Happy 9th Chris!

Chris celebrated his birthday quietly in November... well, sort of quietly:/

We had planned to do a family trip to the museum, until a toothache hit Chris the Monday before Thanksgiving :( Last February, he had a really deep cavity filled and I really thought that this pain meant that the tooth was finally infected and ready to go. I brought him into the dental clinic we use that day and they said it had to pulled by an oral surgeon. Chris was laying on the floor in pain (after a dose of pain medicine) as the surgeon told me over the phone he couldn't be seen until January!!

The "mommy" in me went to "momma bear" mode and I started calling around to get something done a little more quickly... like before Thanksgiving. Wisdom and advice from friends led me to a great pediatric dentist who took a LOT more time with us, took better x-rays and sent us to some great people.

Thankfully the "tooth issue" was resolved for a while at the university dental clinic:)

He had another "flare up" this February and was in severe pain for almost a week! Way too long! When we got to our dentist they immediately got a better x-ray that confirmed everyone's minds. Chris needed a root canal. So we're currently in the process of the procedure and he is doing awesome!

But now onto CHRIS....  what a great year he had!!

There was a big difference for us early in the spring... it started with me just being intentional about spending time with him... getting to know him more, sitting to read with him one-on-one and just us learning to "get" each other. Through this process I really began to see that Chris and I are probably a little more similar than sometimes I'd like to think. When we need to tidy our rooms but we'll spend hours in our room looking through old books, finding (and messing) with forgotten treasures... basically everything except cleaning:)  And we're also really good at looking like we're busy when we're really procrastinating on something we really don't want to do... like a math lesson or a work-related email that needs attention:/

Another super part of his year was him stepping out in his growing faith. The first part was being willing to say all the books of the Bible at the end-of-year RA meeting. It wasn't just knowing the books because some of the other boys had worked hard to memorize them as well.... he was willing to do it in front of everyone.

Soon after, during a church invitation he walked forward to make a profession of faith. On June 1st, Chris was baptized by his Grandaddy at our church;) It was a big day... but just another step of this little guy growing up.

When school started in September, Christopher was eager to volunteer for a leadership role in our home school 4-H Club. While he's definitely still growing into the role that he wanted to do, he stepped up!!

Finally, soccer!! The age group Chris was in put him as one of the "older" kids... in fact, he was probably the oldest kid on our team. But he rose to the occasion! He was a tough team player! And he was able to go to the "all star team" (a first for our family)!

It was at the all star game that he learned some perseverance and pushed through to the end. Our team was one of the youngest and those little guys played their heart out in the first game. Honestly, I didn't think Chris really played his best.... it was a team effort but he had some pretty big errors:( The kids had a LONG wait until their 2nd game... long, like 4 hours!

That final game was tough and the kids knew they had already "lost" the tournament.
It went into overtime,
Then a tied shoot out that Chris sat to watch because he wasn't in the first round of goal-makers.
Then "sudden death"... 3 or 4 more players were chosen. The 1st to make a goal, won the game.
They chose Chris to go...

And he made it! And they celebrated!

Chris ran around fir a second and then ran towards the coach... he's literally "in the air" here.

It's been an awesome year, Chris!! We are soo proud of you! All the challenges and ways you've pushed yourself. We've had some beautiful moments when I just get a peek into who God is molding you to be. And then other moments when I remind myself that you're still just a boy... learning, growing, and trying to figure it all out, too!

His favorites:


Color : Orange

Food: Pepperoni Pizza

Treat:  Chocolate Break-Up
Subject: Art
Animal: Siberian Tiger

Do inside: LEGOs
Outside Activity: Explore in the woods & water
Toys: LEGOs
Restaurant: O'Charleys
Book: Star Wars comic books
Movie: Star Wars
TV Show: Wild Kratts, Ben 10 (when allowed)
Interests: Marine life

Goals for his 9th year: Build a LEGO town

When you ask him what he wants to be when he "grows up" he'll respond " a Marine soldier"!

She's Double Digits

A few weeks ago we had some BIG celebrations!

The first celebration was Anna's 10th Birthday!!

10.. yes, really!!

I'm not exactly sure when or where 10 years have gone! I remember those first few moments of holding my first, tiny, little newborn wondering "how in the world do I take care of her and be the momma she needs?"

