Hey all! Happy rainy Tuesday! Rainy days can be really great. They give me an excuse not to pressure myself to take the kids outside. They give me an excuse to drink an extra cup of coffee. AND, they make for the perfect writing atmosphere! So here I am with my steaming mug of dark roast flavored with the hidden gem I found at Walmart the other night- white chocolate raspberry creamer! I thought those Christmas creamers were long gone- bless you, Walmart. Oh, and don’t miss the yummy salted caramel biscotti hiding in the corner. (A lovely gift from my Aunt and cousin who visited over the weekend!) This is my view, and welcome to it!

 

It’s been a few months since the launch of the new direction on the blog. I want to THANK YOU for following along! Thank you for reading, thank you for responding, and thank you for your support! It really does mean so much to me.

 

Thought I’d take some time to write the first ever, “Daily Dubbe”! This just means I’m going to give an update on our little corner of the world for those of you who care, or are even just curious. I’ll start with our Numero Uno- the man, the myth, the legend, and my very own husband- Reverend Chuck Dubbe.

 

That’s right, after years of dreaming, preparing, serving, studying, and loving hard on Jesus and students, Chuck was officially ordained last Wednesday night. It was an incredibly special evening. A few amazing friends graciously came to support Chuck, and our parents were able to Skype in (if you look closely at the picture, their Skype screen is up on the back wall). One of the most touching parts was that each elder shared a portion of Scripture to affirm Chuck in his role as the High School Youth Pastor, and as a man. Each one also prayed over him, and it was powerful. At one point I looked up to see Chuck’s parents watching while all the elders laid hands on Chuck. I can only imagine how that must have encouraged their hearts. Of course it was impossible to hold back the tears. I’m so proud of my man. My heart bursts with affection for my guy. He works tirelessly to serve me, and our family first, with ministry second. Congratulations, Pastor Babe!

 

Next up is our bundle of energy, creativity, intelligence, passion and strength. Our baby boy is 2! Praise be to God, he has been healthy for such a long stretch of time! He has not had a fever even once since we’ve moved into our new house! Jesus has His mighty hand of protection over my babies day and night. After multiple fevers and sicknesses in a row, God obviously knew I couldn’t handle it anymore, and He graciously gave me a big break. And the greatest news of all, Jase has been seizure-free since August! I can’t even express how grateful I am for the Spirit’s protection over my son. He is Healer!

 

Jase is crazy about puzzles, coloring, stickers, cars/”auto’s”, Little Einsteins/”steinsteins”, his friend Becca, tractors/”crackters”, making snow angels, helping/”help Mama!”, the moon, and books/”wooks”. He is such a giggler, snuggler, hugger, and I cherish that he still wants me to hold him. His sweetness melts my heart to pieces and pieces.

 

And last, but not least, my “Precious Heart” as I call her! Oh the preciousness of our baby girl. Such sugar. She is our adventure girl! She has been, and is going through a lot. But always with a smile on her darling face.

 

In the past year Basye has been diagnosed with Torticollis (short and tight neck muscles that cause her head to tilt to the right); Plagiocephaly (asymmetrical head including flattening); Allergies (peanuts, pistachios, cashews); and we are seeing a specialist for a potential new issue at the end of the week. This has meant weekly and monthly visits with a physical therapist, neurosurgeon, allergist, pediatrician, and orthotics specialist. It has meant her wearing a helmet for 23 hours a day since she was 4 months old. It has meant carrying around EpiPen Jr’s in case of an emergency. It has meant this Mama being OVERWHELMED on a regular basis. It has meant a whole lot of mental and emotional processing. It has meant a lot of tears and grief over the loss of how I wanted my baby’s first year of life to play out. I have been tempted to write an entire post on the helmet alone, but it’s such an incredibly emotional topic for me I haven’t wanted to go there. Yet.  

 

My baby girl is amazing in every way. She hasn’t let these curve balls stunt her for one second. She is constantly surprising us with her development and growth- even walking at ten months old! And talking more words than I can believe at thirteen months old! “Mama, Papa, Jase, Pat-Pat, night-night, bye, and uh-oh” have been some of her firsts. She blows my mind with her resilience.

 

She has brought the brightest ray of feminine joy and beauty into this family!

 

To sum it all up- Jesus has blessed us, and healed us, and loved us Dubbes in such personal and unique ways. Through the ups and downs, peaks and valleys. We honor Him. He reigns supreme, and we are grateful!

 

I don’t say it enough. THANK YOU sweet Jesus, for the gift of my family. I treasure them, but may I treasure you more.