My life as a help meet &; homeschooling mom of many

Special time with J

2012-01-24T12:18:00.000-08:00

One day last week, J woke up especially early. And made it out of his room without waking up the other little ones.

He and I made breakfast together, then played in bubbles and read some books. I am not sure who enjoyed this special time together more, him or me!

Beauty in the simplistic

2012-01-24T12:13:00.000-08:00

In the craziness of life in the last week, I kind of forgot to make a couple of posts...here are some pics the girls took around the yard with the snow all over the ground.

There really is a beauty to be found in freshly fallen snow! God is so good! And now, after being home for 11 days, the children and I are going to venture out to restock the pantry!

Date Night, Death and yelling, "Fire!" in a not so crowded theater.

2012-01-22T08:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was an odd day. It didn't start out that way. But the longer it went on, the most strange it became. I was grateful when sleep finally came last night.

It started with the idea that Chris and I would go on a date. It has been awhile since we have done that, so we were both looking forward to it. We were going to dinner and then to the 6:30 showing of...I actually do not remember what we were going to see initially, lol! This meant really focusing on therapy for Callie and Brianna so that we could get them as close to done as possible! By nap time, Callie only had 4 activities left and Brianna was done! (They worked really hard!)

Then I got a call from my sister. She said that Grandma Marie was in the hospital with pneumonia, and wasn't doing well. She may not make it. She said that I could call Uncle Jerry (Kelly's uncle, and Kelly's grandma, they actually have no relation to me, but Grandma Marie has always treated me as one of her grandchildren...and my children as her great grandchildren.) for more info.

I did call Jerry, pretty much right away to get a better idea of what was going on. He was the one who had called Kelly, and basically told me the exact thing that she was told. I asked if it was ok for me to come by that evening, and he said that would be great.

Meanwhile, Chris was in Seattle working, so I called him to confirm it was ok for us to go visit her, he said he would come home early so we could maybe even make out movie as well. I called Chris' parents to get let them know what was going on, and if they could get there any earlier, I would greatly appreciate it. Then I got to tell my children, and the girls set off making cards for her.

We spent the majority of the afternoon making cards. Before I knew it, it was time to go...and I wasn't *really* ready.

When we got to the hospital, my first thought was SHOCK. What I was told, was not what I saw. What I saw was someone in their last moments of life, gasping for a single breath of air every 3-5 seconds, mouth open, unresponsive, with no IV fluids, and just comfort measures in place. We stayed at the hospital, where the mood was actual light, and people were catching up, smiling and laughing, for about an hour and a half. By the time we left, she was taking a breath every 5-8 seconds, sometimes longer. I made sure to say my good-byes before I left. Kelly was already at the hospital when we got there. Chris made sure that Kaitie knew that if it was important to her to say her good-byes, to do so that night, and not to wait until the next morning.

Then we carried on with our plan...to go out to dinner. Where I got a text from Kelly telling me to stop texting Kaitie because we were upsetting her. While we were at dinner, an elderly man had a stroke, and several doctors in the restaurant attended him.

Then we went to see Mission Impossible 4...because it had a later start time, lol! About 10 minutes into the movie, I got a call from my cousin (actually Kelly's cousin again), that Grandma had passed at about 9:00 pm. (She will get her own post later, when I have a bit more time...I am just trying to make sense of a very crazy day right now!) I was also asked to let my sisters know.

Kelly didn't answer, so I tried a second time, not wanting to leave this in a message. Then I ended up calling Chris' mom for advice on what to do, since she wouldn't answer and I suspected that it had something to do with the text exchange earlier...she said to leave a message that I really needed to talk with her as soon as she can call. As I was finishing up the call, I got a text from Kelly saying that she was low on minutes and what was up. I texted back that I really needed her to call me ASAP. After about 2 minutes of waiting in the hall, I decided to call her (I didn't want to interrupt the movie AGAIN for everyone else by me going in and out again. Kelly was very upset...especially after assuring Kaiting that I was overreacting, and that it was ok that she couldn't make it until the next day...Kelly said that she wanted to tell Kaitie. (Whom I had already left a message for to call me as soon as she could.)

After I got done talking with Kelly, I went back into the movie...though I do not remember much of what happened, it was a nice dark, quiet place to shed a few tears alone.