Those first few weeks (and months) of being a first time mother were overwhelming:/ And if I'm honest there are still plenty of days that I feel inadequate to be this girl's mother. And that's when I lean on the Lord's wisdom and ask seasoned God-fearing moms that have been put into my life :)

It's awesome to see Anna developing into a young lady. She is polite, very social, welcoming of new friends, insightful and hard-working. She can be found working on a craft project, riding around on her bike, reading a book, practicing piano, trying to train Jack or snuggling Mr Darcy (her rabbit).

 I see some of the "growing up" challenges already upon us. Sometimes they hit us square in the head (like "duh") and other times I can see the fruit of some of our conversations played out in how she thinks through different situations/issues. These challenges are different for a parent than the baby and toddler issues. Those are usually physically demanding on a Momma but the growing up issues are more demanding on a Momma's heart.

It's just a reminder that each stage of parenting has it's own challenges ... so enjoy the stage you're in:)

And there is a lot to enjoy at this stage! Anna is soo very independent and pretty reliable. Obviously she's not perfect, but she is the one I can usually trust to get the important tasks done. She can and will jump into the kitchen to cook a simple meal or help me by completing a few preparation tasks. Anna, Lydia or sometimes even Chris can be found in the kitchen before dinner preparing a tasty dessert (a great way they serve our family).

It's really cool to see all that she is accomplishing in her schoolwork. As I look through her math work, I am blown away at what she is already working on! As a Math person I love it! This year we worked through some demanding writing assignments, as I look through the completed assignments it really is cool to see how far she has come. And what she remembers from different units, books, conversations and even just the news amazes me... she keeps me straight sometimes.

Anna is also my craft-er! Oh, how I wish I was a little more into crafts or had an eye for details that coordinate like she does. Anna is often the person I go to when I'm trying a new outfit:) #1 because she has pretty good taste and eye for style. #2 because she is very honest with me!! LOL!! I have heard more than once " You're not going to wear that, are you?"

Although now I have to ask whether she's telling me that my outfit doesn't coordinate or if she is wanting to wear one or more of the items I had planned to wear:) It's fun to have her in my closet trying on my shoes or asking to wear a pair.... and I know this stage isn't going to last!! She's going to be taller than me soon and probably not in the same size!

Grandaddy and Grandma brought some Crocs for Anna. They fit both of us!

Everyone says that she's almost as tall as me! It will be soon that she'll be taller!

She started planning her party with invitations that she saw. From the design and colors on the invitations she was determined to have a "tie dye" party, to tie-dye T-shirts with some friends, eat lunch and then swim.

 For over a month we talked over details, dates, supplies... all.the.time!! But that is MY first born.... LOL!!

And finally the day came!

It worked out perfectly and thankfully the weather held out for us (although it WAS chilly) to accomplish all she wanted:)


Her favorites:


Color : Purple and Aqua

Food: Pork BBQ Sandwiches

Treat:  Chocolate Break-Up, Chocolate chip cookies, Snickerdoodles
Subject: Writing
Animal: Zebra, Bengal Tigers

Do inside: Crafts, TV and Kindle
Outside Activity: Ride Her Bike, Play with Mr. Darcy( her rabbit)
Toys: Kindle, Wonder Loom
Restaurant: O' Charleys, Zaxbys
Book: Angel on the Square
Movie: Star Wars
TV Show: 19 Kids and Counting
Interests: Animals

Goals for her 10th year: Riding a Horse and take lessons

When you ask her what she wants to be when she "grows up" she'll respond " a veterinarian"!

Nate's 4th Birthday!!

While the blog has remained quiet, we've been no where close to quiet around here!!

One of the most anticipated dates in our house is May 1st!! Nate has been able to remember his birth date for months now asking us, "How many days until May 1st?" And celebrate we did:)

It's been a little bittersweet this year.... 4 is soo old! He's not a baby any longer which means we don't have any babies in the house anymore:/

Nate is full of personality!!  FULL to the max:) He gets tons of comments has he roller skates with our home school group because of all of his expressions and antics.

And his little mouth gets him in soo much trouble (and causes us to giggle when he's not looking)! I think it has to do with his name and being the youngest who is determined to be heard. Oh and he is a loud talker... he has three volumes- loud, louder and off! Thankfully at church we've had enough experience now for him to "try" to whisper!

