First of all, what is up with this weather! EW! This girl is NOT a fan of heat and today was a HOT one! Heat is the PRECISE reason our family would never survive any further south! :)
It has been one of those days. You know the kind where you just want to hide under the covers, go back to sleep, and try again tomorrow? Howard let me sleep in this morning because I have been up with Hope a lot lately as she is still recovering from her ear infection and antibiotic allergy attack (she is doing MUCH better). I got up and everyone was having breakfast so I poured myself a bowl of cereal and sat down. I had had a rash of several short odd dreams last night. I was trying to shake them off and just start new. As we began to eat, Howard asked if I was ready to finish the basement today. We are trying hard to simplify and get rid of all the "stuff" in this house and we are preparing for a big yard sale in a couple of weeks.
I said that I would love to get it done and out of the way, but with the kids I wasn't sure how much we would accomplish before bedtime. One of my dreams last night was that our basement flooded. We have had issues with our sump pump before so I figured it was just me reliving that nightmare and thought nothing of it since we haven't had much rain around here, it was well into the 90's today with humidity of about 500% and there would be no reason for a flooded basement. I got Hope down for a nap and the kids headed over to Grandma's and I headed down the steps to help Howard sort and price the rest of the "stuff". I have been struggling with a lot of the baby clothes stuff as I had shared before, but decided to put my big girl pants on and just do it.
I got four steps down when Howard yelled "Don't come down here!". I could hear the water sloshing all over as Howard walked and tears began to well up in my eyes. Over the past few weeks I have sorted and priced nearly ALL of the kid's outgrown clothes and going through the 3T and 5T stuff has been torture. It makes Isaac and Asher's absence so tangible that I feel I can barely breathe again.
Wouldn't you know that those very sizes of clothing are the ones that I just finished going through a second time?! I had to rewash and resort and price all of them because I had packed them in cardboard boxes that ended up soaked. As I sat there in the damp basement alone, the sounds of the washer, dryer, dehumidifier, fans, sump pump and blaring Ipod as I folded the John Deere tshirt that Asher would most certainly fit into today, I lost it. I sat there tears streaming down my face, missing my boys so much it physically hurt. I looked at the bin of clothes I was packing away for Ben for next year thinking that there should be no gap in clothes, no reason to pack things away, we should just be continually handing things down Isaac should be wearing those 5Ts.
The grief began to consume me and I just sat there on that milk crate shaking and crying. I miss them so much. There really isn't a moment that goes by that I don't think of them. As I watched their brothers play and splash in their wading pool (filled with water Howard pumped out of the basement) this afternoon, my heart yearned to see four boys splashing instead of two. It has been a hard day. Some days are like that. Some days it is work just to breathe and put one foot in front of the other.
Then as it typically does, it dawns on me that this anguish I feel is something that Isaac and Asher will never know. I am thankful for that. I am thankful that I can grieve with Hope, knowing that one day I will see them again, that one day every tear will be wiped away and we will know only joy. Sometimes this world just seems so full of pain and confusion that it is hard to wade through and choose joy over all of it. Those boys knew only love. They lived short lives, but beautiful lives.
My heart hurts, but I know that joy is a choice. I struggle daily to choose joy over allowing my grief to get a hold of me and keep me there. Grief is a place I visit frequently, but I just can't reside there. My eyes are fixed on Heaven and the blessings the Lord has set before me today. I have had the privilege of carrying and birthing FIVE amazing babies. I have two waiting in Heaven who have changed me and taught me more than my seventeen years of schooling ever could have. I have two healthy boys who love each other and love life. They remind me to enjoy the little things and have fun every day. I have a sweet baby girl who we weren't sure would ever be able to live a "normal" life, and she is as feisty and "normal" as any one year old. I have a husband who is a wonderful provider and loves his family with a passion. I am blessed. I hurt, I cry, I love, I laugh, I grieve, I rejoice.
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Romans 8:18
As crazy as it is, though I know all of this, my heart is extra heavy tonight. It may just be shear exhaustion, but I would covet your prayers that I am able to stay focused, with Isaac's birthday drawing near, I am feeling fragile and like I said, I can't deny my grief, I have lost something(s) so precious and I need to acknowledge it and visit my grief, but I can't live there. Praying tonight for the Lord to fill the empty place in my heart with more of His Spirit.
I am about as thrifty as they come and these shoes don't scream thrifty, but they are awesome. As most of you know, Hope has Epidermolysis Bullosa and we have to be very careful with her skin. A couple of weeks ago, now that she is walking, she had trouble with a pair of shoes she was wearing and blistered on her heel again. These shoes were recommended to me by Ella's mom and they really are awesome. They are as cute as can be, durable and good for the feet! Hope loves them. She even says "shoes?" when I am getting her dressed so I will put them on her. 
This one takes me back to my own childhood. I got one, one Christmas when I was about 6 or 7 and thought I was the queen of the world. I couldn't resist getting one for Hope for her birthday. We opened it just the other day and I could barely contain my own excitement as we tore the box open to find out if it was a boy or girl! It was a girl! Marcelle Hilary Bolte. 
We are fans of drinks to go and this cup is awesome. We are trying to be a little more environmentally minded and this cup allows us to take beverages with us and refill on the go. PLUS most stores now offer a discount for refills if you are using a reusable cup! When I got Howard this one for Father's day, I had no idea that they come in a huge range of colors so we just have the brown ones, but they are great for adults and kids alike, plus they are dishwasher friendly, which is a MUST in my book! 