When the movie was finished, I filled Chris in on what was going on when I had left the theater. Then, as if this weren't enough for a day, and being 13 weeks pregnant, I went to the restroom...which was filled with smoke. There was a fire in the garbage can! I ran out yelling, "Fire! There's a fire in the women's garbage can!" People just looked at me. One even said, "Isn't it illegal to say that?" to her friends...I couldn't find an employee anywhere! I decided to look for a fire extinguisher since the flames were contained in the garbage so far...Chris and another man ran into the women's restroom to try to put the flames out. And decided to just move the can outside. Where I met them with the fire extinguisher I found.

I got to write up a statement, and we were given 6 free movie passes for 'saving the theater.'

All in all, it was such an odd day! I am still working on processing it, but writing this, even if no one reads it, has been therapeutic!

Now I have to tell my children that Grandma Marie is gone...not something I am looking forward to. I do not even know how or when I will do it today.

More snow!

2012-01-17T11:52:00.000-08:00

We rarely get much snow. As my previous post indicated, a dusting around here, is considered 'snowfall' and time to outside to play in it!

This picture, is almost unread to me, taken from the Yahoo main page.

Just showing how much of an end our ruler has, you really have to add
1/4 inch to it if it is tipped, and 1/2 inch if it is level.

Here is how we are measuring up so far at my house...total this week:

Here is today's snowfall (the girls cleared the cube of snow yesterday, and it was still clear this morning...) It is currently 11:45 am, and there is no sign that this is going to let up anytime soon!

And it is still coming down like crazy! Maybe the predictions are right this time?

Today's snow pics

2012-01-15T23:30:00.000-08:00

Anna and Ashley's snow elephant

The twins stayed outside for most of the day. I was amazed at how long they stayed outside! They basically came inside in age order starting with the youngest.

Anna sitting on her snow boot

Callie had trouble walking, even with her walker,
so Anna gave the little ones a ride in style!

Callie making a snow angel

J riding Anna's snow horse

Callie riding Anna's snow horse

J, amazed the snow sticks to his mitten

Anna, making her snow boot

Anna riding on her snow horse.

SNOW!

2012-01-15T20:26:00.000-08:00

Snow is something to get excited about in the pacific northwest. Whether you love it or dislike it, everyone seems to get excited one way or another.

I had a rough year about 3 winters ago, before this blog was started - though some of the pics and stories would have definitely been blog worthy, lol, anyway, I will just share the part that made me go from loving the snow, to disliking it...and left me with a fear of driving in it!

Sledding weather!

I used to jump up and tell the girls to grab the sled if we had even a dusting! (This pic really explains it well, lol!)

Then we had a truly hard core winter for us...snow that stuck around for 2 weeks at a time, and it was big blast of winter after big blast of winter...Christmas day, we were at Chris' parents, as usual, but we were struggling to get home. We were going on fumes in the van, it was slipping and sliding all over...we were stuck blocking the alley, trying to get in our driveway for 3+ hours before deciding to put the van on the road...we are pretty sure that the pushing, pulling and otherwise trying to get the bus unstuck that night is what caused a placental abruption for J's twin.

If that were not enough, once I recovered from the loss of J's twin, I decided I needed to go to the store to get some heavy cream - to make snow ice cream of course! But the van got stuck on the hill trying to go to the store. I decided since I was less than 1/2 way to the store, to just head for home...then had the thought that maybe the bakery had some. They didn't. While crossing the street from the bakery to the fruit stand, a car decided no to stop at the stop sign...he just crawled through the intersection...but I was in his way, I hurried the best I could, but was sliding all over the road. He clipped my leg, and then rolled down his window and said, "Sorry, but I can't stop! I will get stuck!" and kept going. There was a witness at the fruit stand, who watched me get spun around on the road and fall from being hit on my right leg. I gathered up groceries and was limping. When I got to the sidewalk, he asked if he needed me to call an ambulance. I said no, I just live a few houses away. I was really sore for the next several weeks!

So...now, I am much more squeemish about driving in the snow - in fact, I just don't do it anymore. (And as I look at the weather report for this week, my schedule is clearing out for the week, lol!