Speaking of church, he has come a long way in attending his class. When we first started attending our church (after moving) Nate wouldn't even go into his class. We had to sit outside the class... and sometimes he'd go in for snack time... sometimes! Brian sat with him during Sunday school and then I had him for Service (sometimes in the sanctuary and sometimes not!). We've kept our kids with us in Service for most of their lives... so we're used to packing "quiet activities" and snack. And thankfully Nate has finally adjusted and the last few months I haven't had to leave. He is also happily attending his Sunday School and Wednesday night classes with this momma with him... but he's talking now with his teachers/friends, playing without me at his side and I've actually have left him alone in class for a few minutes... small victories! But I am soo grateful for the teachers of his classes that have welcomed me and have been so sweet to Nate as he adjusts.

We also had a hard couple of months during the 3's! He was literally attached to me and seemed very angry/frustrated when I couldn't meet his needs immediately. I am thankful for my gracious friends who would try to appease him when I couldn't, or endured the fussing with us. They reminded me that it was a "season"! And they were right... I loved him, was firm with him and soon it was in the past. Wish all season would pass as simply:)

It has been soo cool seeing Nate just blend in with the older kids at home and during home school group meetings/outings! He wants to keep up with the older kids soo bad.... so he does;) In fact, he's been riding his bike with two wheels for months just needing help getting started and don't you know on his birthday day he jumped on and went! Alone! All around! Just as fast as the others!

He's big enough to keep up and small enough to still climb into my lap! And sometimes I get 100 kisses:)

Celebrate we did... simply this year!

First we had an early meal with Grandma and Grandaddy since we were down visiting just days before May 1st. Nate was taken to Walmart to pick out a gift. We thought for sure that he'd choose some Legos, but he surprised us all by picking out a new bicycle helmet which he really did need;)

Then we came home and quickly got in a lunch party before his friend left for a grandparent visit. We had the whole family over for a simple lunch on the Wednesday before his birthday. I hated rushing it but it was the friend he had said over and over that he wanted to come over ti eat his cake;)

On Nate's birthday, the girls made muffins for breakfast. We did a little school in the morning! I introduced him to the chore chart... he was excited. And it's time for him to start getting into morning routines;) He spent a lot of time outside riding his bike with his new helmet! Soon it was time for pizza making and a family dinner!

Simple, sweet, low stress and we got to enjoy our time together!

One of my most memorable conversations with him on his birthday was when he asked, "Do they [his siblings] have to obey me now because I am 4?"

Me: They obey Mommy, Daddy and God, not you. But you can help them do the right things and they can listen to your help.

Nate: "When I am 10, do I have to obey you and Daddy anymore?"

Me: "In the Bible it says to honor your parents. That means you need to obey them when you are growing up and respect them when you are a grown up. "

Nate: "Wreeally. Oh, come on, people!"

There was an older man in earshot and I could hear him chuckling;) Just a normal conversation with Nate trying to figure it all out;)

Nate's  Stats
Nate is  39.5 inches tall and weighs 37.5  lbs!

Nate wears 3T and 4T... kind of in between sizes so he tends to wear both. And he also has a couple of t-shirts that are hand-me-downs from Chris a little early:/ But he usually thinks Chris is really cool and love to wear anything that Chris would have worn:)

Schooling is very simple (and lately sporadic). It often consists of reading books from Before Five In a Row, doing an activity or two, working on a page of a pre-reader (beginning sounds practice), a game and then he's about done. 15-20 minutes:) And then while I work with the older kids he does puzzles, plays with Duplos, Legos, Lincoln Logs, draws/cuts/glues.... stays busy and content until his tummy starts rumbling for lunch!


His favorites:

Color : Blue

Food : Pizza

Treat:  Chocolate Break-up
Subject: Cutting with Scissors
Animal: Baby Elephant or Dinosaur , Jack (our dog)

Do inside: Train track, Puzzles
Outside Activity: Play Soldiers in Woods, Ride his Bike (Horse)
Toys: Legos, Big Firetruck, Noisy Motorcycle
Restaurant: Deadwood
Book: anything about Tools, Dinosaurs
Movie: Letter Factory, Cars
TV Show: Leave It to Beaver, Handy Manny, Bob the Builder, Calliou

Goals for his 4th year: Play soccer on a team

When you ask him what he wants to be when he "grows up" he'll respond "a giant"!

