The Color Run and deep thoughts kept at bay....

Forgive my peace sign...for some reason, I keep throwing 'em out when my picture is being taken. I'm reverting to my 16 year old self. I do that a lot...I love this merciful, committed, loving man. He is my best friend!

This pic was actually taken by Nicki's hubby, Greg. Nicki is the adorable girl with the precious little chicky on her shoulders. Greg had a camera on his head.....his pix of that day are pretty cool!

not my favorite pic but you can see all of us in our colored galore....

never a dull moment with this guy around...

 

This may be my new fave pic of my hubs and I. 

This was the pic taken after the one above. David was acting like he was drinking from the canal...such a FUNNY GUY I have!

Beck's tribute to Sully...

Ethan & Mel

I think Mel may be taller than you, Beck. I dunno...just sayin'.

Three of my all time favorite guys!

Beautiful Melanie...I love this caring, tender girl. If you call her friend, you are blessed. I call her daughter, so I am doubly blessed.

Can I just tell ya that this was probably the most fun I've had in a very long time?? Everyone needs to be poofed with colored powder now and then...it really puts things in perspective and will maybe help you to not take yourself so seriously...because it did that for me. 

we spotted Jamie!

David is a colorful little leprechaun. hee hee

Out of all of those thousands of people, I found my friend, Melanie E....we were in MOPS together so many years ago. 

Jamie and Beck

All credit to Jamie Reese, pictured above with my sister...She was with us, taking all of these pix above (mostly), and she got hit with color and so did her camera. Thank you, my dear friend, for joining us that day! Love you!

I have many thoughts rolling around in my noggin tonight but will spare you the gory details on my blog. I will rest in the fact that GOD IS IN CONTROL and seriously, if He brings you to it, He will bring you thru it...I have learned that one true thing. He is the only sure, good, true, trustworthy thing on this life. People will let you down, bank accounts will get depleted, friends will ditch you, the wrong person will get elected, or that person will cut you off in traffic...


It's all good.....

take a deep breath.

there ya go....

in thru your nose.....

out thru your mouth.

(I'm telling myself this, k? it wouldn't hurt if you gave it the ol' college try too!)

Life is short and very precious...

Cherish the moments that the Lord gives you...



time to get back to organizing and ordering school books...(which is a nostalgia all it's own as I embark on the ONLY year I will home educate all five of my living children at once..unless Will takes a bit longer, which I'm perfectly fine with btw)

a li'l bit more for your weekend viewing pleasure...

Yup, we sure did!!

sorry...I just realized I left my horrendous foot in the pic. ewww. But Molly was totally annoyed with me that we were at "Jack's Garden" again and told me, very animatedly that "I don't wanna go to his garden anymore...I just want to hold him. He is so cute." How is a mom NOT supposed to cry...

Birthday girl with her oldest boy cousin.

We actually got some rain today. It was magical.

This was taken while we were on 465, on our way to Wienermobile land...and it seriously looks like the Face of God if you squint. At the time, it really did and it was just surreal. 

Piper's pic by the Mobile....sweet birthday girl!

Just wanted to post a few more pix from this day in history...and so you will sit tight till I get some more pix up from this fabulous weekend of pure fun and JOY.

Also, while I'm here, Tory? Thank you so much for your letters...I feel like such a heel every time I open the mail box and you've sent another info filled bit of NC update! Just wanted you to know that we continue to pray for you guys, so glad to hear momma Linda is getting better every day and that you have done so much to support them thru this summer. You are a blessing. I really do plan to get a letter out to you. I'm a letter loser.

Tashena? HIIIIIIIIII....I got your text the other day and apparently I'm a text loser too...thank you for thinking of me, praying for me. I hope you know I'm doing the same thing for you. It's already been a week since I had the pleasure of meeting you out by my mailbox. I'm carving a nitch of time out sometime very soon to sit and drink coffee and catch up with you. I'm sure Tucker is already crawling. ha ha. hope not!

