Meta tags:

Headings (most frequently used words):

2015, 2014, saturday, may, monday, thursday, november, my, the, christmas, and, january, december, 25, 27, tuesday, august, 19, instagram, follow, me, ella, grace, jacob, pierce, audrey, helene, grab, button, peeps, meet, author, popular, posts, past, pens, blogs, love, when, you, have, to, trade, in, your, red, flower, glorious, unfolding, gift, of, time, wrap, up, happy, dancing, with, jesus, on, gratitude, through, child, eyes, friends, are, like, puzzle, pieces, then, she, sighed,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (215), and (208), that (94), you (65), this (63), her (61), for (57), was (54), she (53), but (45), with (43), just (42), are (39), mother (38), when (36), have (36), our (36), god (34), has (32), not (31), day (30), will (28), about (27), all (25), your (24), time (23), little (22), those (22), his (22), from (22), life (21), still (21), can (20), like (20), days (19), know (19), they (19), never (19), love (18), what (18), one (18), much (18), mom (18), had (18), where (18), see (18), christmas (18), would (17), may (16), how (16), more (16), very (15), here (15), year (15), feel (14), made (14), each (14), him (14), 2014 (13), first (13), only (13), who (13), keep (13), lord (13), grief (13), new (13), them (12), years (12), last (12), few (12), said (12), both (12), good (12), friends (12), #through (12), even (12), were (12), these (12), november (11), heart (11), home (11), because (11), sarah (10), 2015 (10), living (10), old (10), sweet (10), night (10), there (10), story (10), before (10), think (10), august (9), january (9), red (9), past (9), ella (9), audrey (9), family (9), world (9), been (9), such (9), live (9), needed (9), beauty (9), season (9), after (9), now (9), heaven (9), over (9), pink (9), december (8), gift (8), jacob (8), things (8), week (8), people (8), don (8), happy (8), then (8), two (8), look (8), did (8), thinking (8), myself (8), while (8), read (8), until (8), puzzle (8), many (8), earth (8), dad (8), away (8), hope (8), remember (8), unfolding (7), flower (7), thankful (7), beautiful (7), than (7), posted (7), their (7), forever (7), every (7), going (7), next (7), got (7), andrew (7), out (7), again (7), eyes (7), went (7), always (7), children (7), september (6), glorious (6), make (6), meet (6), true (6), weeks (6), right (6), same (6), down (6), other (6), say (6), seeing (6), really (6), put (6), help (6), thought (6), ever (6), well (6), alive (6), sigh (6), full (6), something (6), take (6), yet (6), part (6), felt (6), thing (6), why (6), words (6), dance (6), jesus (6), table (6), tree (6), serve (6), white (6), july (5), october (5), february (5), march (5), april (5), june (5), mommy (5), baby (5), school (5), some (5), mine (5), didn (5), body (5), funeral (5), morning (5), crystal (5), months (5), long (5), too (5), prayed (5), pain (5), broken (5), find (5), thursday (5), could (5), important (5), watched (5), watch (5), favorite (5), house (5), fact (5), promise (5), during (5), being (5), holidays (5), santa (5), saturday (5), beginning (5), hold (5), glory (5), twins (4), complete (4), friend (4), comments (4), girl (4), ago (4), already (4), hurt (4), parents (4), sad (4), comes (4), singing (4), able (4), loving (4), around (4), dress (4), anything (4), walking (4), feeling (4), loved (4), back (4), into (4), pieces (4), says (4), told (4), walk (4), leave (4), sorrow (4), hard (4), celebrate (4), without (4), place (4), reminder (4), monday (4), hours (4), although (4), side (4), piece (4), young (4), worship (4), tears (4), death (4), imagine (4), start (4), wanted (4), holiday (4), reminded (4), traditions (4), does (4), called (4), ballet (4), truly (4), left (4), weep (4), gifts (4), church (4), pinned (4), trading (4), trade (3), pictures (3), want (3), wait (3), own (3), posts (3), paris (3), hot (3), mostly (3), older (3), gave (3), birth (3), rush (3), pretty (3), christ (3), which (3), missing (3), dreams (3), sisters (3), real (3), sobbed (3), sat (3), outside (3), room (3), wondering (3), looks (3), took (3), changed (3), miracles (3), watching (3), enough (3), big (3), sometimes (3), midst (3), difficult (3), present (3), tell (3), different (3), best (3), deal (3), found (3), often (3), lack (3), person (3), ones (3), breath (3), change (3), moving (3), overwhelmed (3), once (3), making (3), college (3), heartache (3), glimpse (3), seen (3), forget (3), moment (3), grieving (3), moses (3), ashley (3), won (3), realized (3), thanksgiving (3), most (3), saw (3), eternity (3), music (3), heard (3), father (3), comment (3), continue (3), dishes (3), less (3), opened (3), child (3), passed (3), recital (3), dancing (3), stage (3), savior (3), rest (3), mantel (3), kindness (3), eve (3), spend (3), special (3), tradition (3), almost (3), wearing (3), chance (3), temporary (3), flowers (3), dead (3), 2008 (2), 2012 (2), grab (2), box (2), photo (2), taking (2), 1st (2), laundry (2), version (2), view (2), yes (2), desire (2), purpose (2), author (2), minutes (2), grace (2), follow (2), tuesday (2), started (2), talks (2), growing (2), judgement (2), sure (2), sort (2), hurting (2), mama (2), recent (2), dream (2), second (2), row (2), wasn (2), wake (2), wore (2), died (2), weird (2), trying (2), together (2), staring (2), handing (2), focus (2), talk (2), grader (2), womb (2), barren (2), sighed (2), release (2), man (2), done (2), remind (2), birthday (2), call (2), times (2), quite (2), embraced (2), believe (2), store (2), wonder (2), ends (2), changes (2), stay (2), weakness (2), nor (2), replace (2), deep (2), three (2), looking (2), admit (2), friendships (2), immediately (2), quote (2), originally (2), meant (2), plays (2), childhood (2), gathered (2), vigil (2), dear (2), service (2), hearts (2), lips (2), beloved (2), gathering (2), must (2), noah (2), standing (2), bible (2), run (2), gone (2), working (2), sharing (2), laughing (2), loveliest (2), also (2), lost (2), recently (2), mean (2), isn (2), importance (2), strength (2), perhaps (2), makes (2), yearn (2), crazy (2), today (2), shared (2), precious (2), memories (2), low (2), nativity (2), scene (2), later (2), write (2), stood (2), yesterday (2), open (2), five (2), writing (2), grown (2), misery (2), speak (2), suffer (2), instead (2), doubt (2), spending (2), etc (2), merry (2), small (2), bit (2), enjoy (2), near (2), work (2), way (2), rehearsal (2), cried (2), showing (2), knew (2), month (2), lay (2), alone (2), belong (2), earthly (2), thank (2), come (2), learned (2), any (2), list (2), use (2), short (2), garland (2), asked (2), trash (2), someone (2), given (2), stayed (2), fresh (2), brought (2), pulled (2), fleeting (2), number (2), knows (2), doesn (2), advertisements (2), feels (2), decided (2), roses (2), sub (2), wash (2), hair (2), couldn (2), weekend (2), ticket (2), ekg (2), strip (2), strange (2), get (2), feet (2), girls (2), behind (2), song (2), songs (2), hate (2), 21st (2), partly (2), aches (2), end (2), far (2), amazed (2), sunset (2), honor (2), presence (2), copyright, antweiler, rights, reserved, simple, theme, powered, blogger, blogs, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, pens, iconic, blue, newborn, shoot, tips, newborns, peter, pan, tinkerbell, party, covet, prayers, mustard, seed, frugal, detergent, powder, guest, post, popular, profile, photography, classic, literature, museums, theater, london, venice, coffee, tea, share, used, peeps, button, twin, sister, helene, pierce, instagram, subscribe, atom, grade, aged, debut, suppose, shouldn, surprised, grow, everyone, pains, stuff, joke, proud, jumping, bus, street, turn, hallelujah, chorus, kid, ahem, firstborn, bottle, innocence, fortunate, send, wonderful, fit, student, goes, half, blessing, ray, sunshine, hour, outpouring, passing, dreamed, sadly, hollywood, walked, fuchsia, wedding, nights, casket, comforting, woken, awful, reliving, frustrated, chandelier, ending, construction, zone, dropped, shattered, million, top, ladder, toddlers, commotion, boy, starts, cry, turns, crystals, hung, nicu, nurses, cpr, doctor, carry, survive, worried, might, cerebral, palsy, worrying, learn, walks, built, miraculous, photos, miracle, normally, least, double, check, exactly, dramatic, stores, amazon, prime, sales, rack, closet, dollar, finds, since, goodbye, passage, sign, faith, price, loaned, babies, picture, above, faithful, tapping, computer, care, awake, 2am, third, recapping, events, marveling, amount, godly, path, another, supported, bad, ugly, town, forced, daily, ourselves, especially, interpreted, whole, reflecting, adulthood, agree, transcend, proof, stricken, anguish, sang, lady, boys, windows, bedrooms, trembled, sadness, husband, whose, cannot, fathom, minus, whom, recovering, believers, campus, minister, spoke, meeting, great, warriors, david, caught, amazing, comfort, awe, worshiping, alongside, lake, neighbors, super, chatty, answer, drinks, food, reminisced, ole, responsibilities, laughter, abundance, stories, hugest, weighing, ladies, parent, laughed, closer, approach, dread, movies, decorating, halloween, become, pretend, happening, lewis, relationships, grieve, laugh, form, parts, reunion, lifting, crying, lori, numbers, group, held, smiled, afternoon, searching, basement, high, came, kitchen, windowsill, listened, folded, searched, internet, backwards, forwards, wrote, anyone, writer, written, nevertheless, slipped, grave, slip, return, truck, bittersweet, sitting, bed, hardest, waking, laying, nightstand, thousand, tubes, chapstick, kept, drawer, pull, notebook, scribbled, note, cursive, becomes, bearable, admittedly, shaken, fist, saying, shadow, reflection, merely, endless, arrived, value, continues, absence, embrace, sweeter, grandfather, realize, lie, suddenly, seem, however, taught, ache, ways, grasping, online, boutique, praises, enter, advent, bless, click, article, gratitude, stars, lets, literally, figuratively, darkest, search, cling, brokenhearted, attest, takes, leads, cross, amongst, walls, atlanta, snow, storm, should, taken, premonition, snowstorm, torrential, downpour, happen, slaved, summer, packing, realizing, ready, unexpectedly, hospital, mothers, condition, showed, lucid, video, granddaughter, perfect, timing, tenderness, continued, wee, praised, proved, early, transitioning, refuge, safe, burdens, lives, reflect, christmases, forsaken, birthing, stockings, fingerprints, everything, gracious, generous, void, motherless, filled, except, adopted, soaking, loan, ballerina, touched, transform, seeks, blessed, preemies, energetic, lively, four, olds, enjoying, soccer, silent, stepping, hand, repay, secret, relief, survived, moments, actually, enjoyed, surviving, continuing, bringing, hosted, annual, gingerbread, contest, hoping, passes, various, opinions, debate, choose, majority, talking, magic, generally, bring, lavish, allowed, ask, sensible, requests, daddy, luckily, presented, demands, scape, lovely, resolutions, fine, china, stop, saving, outfits, matter, occasion, depot, scraps, explained, mind, couple, presents, actual, need, confused, serious, giving, free, replied, throw, point, major, throwing, festive, act, limbs, acts, afterwards, thanked, blessings, celebration, definitely, attitudes, headed, 1am, playing, board, games, adults, kids, course, ate, black, eyed, peas, pork, luck, attempt, brings, happiness, better, fullest, case, georgia, tech, shirt, pride, jackets, praying, opening, storybook, bought, married, mikasa, eat, paper, plates, drink, solo, cups, travel, eiffel, tower, topper, colored, lights, homemade, decor, pine, cones, candlelight, absolute, miraculously, line, excited, waiting, wrap, rarely, space, anymore, material, rather, convinced, wouldn, peace, created, soon, mall, bombarded, everywhere, lifetime, hugs, grumpy, lazy, selfish, explain, glad, conversation, dozen, sandwich, sandwiches, dinner, wave, car, driveway, water, bathtub, goodbyes, longer, wallet, sits, maybe, bizarre, seemingly, outsiders, final, entered, brush, practice, brutal, healing, emotion, human, reveals, himself, painful, journey, destination, easier, recitals, curtains, hide, face, camera, getting, applicable, emotions, mourn, anniversary, daughters, knowing, instills, placed, vase, dining, priceless, onto, believing, whisper, ear, forward, serving, blink, eye, beyond, joyful, mary, esther, met, sees, runs, dances, leaps, stand, toes, perfectly, speaking, spent, europe, climbed, step, arc, triomphe, entire, city, ground, its, tiny, glimpses, give, marvelous, basically, handle, sneaks, front, muscle, tone, let, king, fields, begun, unfailing, revealing, depth, show, plan, though, calls, unfold, closing, gonna, cause, listen, whispering, try, figure, fight, head, tonight, grew, traditional, women, dresses, sunday, fascinated, age, joy, knowledge, remembrance, born, rose, choir, robe, pondering, approaches, denial, asks, reality, happens, mix, accurate, representation, neither, terms, closest, worshipping, connection, doing, exact, sinner, skipping, planned, wear, covered, completely, fully, brave, weak, proudly, promised, accepted, bucket,

Text of the page (random words):
made to us we ll see the glorious unfolding spending those two weeks with just my dad seeing the world it was priceless that gift of time with him is something i will hold onto for forever time is so fleeting love and serve those around you at the end of the day this time here on earth is just temporary this mother s day i will celebrate my mother death does not change that she was my mother and i will still take her hot pink roses but they won t be placed in a vase on her dining room table and i will weep as i watch my daughters dance on stage partly because i hurt knowing they will not remember my mother and partly because i am so overwhelmed by the beauty of god s hope and promise that he instills in my heart when it aches with grief and i will mourn all over again as i remember her on the 1st anniversary of her death on may 21st but i hold on to the