Happy Birthday to 

our silly, crazy, funny, still snuggly

 4 yr old!!

Lydia is 7!

So Lydia celebrated her birthday a few weeks ago:/ We were away celebrating Great Grandma's 105 birthday during Lydia's actual birthday and then it just got BUSY!

When we returned home we went to pick up her gift....

A kitten we adopted from our local vet office. The kitten was brought in by animal control after it was found in one of their cages:/  Sad to think what would have happened to her if our vet didn't have this program!


Lydia had been wanting a pet for a while... a long while! She was hesitant about getting a kitten because of our other two running off:/ But after some research and talks, she decided that she really did like having the cats and wanted another kitten!

So Abigale became a part of the family....

but on one of the coldest weeks ever, so the outside cat became an inside kitten for the 1st week of her stay:) More on that in another post!!

Lydia is our compassionate child. Whether it's taking care of the pets, being the peace-maker while playing with Nate, helping Chris with his extra chores, or serving my dad when he was sick (Lydia sat by his side on some of our visits willing to get stuff for him or hand him his cup) .... Lydia has a servant's heart!

She's also a little self motivated child. She can be such a hard-worker in her studies. In fact when she does complain about an activity or amount of work I have assigned her, I often have had to step back and remind myself "she's only 6 (or now 7)". We've seen it the most in her reading.... she loves reading and we can often find her reading a book that she's found interesting:)

She's not a perfect child... don't get me wrong! I'm not sure how one sweet, little girl can throw soo many things onto a floor as quickly as she can. Or when she and Chris team-up... oh, goodness, THAT is a pair... the giggles, screams and antics those two STILL get into keeps me on my toes! Of course, she's also the one that keeps her brother straight and out of too much trouble:)

But she's also the child that had to remind me the other day that there were more important things than Downton Abbey???  LOL!! I HAD to figure out what she was getting at. She wanted me to know that I could better use my hour on Sunday evening reading my Bible;)  Always nice to have a kid with a heart that is being softened towards the Lord. What a special little girl and stage we are in right now;)

We are blessed to have our little Lydia in our family! 
I love how God builds the family with all the differences, similarities and always the perfect fit;)

Happy (belated)7th  Birthday to our Lydia!

Lydia's  Stats
Lydia is 50 inches tall and weighs  about 65 lbs!

She seems to have skipped a couple of sizes recently! Thankfully she has "shopped" Anna's side of the closest and has found sizes 8-10 that fit well.

She's doing 2nd/3rd grade work... she has buzzed through  Math and seems to always have a book in her hands!!

Her favorites:

Color : Light White
Food : Tacos
Treat:  Chocolate Chip Cookies
Subject: Science
Animal: Cats
Do inside: Play with Legos, wrestle with Nate
Outside Activity: Explore in the woods, Play with Cat
Toys: Remote Control Car
Restaurant: O' Charleys
Book: anything about Animals- especially dogs, horses and cats
Movie: Brave, Spirit
TV Show: Leave It to Beaver

Goals for her 7th year: "train my cat to jump through a hoop and come when I call it"

When you ask her what she wants to be when she "grows up" she'll respond "a veterinarian"!

105 years and counting

Brian's grandma turns 105 this week! Yes, 105!

Since I refer to the grandparents in terms of the kids, I call her Great-Grandma and that's how many of you "know" her, too!

In honor of her birthday, I thought I'd share a really fun visit we had with her during Christmas break. We went to see her for an hour or so but she was having a really good day and I DID have my camera and DID take it out.... thankfully so:)

One of the first happenings was the kids collecting massive of pretty little purple flowers. They came in with handfuls that Uncle Larry found a vase for!

And then Lydia gave Great-Grandma a Loop bracelet she had made for her:) Great-Grandma was pleased and now totally in style!

And then it was Brian's turn:) Great-Grandma's sight is pretty poor. She can see us but not really the details. After our Christmas Day visit, Uncle Larry had told her that Brian was growing some facial hair. So when Brian got close she had to have a chat with him:)

It went something like this:

G-Gma: Larry told me you were growing some facial hair.

