Hello 2014!

Goodbye 2013!  We celebrated the New Year quietly at home.  We ate, laughed, enjoyed the hot tub and was barely hanging on waiting for midnight!

Brian, Jake, Steph, & Jodi

2013 was a pretty much uneventful year for us which is definitely not a bad thing!  Other than the occasional trip to the ER for ripped off toes and cut hands, or ongoing health problems, no major events plagued our year.  Nonetheless, it's always nice to bid farewell and welcome the new! 

A New Year of Love, Hope, & Promise!

 

I hope everyone embraces the New Year with open arms

and finds it full of peace, love and happiness! 

Our baby is 15!

I can't believe this precious baby is now 15!

1st professional picture at 6 weeks old.

 

Jacob Walker Rhone

born 12/29/98 at 10:18 am

9 lbs. 6 oz., 20 1/2" long

 

Seems like yesterday, seems like a lifetime, all at the same time.  Our baby boy we tried so hard for, a rough pregnancy, uncertain if he'd have health issues, but God blessed us with a perfect baby boy!  He completed our family and has brought such joy to our lives!  Even at 15, he is the sweetest, most loving, considerate young man.  Just when we thought our hearts were full, he always shows us there is room for more!

 

 Always a happy baby!

 

 One of Mom's favorite pictures!

 

 Always wanted to sleep after a bath!

 

Jake & Maw-Maw (I wish he could remember her, she loved him so much!)

 

Our birthday boy today!  Happy 15th Jake!

We love you!

 

 

 

Merry Christmas!

From our home and hearts, we wish you all a

very Merry Christmas and a

New Year full of love and blessings!

Brian, Jodi, Jake & Tyler

 

 My beautiful kids, Jake, Marlee, Tyler

 

 Marlee enjoyed opening her gifts!

 

Sure sign of a great Christmas!

Jake loved his new Alienware computer!

 

Tyler likes his new boots!

Today, we celebrate the birth of our Savior,

Jesus, the greatest gift ever given. 

Let there be Peace on Earth!

A Birthday Treasure!

 

You can't read it on here, but Mom faxed this to me the day

before my birthday, on 12/19/96 ... a treasure I'll keep forever!  I read it

every year on my birthday.  I wish Mom were here to celebrate with me, but

I know she's watching from Heaven and I often feel her presence! 

 

48 Today.  Some days I feel 48, some days I feel 38, and some days

 I even feel 78.  Wouldn't it be cool if once we reached a certain age

we could start taking years off instead of adding them?  Physically, anyway,

I'm not sure I'd want to go backwards mentally, spiritually, or emotionally! 

So, today, I'll be happy just being 48! 

 

 

A Time of Thanksgiving

Just a few pics from Thanksgiving week!  It was a cold, wet week, but we had lots of fun!  Zeph, Kai, & Piper were here for the week!

Piper Lynn

 Jake & Zeph

 

Kai, Zeph, Piper

Piper thinks Tyler needs some lipstick on!

Zeph, Piper, Kai enjoying the hot tub!

 Piper & Marlee snuggling

 Outdoor fun!

 Roasting marshmallows, the city way!

 Jake & Zeph clowning around!

The crew playing Risk

Thanksgiving Day!

 

Tyler, Marlee, & Crystal

 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and were so

blessed to share it with family this year!

 

My Angel Baby

 

I remember.  I remember the day like it was yesterday.  January 10, 1998.  The day I lost my unborn child.  We had been trying to get pregnant for a while.  I wasn't feeling well right after Christmas, but couldn't figure out what was ailing me.  I was at work this day.  I began bleeding, but it was different than a normal cycle.  I felt sick at my stomach, weak, and just knew something wasn't right.  I left work, bought a pregnancy test, went home and the test said positive.  I was excited and horrified all in the same moment.  I was pregnant, but something was terribly wrong.  I called my doctor, went to the ER as instructed, and was told they couldn't find a heartbeat.  NO, no, not my baby.  The baby we had been trying for.  The baby we so wanted.  What did I do?  Did I take any meds I shouldn't have?  Did the hustle and bustle of the holidays and lifting heavy items cause this?  So many questions and no one to answer them.  I stayed overnight in the hospital.  I left the next day and although I'd only known my precious unborn baby existed for a short time, I felt empty.  I was sad beyond belief.  I grieved for my unborn child.  I wondered what he or she would have been like, looked like, smelled like.  I grieved for our family, our little family of three.  Tyler was 6 and too young to understand.  He just thought mommy was sick.  We picked up the pieces of our broken hearts and mended them the best we could.  Life must go on.  I knew my baby was in Heaven, and we will meet someday.  I trusted God to take care of my child and prayed for another child for our family.  4 months later, we found out we were pregnant with Jake.  Although he completed our family, I have never forgotten my unborn child.  The love of a Mother will never sway and will always stand firm.

 

Until We Meet one day in Heaven,

Rest in Peace

My Sweet Angel.

 

Spoiled? ...not much

Tonight on our way to drop Jake off at youth group, he said "Mom, thank you for not spoiling me".  Wow, where did that come from?  He said "You and Dad have raised me just right and I want to thank you".  Wiping away a tear, I told him that as parents we always want our children to have a better life than we did, that we learn from our parents mistakes, appreciate the things they got right, and try to do better for our kids.  He said "I'm going to raise my kids just the way you raised me, because I can't think of one thing I'd change".  It was all I could do to keep from sobbing.  What a sweet young man we have!  He will be 15 in December and I can't imagine very many 15 year old (especially boys) telling their Mom this.  We truly are amazed by him and often wonder if he really "gets" that he's our inspiration to be better parents.  I can think of many things I didn't do right, or handle right, but evidently they weren't so bad that they made a negative impact on his life.  For this I am thankful and humbled. 

 

When I grow up, I want to be just like my son!

Just when I think my heart is full,

he always shows me there is room for more!