Friday, April 22, 2016

Beauty From Ashes

The past month has been a whirlwind of crazy for Andee and I, with everything that happened with our Aloe Kitty, as well as Easter shenanigans at the Church, coupled with some interesting hours and shifts with Andee.  There have been a lot of tears, and a lot of pain, but we have felt so lifted up by our friends that we have made here at PLC.  The entire Staff, our Small Group, and lots of others have been praying for us and offering to help, and we can feel that their support and the comfort and peace of God has been all that has kept us going the past few weeks.  Maybe I'm being over dramatic, but my life has been pretty amazing, and I haven't had much oppourtunity to experience suffering.  This has been really hard.  But God has been faithful and He is still good, and still on the throne.  And we are so thankful for that truth.

And there has been some good amidst the storm.  Less than a week after the passing of our sweet boy, I was participating in the Easter services at PLC.  Normally this would be wonderful and fun, but I was so emotionally devastated, as well as physically ill, that I really wasn't sure how everything would go.  My only prayer during this time was that God would completely take over and shine through me, since I felt that I had nothing left to give at that point.  And God once again proved himself to be faithful, as Jesus' name was declared on that Easter weekend.  He is so good!


We also had the oppourtunity to welcome to our home a new furry addition to our little family - Miss Vera Luke!   She is tiny, spunky, incredibly cuddly, and I just know she will be the puuuurfect fit for our little family!

As we mourn the loss of our love, Aloe, we are able to find some ‘beauty from ashes’ by remembering our sweet boy through his new (adoptive) sister, Vera. By loving and caring for her, we can remember all the adorable qualities that they share, as well as all of the qualities that make them unique. Aloe Vera – what a beautiful representation of cat love that will allow for our Aloe Kitty to live on in our memories.

As you can see, Vera has wasted no time in making herself at home with us! She is our little snuggle bug, and we are so happy to be loving on her! Welcome home, Vera!


This weekend we are so thankful to be taking a week of vacation to make the trip back to Canada!  And this time it is under exciting circumstances - the marriage of Cassie and Trevor!  We are so thankful to be a part of their wedding celebrations, and to have our family meet Miss Vera!  This week is going to be jam-packed full of fun, and maybe even a little crazy along the way!  To my fellow Canadians - we will see you soon!