Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Nana and Deb are here!

Lewis napped in the car while we took a trip to Kerry Park  
I am not sure when this boy of mine is going to be too heavy to carry but I am soaking it in right now!
Love these two and their Nana
Battle time!

Proud boy of his hard work on the latest Lego set
Lunch and dinner theatre. Harrison was the explorer and town bad guy...
Lewis was the pirate and killed the bad guy with his sword!

This past Thursday-Monday Nana and her friend Deb came to visit for a long weekend. (Sadly I could not get the photo I have to download onto the blog, ugh!) We had a lot of fun showing Deb Kerry Park and the beauty of Seattle. Saturday morning-Sunday evening they were on kid duty while Bill and I attended a workshop downtown. The Gottman Institute, a research based approach to relationships, www.gottman.com was AMAZING! The presentations were incredibly powerful and spending time solo with my love is pretty priceless. Thank you so much Nana and Deb! We love and miss you both a WHOLE lot!

God is so good!

Thursday, May 3, 2018

Sara’s emotions...

It’s been a rough couple weeks and I am finding it difficult to shake off my emotions. Here’s to getting my emotions out and releasing them into the world! Here’s the randomness in my heart:

Lewis turning 3 = a lot more whining, crying, screaming, frustration and this momma hasn’t been very patient...at all.

Why am I so moody and have these crazy mood swings?!??  Can I blame it on too much coffee? Too many sweets? Too much gluten?  Getting up at 5am to have quiet time before the boys wake up and support Bill (and him supporting me) in exercising? My knee causing pain and being back in physical therapy twice a week? I was in such pain and frustration on Wednesday that I actually shed tears to Dr. Bart at Kinetics...thankfully he comforted me with letting me know that knee injuries take longer to heal because we are constantly using our knees. It really helped me in feeling assured that it won’t heal over night and slow and steady.

The high volumes of spirited boys is HARD. Trying to remember it’s one step forward and two steps back. Trying to get Harrison to open up to his emotions is tough. I assure him that mommy and daddy are here whenever he is ready to talk. I am working on changing “why” questions with “how.”

It’s truly amazing how much love, tenderness, and spirit our boys can have.

The act of asking for help from God and looking up into the sky and lifting up my struggles is hard. I am constantly thanking God and praying for others however praying for me (I can do this on my own/I want to be in control) is hard.

Trying to stop and breathe in God while exhaling anxiety...


Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Super excited boys to have a Lego case for their (mostly Harrison’s) Lego sets for display...Lewis gets the bottom one!

built by Daddy while on his long “lose it or use it” vacation! It was awesome having Bill around (and being very handy last week!)


via Instagram https://ift.tt/2Fwv17E

Sunday, April 22, 2018

Thursday, April 19, 2018

“I am waving my hand at a car!”


via Instagram https://ift.tt/2J52Bnk

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

God Bless and we miss you Faiyaz


Once Harrison warmed up to Faiyaz they formed a beautiful bond
Harrison FINALLY was able to ride in the front seat of the van...but not a regular occurrence 
Though this is a blurry picture, it shows how much these two had fun together
Nothing like a lift up in Faiyaz's strong arms
Kite flying...
with a wonderful teacher!
Sweet baby Lewis and proud big brother! 

Yup Harrison is holding Lewis on Faiyaz's motorcycle
Sweet Aliya holding Lewis at Harrison's 5th birthday party
Silly Harrison taking a break on the dashboard!
A last ride before moving back to Seattle, WA
Thank you God for Faiyaz and Aliya
August 2017...our last picture with Faiyaz.

I needed time to process...time to reflect...time to accept. I spent time yesterday looking at all the photos taken while we lived in Hyderabad July 2013-June 2015. The outpouring of memories was amazing. It was heartwarming to see pictures of Faiyaz with Harrison and the many places he touched our lives.

In June 2017 Faiyaz started to have stomach issues. What started as a tumor in front of his stomach quickly spread to his back then brain. Faiyaz died on March 17th.

Faiyaz was the first person we met when we landed in the early hours of July 2013. He spoke very little English and it was difficult to understand what he was saying. Amazon would pay one month for a driver and then it was up to us to make the decision to have a driver, to keep Faiyaz or to find a new driver. We wanted a driver whom spoke English so we could understand him. As the days moved forward we started to understand Faiyaz better and appreciated his safe driving. We lived in a hotel apartment for three months before our furniture arrived from Seattle and we could move into our duplex. Faiyaz and Aliya helped us turn the duplex into a home quickly with their labor of love.
More then just our driver in India:
Our first taste of homemade Indian food came from Faiyaz and Aliya...while still living in our hotel apartment
Handyman for hanging pictures and trying to revive battery explosion toys (some were saved)
Speaker of positivity, especially how wonderful God is
Most importantly, Faiyaz and Aliya became our family

I left a piece of my heart in Hyderabad when we moved back to Seattle in June 2015. I did not realize how much I would miss having a constant friend in the car with me. I continue to think about Faiyaz when I get into my car and lift up a prayer for him and his family. Thank you God for bringing Faiyaz and Aliya into our lives.

As our family moves forward, we look forward to keeping our bond strong with Aliya and family. Thank you God for your love and support everyday.

Saturday, April 14, 2018

A wonderful Spring break with Ellie and Nagel gang

Ice cream turned into milkshake!
Enjoying the Wabash museum with Grandma
Digging for treasures!
Ellie and Lewis sure love being silly together

The largest stick and strong muscles!
A great day for ice cream!
Momma and her sweet boys!
When did Harrison start looking like a big kid!?! 

Rebecca and me enjoying the sunshine on her porch. What a beautiful home her and Kevin have. We look forward to meeting baby Immitt this summer. 
On our way to the airport for an early flight. I sure love these two boys of mine. Toward the end of our week I was completely emotional. Harrison's volume was increasing and this momma was tired. Lewis is in the phase of saying "I hate you!" UGH parenting is such a Blessing and incredibly hard at the same time. Next time Bill will be joining us and this momma is looking into possible direct flights only.