Until then...chow.

Tomorrow morning, bright n early...The Color Run!! we are so excited, we can't stand it! early to bed for us...(so ya know, by like midnight...h aha)

this Cat turns EIGHT today!

Happy Birthday, Piper Elizabeth!!

How fun it is to be EIGHT!!

So blessed to call this little sweetie pie my niece.

We met up with my parents, Beck, her girls and a portion of my crew at a local diner.

We had planned to hit a local Kroger after lunch because the Weinermobile was there.

By circumstances out of my control, Will, Levi, Piper and I ran to get some keys that David needed, meeting up with him before heading to the "hot dog mobile" (we'd decided Weiner just does not sound all that great.)

In the course of our time together, storms were a-brewing, which is weird because we've had NONE this whole entire summer.

Piper is pretty much mortified of storms.

She tooted in the car, out of sheer nervousness.

We giggled a lot.

We kept her safe, on her birthday.

We made it to Kroger, where it was pouring AGAIN.

I ran her into the bathroom (hence the tooting).

When we came out, the rain had stopped enough for a quick run by the "Hot Dog Mobile" before I took her back to her mom (who was just in her car, in the Kroger parking lot, near my kids, who were in my car, in the Kroger parking lot)

I shall upload that pic from my phone (but it's on Facebook just in case you happen to be walking by there...)

All THAT to say, we had a fun day celebrating Piper...and look forward to celebrating, with Boyden's cake and fellowship, tomorrow evening. After the Color Run...which we are allllllll sooooooo excited about!

Happy Birthday, Piper Poo.

We all love you so much!

Runs of color, crafty friends, tiny bunting (ahhhh!!), and toilets filled with froggage.

On Sat. July 28, 2012...David, Beck, my 3 oldest kids and I will be joining our friend, Nicki H., and her family, as well as about one million other FUN 5K'ers to participate in The Color Run.
Stay tuned for more pix on this.
I cannot wait.
tell me this looks like a royal blast of pigmentational beauty!

nobody else that I know rocks a hat or bandana like Kellie. 

tiny paper bunting. be still my heart.

while working, she most certainly does hold her mouth a certain way. This is yet another confirmation in my mind that she is a friend I will have forever...adorable! You'd love this chick...she's simply uhhhh-mazing.

This is my very crafty and beautiful friend, Kellie. She sews. She makes amazing quilts, bags, upcycled items and many other delights. She may just be one of my favoritest people ever. Stay tuned for an exciting announcement that involves Kellie, sewing machines, paper, bunting and swag. <>

This is Frog #2.

We had a similar frog in this same toilet on Sunday morning. This may be him again...we are pretty sure that they come into our house on our towels. ewww.

Yeah, he's cute. from afar. but I'd really like to NOT have frogs in my toilet.

Ever again.

ewwww.  shiver.

HIIIIIIII!
I just realized today (thanks Dad) that I'm a week and a half out from my last blog post. What the heck? I thought summer was to be a time of leisurely days, spent dipping in the pool, reading this book or that, and getting alllllllll caught up on the things I put off during the school year.

Not this year.
There are just so many good things I need to get caught up on here and I don't have adequate time to upload the pix from Facebook to Mac and then on to here...soooooooo, thank you, SO MUCH, for your patience. really!

