Comfort and Joy

I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will
give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.
Jeremiah 31:13

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Saying goodbye

The boys said goodbye to the only house they have ever known last night. They are staying at David's parents while we finish packing and loading the pods. The emotions hit at weird times...packing the pantry, seeing all of Forrest's stuff, hearing a song on the radio, but I know I will be ok. We are ready for the adventure before us and are thankful for the many blessings this sweet home brought us.



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Thursday, May 26, 2011

Why no blogging

The pictures should speak for themselves...we are living in mild chaos as we pack up everything we own. And of course it can't be an easy move, we have things in 2 pods (1 going to Boston, 1 staying in Memphis), along with stuff going to my in-laws. We have donated tons to goodwill and dropping off stuff today to Neighborhood Christian Center. Moving is HARD...especially with a 11 month old and 2 year old. I will be thankful when this is all done!












































































I know when we turn over the keys I will get very emotional.  This is the house we have brought 2 babies home and the house that held lots of tears and smiles from Forrest.  This has been a wonderful home for our little family and one we will cherish forever.  

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Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Tubes for Miller

Yesterday morning we awoke at 5:30 for Miller's tube surgery. He has struggled with numerous ear infections and fluid constantly on his ears so the ENT felt like it was time. We are so thankful we had the surgery. The doctor said that his ears would never drain the fluid well and he had a pretty bad infection even now. He has had 5 infections in the last 6 weeks. I feel terrible we didn't do it sooner but we didn't want to put him through a procedure unless he really needed it.






Putting on his gown for his pre-op





Playing in the kids waiting area before surgery.



Waiting with mommy for the nurse to come get him.

He did pretty well waking up from surgery. We had heard some bad stories of uncontrollable crying but he did ok. He was a little fussy and groggy but ok if we held him. After about 45 minutes he was back to his old self.

We are praying this clears the fluid and infections.

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Friday, May 13, 2011

Our new home

This past week I traveled to Boston to find our new home. I'm thrilled to say "I found it and I love it!". It is the perfect home for our family. It is a first floor apartment in a multi-family home. Each floor is a separate apartment. It has 2 bedrooms and 2 full baths with a den, dining room, and a big kitchen. The boys are going to share a room and we are going to use the dining room as a playroom because the kitchen can fit a table in it. It also has a full basement that all 3 apartments share. We lucked out and have a washer/dryer in our unit as well.
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The large house is actually divided in half and then each floor is a seperate unit so the house actually has 6 apartments in it but we only share a front door and basement with 3 apartments.
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The green door is all 3 apartments front door. You ring the doorbell out front to be let in to then go to one of the 3 apartments. Our apartment is on the first floor.
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This is the view we see when you walk out our front door. We will spend lots of time across the street. 6 houses down is a larger park with playground. The area we are living in is known for the numerous parks.
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That door leads to our basement so thankfully I won't have to cart my double stroller or bike up 10 stairs to our apartment.
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This is the view when you walk in the front door. Long and narrow hallway with most rooms located on the left. The 2 bathrooms, 1 closet, and laundry closet are all on the right.
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When you walk in the front door, the den is immediately to your left.
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The next room on the left will be the master bedroom.
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And the third room on the left will be the boys bedroom. Both bedrooms are small but we don't spend much time playing in our rooms so we aren't worried about it.
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One bathroom has a bathtub which is a necessity with small children.
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The second bathroom is a renovation and very nice.
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This definitely helped seal the deal!
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The view when you walk in the kitchen. It is a beautiful kitchen that was recently redone. Tons of space and nice appliances. It also has space for a kitchen table in the back by the window.
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This is where we will put our kitchen table.
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View from kitchen into dining room.
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The dining room that we are going to use as a playroom (and guest space when we have visitors...hint, hint...come visit!)

The Lord was so evident in my trip to Boston. I was worried about going by myself and really worried I wouldn't find a place, but just like usual, He provided. This was the first house I saw on Wednesday night right after I landed. I still can't find any of the emails or texts on this house. It was like the Lord wrote the information of the house on my notes section of my computer and I just showed up and it was perfect. The landlord has been wonderful to work with and we met the girls who will live above us and they are great. It is less than a mile from Boston Children's Hospital where David will be working and super close to 2 different T's (subways) so the boys and I can get around very easily. A block away is a Walgreens and numerous shops and 3 blocks away is the grocery store. There are parks everywhere you turn and a great bus system as well as T system. We are so thrilled about our adventure awaiting us in Boston and look forward to it starting soon. We just unfortunately have ALOT of packing to do before we get there! =)

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

H-Vegas Fun

H-Vegas is what we called Hendersonville (my hometown) when we were growing up.

