Gratitude Journal
During different trials in my life, it has often been difficult for me not to let the experience consume me. For example, the stress when Pat couldn’t find a job, or the gaping hole in my heart after...
View ArticleHospital Stay - Abbie
Abbie was involved in a car accident her junior year of high school. She was on a date, along with two other couples headed home to get ready for their school’s homecoming dance. While driving on the...
View ArticlePage, Arizona
A few months ago, my dad called and asked if we wanted to run in a triathlon at Lake Powell at the end of October. We would have ten weeks to train. Pat and I said, yes! We knew it would be tight, but...
View ArticleBaby it’s Cold Outside
Dear Boys, On Tuesday, our world was turned white here in UT. Big white snowflakes fell from the gray foggy sky and left us with a surprising amount of snow. It made for an extremely exciting day as I...
View ArticleHalloween 2015
We loved Halloween this year! This post is a little late, due to a two year old stealing and losing my SD card right out of the computer (Not sure which one) but luckily I found they had been uploaded...
View ArticleThankful For Sweet Friends Like You!
I recently arranged to drop by a friend’s house who has went above and beyond for our family after we lost our daughter, Preslee. With November being a month people seem to focus on things which they...
View ArticleWe Can Do Hard Things: Michelle Mower
When Michelle was 21 weeks pregnant with their first child, her dad was involved in a hunting accident. After being pinned under a four wheeler for nearly 32 hours, her father passed away a week...
View ArticleLight ‘Em Up!
We are still trying to recover from a week long vacation in ID for Thanksgiving! Tonight we kicked off the Christmas season by decorating our angel tree, and ended the night by reading a new Christmas...
View ArticleLetter to Fellow Grieving Parents
My Dear Sweet Friend, There are so many things I wish I could say to you at this time of year, I wish we were able to sit down together and discuss everything in our hearts. Most of all, I wish I could...
View ArticleThanksgiving 2015
This was our first Holiday having to travel home. It was the first time I’ve stayed at my in-laws, and it is a total different experience not going home each night. But we had so much fun! I took the...
View ArticleSeven
Today you turn seven. Seven years old. Every year, just for a brief moment, I let myself actually stop and consider what having a child your age would be like. And as the pain quickly creeps in, I...
View ArticleMerry Christmas! {2015}
We just wanted to wish every single one of you a very Merry Christmas! Our hearts are incredibly full as we taught our three boys the true meaning of Christmas and then watched them jump and scream...
View ArticleChristmas 2015
Christmas was a dream this year! I’m not quite ready to jump back into the swing of things, how about you? Patrick had to work Christmas Eve, and since we went home for Thanksgiving, we decided to...
View ArticleWe Can Do Hard Things: Addiction - Lenaya Andersen
Sisters: Larissa Cherpeski and Lenaya Andersen. Lenaya began experimenting with drugs when she was very young (nine years old) which began a sixteen year struggle battling drug addiction and bulimia....
View ArticleArticle on Grief
Happy Monday! A good friend recently shared a grief related article on Facebook. It’s a little different than other articles I’ve read, the author compares grief to having another child to take care...
View ArticleWe Can Do Hard Things: Cate Johnson - Special Needs
Meet Jett and his mom Cate.Seriously, how cute are they? Cate's little boy Jett, was diagnosed with regressive autism just before his second birthday. He developed completely typical until that point....
View ArticleWe Can Do Hard Things: Lisa King: Death-Spouse
Meet Lisa and Aaron King.Lisa and Aaron met in 1995 while at church in Tasmania, Australia. After thirteen years of marriage, the couple was blessed with four boys. One of their sons, Noah, was born...
View ArticleHow Losing a Sibling Affects Children
After losing Preslee, I realized both Pat and I had changed immensely, and I knew it would affect any future kids that we might have. I remember talking to my Father-in-law who had lost his older...
View ArticleWe Can Do Hard Things: Jason Egbert- Hosptial Stay
Meet Jason and his wife Geri. Jason was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis at a young age. Jason's lungs progressively declined over the years (accelerated by incessant hemoptysis) and in January of 2012,...
View ArticleNo Regrets
Oh, what I wouldn’t do to be able to pick up this sweet little girl and just squeeze her. I’d definitely never let go. (Summer of 2009) One of my only regrets dealing with Preslee happened the night...
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