A Few QUICK highlights...
1.) Molly has learned to swim without any flotation devices....though we still watch her hawklike...she has really become brave this summer. She is so ready for Kindergarten!
2.) We are so stoked about running/walking in The Color Run this coming Saturday...I am bound and determined to run most of it. Sooo exciting and soooo colorful.
3.) We are having a drought here in Indy.
4.) My niece Piper turns 8 on Friday.
5.) Jack has been gone from us for 56 Thursdays tomorrow. is that right??? that just sounds wrong. I will admit that I am not counting it as I was before, though I still try to figure it out and am constantly, constantly CONSTANTLY trying to find ways to honor him, remember him and praise the Lord for the gift of Jack Oliver Young, though he is not in our arms. I am in a good place...God is doing some wondrous works in my life....I just stand amazed at His presence and the promise I have of being with Him someday and with my sweet glory boy. (the ultimate lesson in patience, if you ask me!). I am trying to come up with a creative way to remember our son in this Color Run...Running for Jack. Then I want to add all of my friends' babies/kids who have left also and then I get scared because I don't want to forget anyone...so then I keep it right at Jack. Or Jack and Sully. So Jack & Sully it'll be. Running for Jack and Sully.
6.) I know #5 was NOT a quick highlight...
7.) Have I mentioned the exciting plans that are in talks for a creative weekend of sorts? Have I mentioned that my talented and adorable friend, Kellie, above, is a force to be reckoned with? yeah, she is. She found a blog by Meg Duerksen...who hosts creative crafty weekends in her home (which is now her CRAFT HOUSE. ahhhhh) and she hosts events where women come into her home, do crafts of every kind of medium, fabric, paper, jewelry....etc etc....eat well, go antiquing, show and tell their finds, eat more, craft more, take pix of their treasures and I could go on. All that to say, the wheels are turning and fun and exciting things are in the works. Kellie is a kick butt sponsor finder, creative wonder and tender hearted soul. I. Am. So. Excited. to see what the Lord has in store for this venture.
8.) So, for the upcoming Young Summer Reunion, I'm rallying the creative forces I'm blessed enough to be related to by marriage to showcase their freakin' amazing creativity at the 8/11-8/12 gathering...Stars, cards, flowers, rosettes, whatever....coming soon to a reunion near you. If you have any easy, fun ideas I can implement, I will be ever so thankful....

Ok....so my highlights turn into me blabbing way too much...so stay tuned to see what is up and coming.

On tap for my beloved blog, hoping and praying:
~highlights from Jack's First Birthday with Jesus Celebration Balloon Launch
~More Molly birthday.
~Me hopefully figuring out how to put video on my blog so you can see for yourself, unless your friends with me on Facebook, how cute it is when Moo swims.
~The dog days of summer...

these two punks

are currently at summer camp (The Woodlands) in Georgia!  I know they'd appreciate your prayers, as this is their first experience of this kind...David and I dropped them at the meeting point (5 a.m.) today and bid them adieu. I did shed some tears but I know they are in good hands and that they will create some lifelong memories.

That's pretty much all I have to say today but hope to be back on here very soon with some exciting news and updates.

Until then, stay cool. Pray for RAIN!!  it's hot and dried up around here and just might burn up.

a little hurt, a little joy

credit to Fran at Small Bird Studios

so amazingly blessed by this momma and her (9th) baby.
Shellee and her family are missionaries in Japan. This is her first daughter, Grace, after 8 handsome boys.
Even though there is a major shortage of helium, even in Japan, this sweet sister in Christ made sure to partake in Jack's balloon launch. I love you, Shellee. Thank you so much for being my friend, for praying for us and for the encouragement and joy you have brought to me. 

So, now that I've endured 54 Thursdays since Jack left, I find myself in a new place.
Where? I'm not sure but I need to get some of this out on my beloved blog...because I just do that kinda thing...make myself transparent, open to criticism and rejection and that's ok. (if you can't say something nice, take it elsewhere, eh?)

I had typed out a really painful post here...but I've just erased it. I want to make myself transparent, but not THAT transparent. boo.

Ya know what I'm gonna do, when I start to worry and wonder what the Lord has in store for this situation or that situation? I'm going to just lay all of those worries and fears at His feet. I've been chewing my lip a lot this week...

I do want to thank the people that care and pray, show support and encouragement to my family and I. Life is messy...without the Lord Jesus Christ at the center, it'd be messy and hopeless.

Because I trust in Him, it's only messy. Thank You, Lord.

