Farewell to an Angel

October was a very hard month for our family. We sent the weeks that seemed to blur by mourning the passing of Mary Jo. Mother to Karl, she was the sweetest person I've ever met. She battled cancer for a long year and in the end found the courage to let go and say she was done. It was so hard to see her in pain when she spent her whole life spreading joy and love.

I was so glad that because of the changes our family made this fall, Karl was able to stay by her side until the end. Nothing gave her more comfort then having him by her side. He did an amazing job helping her transition from this life. Now we are moving forward and living our lives in remembrance of the love and beauty that she lived hers.

Mary Jo passed away surrounded by her family on Sunday, November 8th at 9:15am. A wonderful service (that she arranged!) was held the following Saturday. Her remains are there on the church grounds, the same church where Karl and I were married and that Mary Jo spent most of her free time serving others.

There isn't a day that goes by that we don't think about Mary Jo. I will never forget her strength and perseverance when it came to challenges or her genuine thoughtfulness and love she put into everything she did. Ever since the moment I met her, I have tried to live my life so that she would be proud and comforted knowing that her only child, my wonderful husband, and her grandchildren were well taken care of. She will always be my example and inspiration for how to be wife and mother and more. She lived life with so much laughter.

Happy Belated Halloween

It's always crazy to me how I wait so long to get ready for Halloween so that I'm not jumping the gun and then it is over so fast I feel like I practically miss it! Maybe it just feels like that this year. Next year we will definitely start celebrating a little earlier.





This year it was just me and the girls though we were VERY happy when Danicia ended up coming with us too! I was ready to get started but there was no one out on the streets! I couldn't wait any more and so we were the first in our neighborhood to knock on every one's door. Before long other kids were out there with us. But then Natalie realized that there wasn't anyone at our home to give the kids candy when they came by! She was so concerned that she only trick or treated for 30 minutes before we were back home. Then she quickly realized how under decorated our house was though hey, we craved pumpkins at least! She had a great time giving out handfuls of candy. But then she was upset when the candy ran out so fast! It was great fun.