Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Life can change in a moment.

I vividly remember using those words as my blog title after my water bag broke at 20 weeks with my first pregnancy. The dreams of a perfect pregnancy and baby were dashed in an instant and my life was forever changed.

This morning, however, I thought of that phrase in a different setting. I was thinking about that morning, centuries ago, when some women woke up early. They saw the sun outside and started to revel in the beauty created as the sun rays landed upon the nature around them, just as I did this morning. Their morning, however, wasn't so happy. Within a few minutes, the reality of the situation they were currently facing haunted them. Jesus, their wonderful leader and connection point to God, was dead.

Dead.

Talk about life change. They were ready to follow Him with their whole lives, and then He was killed in the most horrific, brutal way possible.

All they could think to do, to somehow move through another day, was to go anoint His body with burial spices. It was something they could to do somehow absolve the hopelessness they each felt.

On their way to the tomb, they were relatively silent, occasionally bringing up stories of Jesus' impact on them. They retold of His miracles, but then fell silent again as they wondered why such a wonderful life was cut short. As they neared where He lay, they started to consider the fact that the body was behind a huge stone that none of them would be able to move. Perhaps if they all worked together...

They all looked up as the tomb came into sight. The stone had already been moved. A gaping hole in the middle of the cave stared back at them, but a somewhat unnatural light could be seen from the inside.

Life can change in a moment.

They walked up to the men standing next to the tomb, trying to decide what emotions they should feel. "Where is Jesus' body?" one had the courage to ask.

"He is not here. He is risen, just like He said."

The women tried to comprehend the words he just spoke. They peeked inside and didn't see the lumps of a body under the burial clothes as they should have.

"What did you just say?" they asked again.

"He is risen. Go and look inside. You won't find His body, just as He said."

The ladies ran inside and saw neatly placed burial clothes covering the area Jesus' body should have been.

Life can change in a moment.

The men's voices boomed from the front of the cave. "Go and tell His disciples what has happened!"

---

Well, that's just my imagination at work this morning. I'd love to continue the story, but I know little ones sleeping upstairs will be up soon.... I just wanted to share my revelation that Jesus came so that our lives can change in a moment... for the better. He came to revolutionize and light up and bring beauty into our lives. We may be in the darkest of dark times, but Jesus' death and resurrection provides the hope we need to know that life can change in a moment... for the better and for His glory.

Happy Resurrection Sunday.

Merry Christmas!

Just for fun... a few comparisons of Christmas pictures!!!

It all began with Brayden in 2012.... I do love this picture. :-)

He did way better the next year, 2013, although the picture actually isn't in the chair, since he didn't want to sit on Santa's lap!

Drumroll please... the boys in 2014! They had each other, so they did awesome! Super proud... and yes, compare 2012 and 2014... J and B wore the same outfit and I think they look super alike! Fun! 

Anyhoo... fun memories. I am treasuring Christmas this year with two little buddies to enjoy it with. B is learning all about "Bible Jesus, Jofus, Mary, sheepies, shepherds, and wise men." Happy birthday to Jesus and Merry Christmas to all!!! Such a wonderful time of year.

happy mom's day

I'm vividly reminded today that I am mom to three healthy boys. It's hard to believe that could be possible, but it is true, and an amazing fact. I think about Brody a lot today and wonder what exactly he looks like, what age he is in heaven, if he's growing in heaven or just automatically became a young man... I'm so excited to meet him again in heaven. It propels me forward to think about that day.

These past few years have changed my perspective of Mother's Day. I've watched my mom and experienced myself the heartache of loss moms go through around the world and it provides a whole new appreciation for motherhood and the ladies who haven't yet experienced it but would love to and those who are remembering their angel babies or children who have passed away. May God's strength and peace rest on each of you today.

I also am reminded of the beautiful legacy of mothers I am surrounded by. I am literally surrounded by beautiful moms from both Erik's side and my side of the family. I couldn't ask for better moms, grandmas, or great-grandmas.

So today, I am celebrating my boys...

...and I'm celebrating my mom, who is beautiful, loves God, loves her family, and loves people in a way I can only hope to imitate....

...and I'm celebrating my mother-in-law, who is one of the sweetest ladies I know...

...and I'm celebrating the beautiful grandmas in my life who teach me about love and commitment and living life every day....

Here's to each of you... thank you for making me who I am and teaching me by example and by word how to be a better person who loves the Lord and family above all else. Happy Mother's Day!

happy anniversary to my lovie!

Dear Erik, 

Just think...

• Eight weeks ago we met this little guy...

      ...who has plenty of facial expressions... and this is a favorite we've captured so far.

• Two years and eight weeks ago we met this little guy...

    ...who became this bigger little guy

    ...who daily keeps us entertained with his expressions, noises, smiles, laughs, and bits of mischief that he gets into (although the picture below was planned mischief!). 

•    Three and a half years ago, we met our first born and even though he's up in heaven with Jesus, his memory will always be part of our family.
  

• 
  

• Almost five years ago, we met this furry creature, who has been by our side through thick and thin...



     ...and provided us with lots of laughs and good memories.




• Along the way, we have done a lot of baking...

    

    ...a lot of cooking...

  ...a lot of traveling...

     ...a lot of fishing...

 .... taken lots of pictures.

 ....laughed...

   ....cried....

   ...and done a whole lot of other fantastic things. 

The best part of all...

• Five years ago, we were here...
  

    ...getting married....

  ....pledging to do exactly what we've done... 

 

... be with each other through thick and thin, sickness and health, good and bad, loving the Lord and each other through it all. 

Lovie, here's to like a gajillion more years hanging out, living life, loving Jesus with you. 

All my love.

Happy anniversary. :-)

my three sons

Last summer, we knew it could be a possibility. Brayden's due date was 1-23-12 and baby #3 was due 1-20-14. It was clear that they could share a birthday.

To have it become a reality six months later is definitely surreal, especially since I went into Brayden's birthday feeling no sign of a baby being born that day. My dad even supplied a countdown for me - early afternoon he said, "You have about ten hours to have two born on 1/11" ... to which I shrugged and said, "No, it won't happen today." ... and then when he was driving Erik and I to the hospital he declared, "Well, you have about five hours to have a double birthday" ... to which I replied (while I was in labor), "Nah, I don't think this will happen until after midnight." 

Boy, was I wrong. 

:-) 

Jase William Wegener gave the first hint of appearing on his brother Brayden's birthday at 5 p.m. Everyone had been sleeping, which I then took advantage of as I realized my contractions were close together. I quietly finished pulling things together for our overnight bag... and got my makeup on, of course! Last time I forgot my makeup bag in the car, and for some reason, I was set to make sure I had makeup for pictures. Kinda funny, huh? 

By six o'clock, I knew contractions were becoming serious (aka painful!), so I let my mom know plans had changed and they wouldn't be joining the three of us for ice cream for Brayden's birthday... instead, I hoped they could give him a mini celebration that I had planned on. Then I called the doctor, woke up Erik and Brayden, and we headed out. 

To make a long story short, we arrived at the hospital probably between 6:45 and 7 p.m. and Jase William Wegener was born at 8:47 p.m. Yes, it was as surreal and crazy as it sounded; thankfully, as I look back, I see God's peace was in that room, despite the quick decisions the doctors were making to help baby and me stay safe and healthy. Yes, I was one of those people whose labor went too fast for an epidural (kinda never thought I would be!), but I was very grateful that they could switch and give me a different pain med that worked faster and lasted for an hour and a half to two hours.

We are grateful to God for a healthy baby and healthy mom, because we had lots of questionable things happen that could have created much bigger problems. The nurses saw right away when I checked into the hospital that baby had pooped in the amniotic fluid, which could be a sign of the baby being in distress and potentially the cord being wrapped around his/her neck or limb or somewhere (which ended up not being the case). Then I had trouble pushing the baby out, which we later found out was because Jase was such a big baby! He ended up needing to be vacuumed out for his health and mine. Scary in the moment... and also a little later that week as we learned the bruise from the vacuum created extra chance for jaundice for Jase as it broke down and healed. My milk came in a little later than normal because it was a fast delivery, which meant Jase became a little dehydrated as he waited for the milk to come in... all that to say, everyone's prayers came together to cover us through a bit of a crazy delivery and our recovery. Jase is not jaundiced and him and I are both recovering well!

Jase was a huge baby - definitely not the biggest I know of, but big enough! My doctor and nurses all exclaimed at how big he was when he came out...big hands, long toes, big head, thick chest! My doc had actually guessed a 7 lb. baby earlier in the night. When he was born, she said, "You hid the baby's weight well." Jase clocked in at 9 lbs. 10 ounces, 22 inches long and a 14.5 inch head. Yikes! :-) I say I got payback since I was a 9 lb. 12 ounce baby. (Sorry, Mom!)