promise that god has made for me and you that this time here on earth is just the beginning of the beginning posted by sarah at saturday may 02 2015 1 comment monday january 5 2015 christmas wrap up and happy 2015 my first holidays without my mother have come and gone and i feel a secret sigh of relief we hurt and cried but we survived and even had moments where we actually enjoyed these difficult holidays one thing i learned about surviving your first holidays after a death and still in the midst of grieving is the importance of continuing traditions and bringing a few new ones to the table it s so important to keep living i hosted christmas eve and christmas day complete with our annual gingerbread making contest the holidays are both sad and happy but i m hoping that as each year passes it will be less sad and mostly just happy here s a few pictures of our holidays three very excited little ones waiting to see santa we made it to see santa the saturday before christmas miraculously there was almost no line i know people have various opinions on the santa debate we choose to spend the majority of our season talking about the birth of christ but we still enjoy a little magic of santa santa does not generally bring our children lavish gifts in fact they are only allowed to ask for one sensible gift and any other requests are made to mommy and daddy luckily our children have never presented us with some long list of demands yet christmas eve candlelight service at our church my absolute favorite tradition here are a few pictures of my pretty table scape i think it is quite lovely if i do say so myself one of my new year s resolutions is to use our fine china more often to stop saving all our special dishes or even special outfits for that matter if there is one thing i ve learned in 2014 is that life is so very short every day that you wake up is a special occasion complete with fresh garland and pine cones mommy s travel tree complete with an eiffel tower tree topper the children had a live tree in the family room with their colored lights and homemade decor but this tree is all mine andrew and i bought these christmas dishes 12 years ago when we first got married they are by mikasa and called holiday traditions i just love them so much i even pulled out the real crystal because life is too short to eat on paper plates and drink out of red solo cups the garland on my table has a very sweet story that i have already shared with a few of you i went to home depot two days before christmas and asked a man if he had any tree scraps i could have i explained i just needed a few to put on my table and mantel and didn t mind going through the trash he asked me to follow him which i did after a couple minutes he presents me with an actual christmas tree he said this is my christmas present to you you don t need to go through the trash i was a little confused at first and said are you serious you re giving me this for free he replied that it wasn t a big deal because they were just going to throw them away and again said this is my christmas present to you at this point i have major tears in my eyes and told him he ll never know how much this meant to me i told him it was my first christmas without my mom and i had a child throwing up at home and i just wanted my house to look a little more festive that act of kindness and the beauty the limbs made to my table and mantel were just what i needed hope a little bit of hope that there is still good in this world you never know what little or big acts of kindness mean to someone something new i did this year with the children was read the christmas story out of the jesus storybook bible in the morning we ve always read this in the past during the season but this time i read it right before we opened gifts afterwards we thanked the lord for his many blessings he has given us this year we also prayed that we would all have thankful hearts as we opened our gifts and that we would remember that this was a celebration of the birth of jesus this will definitely be a tradition we continue each year i think it really did help them have good attitudes on christmas morning praying before opening gifts new years eve we headed to my dad s house to spend the night and celebrate the new year with him and my sisters family we stayed up until almost 1am playing board games just the adults and my sisters older kids of course the next day we ate our black eyed peas and pork for good luck here s our attempt at our first family photo of 2015 jacob has the 2 ella the 0 audrey the 1 and me the 5 happy 2015 andrew wearing his georgia tech shirt with pride go jackets a new year and the fresh start it brings has brought