My children still absolutely LOVE the snow! And have been excited to play in the snow all day. The twins were outside most of the day, followed by Ashley and Brianna for being out the longest. Callie lasted a lot longer than I thought at almost an hour, and J had fun outside for about 45 minutes. Serenity had fun watching the snow fall, and saying, "Oh!" and pointing out the window. The creativity of my chilren never ceases to amaze me! What a blessing to see all of their wonderful creations in the snow! I enjoy watching them play outside, going out to take pics, and seeing their excitement...just as long as I dont' need to go anywhere, lol! I have too many pics to post, so I will put yesterday's pics in this post, and today's pics in another post!

The Dentist

2012-01-15T10:46:00.000-08:00

I really love our dentist, Dr. Lugo at Marysville Children's Dentistry! He does such a great job catering to bigger than average families. He is willing to basically shut the office down for a couple of hours, and do all of my children (all 7 of them) in a single afternoon!

He is also really great with our children, even when they need to have cavities filled, the girls have not been afraid at all!

His office is entertaining both to those who are in the dentist chair, and those who are not. He lets everyone watch a movie while he and his assistants work. His office also has a video playing in their play room.

Ashley Elizabeth

2012-01-13T15:33:00.000-08:00

From the very start, this little girl has been nothing but smiles (she started smiling at just 3 weeks old, and hasn't really stopped since!). She loves to laugh, and be tickled, she can light up a room, just by walking into it! Ashley is enjoying school this year, much more than last year, as her time isn't 100% focused on playing pretend any longer. (Ashley saw school last year as in interruption from playing pretend...a long help activity for her. When she was very young, just barely 2 maybe, she brought some items to me and asked to play pretend. "Here, you play this." She said, handing me a chair. She had a little girl and a rabbit, as I recall. After almost a minute of silence and her walking her characters around the chair, I said, "Hi, I'm a chair. Can I offer you a seat?" to which Ashley replied, "No, Mommy! Chairs can't talk!" In her, that is completely ridiculous and can't happen in our pretend show kind of voice, lol! At the time, this was a welcome change from her very overachieving active self...she was crawling at 5 1/2 months, and walking at 9 months...and didn't slow down until she discovered pretend!)

She is getting better and better at reading, writing and math. She has started working on penmanship this year, enjoys singing in choir, playing piano, and is already greatly anticipating playing the clarinet in band (though she has 2 1/2 years to wait for that one, lol!).
Ashley has always had a very small stature, but what she lacks in size, she makes up for with big personality! She loves to be silly and make people laugh! She enjoys making silly faces, doing art projects, riding her bike, and cooking.

This is by far our best 1st birthday cake pic!

Ashley has also learned in the last year to really enjoy playing outdoors. She never really liked it before as, no matter what we put on her, she was just too cold! Her adventuresome side, however, has always been apparent prior to her desire to be outdoor inside...she now just has a whole lot more to explore outside now!

Ashley has always had a curiosity and excitement for life that is played out in her exuberant smile and enthusiasm when learning about something new. Currently, she is starting a study on her own about Beavers. She wants to learn about them, then make a presentation to give to the zoo, and possibly take it to the Evergreen State Fair.

This is one of my all time favorite pics of Ashley...check
out her expression as she is running from this
pretend dino at the children's museum!

This girl is always thinking! Even when I am sure she is getting NOTHING out of our school lessons (particularly those we do as a group, that are geared more for the twins), she will surprise us with very deep thoughts, and truths that are far beyond her years!

Ashley has made a good transition to being one of the 'big girls.' She enjoys hanging out with them and doing whatever it is that they are doing...but she also will take the time to play with Brianna and Callie, making them feel special.

Check out this excitement!

Ashley has always had a way about her that was almost like royalty...the way she swishes her dress, makes sure she looks presentable, her desire to be modest and to look nice. It has been very interesting to watch her sense of fashion develop, especially when she decides to experiment with different combos, lol!

Ashley is such a blessing to our family! While she does tend to be on the quieter side of things (sometimes, we have to go check on her just because of how quiet she is!), her presence is huge! When Ashley is gone, the whole family dynamic changes, and she is greatly missed!

I know I have said that each of my younger 6 are blessings to our family, but the truth is that each fo them ARE a blessing! They all add their own unique flare and character to our family, which has made it what it is. We couldn't imagine our family without each and every member in it - including Chris' parents who we have lived with for almost 2 years now!

