I’ve found so much joy in recording memories, chronicling our adventures, and sharing pieces of my heart. In fact, just typing these words on the screen brings a sense of rightness. Writing has been a creative outlet for me. But more than that, it’s seen me grow from a newlywed to now a mother of four. I’ve moved from Indiana to Arizona to Oregon. This blog has been a life-line through dark seasons, isolation, and early motherhood days. It’s fostered connection with far off family and friends, and I’ve found joy in the rhythm and routine of it. I enjoy the challenge of honing this writing craft. And though I’m hesitant to admit it–I’ve started to think of myself as a writer.

Of course I’m not a writer on a grand scale, but after typing 677 posts over 13 years, I’m recognizing that writing has become a part of me.

So, with lots of emotions tugging at my heart, I write to say that I’ve decided to stop blogging.

I experimented with not writing for a few months back in late 2018, and I really missed it! I’m sure I’ll miss it now too. The missing of it will always be hard no matter when I stop.

But after mulling it over, I know it’s the right choice for our family–at least for now. The boys are growing up and starting to notice what I post. As the seasons of life shift, perhaps my writing should too. I’m hoping that saying “goodbye” to the blog will mean saying “hello” to other writing outlets. Maybe a family yearbook for recording memories? Maybe more handwritten letters? Journaling? We’ll see.

My current project is finding a way to preserve this blog in book form, so the posts should still be up for a while as I work on that.

For all of you who have visited this little blog, read my ramblings, commented and connected…thank you, truly. I’ll miss this space, but I’d still love to connect with you. Our hearts and home are always open.

With love, Elisabeth

The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
a light has dawned
on those living in the land of darkness.

This Christmas I particularly noticed the theme of “light shining in darkness” throughout the season. Our advent sermon series at church traced this theme from the beginning to end of time.

During our family Bible times we learned the Sussex carol. One of Stephen’s favorite lines is, “Then why should men on earth be so sad since our Redeemer made us glad.” The joy of Christmas is that Jesus Himself is that Light that conquers our deepest darkness.

Our Jesse tree ornaments and scripture readings not only lead us through Jesus’ family tree and the history of Israel, but they also walk through prophecies regarding the Messiah.

Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
a Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
a Spirit of counsel and strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

His delight will be in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge
by what he sees with his eyes,
he will not execute justice
by what he hears with his ears,
but he will judge the poor righteously
and execute justice for the oppressed of the land.

He will strike the land
with a scepter from his mouth,
and he will kill the wicked
with a command from his lips.

Righteousness will be a belt around his hips;
faithfulness will be a belt around his waist.

The wolf will dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard will lie down with the goat.
The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf will be together,
and a child will lead them.

The cow and the bear will graze,
their young ones will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like cattle.

An infant will play beside the cobra’s pit,
and a toddler will put his hand into a snake’s den.

They will not harm or destroy each other
on my entire holy mountain,
for the land will be as full
of the knowledge of the Lord
as the sea is filled with water.

On that day the root of Jesse
will stand as a banner for the peoples.
The nations will look to him for guidance,
and his resting place will be glorious.

Isaiah 11:1-10, CSB

Stephen and I were both able to help with the boys’ winter parties at school. Seeing Cooper’s class reminded me just how little 7 year-olds can be. I’ve been reminded to soak up his 7 year old cuddles and chats before they slip away.

The older boys had a mini piano recital at their teacher’s house with her other students. Silas played Good King Wenceslas, Deck the Halls, and Jolly Old Saint Nicholas and Cooper played The Perfect Christmas Tree and We Three Kings. I can’t wait for the spring recital when parents are invited!

The live tree we picked this year was so fragrant! Decorating night was hilarious since the boys took their job very seriously and Brynn was the self-appointed bell ringer. She practically ran a marathon of laps around our house ringing the bell as Silas and Cooper decked the tree.

Attending the Christmas Eve service–to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas with my family in Christ–was life-giving. At one point all the children were invited to sit on stage for a special Christmas message just for them. At the close of the service, I looked over to see Stephen holding Brynn in the candle glow as we sang carols in the darkness. It’s these moments that I wish I could capture.

Christmas morning was chaotic in the best kind of way. Between stockings, presents from extended family and friends, and the presents we got the kids, our family room was filled full. We opened gifts and had our traditional Christmas brunch with our friends.

The rest of the day, I held a sick baby since Thatcher had bronchiolitis for his first Christmas.

The kids dug into their new art projects, science experiments, Lego sets, and toys.

All the Christmas snacks and treats made for an easy day of no cooking, and we did several video calls with our family.

The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never close by day because it will never be night there. 