It's funny looking back because once the baby was safely delivered, Erik and I just broke down in tears of joy and relief... so much so that there wasn't the "It's a boy" or "It's a girl" exclamation I was kinda expecting in my head as the way it would happen. Instead, they placed the baby on my chest, and one of the nurses who was looking right at him (and had been excited we didn't know what we were having) finally said, "Well, can I say what it is?!" And then I was like, oh yeah, we have no idea and really didn't care at the moment because (s)he was safe and healthy! Then I answered her, "Yeah!" She said, "It's a boy!"

It was definitely worth that moment in time finding out what it was. It was perfect, and nothing like I had planned in my head as I pictured that moment of finding out what we were having. And yes, not knowing did help me make it through labor!

Then Erik and I both realized, Brayden just received a wonderful birthday present... a baby brother.

I've always pictured myself with little boys, so I'm kinda thrilled about it, although I know the joys of having a girl would be fantastic as well. And Erik kinda wanted Brayden to have a brother, since he had always wanted a brother himself. Erik has a sister and I have a brother, so to have two kids (make that three including Brody!) the same gender is kinda fun.

Brayden met him the next day and overall loved looking at him. He occasionally gets upset when he has to share his grandmas with Jase, but he's learning it's okay to share. Now at home, he wants to hold Jase quite a lot, and he loves it. He laughs and giggles and is proud and shows him off. Hopefully pictures or video to come of the two of them. I'm proud of Brayden. He'll be a great big brother, and I'm super excited to watch them grow up together!

Now, it's a week later, and I kinda still can't believe the flurry of life that has happened. We're slowly but surely getting on a routine, and have had an amazing amount of support and help from our family and friends. (THANK YOU!) I know we'll need the support a little longer because the newborn stage is a little overwhelming, but now I have a much clearer picture of what comes after the newborn stage, and that makes it all a little more exciting. We know how much joy is to come in watching Jase grow up.

Coming home with baby Jase!

Like I said, pictures of B and J will soon be coming! Thank you again for all your prayers and thoughts and congratulations for our family. Most of all, thank you, Lord, for your blessing of another child! We are very, very grateful and honored. With love, the Wegeners.

32 weeks and counting

Yay! 32 weeks and counting! So grateful to be this far in the pregnancy and to have had it go so much better than the previous ones. I'm definitely approaching it with less fear than last time solely because I have an image in my head of me making it through and delivering a healthy baby! I didn't have that last time, and I think I did a good job of doing the best I could to not worry through it, just having an image of good in my head helped tremendously! It says a lot about the importance of our imagination, that's for sure.

Here my 32 weeks pic...

One thing I remember looking at all the pics while pregnant with Brayden, I wished I had a front view of my belly too. It's perhaps not as flattering as the side view where you can measure how much you stick out, but it definitely shows Babycakes is in there!

To my dearest, littlest Babycakes, 

I am so excited to meet you! You have a fabulous family (at least I think so!), and we are excited to meet you and for Brayden to play with you, his little brother or sister. I'm thrilled about not knowing which you are. I love guessing until the last second. 

We have a couple months left to go until we get to meet you. I'm thinking you'll come in a month and a half... but just because I said that, I am also prepared for you to come in 2 months or more, lol! I've learned babies just do their own thing at times! 

Tomorrow is a special day: Thanksgiving. This year, I am thankful for your Daddy; your big brother, Brody; your other big brother, who you'll meet right away, Brayden; and you! I'm super excited to see your personality and how you blend into our family. Oh and I can't forget what will become your potentially favorite thing on earth: we have a puppy. His name is Tucker, and your brother, Brayden, adores him. You're going to have a blast with him and laugh at him probably more than you will ever laugh at me and Daddy. He's a giant - yet alive! - stuffed animal. 

Anyhoo, we're off to celebrate soon with family. 

All my love, 

Mommy

hallelujah harvest 2013

Hi there!

This year, Brayden got to be a part of our church's annual Hallelujah Harvest. He got a little roasty-toasty in his full lion costume, so the video you see at the party is him in a t-shirt and his costume pants. But the pictures that follow are in his full costume. He went trick or treating at our next door neighbors (just one house!).

He did like his costume. Super nice to have just pants and a zip up hoodie! When he showed his costume to people, he'd point to the lion on his head! So cute!

tuck is waiting for brayden to come back from trick-or-treating at the neighbors

coming in from the neighbors

super excited to eat the candy he picked out ... just waiting for mom to unwrap it!

yum!

this is really nummy...

yep, I bit off the paper and everything! 

so glad I found the candy bowl...