Neurodevelopmental Therapy week 1

2012-01-12T20:55:00.000-08:00

We have now completed the first of what I hope is the most consistent 4 month period of neurodevelopmental therapy for us yet! So far, after 1 week's time, we have missed a total of 11 activities! (9 for Callie and 2 for Brianna. Not bad considering Callie has 45 activities and Brianna has 31. So this week, we get a score of 445/456 total activities for the week. They get 1 day off each week, and a 1/2 day (which we didnt' really take). And this includes the day they got their program (when we didn't get home until after 5 pm)...all in all, it is a very successful week, and I am very proud of my girls.

Brianna is having some difficulty with it...anytime you are changing the way the brain functions, there tends to be a bit of 'regression' or behavior issues. We have been off of the program for too long, because now we get to do it again with Brianna!

Callie is doing AWESOME! She is almost back to where she was in August when she got sick and has had so many issues with her feet. Though she is still having issues with her feet, we have been able to get the pain back to a manageable place and have been able to get her range of motion to a place where it is functional for her again!

God is so good! I praise and thank him for this program and for the help we have had in getting into it! Even with the challenges and difficulties, it is so worth it to see the changes that we are seeing, and the maturity and growth and developmental milestones we have seen in both of the girls.

I intended to take pics of lots of different parts of their therapy for this post, but today was such a crazy day (therapy/piano lessons/school all before 11:45, when we need to leave for choir/band, then from there we went to help a friend with some housework and bring dinner while she is sick)...I just didnt' have time to take any pics...I decided to make the post anyway! I probably will not post updates every week, but I will post updates periodically, maybe monthly during this 4 month time period. I also started a ticker at the right side of the blog to show how much time is left until their next appointment.

Brianna Shannon

2012-01-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

Brianna is a spunky, independent little girl, who really wants to be counted as one of the big girls. She is working hard on her behavior and her attitude so that she can truly make this transition!

One of the ways that she is working on her attitude and behavior, is through neurodevelopmental therapy. She is doing activities to help her go back and lay the foundation in her brain that she wasn't able to do, probably because of her prematurity.

Brianna loves music! This is her 2nd year in the choir program. She also started playing the piano this year, and is doing very well! She completed her first book this last week because of her hard work and dedication! (The same book took Ashley almost twice as long to complete last year!) Brianna has always been very musically inclined. She loves to dance, and sing!

Brianna is in the first grade, and is learning to read more efficiently this year. She loves doing school, especially worksheets and math! Much of her neurodevelopmental therapy program is working on reading and math skills over this 4 month time period.

She loves being a big sister! Brianna tries to help with the little ones. She enjoys helping them get set up from activity to activity, helping them get lunch, and to go potty (mostly for J), she likes to play with them, and show them new things!

Miss Breezy is very caring and loving. She has a very sensitive spirit. If one of her siblings is hurt, she hurts with them. She doesn't like to see anyone else get in trouble.

She is such a blessing in our family! She adds so much character and spice to daily life! God has given her an ability to look at things differently than the rest of us. I first noticed it when she was about 2. She was playing with the buttons in my button jar, sorting them into a muffin tin. Everyone else sorted by size, or color, or shape at that age, at first, I thought Brianna was just randomly putting them in the cups, but when I commented, she said, "See? These all have 2 holes, and these have 3 holes, and these have 4 holes." She sorted them by the number of holes each one had, regardless of size and color. She actually saw something that I myself hadn't even noticed! And so it has been with Brianna for her whole life! She looks at things just a little bit differently and she shows the rest of us a new way to view the world! What a precious gift she is!

Callie Grace

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Callie is a sweet, fun loving, hard working 4 year old. She works hard at any physical task she does, and normally rises to the occasion with an attitude that is nothing shy of miraculous! She has come so far in the last year with her walking, and getting around in general. We had a neurodevelopmental therapy appointment yesterday that really demonstrated just how far she has come! (But that will be its own post coming up - Hoping to get the blog really caught up very shortly!)

Callie has come so far from her days of being in the NICU. I remember watching the scale in those early days as she lost weight, praying that she wouldn't drop below 3 pounds (she got down to 3 pounds and 1/4 oz so God answered that prayer!) and wondering what the future would hold for her...

She has an infectious smile and laughter that can brighten even the darkest day! She loves playing with her sisters, taking care of her baby doll and working on therapy. She loves to be challenged physically. Her new favorite therapy activity is walking up hills!

