Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice...

Well once again, I am a little late on the birthday post. Lynen turned 8 years old on January 4th! She is an amazing little woman of God. I love watching her grow, learn, give, and love. She is compassionate and generous and thoughtful. She has truly been a treasure and an inspiration to us. Here are pictures from all "9" birth days.

Thanksgiving

Being on the other side of Valley Oaks for over a year now, I fell like I understand a smidgen of what the pilgrims must have felt on the first Thanksgiving. Thankful we are still alive, thankful we have food on the table, and thankful to God who got us through those difficult times. I like how having nothing really puts things into prospective. It is so easy for us now that life is a little more comfortable to take everything for granted and forget where we came from, and how thankful we were just to be able to buy a full trunk of groceries again and live in a place that wasn't infested with smoke or bugs.

I am especially thankful for my wonderful little family. I don't know how I would have made it in this life without them. They are a gift directly from heaven.

I am thankful for a husband who has shown me what true unconditional love is. Because of his love for me, it has opened the door for me to see the Father's love for me. He is a man who loves his family and truly puts us first. He loves God in a very honest way and is an example for his family. He is my very best friend.

I am so very thankful for my precious daughter. When I first found out I was having a girl, I was terrified. My relationships with women up till this point were not great, so I was not sure how I would handle a little girl. God has been so gracious by using her to help heal my heart. I get to watch this angel be the little girl I would have loved to have been. She is loving and kind and generous and inspiring, and I am so thankful I get to watch her everyday blossoming into the woman God created her to be. I believe wholeheartedly that the saying is true, "Sugar and Spice and everything nice, that's what little girls are made of."


Luke is more fun than a barrel of monkeys. He is wild and adventurous. He brightens my day, makes me laugh, and just makes life better. He is such a little gentleman, and he always stands up for his sister. Watching him grow in to a little man is amazing. I am very thankful for Him.

Most of all, I thank God for all he has done. It almost pains me to say it, but I thank Him for all he has allowed us, good and bad. For without the bad, I don't know if we would really appreciate the good.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Luke Jordan Gage Heilmann

Luke was born on June 9, 2005. He turned six this year. I am posting his birthday pictures a little late, but that is alright. I can celebrate him anytime I want :). He was 8 lbs 3 oz and a whopping 23 inches long. Let's just say I was pretty happy to have him out of me! He has been such a blessing. I love watching him grow into a little man. Here are pictures from each year of his life.

In Loving Memory

This year has brought loss to my family. Three special women passed away.

My Aunt Bernice Ann Henderson passed away on January 26th of this year. She was 52 years old. The thing I will remember about her is that she always made people laugh. She taught me how to shuffle a deck of cards and blow a double bubble......you know, the important things! She was a special woman. We will miss her.


We lost my Aunt Martha Lydia Young on February 7, to Cancer. She was 59 years old. We were lucky to get to spend some time with her the day before she passed away. She was a kind and wonderful woman. She loved my children like her own grandchildren and they loved her dearly.
My grandma, Kathryn Virginia Marzili, met Jesus on May 2. She would have been 84 on May 25th of this year. She lived a long adventurous life and loved children. The thing I remember about her was that she was always going somewhere. You could hardly catch her home cause she would be out with friends. She did that up until she broke her hip a few years back. We are happy to say that she is in heaven now with her husband Peter, her sons Tim and Aaron, and her daughters, Sarah, Martha, and Bernice.

Courage and Earrings

Lynen wanted earrings for a long time. We decided not to pierce her ears as a baby, that way when she got older 'she' could make the choice to put holes her ears. Many times we would be at Claires or Walmart and she would talk about getting them pierced, but would get scared and back out. One morning I asked her if she wanted to get her ears pierced. She thought about it for a while and then said, "Yes, I do". So on February 18, I made a short trip up the street to Walmart to see if she'd really go through with it. To my amazement, she actually went up to the counter and asked about the piercing with me. The lady at the counter said they could do ear piercings from 2-4pm. It was only 11:00, so we got a few groceries and went home. I doubted she would want to go back later, but as 2:00 rolled around, she was ready to go. I could tell she was much more nervous this trip to Walmart. We talked about being nervous. I told her that being scared was ok, and she needed to accept the fact that it was going to hurt. Then it would be over and she would have pierced ears forever. We talked about the bible verse where it says that, "for the joy that was set before him he endured the cross" I told Lynen of how Jesus was in agony because of what he would endure, but he did it to save his children. The joy of saving his children helped him endure the cross. Now I know that getting ears pierced and dying on the cross are no where near the same, but Lynen took it to heart and began to think of the good things like getting to wear pretty earrings whenever she wanted. When we got there, Lynen sat in the seat, and as the ladies put the guns on her ears, I saw her take a deep breathe and close her eyes. I know God was giving her strength. My eyes welled up in tears watching her choose to go through pain for something she longed to have. The guns pierced and she laughed and cried with joy, saying, "Mommy, I did it, I did it!"

Valentines

I love holidays and so do my kids. I try to do little inexpensive things to make the day a little different than any other day. For Valentines Day we had breakfast together and gave them a little gift. During the day I read them some bible verses about God's love for us. Lynen loved this part. Since they are home school kids and don't get to pass out Valentines at school, we filled out Valentines cards and delivered them to our neighbors. For dinner Kevin brought home Palios Pizza. We had dinner together and drank Lemonade from champagne glasses. Lynen made the Lemonade herself! Afterward we decorated the wheat free cookies we made. I am hoping that when they are all grown up they will look back and have fond memories of the little things like this that we did together.
Note the cute cookie that Kevin made for me!

The difference between boys and girls...

I love and cherish the differences between boys and girls. God made them each so very special. These pictures made me think of how different and special they are.


And from a few years back....