Happy 10th Birthday Molly

My heart feels heavy as Thanksgiving approaches and I reflect on our life 10 years ago at this time. Over the last couple weeks, a few people have brightened my days by asking the theme for Molly’s tree. We have SO MANY beautiful ornaments from previous years, we had thought about decorating her tree with our favorite ornaments from past years. With specific requests to send an ornament for her tree, my friend Chelsea gave me a fun idea. We’re going to decorate a little tree with teeny tiny ornaments. I haven’t decided yet if this tree will be in one of the girls’ bedrooms or displayed on our main floor for everyone to see.

We would love for you to help us decorate a little tree for Molly with teeny tiny ornaments, garland, a tree skirt, lights, tree topper etc. Feel free to send your ornaments prior to December 5^th, so we can decorate her tree on her birthday. We will never turn down ornaments sent after the 5^th 😊

Molly would be 10 this year. I can’t believe it was 10 years ago. Molly comes up in conversation often during the year and how helpful she would be to our family, how much we miss her and want her here. We look forward to the day we meet her in heaven.

Here is the tree that I bought. It is 22 inches tall.

Some inspiration for decorations:

Our sweet girl 10 years ago

Molly’s 9th Christmas Tree

It’s November, which means I have been brainstorming a theme for Molly’s 9^th Christmas tree. Each year, I don’t know how I will top the previous year and then I get excited for the new idea I have. This year, would you celebrate our Molly with a photo ornament? You can get fancy and order one from a company, print a photo (WHAT?!) and glue it to an ornament or draw you and/or your family. Even better, have your kiddos draw a picture of themselves or your family on the ornament. Stick figures are acceptable! We will plan to decorate Molly’s tree on her birthday, December 5^th, but your ornaments are welcome through the month of December.

It still surprises me how our loss of Molly can still catch me off guard and bring me right back to that painful time. We joined a new small group this fall and when meeting new people, I know that at some point we will share about Molly. Three weeks ago we were discussing a time in our lives when questioned God asking, “What shall we do?” Paul and I have had a handful of these times in our lives and Molly’s life was a big one. As we shared about our girl who should be celebrating her 9^th birthday, we both shed tears. We haven’t forgotten about her and that difficult time in our lives. We will always want her here and do our best to have peace with God taking her to heaven. Through Molly’s life we feel we have been able to positively impact others and use our pain for a purpose. We believe God’s plan is for good and cling to this truth.

Join us in celebrating our girl, Molly. A few ideas for inspiration below.

Molly’s 8th Christmas Tree 🎄

Sitting down to write this every year enforces a lot of reflection for me and it feels good to do it. However, each year surprises me that it has been one additional year since we’ve held our sweet Molly. She would be 8! Can you believe it?! 2nd grade at Turtle Lake, playing soccer, maybe basketball, good at math, bad at science, being a friend, being the first/the leader for our family. Being the greatest big sister.

This year, 2020 has been hard, disappointing, unfair, cancelled, but we’ve spent a lot more time as a family. Sometimes it has been wonderful and sometimes it has been awful, but when I look at everything going on around us, I am grateful for love. That’s what has gotten me through this difficult year. Paul loving me, my girls loving me, friends loving me, the church loving me, strangers loving me, Jesus loving me and family loving me.

Right now seems to be one of the most important times in my life to show love to others. So, love ❤️ . That is the theme for Molly’s tree this year. Will you help us decorate? December 5th is her birthday and we will put up her new Christmas tree (2019 after Christmas sale) and decorate it with love.

What I wouldn’t give to love on that 8 year old girl. ❤️

Here’s some inspiration for your ornaments.

Molly’s Snowman Tree

We are still admiring Molly’s tree here at our house. It’s a house rule that once the tree is put up, we don’t turn it off until we take it down for the season. A constant reminder of Molly as we see it in the window driving up and lighting up our family room day and night. We turn of every other light except her tree.

