Making Up for Lost Time: A Photo Review

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

While our summer was tremendously difficult, our fall has been delightfully terrific, mostly.  There is a time for everything.  Our summer held a lot of breaking down and our fall has brought us a time to build up. It has been a sweet and precious time for our family.  In the change that this season has brought us, I have been so busy that I have not had time to catch my breath or acknowledge momentous occasions or celebrate successes.  I have really just managed to watch time go speeding by, so this post is a quick way to make up for lost time, noting those special events we have missed during this season.

While it has been a beautiful season for our family, it has not been one of laughing without weeping or dancing without mourning.  It has been a time of seeking and of losing, of silence and speaking.  God is teaching us much about Himself and His goodness and care for us as we learn to press into Him in every season.

Our family traveled to Michigan the first week of September while Nic worked there.  His co-worker took our entire family out fishing in Lake Michigan and together Serena and I caught this 20 pound King Salmon.

On September 4 we celebrated Hugo and Maria's 2nd Special Day.  We had the King Salmon for supper and took a walk to Lake Michigan, stopping for ice cream and shaved ice on the way.  It was a great night to celebrate!  We missed Hugo, as he had chosen not to join the family on this trip.

We arrived home from Michigan on September 6th to celebrate Hugo's 18th birthday.  

A special thanks to our friends, the Cannys, for hosting Hugo and helping him out while we were gone.

(We had a month where we couldn't figure out the settings on the camera, so the pictures were all dark.)

We celebrated Noah's 7th Special Day with our family on September 12th!

We celebrated my 36th Birthday together with a surprise...6 kids and one on the way!

  Yes, we were expecting another baby.

After two other pregnancy losses, this was a time of dependence on God.

God brought this baby home November 12, not welcomed into our arms, but His.

In September our family celebrated the adoption of our good friend, Isaiah...

we were all dressed up for court.

Serena celebrated her 15th birthday on September 27th by being escorted on a special date by her Papa.

Maria celebrates her 16th birthday on October 22 by being escorted out for steak by her Papa.

This girl LOVES meat!