A little ray of light--purposely found

First of all, I need to start by telling you how incredibly grateful and overwhelmed Terry and I are from the outpouring of support, love, suggestions and leads that you have all given us over this past week. Thank you, thank you, thank you. We appreciate it more than we can ever really express. Somehow when you have friends, family and even strangers offering their support, it feels like there is a tiny light at the end of the tunnel--one that might bring us back from the stress, shock and fear that we're feeling right now. So thank you.

Terry and I woke up absolutely exhausted this morning. Exhausted from the mental and emotional drain that a job loss brings but also exhausted from a night where a little girl woke up at 1:00am and didn't fall back to sleep until 3:00am...and where a mom and dad didn't fall back to sleep until hours after that--just in time to be woken up by a little boy who had had a beautiful sleep and who was ready to start his day. This is not a typical night for us thankfully, and we may never really know why kids have these strange nights where they wake up and simply can't go back to sleep--but they leave parents exhausted and wondering how they'll make it through the entire day without falling over.

So we hatched a plan. A plan that would ensure a day of fun, a day of joy, a day where we could forget for just a moment about our reality and just enjoy our kids. A day where our kids joy would translate into our joy--and a day where you don't have time to remember how tired you are, because you're too busy creating memories. A day where you can forget about jobs and resumes and interviews for just a moment--because you're too busy watching your kids simply enjoy life, which also reminds you that this is what life is really all about.

Mya learned how to ride a two-wheeler today.
No training wheels.
Just the wind at her back and a smile on her face.

It was pure joy--for everyone. 

And her brother? Well whatever his sister is doing, he wants to do too--and although he sometimes forgets that he's only just over a year old, and his sister has two years on him, he follows her every lead. So he hopped on his bike today too, and tried with all of his might to keep up with both Mya and Oliver as they flew past him.

 

And a little more let's just forget about our worries and have some fun today thrown into the day? Well, we took the kids to the park--and took over all of the swings, all at once.

So with cousin love...

 

and a day purposely filled with activities and moments which were guaranteed to bring smiles to the faces of everyone, it's easy to be reminded of all of the good stuff that's still sneaking into each and every day.

And yes, there will still be stress--of course there is still a lot of stress. A lot of worries. A lot of fears. A lot of unknowns. A few breakdowns at my parents house. But if you take your camera with you and look through the lens trying to find the good--it will always be there.

We found a lot today.

Thank you again for all of your support and please continue to keep us posted if you hear of any leads. We'd really appreciate it.

Happy weekend everyone.

Erica xo