We were incredibly blessed by so many of you this year helping us decorate Molly’s tree. Thank you, thank you for thinking of us. What a blessing to struggle to find a spot for another ornament that arrived.

I’m already excited for next year because we bought a new, bigger tree! I’ll be brainstorming the next several months for a thoughtful theme.

Merry Christmas Miss Molly. We miss you dearly and cherished your memory all month long sweet girl. We hope you loved your snowman tree.

Our Molly lamb in our family photo ❤️

Do you want to build a snowman?

The theme for our 2019 Molly tree will be a snowman. I love choosing a theme that aligns with something that stands out from the year. Frozen is where it’s at right now with Kate and Lucy. This December 5th our Molly would be 7. Every year about now is when Paul and I start to feel that familiar ache that creeps in. It was around this time that we received the news that I had low amniotic fluid. Just yesterday Paul and I chatted about how dark November and December are. Then, we lost our first baby to add to the earths natural darkness. We had no idea where Molly’s journey would take us. We somehow made it through the year after losing her and have continued to come alongside parents going through a similar loss. There is still pain and heartache from losing our Molly, but their has been purpose in our pain.

We are looking forward to decorating Molly’s tree again this year with a variety of ornaments. I cannot tell you, the joy is brings me to have her tree decorated each December sitting in our family room for us to admire all month long. It’s a beautiful reminder of her life. We would love for you to help us decorate her tree this year. Make or buy a snowman ornament to add to Molly’s tree this year. Drop it off at our house or send it in the mail. Simple or grand, we appreciate it more than you know.

Photo by freestocks.org on Pexels.com

Photo by Matthias Cooper on Pexels.com

 

It’s Plaid!

Typically, mid year I already have an inspiration for Molly’s tree. This year, that was not the case. I had a couple people reach out to me about the theme and nothing was coming to mind. BUT have no fear…this years theme for Molly’s tree is PLAID! Buffalo, Gingham, Tattersall, Tartan, Check, etc. ALL THE PLAIDS. I can’t wait to see the finished product.

 

As always we love filling up her tree with decorations from all our friends and family and we would love for you to be apart of it. We have a tree decorating party on her birthday, but will accept ornaments/decorations all November and December.

A little plaid throwback from last year.

Can you believe it’s almost November?!

For Real?

For real? I haven’t posted since Molly’s tree last year? Boo! I truly do love to blog, but it seems my free time is getting less and less. So, what have we done since February of last year?

-We got pregnant in March with baby #4! We are due December 6 and did not find out if it is a boy or a girl. Delivery day will be extra exciting.

-Kate turned 4 in May. We had our usual birthday bash with so many people that love our girl.

-Kate was a flower girl in 2 weddings. She did such a great job!

-Kate graduated from Pre-K 3

-Kate got a second set of tubes in her ears and handled it like a champ.

-Also in May, Paul started a new job at Donaldson in Bloomington, MN as an Account Manager.
-We went to Trail Ride! Almost were swept away by a huge storm in Bismarck, but we had a great 5 days in ND. Paul’s flexibility and PTO has been such a blessing with his new position.

-I left my job and has been staying home with the girls since July. It’s been challenging and also great. I’ve learned a lot about the girls and myself.

-Lucy turned 2 and we celebrated outside in toasty July.

-We spent a week at Lake Okoboji with Paul’s family which unlocked about 2 months of horrible sleep regression for Miss Lucy 😳. Because of this regression we spent minimal time at the cabin this summer. Thank goodness she has now recovered before baby arrives.

-Kate started back at school in September 4 mornings a week and she’s doing great! We’ve decided to send her 5 days a week beginning in November.

-I joined Bible Study Fellowship at Incarnation Lutheran Church. Lucy and I go together Thursday mornings and we love it!
-Paul spoke in front of 600 people at the Jacks Basket Fundraiser. We had friends from North Dakota and Iowa come to support the event and we had a lovely weekend together.

