Happy 1st Birthday, Baby Girl!

Beautiful Baby!!!

365 days later -- So amazing!

She's still as cute and sweet as ever!!!
We can't wait to see what the next year will bring...

I'm afraid it will fly by much too fast.

Getting Ready to Grow

One year ago, this is what Mark, Ella, James and I were doing. We did our first planting in our garden and we were ready and excited for all that was soon to grow--including our family. These pics were taken the day before Claranna made us a family of five. It doesn't seem that long ago... It's so hard to believe that a year has gone by already!

As we were finishing planting, a thunderstorm passed near the farm and shared a few sprinkles and a rainbow with us. It's kind of neat that today at Sunday School Ella learned that a rainbow is a sign for God's promise.

Happy Birthday Isabella Mae

On April 16th our little girl turned SEVEN!!! It seems impossible to me that we should have a seven year old, but Ella was quite adamant that she should have seven candles on her cake. We had a fun day celebrating her birthday as a family. Ella was up with the sun and dressed in an outfit she chose before Mark and I were even out of bed. It was a late start day for school so she had time to open a few presents before she had to get on the bus and head off to school. She was excited to get her very first magic set as her first gift and even perfected a trick before she had to leave.

James, Claranna and I went to school at the end of the day to share in Isabella's special birthday treat time. We brought in pink frosted cookies, but I think the highlight for the students might have been Claranna. She sat on Ella's lap for a bit and was a performing in all her glory for Ella's classmates who quickly crowded around her. After school, Ella opened more presents. Ella wanted a specific pair of shoes for her birthday and was so thrilled when she opened them. She had to change into a new birthday outfit (that matched her shoes, of course!) before we could go to Applebee's for dinner.

Ella enjoyed being sung to at Applebee's and she was kind enough to share a little of her special treat with us. It was pretty tasty! Claranna really enjoyed the singing and clapping from the Applebee's staff so she joined right in and clapped too!

After dinner we went to a local figure skating shoe and we all really enjoyed it, though we had to leave at intermission because Claranna was getting tired and we had cake to eat! I made Ella a very strawberry birthday cake and she and James proclaimed it the "best birthday cake ever!" We had so much fun celebrating Ella's birthday. Happy 7th Birthday to our sweet little girl!!

An Instant

The blog has been quiet lately, but the same can't be said for our day to day lives. The past few weeks have been quite trying. I think I became behind on posting because I was getting ready to host my family here for Easter. We did end up hosting a family Easter celebration on the Saturday before Easter, but our hearts weren't able to celebrate as much as usual. We were busy praying for and thinking of my 24 year old nephew, Bobby, who was hit by a car just the night before. He remains constantly in our thoughts and prayers as we are very hopeful for his recovery. His prognosis has been grim and his recovery has been very slow going. Last week he was moved, while still in a coma, to a rehab facility in the Twin Cities. This week doctors there have pronounced him out of a coma, but minimally conscious. We are optimistic about each tiny step in the right direction and very thankful for all the support and prayers our family has received.

This new reality for my family has caused all of us to reflect on how much life can change in an instant. We've learned that while a body may be very fragile, our spirit is very resilient and our faith is strong. So, we're hugging our babies and each other extra tight and cherishing each moment we have together and you should do the same. In a split second, dreams can be forever altered; and yet hope remains.

Bob, Carrie and Claranna ~ April 2, 2010 ~ just hours before the accident: