hope...

without it, life is empty, pointless. where there is hope, there is energy and life. looking into someone's eyes who has no hope, is a scary thing. the life is gone....they are blank and empty. even a glimmer of hope can make all the difference. as many of you who have read my blog for the past couple of years know, my sister has battled depression for the past few years. she has improved in the past year, but has struggled to get her life back. while i was in washington, i talked with my family there about the situation and they really inspired me to get more involved in her recovery. on the flight home, i thought and prayed, and feel a renewed sense of hope for poo (my goofy nickname for my sister, which i gave her when she was a newborn...it really stuck) i got together with her yesterday and told her about my idea of being accountablity partners. as we talked, both of us got pretty excited about it. she was totally receptive and i saw hope in her eyes again. that is the best feeling i've had in a long time. i have missed my sister and her sweet, joyful spirit. i want her back...and i want her to have her life back in full. i know many of you have prayed for her recovery...please don't stop praying. she needs it more than ever right now. i feel as if the tide has turned and i pray that this breakthrough is real and that it lasts. i hadn't planned to blog about this, but felt compelled to as i started to type. i know that depression is almost epidemic and my heart just goes out to every family affected by it. i'll let you know how the next days and weeks go with our new plan of attack against it.

of course, i've continued to edit photos and wanted to share more.

us in the mountains.

at the market.

on the ferry to whidbey.

tom's sister kathy's husband steve with leah and matthew(their grandchildren)

kathy(tom's sister) with leah. love her wellies :)

our nephew chris and his wife patti. aren't they cute together? and doesn't chris resemble uncle tom?

great nephew colton.

and cameron.

and the newest, baby nicholas. lottsa nephews and great nephews :)

tom and i spent time on whidbey with steve and kathy and then on sunday we met at mike and becky's(nicholas' parents) and hung out with more of the nephews and their kiddos. they bought a really cool craftsman style house a few years ago and have done a fabulous job of decorating. i should have taken photos.

so, today jared is having his wisdom teeth extracted. he's having it done at the oral surgeon's and will be put under, so prayers would be appreciated. hopefully it will go smoothly and he will recover quickly.

take care and God bless!

Comments

[emma :o)]

the pike place market pics turned out MARV! ( well, they all did... like ALWAYS~)

i had a dream last night that i found a camera JUST LIKE YOURS on the GROUND! I called you right away... :O) he he he

have a good day beck...

[tara pakosta]

many prayers for poo and for you....there is NOTHING like the bond of a sister. for sure.
love all the fun pics esp the one of you and t!
prayers for j too. i had my teeth pulled around the age of 19 and it was NOT FUN but it healed quicklY! just make sure he has some pain meds after!
hugs!
tara

[Kim]

The pictures from Seattle brought tears to my eyes, after a really rough week, your photos took me there just for an instant. Boy do I miss it! I wish we could have hooked up, but I see that God needed us here for more reasons than one.

Praying for each of your family members by name, I love that even though I don't know them, He does!

Kim

[kim in Camas - ScrapToMyLu]

So happy you're home and happy to know you enjoyed your trip. I thought of you many times, thinking "Becky is only 3 hrs from me".....silly.
That last baby photo is stunning!

[Stephanie Howell]

you are such a lovely soul.
i just wish i could meet you...you are such a good, sweet person. and i really admire that.
i said a little prayer for your sister as i was reading this.
xo

[Crystal]

I'm glad you had a wonderful trip - and I'm glad you are back to blogging again! I missed you but I knew that you were probably having a fantastic time - and I was right! Catching up with everyone is always fun. How on earth did you get that watering can home? Surely it wasn't a carry-on, was it?!

I love the first song you have on your playlist. I always linger when I'm visiting so I can hear the whole thing :))

[Eliza]

I've been wondering and praying about your sister ... haven't read anything about her in a while and was hoping that things had improved. i'm hoping that your new strategy will help. depression is such a difficult thing to fight!! my prayers and thoughts will be there for both of you.

loved the pictures too ... so inspired by you ... your pictures AND by your sweet and giving soul!! thanks for sharing with us :)

[Vicki Chrisman]

Such great photos of your trip! Totally loved looking at them all!
Hope Jarred does well, and recovers quickly.