My mom and brother Christoph kept the boys in Hendersonville while I traveled for 3 days to Boston to try and find us a place to live. The boys had a great time (with some early morning wake up calls for my brother) and I was able to rest easy knowing they were well taken care of.  Christoph took them to numerous parks, out to lunch, to see my mom at school, and even drove to Nashville to see some of his friends who were in town.  What an incredible uncle!

The first few pictures were taken with his phone.








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I met some high school friends with their children the day before I left for Boston. It was so great to see them and catch up.
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Austin enjoying the nerf gun of Cole's.
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Miller with my best friend Bobbie.

He also took some great videos that I will post later.

Thank you Christoph and mom for taking such great care of my kiddos. Your the best!!!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Yeah for tupperware!

Miller loves tupperware. Everyday, numerous times a day, he pulls out all my tupperware and throws them everywhere. He thinks it's so funny.




















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Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Spirit of Giving Award

This is a post that was posted on the Forrest Spence Fund blog...

A program Brittany leads and helped start at Le Bonheur is called the Parent Mentor Program. The Parent Mentor program pairs up veteran Le Bonheur parents with newly admitted families to walk the journey of hospitalization with them. We encourage them, answer questions, sit with them, and are a knowing friend who remembers what its like to see your child hospitalized. We are currently serving the NICU, Cardiac, Neuro, and Maternal Fetal Units. There are 6 mentoring currently, 4 Brittany is training, and 5 set to be trained by Brittany at the end of May.

Brittany was asked to attend the Spirit of Giving Awards Luncheon put on by MidSouth Volunteers last Friday. She was representing the Parent Mentor Program that had been nominated for Volunteer Program of the Year. Well, the Parent Mentor Program WON! They were chosen as the overall program of the year. This is a huge honor for Le Bonheur, the Parent Mentor Program, and Brittany who leads the program.

This is just another way that sweet Forrest's life is continuing to make an impact on others. Brittany is able to share her pain, grief, and joy with others through his precious life.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Easter-Part III

The boys woke up Sunday morning to Easter baskets set out on the kitchen table (the coffee cup is for David).
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I realized as soon as the boys came into the kitchen that David and I had never talked about whether we were going to do the tradition of the Easter Bunny bringing them or not because he immediately said, "Look at what mommy bought for you!". I looked at David with my mouth wide open and he said, "What, what?". He truly had no idea he did anything wrong. I grew up with the Easter Bunny being very real so I just assumed we would do the same (we have had numerous talks about Santa Claus but not the Easter Bunny...or the tooth fairy for that matter). Later in the day we discussed the Easter Bunny matter and still haven't come to a complete agreement =)
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We then opened the tomb and talked about what the cookies represented.
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We noticed the cracked surface and took a bite. The cookies were hollow! We talked about how on the first Easter Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. We then read Matthew 28:1-9. It was a great activity to do with the boys and I can't wait for next year when I think Austin will grasp it even better.
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We then went to IPC where we heard a great sermon and a great lesson in Sunday School. After church we headed home to take family pictures (on self-timer). None of them turned out great but I wanted to post one.
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We then had the boys go out back and take pictures. They were hilarious. Austin is getting more involved in helping with Miller. It doesn't always turn out well (some crying from Miller) but its sweet that he wants to help.
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What a wonderful Easter weekend we had. I am so blessed! Thank you Lord for everything!


"come, see the place where the Lord lay, with joy and gladness. he does not lie there now. weep, when ye see the tomb of Christ, but rejoice because it is empty. thy sin slew him, but his divinity raised him up. thy guilt hath murdered him, but his righteousness hath restored him. oh! he hath burst the bonds of death, he hath ungirt the cerements of the tomb, and hath come out more than conqueror, crushing death beneath his feet. rejoice, o Christian, for he is not there—he is risen."~charles spurgeon