The Beauty of Life

It's hard to believe almost a whole year has flown by.....so here's an update on all that has happened since then.

2018:

  SEPTEMBER....

8th: Mom and I finished a GoRuck challenge in Manchester, NH. It was 7+ mile walk where we also carried 40lbs of weight in a backpack. Before we started the walk we had almost 2 hours of excercises and team building experiences. Including push-ups, running, doing the bear crawl, creating a stretcher out of 2x4's and carrying a team member in it for a distance. We also did this thing called the "Tunnel of Love" where we all lined up in a plank postition (on our hands and feet) and stayed there while one by one each person crawled through the makeshift tunnel with their backpacks on. After we finished all of that we moved on to the walking part....which honestly to me seemed easier. 

Even though the walking part included rotating carrying 40lb, 60lb, and 100lb sandbags. Rotating carrying the makeshift stretcher (that weighed 200 lbs....4 people carrying that at a time) and then trying to get a rest break when you weren't doing any of that!!

  It was overall a great experience for me, far different than anything I had ever done. I loved the teamwork aspect of it. It really made us all work together. Look out for each other. And make sure we were all okay. By the end of the night I was both physically and mentally exhausted, but it was so worth it.'

10th: My parents celebrated their 30th Wedding Anniversary. All of us kids worked together and sent them away to the ocean for the weekend. Then threw a suprise party with close family and friends UIKeyInputDownArrowwhen they got back. I've learned s o much in life just by watching my parents and how they love each other after all these years. 30+ years together, and 14 kids later<3

2019:

JANUARY:

12th: Edward and I made a trip up to Bangor Maine to visit my great grandmother, who had fallen in the night and broken her hip. She lives in Caribou, but they transferred her to a really good hospital in Bangor where she had surgery and could get the recovery and therapy she needed. 

21st: my littlest sister Rosie celebrated her 7th birthday. Edward and I surprised her and took her to Build-A-Bear.....she had an absolute blast building her bear whom she named Aaliyah. We then took her out to lunch at a Chinese Buffet. 

FEBRUARY:

14th: I was working at Hobby Lobby when one of my sweet sweet friends dropped by so I could meet her 6 day old little boy Asher William. He was so so tiny and so so adorable. And it was so fun to meet him. Now he is 6 months old and a lot bigger:)

MARCH:

21st: is known as "World Down Syndrome Day" celebrated world wide. Here at home it gives us the chance to celebrate my little sister AnnaBella. (Aka Peppy) She is such a sweet little girl and never fails to bring joy and laughter to my day. She always knows just the right time to give you a hug, and is always full of things to say. She is constantly learning new words and different things in sign language. I couldn't imagine my life without that sweet little girl. 

APRIL:

10th: I got to meet another sweet little guy Andrew. Before i started working I babysat his big brother Jacob. He's the cutest thing and looks exactly like his big brother. 

22nd:

We celebrated Easter at our house. A bunch of different family came and it was such a great day. 

MAY:

11th: Mom, Edward, and I took a trip up to Caribou to celebrate my brother Caleb graduating from College.  He did a 2 year program for Diesel Mechanics Technology. It was super great to spend the weekend with family and i am so incredibly proud of him and all that he has accomplished.

19th: I went to my BEST FRIENDS Homeschool, High School Graduation. Im so so blessed by her sweet friendship and was so honored to be apart of her special day.

JUNE:
24th-26th I was able to watch 3 of my nieces while my sister and brother in law went away for the weekend. It was such a blast spending the weekend with them. We went to the library, watched a few movies, did fun activities and played outside, went in the sprinkler.....to me being an AUNT is one off the best thing in the world besides being a sister.
JULY:
  20th Dad, Mom, Brittany, Maddie, Edward and I all went down to MA to go meet our 2 newest nephews. Leon Alan and Joziah Wade are twins, born on July 17th. They are the tiniest, sweetest little things. Its been awhile since I've held babies that little.

That same night we came home to one of the worst things our family has ever had to experience. Our sweet little sister JoyAnna passed away in her sleep so suddenly. She had had a slight fever but no illness, no suffering. It was just her time to go. It has been quite the rough road of grief and healing for us all. Something that we all have our own ways of doing and at our own pace. Something so tragic and sudden only brings the rest of our family together and creates a special closeness that we never had before. Ive come to realize that  life is something we should never take for granted and family is the most important thing ever.
  The sudden passing of my sweet sister has been rough, as grief is a very hard thing to live with. But I am continually amazed at the community of love and support that has rallied up around us during this difficult time. We have received sooooo many thoughtful texts, emails, phone calls, cards....and have had so many meals brought to us. The people who knew JoyAnna were deeply touched by her short life and deeply affected by her sudden passing. I will end with the letter that I wrote to her....


   TO MY BEAUTIFUL SISTER JOYANNA:

Ive been thinking lately about what youve taught me, and I couldn't come up with just one thing. You see, your short life impacted me in ways that you may never know. You couldn't speak, but didn't need to. You simply made someone's day by just yout beautiful smile. You couldn't walk, but didn't need to do that either. You knew how t bring the fun into any situation just by either smiling or laughing.
JoyAnna, you taught me that our appearance doesn't DEFINE who we are or what we become. Its what we have on the inside, what's in our heart. And you NEVER FAILED to let that shine through. Your JOY, smile, and contagious laughter always lit up any room you entered.

You showed me how to love and be happy, even during life's deepest and darkest moments. That no matter what, there's always something to be thankful for. There's always a reason to smile.

 Ive learned that we're all human. And we all deserve love. No matter what outwardly or inwardly defines us. We all deserve love. You taught me how to open up my heart and life to the special people in this world. How to treat them just like any of us. With extra love and grace. You were the perfect example of that: loving anyone and everyone you crossed paths with.

 Its hard to believe 5 whole years have gone by since you joined our family. Back in 2014 you were the missing piece to our family. But now it seems like youve been here my whole life. JoyAnna....youve forever changed my life and for that i am forever grateful. Your passsing has only made me realize just how fragile this life we live is. That were never promised tomorrow. So live as if today is your last. And that FAMILY is the most important thing.....ever. So cherish every single moment. Live each day intentionally with a purpose. And to most of all.....SMILE.