What's up??

Wow, I can't believe it's been a month since my last post! It's been quite a month for us and amidst all the "regular" stuff that we have going on (and coming up) we've had some surprising bumps along the road.

To start off the news, on March 23rd, I got a call just as I was crawling into bed, from my brother who had just found out that our dad had passed away suddenly in his home. We attempted to get some sleep that night and headed right up to be with my family the next morning. It's been a difficult thing to experience and process but my faith in the promise of heaven and an eternal life free from suffering helps to comfort me. I think the hardest part is watching family go through the pain of loss and also the feelings of being overwhelmed with all of the things that need to be done when a parent passes away.

The funeral was very nice as well as the graveside service in which the North Dakota Honor Guard was there to provide a military service. I was honored to receive an American flag in Dad's honor of his service in Vietnam.

Here is the online obituary address: http://www.boulgerfuneralhome.com/obits/obit.php?id=3063
This is a picture I took of him and the kids at our last visit after Christmas. He was very happy.



So if that wasn't enough of an ordeal, not much more than a week later, I got a call that my grandpa on my mom's side had passed away. It was now Easter weekend and we were not sure when we would be heading back up to see family. His funeral ended up being only 13 days after my Dad's. Ironic enough the timing of their passings, not to mention that they both served in the military. So when Ian saw them unfolding the flag again, he asked us, "Where are the guns?" He remembered the 21-gun salute, but this time we were inside the church. (The guns happened to be right outside the door, so he got to hear them again.) Lastly, with all of those things being similar, they also shared a birthday. That date will be painful to come across this year.

Here's Grandpa's obituary: http://www.westfuneralhome.com/obituaries.aspx?turl=http://hosting-25016.tributes.com/show/earl-powers-93553976

Thank you so much to all of our friends and family that have been SO supportive, helpful and understanding during this time. Your kind thoughts and persistent prayers have made this month so much more bearable. Please continue to keep us all in your prayers as we work to move forward and take on responsibilities that require us to be strong. At times I know your prayers are helping me to keep "the father of lies" from getting a full grip on my nerves and convincing me that there's no way I can handle all of this and that is which to come for our family. I pray for the grace to persevere in prayer and look to our Good and Gracious God who strengthens me and keeps me hopeful in His promises of love and protection.

"My grace is all you need: for My power is strongest when you are weak." 2 Cor 12:9