Guess How Much I Love You!

Welcome to the Family!

Winston Cash Kistner

7lbs. 10 oz.

21 inches

January 28, 2012

I have so much I could say about your precious boy!  But the bottom line is:

We Love You and We are so Thankful for You!

Let the Memories Begin

The Leonards headed to Disney for a few days!  We had such a fun time, just playing!!  We enjoyed every minute, every show, every ride, every ice cream, every parade and the list goes on and on! 

The Christmas Story

This year, Silas seems very suprised by the fact that Christmas is about Jesus.  He loves it - he's absorbing it - but it is as if he is hearing it for the first time.  We've taught it, the church has taught it, his grandparents have taught it, his preschool taught it...So I know he has heard it.  But the difference in hearing and believing are worlds apart.  He has made some comments so far this season, that as a mother I know will stay with me.  For instance, Sunday after church he told several people, "You know I really get it, Christmas is about Jesus first, jolly spirit second."  I have thought about this all week.  How true is it that if Jesus is first - the jolly spirit will follow?  Thanks Silas for the reminder. 
I have been really trying to re-teach him the Christmas Story, knowing that he is like a little sponge just soaking about all there is to learn about this "new" story.  We were talking about it the other day and I asked him "How did the sheperds find Jesus?".  Hoping that the part of the star had stuck, I waited for his answer.  He thought about it for a minute and said "That's easy, you said they were in a barn so I'm sure they followed the stinky smell.". 
We are still teaching......

In Sickness and In Health

Yesterday, we celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary! So hard to believe that 17 years ago I walked down the aisle and married my high school sweetheart. As the two of us took our vows on that alter, I know that we could not imagine the journey that God would take us on. In those moments, newlywed bliss was all that was on my mind....I imagined a life of laughter, smiles and no worries. As with life, that is not exactly what has taken place. There has been bumps, curves, downhill and uphill fights. But, through it all God has been faithful and the love that I felt for Beau on that day has only grown. The vows that we took, seemed so straightforward and simple...to have and to hold, in richness and in poor, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. The positive side is so much simpler to uphold sometimes - on good days, when the bills are paid and the kids are behaving and he smiles as I walk by - my heart still jumps a beat for Beau, just as it did in the halls of Virginia High School way back in 1992. Now, when the checkbook looks sad, the kids are killing each other in the other room, the house is a wreck and he has 101 things to do....I still love him but I would say it is a different kind of love!!

But let me tell you, when you see the man of your dreams laying on a hospital bed, now the love factor deepens to a new level. For the past month, Beau has suffered and still recovering from some pretty serious stuff. He has been a pretty awesome patient (90% of the time), and loving and taking care of him has been as easy to me as breathing! And, I know from experience that he would do the same for me.

I am so thankful for the past 17 years of marriage and for the past almost 20 years that Beau has been by my side. I am thankful for the laughing, the crying, the good times, the bad times, the sickness, the blessings....because I know that is what has strenghted us. I know that the road won't always be easy and right now there seems to be a lot of stuff coming at us, but I know that together we will face it and we will come out, one way or another on the other side.

Sisterly Love? Payback?

My brother, Eric and I fought...I mean we really fought. We hit, scratched, kicked, yelled and body slammed! But we laughed until we cried and many nights you could find me snuggled up in his bed. Yesterday, Ellie & Clara fought so bad that I finally forbid them to speak to one another. We made it through the day, I sent them to bed and what do I hear....giggling, lots and lots of giggling. I seriously wanted to go in there and beat their little butts....I opened the door, stuck my head in and told them to cut it out and go to sleep! Clara says "Can Ellie sleep with me?" Oh my Lord, have mercy! What happened? What changed? We did have a serious prayer time earlier...were their hearts changed because I made them pray for one another, say nice things about each other and hug and kiss one another? I don't know, but thank God for the change. I went back in the room about an hour later and there the two of them asleep, snuggled together. Sisterly love....a love that can fight and not hold grudges. How I pray that this will always be the way. That they would love one another enough to disagree but that will also love one another to be that Rock in each other's life.