New camera, lots of new pictures

Since the pictures are the best part, here are some that I took with my early birthday present from the Fitzgeralds (thanks!).

Welcome Madeline

Our good friends Jim and Andrea welcomed their sweet little girl, Madeline, into the world last Thursday. She weighed in at a healthy 8 lbs 3 ozs and s 21/12 inches long. We went to visit Friday night and had a little trip down memory lane as she was born at the smae hospital as Edward. It is amazing to think that only 6 1/2 months ago he came into this world. He has already changed so much and has brought more joy to our lives than either Andy or myself thought possible. Welcome to the world Madeline, Edward will be happy to show you around!

September is the new June

This has been the month of weddings. We started in Atlanta with our friends Ryan and Robin. It was whirlwind weekend. Edward and I took off on Saturday morning and were back in Denver Sunday afternoon. Then our dear friends the Russells celebrated the wedding of their daughter Amanda, unfortunately we did not make it to Birmingham for that one. Traveling on an airplane three weekends in a row was just not possible. We finished up the month with the wedding of Andy's sister Kelly and her husband Chris. They were married at Devil's Thumb Ranch in Winter Park, Colorado. We had a great time and the weekend flew by. Edward was a hit in his tuxedo and handled everything amazingly well. Here are some other pics of the weekend.


Devils Thumb Ranch

Mark, Chris, Andy, Edward, Leah

The Bride and Groom!

Playing around at the lodge

Gull Lake

We spent Labor Day weekend in Michigan with Andy's parents and brother. They have a beautiful little cabin on Gull Lake just outside of Kalamazoo. Edward took his first boat ride and got a chance to play in the water and even went all the way under with Andy's help. It was a gorgeous weekend and very relaxing. I managed to get up on my third try and slalom and them made the mistake of getting on the tube. I felt that tube ride for two days, my sore neck and back reminded me I am not as young as I think I am. Edward got to meet his Great Uncle Joel and Great Aunts Jenilee and Carole. He also played with his cousins and some new friends, the Clarks. Andy's best friend Blair and his family (Kelly, Bo, Brooks and Qwynna) drove over from South Bend and spent Saturday with us. Edward was especially fond of Qwynna, we will not trust them to be left alone when they are older! When we got back to Colorado it was cool and already feeling like fall. What a great way to say goodbye to summer and look forward to my favorite season.

So Big

August Birthdays

Happy 6th Birthday Kaitlyn!

Happy 33rd Birthday Andy! (This is a rare treat all the Fitzgerald kids together in one place, thanks everyone for coming over and celebrating!)

And last, but certainly not least Happy Birthday Ashleigh and thanks so much for coming to visit us.

Wheat and Weeds

Don't you love when you get something you didn't ask for? I mentioned in another post that I question why evil things are allowed to happen in our world and why God, knowing that these things would happen went ahead with creation. Well, ask (or wonder about something in your blog in a nonspecific way) and you shall receive.



The next Sunday we had a guest speaker at church. I don't know what yall think of guest speakers but generally they illicit groans and eye rolling from me and Andy. They just never seem to be as good as the preacher, they are often nervous and of course we have one everyone time we bring someone new. So, the guest speaker gets up and to our surprise and relief he was a former staff member at our church and he is a great speaker and teacher. He preached on the parable of the Wheat and the Weeds from Matthew 13:24-30. It is an excellent sermon and I highly recommend listening to it if you have any interest in the topic of evil in our world today and why it exists.



The other answer I unexpectedly got came from a book I am reading called The Shack by William P. Young. This book was highly recommended to me by Andy's brother, Scott. I don't want to ruin it for anyone who might be interested but basically it is a father who's world is turned upside down when his daughter is abducted and most likely murdered. He has an incredible meeting with God and has a lot of tough questions to ask Him. This book has really opened my heart and mind about the nature of God and our relationship with Him.



I still struggle with the brokeness of our world and all the pain I see in it. It is truly overwhelming at times but the hope I have come away with is that we are not alone and we do not have to live in fear. This world is far from what is was created to be but thankfully we have a Savior who longs to show us what life can really be like.