Grandma and Asher

This is my Grandma! She was such a sweet sweet part of my life. On August 9th she passed away. She lived a strong 94 years though! These pictures below were taken last year on her 93rd birthday. Some of my favorite moments growing up involved grandma- I loved when I got to spend the night at her house. We would always stay up "late" watching Star Search(remember that?) and Lawrence Welk(ha!). It was always a good time with her! And, whenever I would tell her that I loved her, she would always respond with, "I love you more!" and we would go back and forth with the I love you more thing. I never won! She always wanted to be the last one to say it. She was so cute. I thank God for the time that I had with her.






Her funeral was on the following Wednesday after she died. It was a special time of gathering and remembering but also was just a sad morning as we missed grandma so much. Her best friend, Anna Marie, came to the funeral. I hadn't seen her in years. She was 94 years old too. She was adorable and told me about how this was the 1st time she had left her house in years but wanted to be here for the funeral. Her mind was definitely going(along with her body-she was frail and needed assistance walking) but she said that she could never forget the great friendship they had. Some things just stay with you no matter how old you get.


Later that evening after things had quieted down and everyone had left our house(we had a little lunch after the funeral) I got a text. The text said that my friend Carrie had had her baby earlier that morning! So my Dad, Brian and I rushed over the the hospital to see this new baby boy, Asher Bishop! He was adorable!

The turn of events that day reminded me clearly of one of my favorite songs, Every Season by Nichole Nordeman. This line kept going through my mind, "Even now in death, You open doors for life to enter..." It was just that kind of day-that morning we were walking into a funeral service to mourn the loss of someone so special to us and later that evening(to our surprise) we were walking into a hospital to celebrate new life.

i love bri.

Today is Brian's Birthday! He is SUCH a gift to me everyday! I love living life alongside him. He is a constant reminder that God is so kind and that God is so good.

Since it's his special day(and right now he is on the phone with his mom and dad) let me just share a few things that I really love about him:

*He always jumps at the opportunity to serve someone. Even today he looked out our window and saw a guy out that had a flat tire...before I even knew what was happening he was hunting for tools for the guy. (the guy is now back on the road safe and sound).

*everytime I bring up a need or worry he immediately will start to pray about it for me. Isn't that kind?

*He always has a song stuck in his head and he is always singing it. (usually with the wrong words, but he doesn't know that.) The current song that he can't get out of his head is Poker Face by Lady Ga Ga.

*because I love dogs so much he ALWAYS points them out to me when he spots one. During your typical day he will say, "Look there's a dog Brooke!" at least 7 times.

*He is a RISK Taker!

*He keeps me up to date on what's happening in the news. I now know things about sports that I never dreamed I would know. For example, Did you know that Tarvaris Jackson(who plays for the Vikings) was diagnosed with only a mild sprain of his medial collateral ligament. It was welcome news after the scary sequence in Saturday's practice when defensive tackle Letroy Guion got tangled in the line and rolled on the ground into the oft-injured quarterback. I'm learning a lot!:)

*He gets giddy to spend time in the Bible each morning. He sets a great example for me.

*He loves rap! Esp. Lecrae! One week ago today we saw Lecrae- it was such a happy moment for him.

*He loves to play cards with me. Right now we are having a SKIP-BO competition. The first to 1500 points wins. We've been playing since mid June. I have 1118 points and he has 1342 points! There's still hope for me.

I'd write more reasons but we are off to dinner(Texas Roadhouse- his fav! and a movie- he loveeeees movies)

HAPPPPPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN!!!