She also has a new least favorite therapy activity...stretches, which have been modified to help accommodate lengthening muscles...ouch, it is hard core stretching! It breaks my heart to have to do it, but at the same time, I know it is what she needs!

Callie is now able to walk across a gravel parking lot, and wood chips at the park. She is working on being able to jump, too.

Callie loves listening to books, doing art projects, and school. She is learning to read this year, and absolutely loves it! Callie is really looking forward to joining choir next year (the same one that the older girls are in), when she will be turning 5. She loves singing and dancing!

Callie is such a blessing to our family. She has taught us what true dedication, perseverance and persistence are. She is demonstrating what a positive attitude is each and every day. She has such a cheerful spirit. She is an absolute delight! She is a ray of sunshine, always shining in our house!

Justice Shannon Andrew

2012-01-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

J is 2 1/2 years old as of December, and this boy is busy, all the time! Lately, he has really mastered potty training. He is now in big boy underwear all day, and usually wakes up dry in the morning (at least 9 out of the last 10 days). Leaving us with only 1 in diapers all day! (At least until the new baby comes, lol!)

He loves trains, and cars, things that make noise. He enjoys playing at the bean table, reading books, and riding Callie's trike. He would rather play outdoors all the time, but due to the rain, he is having to get used to being indoors more as the weather her been pretty cold and wet. On the off dry day, we try to go to the park so that he can run and play outside!

He does a great job playing quietly or sitting and listening in with a quiet activity to do during school time.

J loves to help with anything and everything! In the kitchen, sweeping, moving chairs to sweep, taking the garbage out, laundry, dishes and even cleaning bathrooms. He wants to be part of whatever is going on. He especially loves to help cook!

He is experimenting with humor, and it is so funny to watch him intentionally be silly and watch our reactions.

He is getting better and better at talking, though it is still hard for others outside the family to understand him - and there are still times when it is hard for us IN the in family to understand him!

Justice is very sweet and loving, and while he does enjoy rough housing, he also makes sure his sisters are ok. He gets very upset if Callie or Serenity especially are crying or in need. He

is very protective overall with his sisters. Recently, Bailey had her cast taken off, she was taken to the cast room to have that done while I waiting with the younger ones for Brianna to finish in x-ray. When we met up with the twins and Ashley in the cast room, the technician was already buzzing the cast off. J was holding my hand at the doorway, but instantly charged into the room and tried to push the technician away from his sister saying, "No urt, Bayee!" He really thought Bailey was in danger, and he was ready to charge into action to save her!

This little boy has been a huge blessing to our family! He is a reward and a treasure! It has been so much fun to see the differences God builds into boys and girls from without our own home!

Taking a walk

2012-01-09T13:26:00.000-08:00

Callie woke up from nap yesterday and asked if we could go find some hills...knowing we have some on our street, we decided to take a walk!

The older 4 were all on bikes, so they were really hard to snap pictures of!

Here is a video of Callie walking up and down hills that I took yesterday.

Neurodevelopmental Therapy Appointment

2012-01-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

Callie and Breezy had an appointment with Cyndi Ringoen on Friday. It is the first time I didn't have a 2nd set of hands during the appointment, and boy would it have been helpful. Oh, well! As a parent, I have to do what I need to when it needs to be done, lol! More on this later.

I was a little nervous about the appointment as we have only been able to achieve about 50% of completing their programs in the last 8 months (we skipped September's appointment). But both of them made some real progress!

First, Brianna. I really didn't see any progress for her, honestly...but she DID have progress! She was run through a battery of physical tasks last time, in which she fell 12 times. This time, she only fell twice, which shows great improvement in her coordination and balance. Last time, she wasn't even in a place where we could work on cognitive maturity, but now she is! Cyndi is anticipating about 2 years worth of maturity in these next 4 months in this little girl! She is also showing about 1 year's worth of math and 8 months of reading progress in her academic knowledge. Which Cyndi says is really good since she doesn't *really* have the mental maturity to handle the concepts yet. Once we get these next couple of years worth of maturity, she believes that many of these things are going to click into place for Miss Brianna!

The next level of bringing Brianna's coordination up is definitely proving difficult for her! She has to skip forward and backward for 2 minutes, and do ballet bends (with toes pointed out) also for 2 minutes.

