{Friday Photo Bliss} Rose, Hiking with Boys & Hoover

Happy Friday! I haven't been posting my {Friday Photo Bliss} photos lately and I really miss it.

We lost Paul's mother Rose last week. We all loved her so much; she was kind, intelligent and had a great sense of humor. I first met Rose when I was 17 and started dating Paul. She was an amazing mother, wife, grandmother, friend and mother-in-law and is greatly missed. I really hit the jackpot with my parents-in-law Howard and Rose and it is an end of an era with them both gone, but I know they are all together in a better place.

This is Rose with Luke a few years ago. OK, it seems like only a few years ago but it was about 16 years ago. 

It has been a rough year for our family as Paul lost Rose, his sister Peggy, Piper his dog, and almost lost his wife and boys in a drunk driving accident. 

There are definitely times when we are sad, but this last year taught us to appreciate every moment with our family and friends. Not to take anything for granted, and look forward to each day. It isn't as easy as it sounds as life is busy and messy and sometimes disappointing. But we have so many blessings and we make sure to focus on them. 

If I look back over the last year I see so much more joy than sadness. And a big part of that joy is our boys (and Hoover the dog of course).

The last weeks have been busy and I missed hiking in our parks and seeing our brief fall colors. However, this week we took a few hours and visited our favorite local hiking spot.

Isaac choose to wear his Murdochs shirt that day. The original one was the t-shirt he was wearing in the accident that the emergency responders cut off of him. He wanted a replacement to remind him of how far he has come since that day.

We are all obsessed with Stargate SG1 (a great family show), and Luke choose that shirt for our photoshoot/hike.

Isaac's broken femur has healed perfectly and he can once again climb trees. 

He still loves to jump off things. And I let him. 

CrossFit exercises must have been inspired by a parent watching their boy out in the woods.

Isaac is now officially taller than me! It always seems to happen overnight, suddenly your little boys is a tall lanky teenager. 

But I have to be honest, the teenage years have been kind to me. I loved having little kids but I also love having young responsible men who do so much for themselves. They are quite independent but still don't mind hanging out with their parents. What a blessed time of life and I am enjoying every minute of it.

It looks more like winter than fall and I am eagerly waiting for that next cool front. 

Hoover Update: He is still the bestest doggo.

It is pretty easy to tell when Isaac has had enough picture-taking. ;-)

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!!!

Do you want to download all of my favorite professional CoffeeShop PSE/Photoshop actions (including exclusive ones not found anywhere for free), textures, papers, clip art/design elements, storyboards, and Lightroom presets in one convenient zipped file AND help support this blog? Just click here for my CoffeeShop Mega Download Pack!