Weekend Recap - A Beautiful Memorial

The past week has been a whirlwind. Some of you knew that Will left again on July 12th for a trip to China with a small group from our church. He was home 5 days in between Africa and China. I hated to see him go again, but am so thankful for the time he had in China, all he got to experience, and the impact he had on people there. He has a servant's heart and I am so grateful!

My family is big on surprises. I can remember several times my dad went out of the country for mission trips and my mom would always love to do something for him while he was away so he'd be surprised when he got home. So when Will left for China, we were going down our longggg list of things to do before Baby K arrives and choosing what we (my parents) could do to surprise Will. The consensus was to build our closet expansion! Woohoo! Will's clothes are getting the boot from his old closet because it will now be Crew's closet. We live in an old house where there's not much closet space so my dad built a pretty amazing walk-in closet in our bedroom. The only good thing about not being able to talk to Will while he was away was that I had no chance of spilling the beans about his surprise! My parents were at our house every day working so hard while Will was gone. It's almost done and I can't wait to show the finished product! Our bedroom also managed to get a fresh coat of paint...and soon will have it's own makeover too. (once I decide on bedding!) I felt pretty useless all week because of being preggo...and not knowing a thing about carpentry...but I am so incredibly thankful for my parents and all their hard work this past week! Will was SO excited to see the closet and I know he'll have a blast organizing all his clothes...one of his favorite things-organizing!

Ginger got to come to work with me one afternoon last week and loved it. She was the perfect little office dog!

Remi was excited when I told him his daddy would be home

We were all so happy to have Will home on Saturday! No more traveling for him!

This past Thursday my grandmother passed away. She had been battling Alzheimer's for years and years and her struggle is now over. We had her funeral yesterday and it was so special remembering her life and how special she was to everyone. The only thing that has brought peace during this time is knowing, without a doubt, that she is with her Heavenly Father now and that she is healed in Heaven. She was a woman of faith and loved her Savior. I am so thankful for God's grace and His promise of eternity with Him. She is healed of her disease, reunited with family, and celebrating in Heaven. How amazing to think about!

I am so grateful that Will was able to make it home in time for the funeral. I was able to get a hold of him Thursday when it happened. He came home with a special story that was shared at Grandmother's funeral yesterday:

This past week we were in China for a mission trip. Conversations regarding the Gospel must be done carefully and intentionally, as most of the Chinese have no knowledge of God. Late one evening I was emailing Courtney to check in on her and her family after hearing the news of her grandmother's passing. One of the Chinese students we were with asked me what I was doing, and so I explained the situation. He responded saying that it was so sad to hear. Amazingly, God used this story of sadness to provide an opportunity to share the Gospel and the hope that we have in Christ after death. This student heard the name Jesus for the first time with the help of Grandmother's faith and the promise of forgiveness and eternal life that Jesus has given us.