She is also working on sensory integration, which means different sensations on the skin (such as a vibrator, different levels of touch, like deep hugs - big bear hugs, etc). And she is working on getting her right ear to be her dominant ear (8 months ago, she was mixed, now she has started using this one more, and hopefully it will truly be dominant in 4 more months). Theoretically, this will help her to be more emotionally stable.

Then there is Callie. When we last saw Cyndi, Callie could walk 15 feet as her maximum. Now she is walking over 100 feet, and can do so over gravel, dirt or wood chips. Callie is able to ride a trike, is working on jumping, can balance while taking her pants off and back on and get herself up and down off the potty (making her independent in the bathroom!)...she wasn't doing ANY of these things 8 months ago! She is also using her right hand functionally now, rather than avoiding use of it 8 months ago.

Callie's mental maturity is actually really high for her age. She is working more on the physical, gross and fine motor skills, so her therapy looks very different than Brianna's. Callie is working on learning to read, and beginning to work on math skills, because she has the maturity to handle the concepts...but her main focus is still walking! Her new favorite activity is walking up hills, and she is even insisting on walking down hills, too (which is really scary for me to watch!). She is showing improvement each time we take her out!

After we met with Miss Cyndi, we had each activity that we are unfamiliar with explained in detail to us. At this point, after getting up early, and being asked to do lots of difficult tasks, my girls were DONE, so it was a real challenge to get through this time without another set of hands to help! It made me so glad I was able to get back to back appointments on a Saturday for next time!

And finally, here is a picture of my NOT tired little girls, after a full day of therapy evals and new programs being assigned. This was about 5 minutes after we left our appointment (which took us until about 3:30 pm).

I still need to find something to do for walking on hills when the weather is not so agreeable - like today...which may mean a trip to the hardware store for supplies to build a ramp...and I need to build a platform that has a 15 degree angle for Callie to stand on and do squats. I am open for suggestions if anyone knows of a long ramp or hill of some sort that is under cover or indoors that we could use locally.

Gingerbread House

2012-01-09T08:41:00.000-08:00

We have not been very consistent about doing ginger bread houses. And this year, I hadn't gotten around to it, but at the Pence Christmas party, we were given a kit. Anna basically ran the show, and did a wonderful job letting everyone take part! I didn't even take many pictures of this, oh, well! (I have been in bad blogger mode for the last month or so!)

Serenity Faith

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

Serenity is now 14 1/2 months old. She is curious and inquisitive! She is working hard at being able to talk, and will repeat almost anything. It is also interesting to note that she is my only girl who makes car and train noises as she is playing - and the only one with a big brother, lol!

She loves her baby doll. She loves pointing out parts of everyone face, eyes, ears, nose, mouth and cheeks are currently the ones she can do on her own (she can come up with those words on her own while playing with her doll and pointing to them).

Her favorite things right now have to be climbing and getting into the bathroom!

She enjoys the sensory table, which currently has different beans in it, and is doing a very good job of not eating the beans.

She loves to eat - anything and everything, but she has to do it herself! She is working on using an open cup. She is still nursing, but it is down to just once a day, in the early mornings. Not sure how long she will keep that up as my milk supply drastically dropped with the pregnancy.

She is still taking 2 naps per day, which is very helpful when it comes to getting school done with the older ones!

Serenity loves all of her big siblings and trying to do what they are doing...except for walking! She loves to walk to people, but won't walk otherwise. She will walk 12+ feet when someone is calling her with open arms to walk to them, but has no interest in walking from place to play on her own. She is just focused on other things. I have no doubt that she will get it one day, at her pace, in her own time!

This girls LOVES her grandpa! She has ever since the very beginning. Her the last week, and she hs been looking for him around the house in the evenings, especially.

Mommy thinks this hat Grandma made is cute - but I don't like it!

We are so blessed to have her as part of our family. We have all enjoyed watching her grow, learn and develop. What a privilege that God chose to bless us with her!

Update from December #3 - Christmas Day

2012-01-08T22:47:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning setup

We had a wonderful Christmas! My children have such an amazing capacity to give and share! They chose to give up 1 of their three gifts in order to choose something from the Samaritan's Purse Catalog to give Jesus (for what you do to the least of these, you do unto Jesus)...

What a joy it was to watch them pouring over the catalog for the days leading up to Christmas to see what they wanted to give, then they got to announce what they wanted to give on Christmas morning!

