playing catch-up part II

Almost two months ago now, our whole family got to participate in the wedding of Miss Annmarie Breen to Josh Rinehults in Richmond, VA. The boys were ring bearers, Michael was a musician, and I was the matron of honor. And none of that would have been possible had not both sets of grandparents been there to help with the boys! It was a family event indeed as our sweet Annmarie married the man of her dreams!

A couple weeks after the wedding, Noah had an accident. We were walking back from the library on the downtown mall and it had been raining that day, which made the sidewalks quite slippery. Noah and Ethan were running ahead of me on one of the little side streets that is not a thru street. The nose of a car poked out from an alley, and Noah saw it and tried to stop, but his legs slid under the front wheel of the station wagon. Thankfully, the man stopped after seeing me and hearing me running and screaming, so only the first set of wheels went over his legs. He had not seen Noah at all. Noah's legs were a little scraped up and pink, but after he calmed down pretty quickly after it happened, I decided I would take him to the ER myself. The ER staff couldn't believe it, but he had not one broken bone! He woke-up stiff the next day when grandma and Grandpa came to visit, but was running by the afternoon and we haven't had any residual effects yet. We are so grateful for God's protection and mercy over sweet Noah! The man who was driving the car has been so very kind and concerned for Noah's well-being. We pray for God to work in his life through this.


The following weekend, we took a family retreat to Lexington, VA. It was delightful! We had a wonderful time in the cabin - the boys loved their loft. The next day we had a tour of Broadview Ranch and met the hogs, chickens, geese, and cows. We returned with some of their meats and picked a pumpkin from their patch! We also got to see the horses and hounds on their fox hunt! The boys had a blast on all the swings, playing on tree stumps, exploring the Bellfry and getting to run free. Thank you again, Grizzle family!!!! It was wonderful to meet the rest of you this time! And if you find a kite, it's ours, but don't bother trying to get it to us. (c:


While I was away for the doula certification, I got to stay with dear friends from college, Matt and Emily D'Antuono and their precious family! Their two oldest kids are adopted and their two little guys are being fostered by them. What a picture of grace they are. Those kiddos made me feel right at home as I got to help put them to bed and read stories to them.

Following the training, Mom and Dad watched the boys together in Arlington, allowing Michael to join me in Brooklyn to be with Matthew and Kerry for the weekend! It was such a blast to have time with them and meet some of their close friends. We even ran a 10k together on Saturday morning - and spent the rest of the day recovering and eating at some of their favorite places in Brooklyn. Of course we had to squeeze in some Settlers of Catan and give-in to their summoning us to get hooked on watching "Friday Night Lights".... all this amidst some wonderful conversations. What a treat to be with them.