week with the fam

Nola loves peanuts and as you can see, Josh doesn't mind sharing his peanuts with Nola. Some of you might say this is pretty gross, and it totally is, but it is also pretty cute too. As much as I love sweet Nola, I could never ever do this with her. This is just something special she and Josh share with each other.

Josh has had some time off since taking step 2 of boards, so we invited my family up here for a visit.

We had lazy mornings or drinking coffee and reading. My brother and Nola shared the couch.

 We went up to North East one afternoon for lunch and also stopped off at a winery. Usually just the smell of wine is enough to put my mother to sleep, so I was a little shocked that she opted to sample three wines. I'm pretty sure she had a nice nap on the drive home. 

 This was my father's birthday week so he really enjoyed himself. I think he bought all three of the wines he sampled. 

Our family friend Michael, my father, my mother, my brother Marc, and the cutie on the end is of course my Josh.

It was my father's birthday this past week and we celebrated by going to see the movie Inception (I highly recommend it) and then having dinner at Peppino's. My family loves going to Peppino's when they come to visit, their food is wonderful. I think we all walked away very happy that night, except for the fact that I spilled spaghetti sauce all over my white shirt and sweater. I knew right when my father told me at the beginning of the meal to be careful of my white shirt something was going to happen. It really wasn't my fault, I had a rogue ravioli that just wasn't cooperating. 

A few other happenings of the week that weren't documented were a few bike riding trips my mother, Michael and my father took around Presque Isle, working out as a family at LECOM's Wellness Center, and a trip to the beach on their last day here. 

 

It was a little cramped in my townhouse but we had a really nice week together. I am just so thankful my family enjoyed themselves and Josh didn't have to study!

Step 2

I really need to do an update on what's been going on in our lives over the past year. I will try to get to that soon, but today Josh and I are in Pittsburgh for him to take Step 2 of his boards. We got here early evening (after some bad directions from Google maps) and I realized something when I was checking into the hotel, this was my first time ever making a hotel reservation. I'm 26 years old, I feel like I should have already done this. Oh well...after checking in we had a great dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, brought dessert back to the hotel and enjoyed a quiet evening of resting and going to bed early.

This morning I dropped Josh off at the testing center and I'm not quite sure why but I got a little emotional after he got out of the car. He has been working sooooo soooo hard these past two months of preparing for this test, I'm just glad the day is finally here and he is able to get it over with. Thank you for everyone who has been praying for Josh and who is praying for him today. We continue to trust the Lord for him to get Josh through this day and for the test results.

Well, I have nine hours to myself today so I am off to shop. I think my nails and toes are just about dry from polishing them so I'm gonna check out and first head to IKEA.

Oh, in celebration of completing Step 2 we're going to a baseball game tomorrow! I hope to take lots of pictures it should be a great day!

Hubbell Trouble

Just wanted to let you all know my sister Brittany started blogging! I am so excited for her and know she is going to have a great blog. She is an excellent writer and full of wisdom. Her blog is still under construction and might be until she is finished with Step 2 of boards this month (she's also a 4th year med student. Check her out! Hubbell Trouble.

A Year Later

It was a year ago today that our son Leyton went to be with the Lord. It doesn't quite seem right to say today is or would have been his birthday. I like to say that Leyton has been with the Lord for a year.

Not just today but this whole weekend holds a lot of significance for us. It was late night Friday July 10, 2009 that we found out we lost him and the next day the 11th was my c-section. But the 11th is the day we have chosen to remember him and celebrate the 9 months we had with him.

Today was actually an okay day for Josh and I. We weren't quite sure what to do or what to expect so we just decided to be together. We had been thinking about this day for quite some time and maybe because we had been bracing ourselves for it made it not as difficult. Of course we still have difficult days but I'm thankful that today was an okay day. I also received an email from a friend who reminded me of God's promises and His faithfulness and encouraged me to rejoice in the Lord because that is what my son would want me to do. Thank you so much Christie for those encouraging words, they really helped me to change my perspective on this whole weekend.

So we went to the early serice at church and the worship time was amazing. We both believe the Lord had those songs chosen specifically for us. The service was good but we were so thankful we were able to spend time in worship together. After church we kind of had a normal day... chores around the house, lunch at Wegmans, we ran a few errands, and then back home so Josh could do a little bit of studying and I took a nap. After dinner at home we went to Presque Isle which we thought we could spend a quiet evening of reading and being together (and we wanted to go there because we thought Leyton would have loved the beach). But it turned out to be not what we had expected. There was the Drum in the Sun club, about 30 plus people banging in bongos and other instruments doing the limbo and dancing around, and there was also a hula hoop club. Totally random but really fun to watch, probably some of the best people watching we've done so far here in Erie. I'll have to post some of the pictures I took. Even though we didn't have the quiet time like we thought we were still glad we went.

A year ago I'm not sure I would have believed that I could ever truly be joyful or feel the Lord's peace and presence in our lives. I thank the Lord so much for the grace He has given us this year. We have seen Him work and do many good things in our life this year and it is only by His grace. Though grace isn't something that we can physically hold on to, I truly feel His grace every day in my life.

And I know I said I'd start blogging again a couple of months ago but this time I mean it. I want to share what the Lord has been teaching me through this loss and also keep our family and friends up to date on what's happening in our lives. I'm sure you saw the name change of our blog from "Becoming The Glupkers" to "Marked by Love". I just felt like the season of "Becoming the Glupkers" had passed (a while ago) and it is time to start a new chapter. But I've kept the same url, hope that's not too confusing.

Thank you again to everyone in our lives who have been faithful to pray for Josh and I and who have walked this long road with us. Words can't express how blessed and loved we feel by each and everyone of you. And if you called or texted today thank you so much for thinking of us and remembering our sweet Leyton. I'm sorry if I did not answer or respond, I just wasn't quite up for talking today.