Tag: hope

Joy

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Elizabeth:  the oath or fullness of God

Seems fitting.  Elizabeth came into our lives on December 2, 2017 around 4 pm.  She was pure joy from the beginning with her strong will, curly dark hair, brown eyes and beautiful smile.  Eli (Ellie), was pure happiness with a little bit of toddler mixed in.  She immediately loved Landen and Reece and became an easy fit into our family.

Almost 5 months to the day of her arrival, she has moved on to some relatives.  She approached her departure with the same courage as when she came to our house.  Two years old and already teaching us so much about strength, courage and faith in humanity.

I pray that they treat her well.  I pray that her parents make better choices and raise her to be the strong, creative, kind and intelligent person she is meant to be.  I pray that she maintains her joy in the everyday things, her positive energy, her curiosity and her silly sass.  I pray that she continues to be allowed to be a kid.  To play outside on the swing or the slide, in the sand or in water.  To paint daily, to play with stickers, to do puzzles and play with superhero toys.

Elizabeth has definitely demonstrated the fullness of God to us.  We will miss her greatly. Our heart will hurt for a long while.  I hope that we will see her again and get to be apart of her life, but if not, I know we got to experience her joy for 5 months and I am thankful.

 

Big Dreams

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img_0396A love of food gets passed along.  Gregg has that love of food.  It’s grown over the years from a necessity to a relaxing obsession.  Landen has acquired his taste, observance, technique and desire.

Cooking shows fill the airwaves in our home.  WE watch, critique, admire and dream.  A couple of months ago Landen found THE show that was going to highlight her dad’s impeccable cooking skills.  And so we filled out an application. What happened next has been a ride that none of us expected, especially Gregg.  Had we known the amount of time it would required for Gregg to participate in this show, we may have thought twice. Instead we risked and signed him up for the competition.  Hundreds and maybe thousands apply for this competition so why shouldn’t we sign up the best chef we know?

Phone calls, emails, Skype calls and one sliced off finger tip and HE made it on the show!  I don’t know how Gregg has felt throughout this process, but I do know that there are at least 3 girls in TX that are proud of him.  Win or lose, we are proud.  And we are hopeful and we are excited and we are in awe.  And we brag and we share and we anticipate and plan for the big trip and the big show.  And we are all in NYC.

And after a 10 hour day, it is over.img_0458

The mixture of emotions that was displayed between these girls and their father was beautiful.  Joy and pride, anticipation and excitement, disappointment and yet appreciation.  I witnessed a level playing field of humanity tonight.  No hierarchy.  Just pure human emotion surrounding the events of the last couple of months and it was beautiful.  Risking big without huge reward.  Being brave.  They know.  

A lot of life is reacting to what ‘happens’ to us or accepting the ‘consequences’ of our actions.  This is how we respond to life and this is what we teach our kids.  Today Gregg taught us all how to be brave and to risk.   How to boldly go after something that seems crazy and beyond the expected life path and he did it with humility, hard work, and an open heart.  Most of all he taught our kids how go after your dreams and I am so thankful.