I think of the people He has put in my life, like Becky, Shellee, Tashena, Tory, Danielle, Carrie, Jen, Jennifer, Kellie, Nicki, Jodi, Dawn, Erin, Tonya....(I could keep going) that have their own stories and mess, and just thank Him for the gift of them. He does give, and He does take away. Blessed is His name. Jesus Christ.

Just wanted to make sure you knew that I still hope and try to honor Him with my life. I'm very very far from perfect (duh!) but I am a seeking Pilgrim...in search of JOY, in search of the Bright Hope, in search of the promises of the Holy Bible, and the redemption story that is so carefully woven through each page, each line, each story of that Blessed Word. daily.

All that to say, clinging to the Lifeline.

In other news, at this stage, because I will want to know later on how I was feeling, dealing at week 54...Jack is still ever present in my every thought. I am always trying to find ways to include him into our story. I have six beautiful children. 5 are here with me and one is being well taken care of by our Heavenly Father. He is still and will always be with me. I will always wear a piece of jewelry that not only reminds me of that sweet boy but reminds others as well. I will always say his name as if he was just in the next room...I see people carrying their little toddler boys and I imagine myself doing that too. I am at the place where I don't cry as easily but I do choke up and get that burning sensation behind my eyes often. He'd be wearing little plaid shorts, shirts with sharks or bulldogs on them and tiny tennies with no socks. His piggies would stink and I'd pretend to smell them (or not pretend, really smell them and love it) and dramatically act like the smell is strong - PPPP-UUUUU!!...He'd belly laugh. He'd be starting to say Momma and he'd want me when he was tired. He'd be a terror on the spirals. He'd love sand and mud as much as Molly and would probably love to be hosed off as much as she does. or not. Ok, so now, typing all of this is making me cry. Jack Oliver Young....

I miss you, darling boy.

"Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done." Luke 22:42
Jesus even asked His father if His cup could be removed. (thanks for sharing that article with me, TW) God is not offended by our weakness. (so sad that others are)

I'm praying for some folks tonight that I love. A beautiful little family, who have already suffered so much loss, suffering some more, wondering why why why? Miscarriage...ahhh, love you B family. Also praying for the M and B families, as they look back on the past month, since sweet baby girl G.E.M. left for glory...that first month...whoa. such a blur of grief and madness. You people that I love dearly are at the forefront of my mind and heart. You are drinking the cup with grace.

I'm praying for some other folks that I know just need prayer...for whatever reason.

forgive this all over the place, downright depressing post. I'm just overwhelmed with love...can't ya tell? I hope you can.

and overwhelmed with the fact that I am working with my loving hubby at the Auburn (Fort Wayne), IN job tomorrow...gotta earn some money for clothing...and so thankful for the opportunity to do so. And the other fact that we just finished a successful and super fun week of VBS at our church (LOVE the GoFish Guys)...and Mel and E are heading to summer camp on Monday....Oh, I have so so so much catching up to do.

Edit: David and I both agreed to NOT work in Auburn today. In fact, we slept in till about TEN. he may have slept a little bit later even. So, if you see me, and I'm wearing a worn out bathing suit or the same weird shirts, that is why. Sleep and restfulness won out! <3

A brief update...

this is the only picture I took at the Balloon Launch for Jack.  So many other people were kind enough to take pix and post them to my Facebook wall, which was very cool. JOY's day was simply glorious.

This little chick, this is the first year she was really excited about her birthday. I mean, last year, her brother had died 9 days before so that kinda put a damper on feeling too celebratory. Though we did celebrate her, it was just an odd year for our sweet, last living child. She is a champ.

Her party was Sunday,  July 8th after the morning service and she told everyone and anyone that would listen that this morning she was four but when she came back to church that night, she'd be FIVE. She doesn't quite get the concept of her ACTUAL day yet but her exuberance was pretty awe-inspiring!

Timmy, from Shaun the Sheep (a show by Wallace and Grommitt makers)

Her cute kitty in glasses shirt...she got a load of clothing.

Piper enjoyed throwing up some bunny ears.

