Ben and Joni: August 2012

In Loving Memory

On Saturday, we had a memorial service for our babies. It was so good to surrender this situation to the Lord and to honor our children we never got to meet. We are so thankful to know that our babies are in heaven and that because we know Jesus, we will see them again one day!

We set up a table with the plants and flowers given to us after both babies passed away.

Ben wood burned their names onto a cross so we will always have a memorial to them. We chose to re-name the first baby Amare, which is a Latin name meaning "beloved." And our second baby, we named Micah, which means "who is like God?"

We sang Amazing Grace and Because He Lives, Holly read a few Scriptures, and Ben read a letter he wrote to the babies, along with a song I wrote for them (I was too emotional to sing). We also played the songs "With Hope" by Steven Curtis Chapman, and "Homesick" by Mercy Me.

We love the words of the chorus in "With Hope," which says:

"And we can cry with hope, we can say good-bye with hope

'cause we know our good-bye is not the end

and we can grieve with hope, 'cause we believe with hope

there's a place where we'll see your face again"

We placed the cross by a tree in our backyard.

We were so thankful to have my parents, Ben's parents, Heather and Ryan, Holly and Joel, and Daniel and Michelle with us to support us as we surrendered our babies to the Lord.

We wore white rather than black to symbolize the innocence of babies, Jesus' washing our sins away, and the hope and brilliance of heaven. While it is so difficult to accept the plan God had for Amare and Micah, we are so thankful that this life is not all there is. We rejoice in the promise of the life to come!

We would certainly appreciate your continued prayers as we grieve, and as we seek the Lord's guidance in our desire to add more children to our family.

Conrad Family Reunion

Every 2 years, the Conrad clan gets together for a big family reunion. Here is a picture of most of the family. We had a pretty good turn out this year.

Naomi, Clete and Ruth, Jerry and Melva, the generation of Conrads who have kept the reunion going!

There were lots of games, some water skiing, tubing, and lots of catching up.

Ben's homemade monster slip and slide went over very well.

We had a great time and look forward to the next one!

July 2012

I think every mom feels the same way about quiet. While quiet is really nice to experience on those rare occasions, it also makes you suspicious when your child is in the next room, unsupervised. One Sunday morning while I was rinsing dishes in the kitchen, things in the living room got very quiet, which called for investigation. Of couse when this is what I found I just had to get my camera. How nice to know that sometimes the quiet means Linea is sitting in a camping chair reading her prayer book. :o)

In July, Patrick, Nicole, and the children came to Ohio for a nice, long visit. It was so wonderful for Linea to have her only cousins here to play!

Hannah and Linea enjoyed playing some tunes together.

And getting into Grandma's pantry

We celebrated Hannah's gotcha day. Her adoption finalization was a big deal and cause for celebration! She got a cake and a few presents!

Papa and the girls

Hannah loved trying to hold Linea.

I made these dresses for the girls for the 4th. Nicole helped me finish them when they got in. She has all the good pictures of the 3 children, though.

We also had a little reunion with our friends, the Millers

There was some outdoor sprinkler fun. Some people like to tease about these Baby Legs but seriously? I am all about sun protection and look how cute she is!

Hannah and Jonah had a blast on the neighbor's trampoline.

Ben, Linea, and I spent a day at a lake with the Tebbanos, including Patrick's parents.

And one evening we went to Heather and Ryan's for Ryan's famous fish tacos. If you have ever had them in a restaurant, I can pretty much guarantee that Ryan's are better. They were sooo tasty!