I love watching my children on Christmas - I love that they have so much excitement over giving their secret sibling present. I love watching them open their gifts with awe and wonder in their eyes!

This is the 2nd year that the twins asked if they could help with Christmas morning set up...I told them not this year, and probably not for several years to come. I explained to them that this is their time to enjoy everything being done for them, and that one day, sooner than they think, they will be helping me get Christmas all set up, and they will have their own homes, and their own families for which to be setting up Christmas. It also made me realize that my time, with everyone at home, is also limited. I have only a few short years when my children are young and small to enjoy this time of magic and wonder in their eyes during Christmas.

We are so excited to have Chris' parents living with us, as they have been the last almost 2 years, to enjoy special times like Christmas! They are a wonderful blessing, and a help. It is also a joy to watch their interactions with our children. The advantage that grandparents have over parents is one of experience. They have a better perspective on what is really important. I have really learned a lot from watching them!

Update from December #2 - My family's Get together

2012-01-08T21:52:00.000-08:00

My family got together in December for the first time in 13 years for the holidays. It was a fun get together!

Going to my grandparents' house means taking a ferry (whose fees have drastically increased since getting the bus - over $80 - YIKES) everyone had a great time on the boat!

Serenity really liked the seat she got to
use while I was using the restroom. It sits up really high!

From right back row: Chris, Kevin holding Callie, Dave, Grandma, Casey holding J, Grandpa and Kaitie behind Ashley
Front row: Bailey holding Serenity, Brandon holding Corbin, Sherry, Brianna, Kelly, Jace, and Anna

Updates from December #1, Roller Skating and Musical Performances

2012-01-08T17:28:00.000-08:00

Everyone had a very full month!

We had fun roller skating at a birthday party. J got to try his footing on skates. He enjoyed going around holding some one's hand, but after about 4 laps, he was ready to be done. Callie made it about 8 laps with her walker.

The older 4 had a piano recital and a choir concert. The twins also had their first ever band performance! (This was Brianna's first piano recital...and she was even the very first student to go!) All of them did a wonderful job! All of their hard work has certainly paid off!

A post about each child

2012-01-08T13:05:00.000-08:00

I am going to attempt what a friend of mine recently did - to showcase each of my children in their own post. Since the eldest usually get to go first, I am going to start with the baby of the family.

There really isn't much to say about the baby, except what is seen on this pic, so I will let the pic do the talking!

I am feeling pretty good. Mostly, just tired. And that seems to be getting better overall. I am due July 29th, and am excited to make my due MONTH for the first time ever.

We do know this baby sounds and looks healthy. We also know this baby is a singleton, but we do not yet know the gender. Looking forward to the gender scan sometime in March. We feel so blessed that God has chosen to bless us once again with a new little bundle, that He has entrusted us with another little soul to raise up for Him, in the way that they should go. God is so good, all the time!

Look for the next post in this series in the next day or two...working on getting back to blogging more regularly. I have really slacked the last couple of months, and we have lots to share!

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T23:49:00.000-08:00

Here, it is, 11:40 pm, on New Year's Eve. We had a fantastic evening playing games, like Quirkle, Bible Charades (which was WAY more fun to play after we started making up our own instead of going with the cards they gave us), Spot It, Gobblet Gobblers, Mexican Train Dominos, and Left, Right, Center.

We had chips, dips, cake, cookies, Costco muffins, hot cocoa and spiced cider.

All 11 of us, Chris, his parents, the children and myself, made for the perfect company!

And now, I can hear the brand new sheet set, put on the bed for the first time today, that my wonderful husband got me for Christmas calling my name...16 minutes left...do I go down and join Chris and the children (Chris' parents went to bed already) to watch the fireworks at the Space Needle, or just head up to bed???

God has blessed us so much this year. He has also taught us some wonderful lessons. We truly have so much to be thankful for. I am excited to see what He has in store for us next year and we seek Him.

Now with just 11 minutes remaining, I think I will join Chris and the big girls downstairs to watch the Space Needle firework show to ring in the New Year!

We pray that each of you who reads this would feel God's love for you. We pray that God would bless you and draw you closer to Him in ways that you never have before or tha you come to know Him in the new year.

Updating the blog...

2011-12-30T08:04:00.000-08:00

I have found a way to publish new blog posts! The only trouble is, I had to use the new blogger interface, and being that I don't like change, I now have to get used to it...translation: It might be awhile before I get the blog truly updated, lol!