a little happiness to my heart and hope for a better year happy new year to you all may it be a year of living life to the fullest and in case you were wondering less than 3 months until paris le sigh posted by sarah at monday january 05 2015 1 comment thursday december 25 2014 dancing with jesus on christmas these days i often find myself walking outside at night staring up at the few stars i can see and wondering if god lets those in heaven take a glimpse at those they love still on earth both literally and figuratively in the darkest of hours i search and cling to the only hope we all have the promise of heaven for those who love the lord he says he is near to the brokenhearted and i can attest that his words are so true he takes your pain and leads you to the cross it is the beauty amongst the heartache when the walls of our home went up during the same week as the crazy atlanta snow storm of 2014 perhaps we should have taken that premonition as to what 2014 was to look like for our family that snowstorm was just the start of the torrential downpour that would happen over this year andrew slaved away after work each night working on our new home through the summer the same week that we were moving and packing and realizing our house was not ready for us to live in my mother unexpectedly went into the hospital and passed away 4 days later my dad called me that first night to tell me of my mothers condition as i was on my way home from our dress rehearsal for ella s ballet recital the next day i showed my mother during her last lucid moment a video of her beautiful granddaughter dancing on stage i cried showing it to her because i knew in my heart that it would be the last dance she saw on earth before she went to dance with jesus i have no doubt she will be dancing with jesus when they celebrate his birthday this week for she loved her savior and he loved her in god s perfect timing and tenderness the children and i went to live with my dad for a month while andrew continued to work until the wee hours of the night in the midst of our heartache we praised god for this truly precious month with my father it proved to be just what we all needed during those early weeks of grieving and transitioning a place of refuge and rest a safe place to lay my burdens down our lives are forever changed and we yearn for heaven this season i reflect on christmases past and see the lord has never forsaken us in our weakness i think about those years we prayed for just one baby about birthing twins at only 28 weeks etc and now i look at my mantel with five stockings and little fingerprints on everything god has been so gracious and generous to our family i can look back on these hard times and see that he went before us and never left us the void of being motherless can never be filled except through him just like he did not leave my womb barren he has adopted me as his child and i am not alone and he will always be enough we are soaking in these years with our little children we know that they are only on loan to us and that they truly belong to him ella the baby we thought we d never have has grown to be the loveliest first grader and little ballerina we truly feel touched watching god transform her heart as she seeks to know him more what more could we ever desire as her earthly parents we are so blessed and those 28 week preemies they are now energetic and lively four year olds audrey is enjoying taking her first year of ballet while jacob had his first season of soccer thank you our friends and family for loving us when we needed love for being silent when i just needed to weep and for stepping in when we just needed a hand we can never repay you for your kindness but we thank god for you every day merry christmas posted by sarah at thursday december 25 2014 no comments thursday november 27 2014 gratitude through a child s eyes on this first holiday without my mother god continues to be so good to our family no doubt her absence was very much felt but the traditions that we continue to embrace make these difficult days a little sweeter making her favorite dishes spending time with my grandfather her father etc i realize now why traditions are so important i won t lie suddenly the holiday season does seem less merry however i am thankful for all that god has taught me through the ache in many ways i feel like i am walking with my eyes a little more open grasping for beauty when the days are hard today i am writing over at my favorite online boutique store called sweet praises and sharing a small bit of beauty that god has opened my eyes to recently i hope you enjoy this season of thanksgiving and continue to focus on what is most