So much to post...grab a cup of coffee for this one!

Well, all I can say is that it has been an amazing week. A tough week date wise, but a good week. We left for vacation in Lavallette NJ on Saturday, June 14. Isaac was born on the 14th of July so it marked a milestone...one month until my second boy's third birthday. Then the 20th is the day he went to be with the Lord. Tomorrow, June 22 marks Asher's four month birthday and I am still having such a hard time with that.



Anyhow I cannot imagine spending a more perfect week reflecting and truly being still.



As I said we left home on Saturday morning and arrived in NJ that afternoon. The house we rented was perfect. RIGHT on the ocean. We vacationed with two otther couples and one of the couples has two children around Luke and Ben's ages. There were ten of us all together.



God has been calling me to be still for sometime. This week, though I kind of dragged my feet about spending the money was worth EVERY penny. I finally was truly able to be still. There were no phones, no internet and we didn't even watch TV. We were so far removed from the world that we had NO clue about anything that was going on and it was a great feeling. In our own world. In a brand new town where everything was fresh and new.



When we arrived we checked out the house and then quickly ran down to the water. It was amazing. (I will post pictures of all of this later) Then the girls were off to the grocery store to get supplies for the week. While we were gone, Howard was sitting out on the deck listening to the ocean waves crash on the beach and he heard some music playing just up the boardwalk. He began to listen and realized that it sounded like a worship band. So, he grabbed the kids and went to check it out. He said it was really cool and that he had spoken to the pastor of a local church in Lavallette and that we had been invited to their contemporary service Sunday evening.

That same night I had the opportunity to meet face to face with another mom I have been corresponding with wo also lost her baby just a month after Asher to trisomy 18. She was also vacationing in Lavallette and was leaving the next day. It was so great to finally see her and hug her! I am so thankful that God has brought so many people into my life to help carry me on this journey!


We relaxed Saturday night and all day Sunday. We truly took time to be still and just enjoy eachother. We had nowhere to go, and nothing to do. Then Sunday night after dinner we headed to Union Church of Lavallette. We were greeted with open arms and we were so glad we had been invited. The service was worshipful and thought provoking. It was a smaller service and we are not used to the intimacy that we saw in this church. It was so great! At the end of service we all joined hands and prayed for any needs of anyone within the group. It was really cool! We spoke to several people after the service and then headed home.



ALL of our time was spent exploring the town of Lavallette, finding shells, napping on the beach, catching crabs (that is a post in and of itself) and just having fun with friends! Wednesday we went to a super cool aquarium and the boys got to see sharks being fed and seals being fed. They LOVED it!



Thursday morning we got up and our frineds watched the boys while we went to Bible Study at our new found church! Pastor Todd told Howard that the topic was to be on angels so we felt it would be good to go! It was! Then Pastor Todd took us to lunch at a great little place on the Bay. I cannot even begin to tell you what this man meant to us. He is such a great guy! So easy to talk to, so easy going and so encouraging. We shared our story with him and he shared some things with us and I have to say of all of the people with whom I have spoken about our upcoming decisions regarding growing our family, his words have spoken the loudest (again a post in and of itself). Lets just say that he spoke to my heart that day it was like he knew just what to say and I left that lunch feeling more hope than I had felt in quite some time in many areas. I felt truly lifted up and hopeful. He prayed with us and we are so grateful God brought him and his church into our lives.



Friday morning was perhaps another of the most amazing moments in my life. I somehow caught a bit of a cold on this vacation and so I could not sleep. So, I got up and watched the sunrise. It was early and I am anything but a morning person but WOW! I stood there amazed at the creativity of our God. He did not have to create us with eyes to see such magnificent sights and he did not have to create such amazing things for us to see, but he did. As I stood there watching the waves roll onto the beach as the sun slowly peaked up over the Atlantic Ocean I was so thankful that God created such things for us to enjoy.

I then spent about two hours alone walking along the beach picking up beach glass and chatting with God. It was tough to be up that early in the morning but it really gave me some time to reflect and connect with God.

Then today we had breakfast, packed up, took one last walk on the beach and now we are in Clearfield PA. I will do a few specific posts once I get the pictures uploaded to explain special parts of our trip. Thank you ALL for continuing to check on me! I will write more once we are home!