May

Wow, I can't believe it is already June 13.  May seemed to have flown by.  Landon and I had a very busy month!!  Let me share a few of our May highlights!

It started when my friend, Coreen Berube, and her baby, Jonah, came from  Minot, North Dakota to visit us.  Coreen and I became friends a few months after Eric and I moved to Minot and have continued our close friendship since we moved away in 2009.  Her husband, Matt, and Eric were best friends in Minot, and Coreen and I were...needless to say... we had a blast--the four of us (and their two little girls at the time, Abbigail and Ella)  We will never forget our Minot memories, but are trying to start some new ones now. That is why it was fun for Coreen and Jonah to visit.  My little social boy just loved Jonah!  In fact, he seemed to topple him over with hugs in the beginning (he is 7 months older).  Poor Jonah just looked at him...and somewhat tolerated it.  Anyway, we had fun with our boys playing trucks, in the water, and just letting them be boys.  Coreen and I had a special time too...even got a few times out by ourselves for shopping, dinner, and a movie thanks to Papa and Grandma.  (Coreen and I have the same Birthday--October 19-- so we tease my parents about us both being their twin daughters...Coreen being the "older" sister....and me the "younger" as she is 4 years older)

Landon and Jonah

A few days after Coreen left, Landon and I started our "journey" to Rapid City, South Dakota, to visit Eric's parents and his brother's family.  Luckily, we didn't have to drive by ourselves, but rather rode with our friends, the Silks, who were vacationing in the Black Hills for a few days.  The ride up was a bit "stressful" for me, to say the least, because of a 19 month old little boy who was not happy that he had to sit in his carseat for 14 hours.  However, once we arrived in Rapid City, we had a great time.  Landon had a lot of fun playing with his cousins; Will, who is 5 and Micah, who is only a few months older than Landon.  He also had fun with his Uncle Gregg (Eric's brother), Aunt Martha, and Grandpa and Grandma Schmidt (who just recently moved to Rapid City).  Grandpa and Grandma were just around the corner, so the boys had fun getting wagon rides to Grandpa and Grandma's house.  We also enjoyed going to Storybook Park, out for ice cream, and just seeing the boys play together!  I was blessed by my time with Eric's family, but as always, it makes me miss Eric so much more.  I know he really loved his family and looked forward to any time spent with them since he usually lived so far away from them.  Please continue to lift up Eric's family to the Lord in prayer.  I know it is not an easy journey for them as they have lost their brother and son.

The boys' shoes!  

Landon, Will, and Micah

Uncle Gregg, Micah, and Landon enjoying a story

Micah and Landon hanging out in the wagon!

Grandpa Schmidt waving

Train ride at the park!

One fun thing that I got to do in the Black Hills was take a gun course at  COR-BON Law Enforcement Training Center (CLETC) with my sister-in-law, Martha.  We both shot 250 rounds each on that Sunday afternoon and were trained one-on-one by an amazing instructor for 6 hours.  I learned so much and gained much more confidence on my gun.

After we made it home from Rapid City, the next day Eric and I's friends through the Air Force, Zach and Kaley Miller stopped through to see us with their 2 kids.  We were in a Bible Study with them, and Eric worked with Zach in Shreveport.  I always appreciate their heart for the Lord, and what prayer warriors they have been for us!!  

I also got to see my friend Laura Mahaffey, also an Air Force connection through our husbands, both in Minot and Shreveport.  Laura is always so good about stopping in for lunch on her way back to Louisiana from seeing her family in Kansas (even though she goes out of her way 1 hour!!! )  I love hearing about her life.  It always makes me sad to see friends, especially from Shreveport or Minot, as I sometimes think back to what it would be like if Eric and I were still there just living our lives as if nothing had happened.  


That being said, I can say that God has blessed me beyond measure here in Enid.  I look back to where I was a year ago, and I felt very lost.  I didn't know many people anymore, didn't know where I fit, and was heavily grieving.  I love to look back and see where God has brought me.  Although there are times where it is still hard to find my exact "fit," God has put so many people and opportunities in my life that indeed are continual gifts and reminders that he has not, nor is he ever leaving me.  I must write these things down, as not to ever forget the faithfulness of God!  I have met some amazing new friends whom I can share coffee or play dates with....I have reconnected with a few people I knew before....I have been blessed by getting to serve again in church through various worship opportunities...been blessed with a Woman's Community Bible Study (again, a way to meet new people)...a great small group on Sunday night from church (such friends and support)...and also I have had the opportunity to mentor a young teenage mom at a crisis pregnancy center here in town.  While this is something new and challenging to me, I have found it a blessing to be able to pour into her life as so many have poured into my life!  Please pray for me through this new opportunity as it is sometimes taking me out of my comfort zone at times.  Most of all, I continue to love being Landon's mommy.  He brings me joy every single day!  I count it a blessing that God entrusted him to me to raise, and I pray I can point him to the Lord in everything.

I continue to be so grateful to everyone who continues to love, pray, and support Landon and I through our journey. Please keep praying for us. Sometimes the task of raising my precious little boy, or of me being alone daunts me...but I know Landon and  I are truly never alone when we are in the arms of our Savior!  God continues to use my family as support as they have continued to embrace the opportunity of walking with us. And, as I am striving to learn new heights of what it means to lean on Jesus, and to put ALL of my faith in Him--nothing can be better in this life!