Lots to catch up on...

2011-12-20T23:37:00.001-08:00

My amazing and wonderful husband got me an early Christmas present - a new laptop! It is awesome! It is so fast, I can hardly believe it! The only trouble is that I am not able to publish blog posts from it for some strange reason! I am making this effort now to publish this as I have had several people ask if everything is ok. I hope to get that corrected soon I can get more posts published.

Highlights of what is to come...

A scrapbooking post. I am working on scrapbooks again (I kind of took the last year off, so while I was so caught up last year, I am no longer in such a good position this year, lol!)

Family Thanksgiving/Christmas party with MY family...something that hasn't happened in 13 years, I think we figured...that is almost 1/2 my life, lol! (And I am the eldest of my generation.)

Staking.

Choir concert.

Piano Recital.

And I am sure many more that I have forgotten off the top of my head, lol!

Jesus' Birthday

2011-12-12T00:14:00.000-08:00

We read this and this aloud. Both are good reads (not overly long) and I highly recommend them.

The first link, I saw last year, I forwarded it onto Chris, (who was swamped with work at the time!), and never really followed up on it. I thought it was a good idea last year, but I already had my shopping done, so didn't really know what to do with it. I have thought of it a couple of times, but had no idea how to locate the link again. I am grateful for a friend who posted it this year, and at a time when I am no where near done with Christmas shopping (in fact, I really have not even begun)...

Then Chris and I talked about how we might want to change things.

Then we talked with the girls about lots of different things. First birthdays, and their favorite part (family, friends and presents). Then about giving. We talked about being rich or poor. That there will always be some one who would consider us rich and someone else who would consider us poor. We talked about being rich or poor and giving together. How Jesus viewed the gift given by the rich man, who was giving from his abundance, vs. the widow, who was giving all she had. We talked about the sacrifice she made to give her offering. We talked about doing things for the 'least of these' that Jesus said was the same as doing things for him.

Then we talked about real poverty. People who do not have enough food to eat, clean water to drink, access to medical attention if they are hurt or sick. Widows and orphans living in unthinkable conditions...

Finally, we asked them to make a sacrifice. We normally give our children 3 gifts each for Christmas. This year, we asked them to sacrifice one of their gifts for Jesus. They will get an allotment of money, which they will be able to either combine with another sibling, or use on their own in the Samaritan's Purse Catalog to get something for a family or a community to make a real difference in the lives of those who are truly in need.

It is my hope that they are really able to grasp the importance of helping a family or community get a source of income, food, and access to clean water. I pray that my children understand that it is our responsibility to help widows, orphans and those who are less fortunate than we are (and that it is NOT the government's responsibility to do so, but the church, who are able to minister to the whole person, body, mind and soul.) It is our prayer that God would use these meager offerings to change the world for His name's sake. I pray that God would be able to transform these people's lives, get His word into their hands, and come to have a relationship with the one and only true God, who loved them so much, he gave them the greatest gift of all, His own Son, who came, not in luxury, but was born in a barn, with animals, and slept in a manger. He came to serve us, and ultimately, to pay the price for our sin, something we could never repay.

Twins' birthday party

2011-12-07T13:00:00.000-08:00

We celebrated the twins' birthday party on Monday night. Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Jann came over for cake, ice cream and presents.

The twins chose to have Subway subs for their dinner. (It is such a huge blessing that they have always agreed and wanted to have the same thing for their birthday dinner!)

Then we had a DQ cake.

Followed by presents. This year, we got them 2 big presents to share. The first is a digital camera, the 2nd is a microscope. Both will be lots of fun, and will see lots of use!

We also got each of them a scraperfoil craft project to work on as well as a crochet book to share (and the crochet hooks to go with the projects they will want to do).

Grandma and Grandpa got Bailey the rest of the Boxcar Children series to fill in the first 40 books! Anna got a 1,000 piece puzzle of Yellowstone that looks like it will be a lot of fun!

Aunt Carolyn and Faux-Pa got the girls some new clothes.

They also got a surprise package in the mail from friends who have moved across the country. It might be their very favorite gift of all, not only for the thoughtful gift that it is (they are really enjoying listening to new Oddessy adventures!), but also because it reminds them of their friends! Thank you so much for making their day like you did!

Happy Birthday, girls!