Brandt Turns 3!

 Uncle Mike went on to glory on April 8th and his funeral was on the 13th which is Little Man's birthday. I had flown out for the funeral so we postponed the party for a week. Here are a few pictures of his celebration!

Our firetruck theme... We had been planning it forever, but with all that happened didn't end up doing everything. It still turned out cute tho!

Flaming cupcakes!

I tried a new punch recipe, but wasn't too impressed.

The birthday boy with two of his cousins!

Opening gifts, he got his fireman rubber boots. I had been eyeing them for about a year now!!

I didn't feel up to doing favors and found this cute pinata so decided to do that instead! Plus kids love that so it all worked out..

Pinata!!

A Broken Windshield

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately, whether that is good or bad, I do not know.. One of the things I have going on in my head is how what our family (Seppala) is going through right now is like a broken windshield.. See the point of impact? That is Peggy and her family.. the other cracks are all of the rest of us.. We are all hurting at the loss of Uncle Jimmy, some maybe more than others, but each and every one of us has been affected in some way. Whether it be we are shattered, broken, or just weakened, we hurt!! He was such a huge part of the Seppala's and even farther than that. He made an impression on each person he met!! The one thing that we can cling to is, that God will help us through this even if sometimes He feels far away.. He isn't, He is here carrying us through!

And now we are bracing ourselves for the next hit as Uncle Mike is ready to cross over to Heaven's shores.. Please keep our family in your prayers!! I will share a poem with you that I wrote. I know most have seen it already, but I thought I would share it again!

The Faces of Grief

Grief has many faces, this we know ‘tis true

Many feelings and emotions deep inside of you

There’s shock and there’s denial making you want to hide

And pretend that there is no loss way down deep inside

Anger is in there, it simmers and it stews

Bubbling up to the surface in fearsome brews

It makes you want to kick and scream then give in to despair

But God is bigger than this pain and He will meet you there

There’s gut-wrenching aching sorrow that feels it’s here to stay

A broken, shattered, bleeding heart that rips your breath away

And you feel you can’t go on, anymore like this

Until God’s comfort comes in little ways with a soft caress

Then you smile or maybe laugh and guilt comes crashing in

Back to all the other feelings, and it’s ‘round and ‘round again

There is no right way to grieve, this is oh so true

But the one thing you can be sure of is, that God will see you through

Amanda West

2013

A DIY Project

So I have been on Pinterest lately and have found all kinds of great projects to do (plus meals, things for the kiddos, etc) Well when I was in NH we decided to do a craft day...I ended up being the only one to do a project, but we still had fun visiting. :) Anyway, I have been wanting to get a necklace holder so I could keep my neclaces from getting too tangled. So after looking on Pinterest and running to Hobby Lobby I was able to make one! Here is what I did:

I found a shadow box at Hobby Lobby on clearance because the glass was missing..



Painted it with Annie Sloan chalk paint



Distressed it and then waxed it to seal it...



Added material to the back, made fabric flowers and added them. Then screwed in some cup hooks that I had spray painted to get rid of the brassy look...

Voila.. a necklace holder (I could use some more color in my choice of necklaces, haha)

It cost me about $10 to complete this project..  If you don't wear jewelry, this would be great for keys.. I have found some projects for hubby to do, BUT that's another story for another day!! 


NH Trip...

Konner and I made a quick trip to NH with Anya to see her dad and also our Uncle Paul. We ended up being gone 12 days which was a little longer than we had planned. Our flight home got delayed a day due to the blizzard we experienced. It was a little harder than I thought since I was the only one Konner knew, so going to the bathroom and showering were not as relaxing as at home. I am thankful I went tho, my Uncle Mike (Anya's dad) is home on hospice. The strongest chemo did not work for him, so he is home until he goes Home! I ask you all to pray, or continue to pray for their family! I was also able to see my grandparents as they had flown up from Florida to see their boys and I am so happy for that! A few (or more) pictures:

Konner in the Denver airport

At the Cheshire Children's Museum.. My sister, Mary is the cashier, Breein is buying some groceries!

I think he likes peppers..

