Full Schedule!

Me, Caroline, Jacob and Tara (Micah was snoozing inside!)

I have been blessed with many Taras in my life! God gave me the opportunity this weekend to meet the Tara that is living a very similar life as mine. She lives over 1700 miles away, and yet was coming to my town for a family member's wedding! God is so amazing! We were able to spend quite a bit of time together and my heart is so full from talking with her, and yet it breaks that we were brought together under these circumstances. Let me backup and document the events of the last two weeks...

This has been a really tough, emotional few weeks. Funny as it sounds, it surrounds the wonderful things people have been doing for our family.
The week before Memorial Day I lost my voice and ended up on antibiotics. Lucky for me, I had Grandma Tracy and Mimi as nurses to help Caroline and I. It is too hard to be sick without help!

Memorial Day weekend Thomas' whole family came for the big Ditch Dig of 2009 in our backyard! Caroline had a blast playing with her cousins and despite the rain all weekend the french drain is up and running! I love getting all together because of the love that the family shares, but of course the absence of Thomas is hard to take.The only picture I took during the "dig!" Caroline and her cousin John Thomas enjoying capri-suns.

We ended up back at the house where we spent Christmas and I did not realize how hard that was going to be on me. Especially when Caroline went looking for daddy to help run the trains in their train room like they did over Christmas. Enough about that...

We then spent the next day and night with my whole family after Jett's first photo shoot. He's the cutest little baby boy ever! (Raye Law Photography)Once we got home we met with some drywall guys to work on our house and a plumber to help with our water heater. We were then ready for the painting of the kids' rooms to commence! Nick and Alisha, friends from our college years and the youth ministers from our church, were so nice to start on Thursday night during our bible study and work until Saturday night to finish both rooms!! Nick is meticulous and thoughtful about painting and I LOVE that because that is exactly how Thomas was about painting! Caroline was so fun about it. She would cover her eyes, yet totally peeking, as she walked into her room. The expression on her face was priceless. She would yell, "Nine-ey's room Purple!" (Nine-ey is the newest nickname she has for herself) and after a few seconds of admiring her room, she would then say, "See baby Thomas' room!" and run across the hall to see that amazing paint job. She has repeated this each day since Saturday! So cute. Thank you Alisha and Nick for your time, energy and love put into the beautiful rooms!!Sneak peek of Caroline's purple room! Her first nursery was also purple-click to see.

Saturday was also the day for Har-Ber High's Thomas Culp Memorial Scholarship Fund car wash. Becky, Jett, Caroline and I were able to stop by and see these amazing students working so hard in the hot sun to honor Thomas. I have mentioned this before, but at certain times, my circumstance hits me as being very real. Seeing Thomas' name on the posters they were holding was one of those times. I told Caroline that we were going to see some of Daddy's friends and students and she thought that was really neat. She's still saying, "Daddy's friends wash cars!"That evening Caroline and I went to what I thought was the Har-Ber science department's end of the year get-together. Turns out it was really a surprise baby shower for baby Thomas! When I realized what they had done, it was really hard to keep it together. I try really hard to put on a strong, happy face most of the time, but I could feel the wall breaking down. I am so blessed to be surrounded by people who truly care about us. Mr. Paul and Mrs. Marianna, also hosted and cooked yummy fajitas for us all, put this pool together just for Caroline! (The pictures from the shower were all taken by our friend, Kyle who is married to Lynsey who is a fellow science teacher of Thomas' at Har-Ber. We all became great friends over the years.)We received tons of gifts, a diaper cake and several presents from Thomas' students for our baby! I couldn't stand it any more! The last present was a drawing of Thomas and Caroline that one of his students took a month to complete. They had it matted and framed for me. When you look at the picture I took of it below, you can imagine how I reacted. Lots of tissues needed.

Caroline looking sassy with her pink "soccer ball" as she calls it. Even Caroline received gifts at Thomas' shower!

After a day of church activities on Sunday, I got to go with Lynsey (who is due with a boy on the very same day as me!!) to Central Junior High's end of the year assembly. Thomas did his MAT internship and taught his first year there. They presented Lynsey and I with a check from a fundraiser they held for the scholarship fund. After hearing Lynsey, on behalf of Har-Ber, speak to the school about all of Thomas' wonderful qualities, I found it hard to get my thank you out. Luckily, Caroline was cooperating and letting me hold her for strength to get through saying my thanks. The whole school stood up and clapped for us--it makes me cry now, like I did then just thinking about it. We were told they are going to hold this fundraiser annually!
Whew...what a week.So I've finally caught up to where I met Tara, Jacob and Micah! We were able to spend a long time here at the house talking and letting the kids play together on Saturday. After the assembly on Monday we spent more time together at the park and their Mimi's house. Preston's and Tara's family went out of their way to make me feel like a part of theirs. They are such a wonderful, Christian family.

Jake and Caroline (she LOVED the fairy costume Tara got for her!)

I feel like I've known Tara forever! We share so many of the exact same feelings, thoughts and fears-but best of all we both share an unshakable faith in God that He will see us through this forever! He won't ever get tired of our emotional roller coaster of feelings! That is so comforting. Tara, I love you and I love that God brought us together so that we will not feel lonely or isolated-He is taking care of us!

Blessed girls

Prayer request: Tomorrow is my glucose test for gestational diabetes. Please pray I pass the first time!!