolitis, and phenomonia. I am thankful that he finally has recovered.


Easter has come and gone and it is really hard to believe. Our Easter was fairly nice, we did the traditional Easter egg coloring, which I must say went much smoother this year then in years past. I only had one color fall on the floor which made me happy, it was pink and much easier to clean up then the darker ones. The kids loved coloring there eggs and eating them too. They were eating them almost as fast as coloring them.