With happiness, sometimes there is also sadness...

Apologies for lack of blogging... we've been so so so busy! (isn't that they way in which I begin each post?).... and things have been a bit of a roller coaster over the past week or so...

We have had a lot of excitement... relatives moving closer, time with Brian's parents, birthday AND graduation celebrations (which will all be saved for a future post)... but, also, much sadness.

As many of you know, we had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Brian's Grandparents. They made the BIG move from sunny Southern California, to well sometimes sunny/sometimes not so sunny Washington. They officially became Washingtonians, over a week ago. Brian's mother, my fabulous Mother in Law(MIL) and...  (I say that, as she truly is fabulous, but it seems that you rarely hear of great in-laws, rather you hear horror stories... thankfully, mine is not that! :p) flew down to southern California, and with Brian's Aunt and Uncle, got the Grandparents packed and ready for the BIG move, and then MIL flew back up with them... was not an easy task to say the least, but we are all thankful they are here!

It has been a difficult transition, as they are both in their 90's, and such a BIG change is a little confusing and I'm sure things just really feel out of sorts. We were so happy to have been able to go and welcome them to the Northwest last week, when they arrived.

Jack and Maggie warmed up to them both very quickly, and were very intrigued by them both. Great Grandma (to J & M) is a lot of fun... she adores playing around with Jack... and cuddling Maggie. And, Great Grandpa, seemed to enjoy the company, even if it is loud! :)

However, we are so sad to say that Grandpa suffered a heart attack just 4 days after calling Washington home. He has been in the hospital for almost a week; with today being the day in which he is being moved from the hospital to Hospice Care. The Doctors have told us all that they do believe Grandpa has decided that he is ready to let go... and, although this is so incredibly hard, Brian and I are really trying to look at the blessings we have received from Grandpa Weeks in just the short time they've been here.

We are so thankful that I have been able to meet him, that Brian has been able to spend time with him after many years, and of course, that both Jackson and Maggie were able to spend time with "Great Grandpa".

We hope as the week moves forward that our family can all be strong for one another, and take each turn as it comes. Grandpa has been taken off of all IV's, all of his medications (preventatives), and they are basically just keeping him comfortable during this time.

Please keep our family in your prayers, especially his beautiful, loving wife of over 60 years, his sons and wives, Brian's parents (Bill & Karen), Uncle and Aunt (Bruce & Karin), and of course, all of his wonderful Grandchildren, and Great-Grandchildren.
Your prayers are so appreciated, and we cannot express our gratitude enough.
We will keep you updated...

All of the outdoor shots, I was able to capture last weekend - at Willamette University, where we attended my Best Friend, Kara's Law School Graduation. I thought they were so pretty, as well as I found them incredibly peaceful and fitting for our family at this time. We are truly trying to find peace in all of this.

All our Love,

The Weeks Family.

happy mother's day...

I hope you all had a fabulous mother's day! 

I sure did... Brian, Jack and Maggie made my day so very special! Jackson told me "happy mudder's day" a bazillion times, and I loved it every.single.time. he said it. And, found it pretty funny when he told Maggie "happy mudder's day", and we told him Maggie wasn't a Mother, so it wasn't her day... which he in turn looked at Maggie and said "Happy Balentine's Day Maggs"... so.stinkin'.cute. 

Love my little family SOOOOO MUCH!

Thank you so much to my amazing, husband... for making my day just perfect.

Apologies for this being such a short post, but I'm off to dreamland... but I didn't want to forget to wish everyone a wonderful (and now, belated) mother's day!

Lots of Love to each and every one of you!

To Celebrate or To Mourn? What are your thoughts?

To Celebrate or to Mourn? That is the question I have been asking myself, and I honestly do not know the answer... and I'm unsure that I will.

Photo Source

Upon hearing the news last night, of Osama bin Laden's death, I felt filled with incredibly mixed emotions.

Brian and I talked about how we each felt about it... yet, I kept coming back to the same thought "I am supposed to be celebrating someone's death, correct? I am a Proud American, and that is what Proud Americans do, right? I should be so happy that he is finally dead, shouldn't I? I know that many of those directly affected by the devastation of 9/11 are cheering tonight, so I should be as well, in support of them?"... 

So, as you read my feelings, you can see I was very conflicted. I think we each know someone, in some way that was directly affected by the 9/11 tragedy. I think most of us would say, upon hearing President Obama's speech last night, that, yes, indeed justice had been found... sort.of.

Needless to say, I just couldn't express or find the correct words for my mixed emotions in regards to how I was feeling. 

However, I was blessed to have found a blog post, that I believe, somehow and someway has put all of the different thoughts and emotions in my head into an eloquent and truly honest piece of writing. Kari, who is the author of this blog is a friend of an acquaintance (we'll call her "D" for the sake of privacy), of mine. D is who Kari is referring to when she writes about seeing so many different views on Facebook, and then came across the "status on Facebook of a friend who lost a loved one". This is something I never knew of D. I have "known" her for over 3 years, and although we are truly just acquaintances, I am "friends" with her on Facebook, and we have kept in touch over the years, since our initial times spent around on another. I do not know her well, but she also writes a beautiful blog, and has shared her biggest life's struggles for all to read. Yet, I still never knew that she had been so directly devastated by the horrific acts of 9/11. 

I have always thought of her as an incredibly strong, 1/2 glass full, outgoing, and peaceful woman. This knowledge that I now have of D, along with many things that I know she and her family have been through, prove this all the more to me.

I hope she did feel Justice last night. I hope she felt at peace. I hope she felt happy, but I know she also probably felt a bit unsure of how she should feel... just like many of us. I wish her all the best in this crazy thing called life. I wish her nothing but happiness, as she is one that within minutes of meeting her... you know... she deserves all the happiness in the world - as she gives it out so freely.