Valerie, Konner, and I "camping"

Chocolate Angel Food cake and strawberry roses!!

At the hospital visiting outside

My goofy brother, Marlon with Rowan

A sick baby (notice the bowl!)

I guess we had a blizzard.. that is my dad's car you see poking out..

the snow on my parent's side deck

The snow.. crazy thing is, the morning before there was not ANY!!

My Grandma, with her baby Jennie , my cousins Melissa and Christie, Konner and I!

The sweetest and most adorable grandparents, EVER!!

Celebrating Konner's 1st Year

On Sunday we celebrated Konner's 1st Birthday with a farm animal themed party.. He loves chickens, horses, and all animals so that's why I decided to do that. It was a fun day with family and we all enjoyed it. Now for a few pictures!

Goodies

Chicken head candy pops

Cupcakes!!

Time to sing!!

He loves the cupcake

and more food...

Present time

He loves books, especially ones with animals!! :)

"Shine"

I have seen a few posts about the word of the year and after pondering for awhile I decided to pick my own word.. The word I think of when I think about how I want to live in 2013 (and beyond..not just for one year) is "shine".. Shine: to give or cause to give light.

When I speak about my children I want my love for them to shine through.

When I talk about my husband, I want our love to shine through and be encouraging for other married couples! (No we are not perfect, but we do love each other very much!)

But most of all, when people look at me I want Jesus to shine through me. I really want my life to "cause to give light" for Him. Someday when I am no longer on this earth (and I really hope that is awhile yet!!) my prayer is that people will remember me not for how well I cook (but that wouldn't be so bad either..hehe), BUT for how I live for the Lord. I want them to say "You know what? Amanda really lived for God's glory!!" And so that is MY word, that is how I want to shine this year!! I want to "Live Like That".....

Live Like That

by Sidewalk Prophets

Sometimes I think
What will people say of me
When I'm only just a memory
When I'm home where my soul belongs

Was I love
When no one else would show up
Was I Jesus to the least of those
Was my worship more than just a song

I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You

If love is who I am
Then this is where I'll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back

I want to live like that
I want to live like that

Am I proof
That You are who you say You are
That grace can really change a heart
Do I live like Your love is true

People pass
And even if they don't know my name
Is there evidence that I've been changed When they see me, do they see You
I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You

If love is who I am
Then this is where I'll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back

I want to live like that
I want to live like that


I want to show the world the love You gave for me
I'm longing for the world to know the glory of the King

I want to live like that
And give it all I have
So that everything I say and do
Points to You

If love is who I am
Then this is where I'll stand
Recklessly abandoned
Never holding back

I want to live like that
I want to live like that

Christmas Pictures

And so I am slowly getting pictures uploaded, my computer is being so slow!!

The kiddos in their pjs from Grandpa and Grandma Stenersen.. (Grandma added the writing and material to the shirts and the two youngest's pants)

Scones with Devonshire cream

Yum!!

Working on gingerbread houses and trains

Tyrel's

Kirsten's.. her sides wouldn't stay together, so she decided to name it "Hurricane Candy"



Laban's

Shiloh's

Dinner time.. we had homemade grape juice too!!

Tablecloth

Baby gets to open the first gift!

"ooohhhhhh"

Shi got a 3DS

Laban and his new (to him) XBox controller

Kirsten got an atrists sketching set (She had seen this at Hobby Lobby!)

Tyrel and his Nook (my awesome Black Friday deal!)

My gift from my kids.. They had given money for a gift for Tim..well when I went to pick it up one of the things was out of stock so I had to get something else..as I was browsing the book clearance bin I saw this.. I was like "ya right", but figured I would bring it to the checkout to see.. Well it wasn't on clearance, but they gave it to me for that price anyway, and it was the exact amount left of the kids money. When I got home I asked if they wanted their money back or wanted to wrap this for me..You can see what they decided! Happy me!!

Snack time!

Our traditional prune tarts and sugar cookies!

Happy Baby

Little and Big

Stuffed stockings..


I hope you all enjoyed the pictures and it didn't take you as long to look at them as it did me to upload them!! :)