Uncle Bob

My dad's oldest brother, my Uncle Bob, passed away peacefully on Saturday morning. My dad said it best, "he had a tough life, but was strong in his faith and is at peace and is well with the Lord now. He was loved by many." My Uncle Bob suffered from mental illness for the majority of his life. While our family grieves his passing, it is also so exciting to think of Uncle Bob in heaven, reunited with relatives, and completely healed of his illness. I'll see you again, Uncle Bob. 

Our proximity to Rochester has been such a blessing the last few weeks. I'm glad we were able to see my Uncle Bob when we were up in Rochester two weekends ago. Luke got to meet him for the first time and Madeline for the second time. This past weekend, we drove up to Rochester again and spent time with everyone. We will drive up once more for his memorial service in mid February. We're getting good at that drive...when there isn't a blizzard! :)

 I found a few pictures from recent years on my computer and wanted to share them with you all...

I'm pregnant with Madeline in this one so I'm guessing it was around May 2013

 

A visit with Uncle Bob in October 2016

Just a couple of weeks ago on January 7, 2018

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to my loyal followers! We're 18 days into to the year and I heard on the news yesterday that by now most people have already failed their resolution. I have a few informal resolutions. I don't get super into making resolutions, but I'm always up for improving myself and I like having goals. I guess I'll write them here and make them official. Maybe I'll stick to them if they're published on the internet for the world to see.

1. The usual - exercise more, eat better! In late 2016, I started eating much healthier and exercising consistently. I kept it up for most of 2017, but got a little off track during the holidays. BUT I'm back at it now and feeling good...and sore! 

2. Less mindless scrolling on phone. I waste too much time looking at social media and browsing the internet. My goal for this year is to be more present and less distracted by my phone. 

3. Get more sleep and wake up earlier. In order to wake up earlier, I need to go to bed earlier. Mornings in our house are sort of chaotic. We have a solid routine, but we don't leave ourselves enough time so it's always rushed. This is one of George's resolutions too, but so far, we're both failing miserably. Our bed is too comfy and the cold isn't helping!

I have some other goals, hopes, and dreams for 2018, but I think I'll leave my official resolutions to just those three. And now I need to wrap this up so I go to bed at a decent time...tomorrow might be the morning I start resolution #3. I'll leave you with a few pictures and a video...

A couple of weekends ago we drove up to Rochester. We stopped at this Cracker Barrel in Binghamton, NY for dinner. Here we are, blissfully ignorant of the blizzard that we'd be driving through an hour later. At least our bellies were full! :)

Celebrating my Grandma's birthday with family! 

Here's a little Instagram video of Luke from the other night. He's talking so much these days and seems to take after his big sis with his love of music.