No chicks were harmed in the following post

AHHH!!! THAT'S NOT HOW WE HOLD BABY CHICKS!!!!

Oh yes....that's better!

Come. Warm yourself by the fire.

the poor third child...

I laugh every time I see this picture of Charlotte trying to join in with the big sisters and their friend Makayla.  The butt bump will keep you on the outs every time!

Me and my cousins and You and your cousins

We spent the weekend in the Bay area attending my grandmother's funeral.  It was a sweet service and we were so happy to be able to see some of my extended family that we don't usually get much time with.  Jonah and I decided to stay an extra day with my cousin Robin, her husband JT and her 3 beautiful girls.  We went downtown San Francisco for lunch and treats.  It was really a ton of fun and a wild "girly" time!

 Doesn't this picture look like I have a baby bump?  The answer is NO!  Poor coat placement!  Ha!

I am so blessed to have family that I connect with.   If only we lived closer!

For the Cure

 It was an early morning.  Why is a cancer run at 7:30am?  I went with my sister and her friend to walk the 5k Race for the Cure in Eugene.  I worried it would be an emotional event, and it did have its moments.  But it was more that I was seeing the event from my sisters' perspective.  It's such a personal battle and to have strangers acknowledging you, being invited into your disease and survival, that would be very uncomfortable. 
At 9:30 was a family 1k and it was really fun having her kids walk with us.  It was good to have a "fun" part to having a mom with a serious illness.  There was ice cream and treats and all the free pink trinkets (pens, stickers, key chains etc) that a kid could ever ask for.  I always have to chuckle now when I see a pink ribbon because Stella says: "That shirt has breast cancer" or "That bag has breast cancer".

I sorry to be invited into the crappy club of "directly affected by breast cancer" and more saddened but relieved that my sister is a "Breast Cancer Survivor".

{not} Creepy Mustaches

 

As a joke, we wore mustaches to a camping trip with some friends.  We thought it would be a five minute thing, roll up sporting them, laugh and then take them off.  Foiled by the fact that our friends hadn't arrived at the camping spot yet.  The kids were troopers and ran around (even Charlotte) for a good 20 minutes with their mustaches on.  My favorite part was when the park ranger came over to introduce himself to us and I met him, holding Charlotte, both of us sporting our sweet 'stache.  He didn't even bat an eye at it, even after I introduced us as the Mustache family.

Hello Pain, Come Run with Me

It has been quite the year.  I've started several posts and have really been unable to put into words all the challenges we've been facing this year.

I've gone back to running (hello old friend) and today I was thinking while huffing and puffing that it is good to be alive.  Even if that means feeling pain, stress, sadness...I am alive.  I was thanking God that my sister is still alive.  Alive to go through cancer, but still alive. 

 We still had summer fun.  LOTS of slumber parties with the cousins.

 Camping with our Aunts and Uncles.

 Charlotte asks when Jonah is gone: Where Daddy?

Me:  At work.

Charlotte:  I wanna go fishing!!!

I am choosing to not ignore or comfort my pain away.   I'm very blessed that we get to have life in the midst of all this.