Revelation 21:23-25, CSB

Thank you, Jesus, for piercing our dark hearts with your light.

By now, Bend is one of the kids’ favorite places. We drove over at the beginning of December for GreenLoop’s annual Christmas party. This one was special because we video conferenced with the Phoenix office and two remote employees–one of whom is my sister-in-law Tammy.

After an evening of amazing food and white elephant gifts, we took our troop back to the hotel–another magical place for our little people. When we had first arrived, Silas unpacked all his earthly treasures in about 2.5 seconds and carefully arranged them by his bedside, creating his ‘home away from home.’

The lack of snow in the city proper brought our children to tears as they were hoping for some sledding. Thankfully, deep snow was just a short drive away, and the sledding at Wanoga was epic!

Cooper flipped on his head one ride down the bumpy mountainside.

Silas went airborne for more than one descent, and they all took snow spray to the face.

Eventually Cooper figured out how to sit at the front of the sled and use his feet as brakes in order to stay on his sled for the entire ride.

Stephen found Brynn a brynn (aka “little hill”) to sled down that was just her size.

Thatcher and I watched, took pictures, tried to warm ourselves by the bonfire, and cheered on everyone’s successes.

Back at the hotel, it was hot chocolate by the fireplace, pool time, and then movie night in bed.

My favorite part of the trip was the drive home Monday night. We ventured off the beaten path to eat supper at Mill City Grill. A wagon full of local teens rolled by and yelled, “Merry Christmas!”

From the backseat, we heard Silas laugh out loud as he told us Cooper was looking at the stars and said, “Silas, I see the pan!” Silas was quick to tell him that was, in fact, the Big Dipper.

I want to remember Brynn’s exuberance at every lighted Christmas tree along the way. I want to remember Stephen’s goofiness as he added “like George Washington” to the end of every Christmas carol line in order to annoy Silas. I want to remember our sheer happiness at listening to the crazy carol Dominic the Donkey. It just might become our official family Christmas carol. The hee-haws make it.

Some other thankful leaves I liked from this year are McIntosh apples, peace, living in Oregon, being made in God’s image, God’s forgiveness, tree house, sleeping, and the moon.

A friend from church invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner. We split the cooking which made for an easy day in the kitchen. I brined the turkey and roasted it in an oven bag. I think this might be my preferred method out of all that we’ve done (deep frying, injecting with seasonings, turning the bird onto all four sides during the roasting, spatchcocking) since I could stick it in the oven and forget about it. The meat came out flavorful and moist–just perfect.

After dinner the kids made dessert turkeys from rice krispie treats, oreos and candy corn.

Since the kids were off school the Monday following Thanksgiving, Stephen took off work, and we made it a zoo day. We practically had the zoo to ourselves. The animals were fairly active and visible too. We watched the sea lions dive, the elephants perform tricks, the lions nap, and the cheetahs pace around their habitat.

There’s so much to be thankful for–tangible and intangible things. I thank God for my family, God’s faithful promises that find their “yes” in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20), the Holy Spirit’s work in my heart, the community He’s placed us in, and all the material things that are just bonus to what really matters.

Silas chose a Lord of the Rings theme with a cake decorated as the Eye of Sauron. He and his friends were hoping for rollerblading, but they ended up roller skating since the rink was repairing all of their in-line skates. Since Silas is an adventurous eater, we usually have something fun for his birthday meal of choice. This year we ordered gyros from a Greek place!

At school, Silas brought in 5 things for show-and-tell on his birthday. I loved seeing what he picked and hearing his thoughts about them. He had trouble narrowing it down to 5.

1. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring–favorite book
2. Deck of cards–he’s very into learning all the card magic tricks he can find, and he’s pretty good at them too
3. Picture of a pocket knife–(since he couldn’t take the actual knife to school) a family heirloom passed down from my aunt’s father
4. Colts football gloves–obviously
5. Moody family crest–thanks to my brother-in-law, I found out this summer that Stephen is a descendant of Edmund Moody who rescued King Henry VIII from drowning in a clay bog. Edmund was rewarded with a pension and a coat of arms. I hung a print of the crest on our wall, and Silas was captivated with it and the story.

Silas is gifted in math, and wants to do math for NASA when he grows up. He’d also like to be the first man on Mars.

Cooper’s birthday is around Thanksgiving, and this year he had the day off school for his special day.

He did bring in a favorite book, The Giving Tree, for read aloud in his class the day before.

With the day off, he and two friends from school went to the arcade and indoor Jungle Maze at the bowling alley. It was surprisingly empty, so the kids had the run of the place. I baked him a Pac-Man cake, and we had his favorite 3 Musketeers candy bars and Fanta orange soda.