G-Gma: Well...

G-Gma: You know what they say. If you can't grow it on top you grow it on your chin.

LOL!! She is just priceless!!

As I sat there watching my husband with his grandma I was soo touched by her show of affection for him...

and the special bond they share.

And it's from years of being one of his biggest fans and supporters. For always being a listening ear for him and encouraging him in his pursuits. For being sure each time he came to visit she would have his favorite frozen doughnuts in the freezer for him. All the little things through the years that make a big impression on a kids' heart no matter how "old" they are:)

We are so thankful for our Grandma/Great-Grandma!! We have treasured each visit we've had with her through the years. And as the kids grow in number and size she just continues to go with the flow;)

We wish Great-Grandma a very HAPPY 105th BIRTHDAY this week:)

The 8th Birthday Party:)

A week ago Chris turned 8:)

My fun-loving, opinionated, creative, busy boy! I'm not sure how the weeks, months and years fly by so quickly when sometimes the days feel long and exhausting. But they do:) And we capture the fun, sweet, silly moments and work through the tough ones;)

This year we told Chris we would host a birthday party for him. He's 8 after all and had never had his own friend birthday party:/ We've had other families over to eat his favorite meal and once had a bunch a friends over for a "going away" playdate that happened to be on Chris' birthday, but he was 2 and was too busy shoving a carrot up his nose.... really, gotta love 2 yr olds:)

Chris came up with some wild ideas and I was floored when Brian agreed to do a "paintball party"!! We priced taking the family paintball-ing but decided it would be cheaper and a lot more fun to do it at the house (and get to keep our stuff)!

So the not-so-secret, very excited Dad began purchasing a couple guns and plenty of ammo... some even on clearance:) And the Momma began planning a menu that would be large group, kid-friendly, low-final prep:) And then they came:)

I worried over whether the rain was going to hold off.

 Or whether the younger kids would run through the house.

 Or where everyone was going to sit!

But don't you know if all worked out! It always does! No need to worry....  I just planned for some "what-ifs" and  watched how everything came together:)

How the afternoon before the party, a man we had hired to cut down some trees not only cut the tree down but then sliced the trunk up into perfect log seats (and log barriers for the boys to hide behind).

 Love God's timing on that, especially since the man's equipment sat in our yard for 2 or 3 weeks and he picked THAT Friday afternoon and he went above and beyond what we asked him! There was NO way Brian would have had the time (and probably didn't have the equipment, either) to complete all that cutting!

And the rain.... it came all BEFORE the party:) The sky looked SOO dark about 30 minutes prior that I was soo worried we were going to be washed out. All 34 of us stuck inside together.... maybe watching Lego movies( if it was Chris' choice)!! But we had a gorgeous morning/afternoon:)

I also had my hands full with the cake!! We are still having to be egg-free (with applesauce) and they just don't hold together right!  I was trying to make a BIG cake (not the casserole dish size) so we could have plenty to share with our friends! So I make a huge sheet cake. But God even allowed a busy mom with the "spiritual gift" of icing a cake to come just in time to help me! And Boy, oh, boy did she work some miracles!! You totally wouldn't have guessed the cake broke into many pieces and had to be put back together... kind of Humpty Dumpty  like (yes, it was bad) :/ Totally wouldn't have known looking at the final creation:)

Kids sure didn't know (or didn't care)!

It was so sweet to have a few of our local friends over to celebrate Chris' 8th birthday! It's so cool to see how everything fit right into place... weather, logs, friends who could make it (last minute I should add), the angels that secretly cleaned up our playroom and the meal that was well received and even fed us the next day when family visited...

 the kids had a blast, the parents got to visit and Chris had a great 8th birthday party:)

More pictures from the day:)

funny to watch my little Lydia expertly load a paintball gun

Brian ready to (take down) play with the kids... Daddy definitely earned some "cool" points!!

Chris proudly wearing his paintball welt (just under his eye to the right)

Lydia and Chris- 14 months and one pound a part (my "twins")

Splattered by paintballs hitting the log barriers

The fierce older sister:)

What do you think.....  maybe our Christmas card pic ? LOL!!

And I see many more paintball battles happening... as soon as it warms up a bit:/