The beginning of a new journey!!!

This is a copy of my 1st post on my new blog...DearMom-LoveJenn.

The URL is listed at the bottom of this post for those of you who would like to join us on our different journey.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

The beginning of a new journey!!!

Welcome to Dear Mom-Love Jenn!!
This space I will use for letters to my Mom, Debbie Anderson, who went to be with her Heavenly Father on April 1, 2011 after a 12 month courageous journey through cancer. She taught me so much and we miss her!! I want to write about family times, my girls growing up, celebrations, trials, all those moments I would have shared with my Mom. I want to write them down, so I can share them with my girls as they get older I am also hoping this will help me grow, heal, and learn through this season of life. Life hear on Earth will move forward, but there is a piece of us that is missing. Although that piece is missing, Mom taught us so much that sometimes it is if she is still here. I am so very grateful that my parents taught me about God, faith, hope, and love.
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1
Thanks for following,
Jenn

This is the URL for my new blog...DearMom-LoveJenn!!!

http://dearmom-lovejenn.blogspot.com/2011/06/beginning-of-new-journey.html

Good morning loved ones,
Today is Friday!!! Today is the last full day of school for our little Mia and next year she is going to be in 2nd grade!! This weekend it's going to be a hot one and with the school year pretty much behind us, it's kind of the beginning of summer. I love summer time to be flexible, go swimming, have a P.J. day, watch a movie, go on a day trip, go to the park, blow bubbles, sidewalk chalk, run through the sprinklers, farmer's markets, outside concerts, time with family and friends. What ever you choose to do this summer, enjoy God's presence in your life.
I have been thinking about changing the how I blog a little bit. On the Sunday before Memorial Day, a video clip was shown with a girl who wrote letters to her dad who had died for our country. She wrote about her life, things she would want to share with her dad. So, I thought I may use this blog as letters to Mom, things about our lives that we would've shared with her. So, if the next post starts out "Dear Mom", please don't think I have lost my mind......although sometimes I feel like that is a possibility!!!
Love to you all,
Kurt, Jenn, Mia, and Livi

Good morning,
So it's been awhile since I have made a post. Today I thought I would just drop in and say "hello"!! I have been very busy with the end of school, taking my third online class, going to Kurt's art shows, youth group things at church, playing with the girls, spending time with Dad, and other stuff. I have also been trying to sort this all out. Mother's Day was a marking point emotionally for me and I think Dad agrees. I would cry anytime I had time to myself, songs would touch my heart,and thoughts of heaven would overflow my head. For now, I think we are all just busy and going through the motions of life and missing Mom every step of the way. I know some of you have shared with me your times when you think of her or miss her. We still see her in the kitchen (any kitchen, but mostly at home and church), greeting in the foyer, by my Dad's side, sitting in their pew, at family celebrations, in the office at home, calling on the phone, getting an e-mail, and all those times she just listened. On Friday afternoon, I was driving around town and I thought I should call Mom and see if she needs anything (you see my cousin's graduation party was that evening and usually Mom would have been in the kitchen). It's tough to miss someone you love, but we do know that God is in control. We also know that we are not the only ones who have lost a loved one. We think about those of you who have lost someone you loved and how God has worked in your life and how God shines through you even when times were difficult.
Many of you have asked how are we doing. Dad, Kurt, and I have talked about this, our solution is that we are doing alright and we are going to move forward. We have also said that if we pull the covers up over our heads and sulk all day long, not only Mom but God would be so disappointed in our actions. And if it were possible, Mom would come right out of that grave and smack up around. Yes, there are moments of sadness and the support of family and friends is greatly needed, but together we will move on.
Thank you so much for continue to join us and being a part of our lives!!
Love, Kurt, Jenn, Dad, Mia, and Livi

Here's the recipe: (It's from Paula Deen's Just Desserts cookbook)
Ingredients:
Cake:
1 18.25 ounce yellow cake mix or chocolate (I used yellow because there is someone in the family that doesn't like chocolate...Kurt...can you believe it???)
1 egg
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Filling:
1 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 Cup Peanut Butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 16 ounce box confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 13X9X2 inch baking pan.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside. Still using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth;add eggs, peanut butter and vanilla. Dump in confectioners' sugar and beat well. Reduce speed of mixer and slowly pour in butter. Mix well. Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Don't be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey, so don't bake it past that point! Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares. Just remember that these wonderful little cakes are very, very, very rich!!

Enjoy!!!
Love, Kurt (I made these for his birthday) and Jenn

Good morning,
Just a quick hello today. Mom has used this blog before to ask for prayer and today that is why I am writing. Yesterday the Lowman ladies went to a Mother/Daughter luncheon. We had a good time and enjoyed being together. On the way home, the girls and I were listening to a favorite CD with a mix of singers and "I can only imagine" by Mercy Me came on.....usually I skip that one. But yesterday we sang at the top of our lungs. It is so beautiful to hear my little girl in the back singing. Tears were streaming down my face to think of Mom in Heaven, but also listening to the voice of Mia singing about Heaven.
Here's where the prayer comes in. Last night I realized how tough this week was going to be for me because Sunday is Mother's Day! Just talk to God to keep me strong, think about memories with Mom and help me to enjoy my little ones this week!!
Thank you!!
Also, I made a new recipe this weekend and I'll share it with you all soon. Peanut Butter Gooey Cake!!!
Love to all, Kurt and Jenn

Greetings dear prayer warriors,
These last few weeks and days have flown by, which is good. I would rather have them go by quickly, so they do not drag on. But at the same time, not too quickly so there is no time to reflect and grow during this season of our life. At the beginning of 2011, Sherm made a challenge to the church body to read through the Bible in a year (yes, even though I went to Bible college...I haven't read through the entire Bible....shhhhh!!). My thought that Sunday morning was " This is going to be a difficult year. And by reading the Bible this year and spending more time with God, we will make it." Now, I have missed some weeks, but last week during the high school Wednesday night gathering we as a small group decided to hold each other accountable to read which is helping me to get back on track. Now, there are still parts that I just can't wrap my head around, but the more times I read the more it's going to make sense. But God's words is relevant. And I must say that I am thankful that we no longer grieve as they did in the Old Testament. I think that is because we have hope in our eternity. Jesus over came death and there is a place prepared for us. Amen!!!
Many of you have continued to pour our your love to us. Thank you for continuing to pray for us as we are grieving because we have lost a wonderful wife/mom. We also think of the many of you lost a dear daughter/sister/aunt/niece/cousin/friend. May the Lord comfort and guide you through today!
God bless you all,
Kurt and Jenn

Good morning loved ones,
This week was back to "normal" routine for all of us.....if you can call it normal. As I headed back to work many expressed they sympathy and sorrow, which was wonderful that so many care, but also tough. This also opened to door for me to share God's love, too. As for Dad, he continued to take care of details from Mom's funeral, get back into routine business life, and start working on paperwork. I stopped over for lunch the other day and he had the table set for me and lunch was ready. It was so darling and great to be able to visit.
A couple days ago, I was thinking I should put a post up, but about what. This blog was started to inform about Mom's health and allow God to work through her. Wouldn't it be awesome if God allowed phone calls from Heaven??? But would that spoil the surprise??? We all know Mom would want to share every detail and I would love to hear her voice!!! I am sure she would tell me that what we are going through right now "will build character"!
Enjoy your weekend!! Worship our Risen Lord and King!! Hug your loved ones!!
Love, Kurt and Jenn