Coop is a selective eater, but he actually has several favorite meals in our normal rotation. I made fish tacos, spaghetti and meatballs, & chicken tarragon with rice during his birthday week. We also took him to Red Robin for the hamburger meal he wanted.

Cooper always has an invention in his head. He’s constantly building his own legos with underwater features, rocket boosters, power adapters, and imaginative permutations. He’d like to be an inventor someday.

These guys keep life interesting, constantly moving, and full of happy!

While brainstorming ideas for baby/mother costumes for Thatcher and me, Cooper excitedly suggested, “Thatcher can be a pumpkin, and Mom can dress up as a porch!” {love that boy}

Thankfully, we ran the Colts football route instead. Silas was T.Y. Hilton, but Cooper didn’t want to be a football player–so he was the referee. Brynn was thrilled to be a Colts cheerleader, and Thatcher made the most adorable football you’ve ever seen. Stephen and I threw on his Manning and Luck jerseys to complete the team.

Carving pumpkins was a lot faster this year since we’ve had some practice, bought the right tools, and have kids big enough to help carve. I loved the jack o’ lantern pumpkins from WinCo this year. So easy to prep! Silas chose the Eye of Sauron from Lord of the Rings, Cooper carved a bat, and Brynn wanted a unicorn.

Trick-or-treating is a lot of fun in our neighborhood. We always start out visiting our cul-de-sac neighbors and seeing everyone’s costumes. Then we choose a different starting route each year, but end up on Tuscon Street. That’s where the action is! The homes are close together and give lots of candy, and we always run into friends from school.

The King and Queen of Hearts were back again this year. They’re the cutest husband/wife duo in their seventies who dress up each year. We also love stopping by the kids’ kindergarten teacher’s house, and the spooky house at the end of the street always has a giant cat on the roof that moves his head to scare the kids. After the pumpkin buckets have been filled a couple of times, we head home to commence the candy feast!

The kids get to eat all the candy they want on Halloween night while we watch a movie together. The school district was smart to schedule a staff work day for November 1st.

Accomplishments:

• rolling over from belly to back
• motorboat mouth
• grabbing toys with his hands
• attempting to eat solid food
• sleeping through the night
• smiling, giggling, and babbling
• stealing our hearts every second of every day

Thatcher’s got a precious big sister in Brynn. I caught one of her singing one of her original songs to help calm him the other day.

Though I haven’t yet caught my breath from mothering four humans, I can’t even tell you how happy I am to be Thatcher’s mama!

My neighbor loves to gather the cul-de-sac families together for a party at least once a year. This year, I suggested a Pumpkin Smashing Party. A friend of mine has hosted one for years with her neighbors after Halloween when everyone’s pumpkins are getting soggy. Since we didn’t want to wait until November, we threw the party early on a sunny October Saturday.

Everyone pitched in with food, and the kids made spider crafts and decorated pumpkins with stickers and Dollar Store push-in decorations. With sidewalk chalk I drew two targets–one on our driveway and one in the cul-de-sac.

With Stephen’s help, the kids tossed their decorated pumpkins out our office window down onto the pavement, trying to hit the bullseye. Everybody got a prize, and the pumpkins didn’t make too much of a mess. The squirrels must’ve appreciated the hundreds of seeds we left for them in the road.

To wrap up the party, the kids tried bobbing for apples for the first time. It was hard! I had gotten small apples, in hopes that would make it easier, but without any stems, the kids took a while to get the hang of it.

Eventually both Cooper and Silas got it! Thatch was there for moral support the whole time.

Come climb the hill with me
Come and be still with me
Come watch the sun sink away
If you will with me

Come watch the garden grow
Down by the gravel road
Come warm your hands in the gold
Of the afterglow

Into the peace of these wild things
Into the wild of this grace
Into the grace of this blessing
Speak in the peace of this place

Come walk the cedar stand
Over the broken dam
Sit on the bench at the bend
In the trail again

Look how the children laugh
Out in the tumble grass
Bright as a fire
And as fine as a photograph

Into the peace of these wild things
Into the wild of this grace
Into the grace of this blessing
Speak in the peace of this place

Here at the magic hour
Time and eternity
Mingle a moment in chorus

Here at the magic hour
Bright is the mystery
Plain is the beauty before us
Could this beauty be for us?

What is this voice that sings
Holy and hovering
Over this hills in the still of the evening?
Son of God, speak

Into the peace of these wild things
Into the wild of this grace
Into the grace of this blessing
Speak in the peace of this place

Speak in the peace of this place

The Magic Hour, lyrics by Andrew Peterson and Don Chaffer