Daddy/Daughter Dance

This was something we honestly weren't planning on doing. Mark hasn't been feeling all that well and he's really not a dancer. But Hannah's sitter was going to be at the dance working and had okayed it that I could come with just in case something happened. Hannah was so excited and Mark just couldn't let her down.

So we all went to the Daddy/Daughter Dance. :)

Here we are before we left:

It was an Alice in Wonderland theme. Here is a picture of the three of us that they took:

Here is Hannah with her sitter, Grant, who was one of those in charge of the dance. They did an awesome job!

There were games for the girls to play. They could make a necklace and they could decorate a picture frame for the picture they took of us:

And of course she had friends there. :) Here are a couple of pictures with her friends, Bella and Lyla:

And of course there is never a place where you can't practice your splits:

It was so fun to see Hannah have so much fun. I'm glad Mark was able to go even though he wasn't feeling the best. He really pushes himself for her, that's for sure. I'm also glad the school let me go in case I was needed. I was able to take pictures I normally wouldn't get. :)

It was a fun time and I hope we can go again next year

Week 27 of 4K

This week was G week :):

She had a G book. She was supposed to circle the "g's" in the book and had a little trouble as she circled the "e's" too:

She also worked some more on numbers:

I just have to show this. Her friend gave this to her. Isn't it the sweetest?:

Friday was St. Patrick's Day so she was able to wear green. It's not easy to find green when you're not a Packers fan and you're not Irish but we did it!:

Week 26 of 4K

This week was "C" week:

She also started learning her numbers:

She says she wrote "frog" under the frog. :)

And of course had to draw her face and write out her name. :)


She also brought home her February journal:

She drew out her family here. The 3 of us are at the top. The bottom person she says is Peyton. :) She also wrote out on the bottom which "reads" (according to her): I like my family.

This is a picture of strawberries growing. They travel from the bottom to the top, go along the top and then fall back down. Oh to have the imagination of a 5-year-old. :)

Here she drew a picture of her and her daddy. She wrote (according to her): I like my daddy.

Awwwwwww

Book review: The Cherished Quilt

In “The Cherished Quilt”, we see the return of Emily Fisher, the sister of Veronica and Rachel, whom we met in “The Forgotten Recipe” and “The Courtship Basket”. In this third book in the Amish Heirloom Series, we follow Emily in her quest to build a friendship with Christopher, a new employee at her father’s shop, who has suffered a tremendous loss and dealing with a broken heart.

Immediately into the story, Clipston grabs your heart by describing Christopher’s anguish, guilt and torment over the loss of his family member. You find yourself wanting to comfort Christopher and wanting him to find some happiness and sparkle in his life.

Your heart is also drawn to Emily, who clearly puts others before herself and while finds herself happy for her sister’s exciting times in their lives, also struggles with jealousy. Both characters exhibit feelings we can all relate to: Sadness, discouragement, happiness, and guilt.

This book tackles issues that most of us have felt at some point in our lives and you feel drawn to the characters, Emily and Christopher, while learning more about Emily’s sisters and the path their lives have taken. You can relate to the characters and long and wish for them to find the happiness they desire for.

The story is well written and does a great job of weaving in the stories from the first two books of the series. Although it certainly is helpful to read the first two books, it isn’t necessary as Clipston does a great job of summarizing them into Emily’s story.

This is certainly a page turner and keeps you engrossed in the story from the beginning to the end. You find yourself relating to the characters, getting frustrated over their decisions and yet understanding their feelings and emotions as if you were going through the experience and struggles yourself.

I would highly recommend this book to young adults and adults, those interested in romance, suspense and Amish Christian. This book will touch your heart and you will find yourself wanting to get to know Emily and Christopher more and more as the story continues.

Week 25 of 4K

This week was Dr. Seuss week. :) There were dress up days to celebrate:

Wednesday was Flower Day.

Thursday was Red and White day. We actually didn't know what Tuesday was--turns out it was Crazy Socks Day so Hannah wanted to wear some crazy socks with her red and white. :)

Friday was Pajamas Day! I love pajamas day. :)

She also traced numbers which she was very proud of! And it was L week. A busy week for sure. :)

Survivor's guilt

I'm sure many people of heard of survivor's guilt---the guilt someone feels when they survive a traumatic event while others don't.

While I don't have survivor's guilt, it's the best way to explain how I've struggled for quite awhile.

It's been a joke with Mark that he has more lives than a cat. The reason he is still here is simply a miracle and can't be explained any other way. Whenever Mark has a setback we seem to always know he'll bounce back. It's what I hear all the time "Don't worry, this is Mark. He'll pull through this"....and he always does. It truly is a miracle.

But why do we always catch the breaks that others don't get?

When Mark coded blue 3 years ago he pulled through. Two other code blues in that same time frame didn't pull through. Why?

A car accident takes the life of 3 beautiful young girls who had their lives ahead of them. Why them and Mark is still here?

A community suddenly and unexpectedly loses a wonderful wrestling coach and mentor for so many kids---not just once but twice--and a family is left mourning a wonderful man---not just once but twice. Why?

We've heard so many times that Mark has defied the odds. He is lucky. Other people with his struggles haven't survived nearly as long as he has.

But why is that? Why is Mark still here while others have a much different outcome?

It doesn't seem fair.

I know the answer is simple---God isn't finished with him here on earth yet. Mark still has his purpose here. I get that. I understand and I know. I know it will all make sense when I see Jesus face to face and He can answer that.

But I admit it's hard when I see Mark struggle every day. I see the pain, the fatigue, the sickness, the discouragement. I see the fight and determination in his eyes for sure---but every day is a struggle. When I know he has a wonderful, pain-free eternity, seeing him struggle here isn't easy.

And yet, he's still here. He has more than 9 lives and he always pulls through while others are taken in an instant---others that contribute so much to the community and can make so much more of a difference than Mark can.

Why is Mark still here while others are taken who should still be here?

It's that "survivor's guilt". The guilt we feel every day. I just don't understand.