-Paul tried a new gym with my sister in October and they did a challenge together.
-We finally got new carpet on our main floor! No more yucky peach!

-We hosted 32 people for a Halloween party at our house.

Hoping that was a fun little catch up!

Molly’s Golden Tree

Every year I think Molly’s tree is so perfect and I can’t imagine how it will ever get better. Then, ornaments come in the mail, ornaments are brought to our house, we place them on the tree and it’s once again absolutely beautiful for our girl. Thank you to many of you who are a part of that every year. I don’t have the words to explain the joy it brings to my heart during the month of December. We leave the tree lights on the whole month and soak in it’s presence, a constant reminder if Molly were here. Again, thank you for brightening our December each year friends and family. We are blessed.

Flowers and balloons were delivered.

Papa, Nana, Uncle J, Renae, Jada, Chloe and Miss B Facetimed in as we shared memories from 5 years ago.

The house was filled with gold and goodies.

And look at all Molly’s cousins! Mimi (my mom) decided that we needed to have Molly in our family photos so she picked out a little lamb that we will include in our future family photos to remember our sweet girl.

And her little sisters 🙂

Molly girl, we miss your presence every day and often talk about if you were here. Sending big hugs and kisses up to heaven, love.

Lucy turned 1…6+ months ago :\

Seems like Kate gets majority of the blog posts around here…her poor sisters. Lucy turned one in July and man are we thankful for our “no sit Lucy.” Recently, Paul referred to Lucy as having no sit in her. She wakes up READY to take on the day and goes at 100 miles an hour all. day. long. It will be interesting to reread this when she is a teenager and sleeps til noon. Paul and I are exhausted at the end of each day.

Lucy continues to be an early riser *yawn*, but Paul frequently says, “at least she’s cute, makes it pretty tough to be mad at her when she is up so early.” The first thing Lucy asks for when she wakes up is Kate and the first thing Kate asks for is Lucy. Then, the moment they are together is like oil and water. Whatever the other one has the other one wants it. Majority of the day we feel like referees. Again, hoping to look back on this blog in 10 years once they are the best of friends and wonder how they were ever enemies.

A few pictures to reflect back on the blue birthday party we had for our sweet Lucy Marie. We LOVE to celebrate life at this house and it’s always a big deal. One of my priorities in life is to get excited about the little things. If we don’t, what fun is there? Happy belated birthday Lucy, you bring so much dancing, smiles and life to this family. We are so thankful for every ounce of you.

GOLD

She would be five this December 5th. As soon as the weather begins to turn cold, the feelings slowly creep in. It feels like winter already came in like a lion. It’s cold! I subconsciously begin thinking back five years ago at this time and how I had no clue what was come and just how much it would change my life.
When I sad I think about all the positive ways our loss of Molly has changed me. My grace for others, helping people going through hard times with meals, hugs and coffee, extended patience (which is short to begin with for me) with my girls. It’s hard to say it, but I am a better mom because of losing Molly. When I begin to get upset, all I have to say is, “they’re here.” It’s amazing what that can do.

Neither Kate or Lucy have loved to snuggle much, but I think I am going to label Lucy as my snuggler. She go! Go! goes! All day. But when I put her to bed, I turn off the lights and lay her head on my chest and she will stay there. I typically start off with the song we chose for her “One Thing Remains” and usually end up singing Molly’s song as well “10,000 Reasons.” Oh, these cuddles are so wonderful to fill my arms, but so hard as I only have my two girls to be hugging.

Will you help decorate Molly’s tree this year? This year should be her golden birthday, five years old on the 5th, so the theme is GOLD. I’m already anticipating what a gorgeous, sparkling sight it will be on the evening of December 5th. Feel free to send your ornaments to us in the mail or drop them off. If you get them to us before the 5th, that’s great, but all December we would LOVE to continue adding to our tree.

You can look forward to photos following our tree decorating night with our families. We are looking forward to celebrating your 5th birthday Miss Molly. We miss you sweet girl.