Bitter sweet vacation.

One week form tonight we will be driving to our vacation destination. We are so ready! While this is meant to be a fun relaxing get away there is still the reality that one of the main reasons for going is for Amber and the kids to get away. There are so many blessings that surround the family but there is still a lot of pain and sorrow as well. Danny is gone yet life continues on for those he left behind. Philip is getting so big and looks like his daddy. He talks better than most kids twice his age. Hanna is making huge strides and seems to be handling most of life's issues better than before. Olivia is starting to struggle with dad being gone. She said the words "I miss my daddy" for the first time since Danny's death. That was hard to swallow for all those that know her. She is bonding with us more and more. She even asked to talk to me while she was away visiting her grandmother. This was a huge step for her since she is so close to grandma. The kids have really connected to James. It is still hard to hear Philip call James "daddy". We try not to make it a big deal and remind him that he is uncle James. Amber is taking classes and working full time. She has so much on her plate. Some days I think it helps that she is busy other times I think that it is just too much. Either way it is hard to come to terms with the fact that this is real and that it is not ever going to be the same again. Please pray for her and the kids as the Lord brings them to mind. There is still a long road ahead of them. Please pray for our trip and the 2nd anniversary of this tragic day. Remember that day is also Amber's birthday so it packs a powerful punch of emotions. Can't wait to post pics of our trip together.

When Noah grows up...

Noah has this new fascination with the dentist. He actually has never been but has his first appointment in September. So now Noah tells us that he wants to be a dentist when he grows up. When you ask him why he wants to be a dentist his reply is "so I can help people with their cabinets."

This is where I want to be!

And in just 20 long agonizing days this is exactly where we will be headed. We are so excited that we are barley able to keep focused on any thing else. It took us a while to decide that we would make the trip but it is now official. We have only told a few people but it is getting harder to not say anything. At this point you will not see us Face Booking about it and we will continue to keep it that way. Eventually we will be able to post about it but for now there are a few people that we have not told and we do not want them to find out through FB.

We are going to leave after school on Wednesday and then drive part way. Thursday we will drive the rest of the way and then stay till mid day Sunday. We will make part of the dive on Sunday then the rest on Monday. We will have to take the kids out of school for two days but I do not think it will be a huge deal. It is not as long of a trip as we would all like but we are so blessed to be able to get away.

The reason that we are going that week is because it will be the two year anniversary of Danny's death and it is also Amber's birthday. Last year we went to Great Wolf Lodge for the Anniversary and for her birthday. This year we decided to really get away. It will always be difficult that Danny's death and her birthday fall on the same day but we will try to make that day special for her as long as we can. It is a huge blessing for our families to be able to spend this time together and we are looking forward to new memories.

Our children and Philip have never been to the beach so this is a very exciting time for us. I can not wait to see their faces when they see the ocean and feel the sand. Amber picked the place that we are going to. We scouted several locations but in the end she choose Navarre Beach in Florida. We have friends that are from that area and they said that it is one of the nicest beaches that you can go to with out a passport. It is very secluded and very clean. We can not wait to take this all in for ourselves.