Alena Abigail – Five Years Old
Bright Hope
by Betsy
6d ago
Today is Alena’s fifth birthday! Happy birthday, Baby Girl. If she saw that, she would undoubtedly remind me that she hasn’t been a baby for ages. I would, in turn, remind her that she will always be my baby. But…she’s right. She’s a big girl now! Alena is in her second year of preschool and loves it. She comes home eager to share what she has learned (all of which she assumes we don’t know) and to show off her work. She does loads of projects at school which has really fed her love of art and she has decided to be an artist when she grows up (and she’s an artist now!) She loves drawing, writi ..read more
Visit website
Adventures
Bright Hope
by Jaime
5M ago
Me: Hey, I was thinking about taking the kids to Indianapolis next weekend. Betsy: WHAT. Me: Well, there’s a soccer game Saturday night and then I thought we could go check out the zoo on Sunday. And you would get a very chill weekend out of it. Betsy: That’s true. Me: Unless…would you want to come? Betsy: It sounds fun! Let me think about it. This was a real life conversation that we had a couple weeks ago. It still shocks me that we have conversations like this. Four years ago, an adventure like this would have been completely out of the question because four years ago, Betsy was still chron ..read more
Visit website
Lucas Gabriel – 12 Years Old
Bright Hope
by Betsy
8M ago
Today is Lucas’s 12th birthday! He’s a great kid and we’re proud to be his parents. Allow me to share a bit about who is he at 12. Lucas’s favorites: Color: orange (still!) Food: Barbacoa (followed closely by lasagna, chicken quesadillas and steak fajitas) Animal: cats! (domesticated and wild) Books: Endling Trilogy by Katherine Applegate, Ivan and Friends series by Katherine Applegate, and the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. Movie: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Soccer Teams: Manchester United and Detroit City FC We asked Lucas to list his favorite bird, but that proved to be ..read more
Visit website
Post(?)-pandemic
Bright Hope
by Jaime
1y ago
I was noticing the other day that blog posts have been fewer and farther (further?) between of late. I suppose that’s the natural course when you have a four and eleven year old. And a cat! More time dedicated to finding snacks for everyone, including the cat, and less time for creative pursuits. It has been three years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. For a lot of people the darkest days of the pandemic have been in the rearview mirror for a little while. People got vaccinated, things began to open up, and life started to look normal again. For obvious reasons, our family’s reemergen ..read more
Visit website
Alena Abigail-Four Years Old
Bright Hope
by Betsy
1y ago
Alena is four years old today! Happy birthday to our sweet girl! Every year I go back and read my birthday posts from years past. It’s striking how much has changed–how much Alena has grown and matured, how much she’s learned, and how many new experiences she has had. It’s also striking how much has not changed! Even as a one-year-old she showed personality traits that have persisted–vivaciousness, creativity and imagination, sweetness, affection, and a healthy dose of sass. We love her so much and all that makes her unique! This was a big year for Alena as she started attending preschool two ..read more
Visit website
Trikafta Day/I Am Thankful
Bright Hope
by Betsy
1y ago
I’m sitting here crying in my coffee. Actually it’s water, but “crying in my water” doesn’t have quite the same ring to it! And as you know, I’d rather be drinking (more) coffee anyway! It’s been three years now since I swallowed my first dose of Trikafta. And three days after that, I awoke to a new life. As I was thinking about what to write this year, how to commemorate and celebrate this day, I started reading back through some of my previous posts (thus the tears). From April 2015: “I started IV antibiotics two weeks ago to address a plunge in my lung function which followed a difficult wi ..read more
Visit website
Lucas Gabriel – 11 Years Old
Bright Hope
by Betsy
1y ago
As much as I try, I cannot think of a more creative way to start this birthday post than my usual exclamation and lament over the swift passage of time. Lucas is 11, and I can’t believe it! Where did my baby go? Slow down already!! Phew, now that we have that out of the way, let me tell you a little bit about who Lucas is! Spoiler alert, he’s a pretty great kid. I asked Lucas just moments ago to report on his favorites. In years past he would confidently proclaim his favorites without any hesitation. This year I got a whole lot of, “Hmmmm, that’s a hard one….” and “it’s really close between ..read more
Visit website
Alena Abigail-Three Years Old
Bright Hope
by Betsy
2y ago
Happy birthday to our sweet girl, Alena! When she woke up this morning, her first words were, “I’m three!!!!” Hard to believe, but she’s right! I have often started Lucas’s birthday posts by listing his favorites, but Alena doesn’t operate in quite the same way. She prefers to shake things up and be as unpredictable as possible. Instead of watching one TV show over and over she wants to try something new every day. One day she will label a food her favorite and the next day tell me it’s too yucky for her. She does however have three constants in her life…her love of all things pink, her love o ..read more
Visit website
Trikafta Day/The Lord is My Salvation
Bright Hope
by Betsy
2y ago
There was a song I listened to nearly every day during my pregnancy with Alena. It was a time of happiness and intense struggle. I was overjoyed with the miracle of the little life growing within me: a daughter we had longed for and waited many years to hold. Yet I was overwhelmed with the demands she put on my body which was wracked with disease. The music gave me comfort. Last night I found the song and listened to it again. I was transported back to those days. I can see it clearly in my mind’s eye. I am in my bedroom, perched on the edge of my bed. In my hand I hold a cup of medicine and I ..read more
Visit website
Ten Years Old
Bright Hope
by Betsy
2y ago
Here we are, double digits for our sweet Lucas. Nothing prepares you for how fast time flies when you have children. It’s so hard to believe that our chubby cheeked baby boy is ten! Here are Lucas’s current favorites: Color: he is staunchly sticking to orange! Animals: cats and blue herons Book: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling Movie: Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers TV Show: Lego Masters Fictional Character: Harry Potter Song: The Adults are Talking by the Strokes Food: Chicken Quesadillas Snack: popsicles Sport: All soccer, all the time! He randomly asked Jaime an ..read more
Visit website

Follow Bright Hope on FeedSpot

Continue with Google
Continue with Apple
OR