I found myself reading this piece (in the blog) several times today. And, it has stuck with me more than anything else I have read in regards to this evil man's death. 

I encourage you to take 5 minutes, and read Kari's post. And, then if you have more than 5 minutes, go on to read more of her blog. She is truly inspiring in her thoughts and the way in which she is able to put them into words, creating amazing works of writing.

I hope her writing speaks to you, as much as it did to me. Or, if anything... gives you insight in to why others may feel conflicted, like I, myself feel.

Blog Post

After reading, I would love it if you have a second to leave a comment, letting us know your thoughts and opinions... in regards to not only the blog post, but the entire situation. There are so many differing opinions, and I think for all of us to really hear and listen to eachother - helps in trying to digest and understand all of this, and the entire big picture of what is happening in our world. 

All my Love,
Brooke


ps. Thank you in advance for reading my ramblings... I have something fun to share with you in the next week or so... but, it's still in progress, so we'll all (including me!) will have to wait to share! :)

A super, duper, extra great, FUN day!!!

A great day for ... The Portland Children's Museum ... and an added bonus ... CURIOUS GEORGE!

There was an entire exhibit dedicated to our favorite monkey... and our own monkey's were in ... well, I guess you could say Monkey Heaven!

Yesterday, we took the munchkins to the Portland Children's Museum... and yes, it was probably the NICEST day (weather-wise) we've had all year. But, we had promised Jack that he could decide on a fun place to go, since he has been doing SO GREAT on the potty... and once Curious George's name was mentioned... there was really no other place he was even willing to discuss. The Children's Museum has had a Curious George exhibit for a couple of months now, and it is ending at the end of May. So, we knew we wanted to take Jack... as he might be one of George's BIGGEST fans... but, today we thought would be fun to spend outside in the gorgeous sunshine...

HOWEVER... this was what we HAD thought, prior to going. We had the most FABULOUS time! It was a bit hectic finding parking, due to the Oregon Zoo sharing a parking lot with the Children's Museum, and the Zoo (as I'm sure you can only imagine) was PACKED! Thankfully, I (with Jack and Maggie in tow) found a great parking spot right away... (thank you to my Grandma for passing along her amazing parking karma! :p)... 

Brian, however, didn't have such great luck. He met us there, as he had to work all weekend in a seminar-type thing... and today it ended in the early afternoon, so we decided rather than him coming all the way home first, we would just meet him there. He spent over an hour looking for a parking space, before finally heading to the "over flow parking" and taking the shuttle... he missed a bit of fun, but we were all happy to finally see him! And, I know he was happy to finally be there! :)

Both Jack and Maggie (as well, as Brian and I) had the BEST time! They were both so incredibly happy and enthralled with each and every exhibit. I would say that the Curious George exhibit was the favorite of all of ours... but, all of the exhibits were really fabulous too.

No need for me to go into every detail of our day... as the pictures do a great job of that... Enjoy! We sure did!!!

 Jack was so excited... and all ready to go...

insisting on bringing a few "Georgie's" along...

(they did stay in the car once we got to the Museum... as I had an inkling, that I would be the one toting them around all day...)

 Maggie's ready... just not showing her excitement quite yet.

 Curious George was on top of the museum!

Jack started screaming "it's George, it's George... mama, it's really George" in the car as soon as he saw him. So cute and sweet. He was having the BEST time before we even got into the parking lot!

 Maggie warmed up quickly... as soon as we got to the Museum, Jack and Maggie both wanted to go to the Curious George exhibit first... and as soon as Maggie saw "him"... gave him a BIG hug!!! 

Such a sweet girl!

 And, had some photos with the cute lil' monkey...

 She is screaming for me to get her down in the photo below...

 And, is just looking downright annoyed with me in this picture (below).

 Let the games begin... having so much fun, already!

 Jack loved this "construction zone/elevator" in the CG Exhibit...

Maggie needs a hard hat too!

The picture (above) is one of my all time favorites... captures Maggie's true silliness, sweetness... and is just darn cute!

This was probably one of Jackson's favorite things to do... it was in the CG Exhibit... and he got to load the big bricks on to the "elevator", and then use the steering wheel to make them go up and around, and back down!

Maggie's all done working! :)

... and on to the next exhibit...

More Building, More Fun!

Maggie LOVED this area for ages 3 and under....

She had so much fun playing with everything that was just her size!

Jack wasn't as thrilled 

Yes, he's standing at the door, begging to get out!

 This was probably one of Maggie's favorite places...

The "Grocery Store".

She LOVED pushing the cart... and ramming into anything and everything! :)

Jack decided to come in and join us as the "cashier"

I was surprised that neither Jack or Maggie, really showed much interest in checking out the "Vet Clinic"

Maggie liked the stuffed doggies... but, just for a quick hug, and then it was on to something else...

 And, on to the WATER ROOM!!!

They both LOVED this area!

 Next, was the "DIG PIT", by far one of Jack's VERY favorites...

He could have stayed in there for hours... really!

Maggie wasn't as into the "dig pit", so she and Daddy headed back over to the "3 and under" play area, and had some fun, while Jack and I played in the "dig pit".

Then, it was (sadly) time to head home. We did stop on our way to the car, to check out the really cool BIG train! Jack was in heaven... as I'm sure you can all imagine!

 Uh Oh, it's time to go home... someone is making a run for it... and FAST!

 Meltdown! 

He was such a GREAT boy all day... but, he was also so tired by the end of the day... 

And, after having a mini-meltdown, he told me he was so sad to have to go home, but he was looking forward to coming back to the Museum again! :)

 What a great day we had... We will most definitely be visiting again soon! 

xoxo