Her Merida Princess dress from the new Pixar movie, Brave.

She got an RC Lalaloopsy car to go along with some of the dolls she's been collecting since Christmas. It's really adorable stuff.

If you know Molly, you know she is really into acting like a kitty. When we found this kitty bike helmet, we knew she needed to have it.  goofball.

My Mom may need/want one as well! funny girl.

I won't spend much time on here tonight.
I know I still need to get Jack's Balloon Launch pix on here but I have to download each one of Tom's into iPhoto and it takes for-ever! Jamie took some too and I just need to download them but I'm rarely up at the Big Mac these days. (it's like an oven in our upper level lately!!)

Molly turned 5 with grace and style today and had her first night of VBS to boot. When I woke her up this morning, singing Happy Birthday, she stood up, jumped on the bed and squealed that "Tonight is VBS!!!!"

Lotsa catching up to do....so little time, energy or desire to do so. I'm so sorry....hope this will hold you over till I can get back on here....

(this night, five years ago, I was over the moon, sleeping on our couch with my new tiny girl. If I'd known what was in store, I surely would've cherished it even more.)

Remember:

God's Will NEVER contradicts God's Word.  just a thought for you to chew on.

Amen.  Good night...

this little pixie gets ready to greet FIVE!

this just might be my favorite Molly pic
of all time.

ohh, wait, maybe this one...awww.

the open mouth, toothless grin. 

she wasn't even due for a little less than two months. I have a short waist. I become all baby.
I loved being pregnant with her.

our girls and the daddies they resembled so amazingly. (yet still pretty in all of their girliness)

what? who me?

this may have been the time that she earned the nickname "Fatty Patty"

she was chubbalish

ohh, this age is precious. love my girl

she was teething. on my face. I miss this.

This was when she became extremely pesky. doll.

sweetie climby girl

delicious

magazine destroyer...Grandma said it was OK.

Remember the hair cut of 2010? wow...it was really so short. hence, the sundress.

HI!
Sorry for the drought on my beloved blog. It's kinda carrying over from the drought we are enduring here in the great Midwest.

I have so many pics that I need to download from the balloon launch (which was AMAZING, by the way!!) but that will have to wait. We had people from different areas of the nifty fifty sending up balloons along with us and I want to put some of those on here. Let me just say, we had about 100 people out at Jack's grave...the support and love, prayers and care were (good) overwhelming and so appreciated.

This week has been a whirlwind of fun, picnics, swimming and fellowshipping. And tomorrow, bright and early, Ethan and I will head north with David to work at the INDOT facility for 8 hours. Gotta help  work off the debt I've incurred and do what I can to be responsible. That's our fun for tomorrow, and honestly, it will be fun! it is fun to work on David's crew.

kinda.
maybe not in the 106 degree heat but hey....

As for these beautiful pix of our darling #5 above? Her 5th birthday is on Monday. Hard to believe that she got here 5 years ago. She has been such a blessed addition to this family and a joy to me, especially, in the past year. To watch her grow up and absorb the life that is going on around her is precious. She can be sorta moody but she nixes it quickly. My goal is to make sure she is not forgotten, that she doesn't get away with things that the olders never got away with. That has been a challenge...these big kids really work hard to hold us accountable and David and I will admit, to anyone, that we aren't as "on it" with her and Levi, as we may have been with the olders.

She is active, has a gymnast's body and agility. When she looks at you, with her bright blue eyes and freckles, you could almost melt. She is really into acting like a cat. She has very recently learned how to swim with JUST a life jacket. (and not a life jacket and 2 or 3 tubes). She will be starting Kindergarten in August and she is very excited. I think she will teach circles around me. She is awesome. We are all so glad to have her here.

Happy Birthday, Molly Christine Young!!
You were born on Monday, July 9, 2007
at 2:55 p.m.
weighing in at 7 lbs, 7 oz...
Sister to Will, Ethan, Melanie, Levi and Jack!

On that note, I'm outta here...God be with you!