important as we enter into the season of advent click here to read the full article i hope it will bless you on this day of thanksgiving posted by sarah at thursday november 27 2014 1 comment monday november 3 2014 friends are like puzzle pieces i ve sat here tapping on my computer for more hours than i care to admit i was awake until 2am last night for the third night in a row recapping this past weeks events as well as marveling at the amount of godly people god has put in my path the past 16 or so years i am in yet another season of change although no one can replace true friends who have supported you through the good bad and ugly moving to the other side of town has sort of forced me to find new friends who live day to day life with me i am overwhelmed by the friendships the lord immediately put in my life immediately after moving it was something andrew and i both prayed for daily for ourselves and especially for me i once read that friends are like puzzle pieces i think that quote originally was meant to be interpreted as each friend in your life plays an important part of who you are and each part plays a part in making you whole after reflecting on friends from childhood to college and now through adulthood i would agree that each person is a piece of a puzzle in my life friendships that have value transcend time this past week was proof of that as many of us gathered stricken with heartache and anguish as we sang and prayed at a vigil what would be a sweet and dear young lady s last worship service here on earth our hearts were full of sorrow as we watched her sweet young boys watch from the windows of their bedrooms and our lips trembled with sadness while thinking of her beloved husband whose pain we cannot even fathom both the vigil and the funeral were a glimpse of heaven minus the tears the gathering of dear friends many of whom we have not seen in 14 years made me forget for a moment that i was grieving and instead made me feel as if i had arrived home still recovering from the recent death of my mother this gathering of believers was such a gift for me our college campus minister spoke of our sweet friend and how she must be loving meeting all the great warriors for christ moses noah david i had never really thought about that before sometimes we are so caught up in our own hurt we forget that heaven is so amazing i felt so much comfort thinking of how both my mother and now sweet ashley must be standing in awe worshiping alongside those we have read about in the bible both ashley and my mother loved the lake so i like to imagine the lord made them neighbors in heaven both super chatty i m sure they won t run out of things to talk about until we see them again but now what what do you do when a piece of your puzzle is gone this is something i m still working through i don t know the answer but i do know one thing you keep living after our friends funeral many of us gathered for drinks and food and reminisced about the good ole days those days of college where your responsibilities are few but laughter is in abundance sharing old stories and laughing was the hugest release of grief that has been weighing me down these past few months i sat next to the loveliest of young ladies who also lost a parent recently and we laughed and it felt good it felt good because i realized that although pieces of my puzzle are missing and my life here on earth will never be the same it is ok to keep on living the closer thanksgiving and christmas approach i admit my heart has been full of dread what was once my favorite time of the year and by love i mean we start watching christmas movies and decorating right after halloween has become a season i just wanted to pretend isn t happening i think c s lewis said it best when he said part of every misery is so to speak the misery s shadow or reflection the fact that you don t merely suffer but have to keep on thinking about the fact that you suffer i not only live each endless day in grief but live each day thinking about living each day in grief it is true i feel overwhelmed thinking that grief never ends but i know it changes and becomes more bearable and admittedly i have shaken my fist at god saying it is one thing for you to take my mother by why would you take a mother ashley away from her children who are not even grown yesterday andrew and i went to my parents dad s house to return his truck walking in that house full of old memories is always bittersweet i found myself once again sitting on her side of the bed and thinking about how my father said the hardest part of his day is waking up each morning and not seeing her laying right there i open her nightstand i don t eve...