2013; a Review.

My baby boy turned one at the end of last year. My twin boys turned three one week later.

And then, all hell broke loose. 

 Baby boy suddenly took on a "preschooler" personality. Just seeming to skip the toddler phase all together. And the twins, my sweet little boys, well, I still cannot figure that one out. For awhile, it was just all crazy town and we prayed we could just survive.
Somewhere in that mess, the twins moved into big boy beds and started talking like big kids and became (scheming) best pals.

Spring came early and we got to be outside again (for more than 10 minutes) and we regained some of our sanity.

Then, we went on vacation and everyone was really happy. It was a week of sleeping-in-being-lazy-ocean-time bliss. 

With Gramps and Grammy. Can't beat that. 

 

Through the summer, we spent every possible moment outdoors. Usually swimming, running through the sprinkler, picnicking, and/or swinging. When we weren't doing those things, we were traveling to the zoo or our local science center, which has an AMAZING indoor (and an outdoor) Kid Space. I still don't travel to places like that with all three kiddos, so Grammy either goes or keeps one of the kids. I have THREE preschoolers, no shame here.

                         

Daddy had a birthday too. We celebrated with sparklers and lots of dancing. Then, we celebrated America's birthday. It was a fun time.

                                                          

The twins got to go bowling for the first time! They cannot wait to go again!

The twins got to experience the movie theater for the first time. We took them to see Planes. They loved it! (though I think they were more fascinated with the theater than anything else!)

 

 

Great-Grandma Hook came over to hang out with us this summer. I think she enjoyed watching the kiddos in all their wild ways. She giggled, a lot. I loved it.

We got to celebrate my mom's birthday with her. We adore this angel. She has been such a blessing to us and our kiddos. So glad to have her in our life!

....

Then, summer came to what seemed an abrupt halt. (super sad face)


By then, I was ready to be whisked away to some exotic island. And guess what?! I WAS!!

That's right, my man put me on an airplane and we flew to the breathtakingly beautiful country of Dominican Republic to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. We thoroughly enjoyed seven oh-so-amazing days there, just us.
 And then we missed our kids and our home, so we came back to a wonderful, joyous reunion with our sons. It was a beautiful moment in our life that I will forever remember. Right up there with our wedding and childbirth.

Fall is my most favorite time of year. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to last as long as Summer or Winter. Boo. 

We still enjoyed long days outdoors. This time, (in between moments dodging yellow jackets or nursing stings from the said pesky mean devils!) more swinging, nature hiking, throwing rocks in the pond, racing up and down the driveway, hanging out in the porch swing playing "I spy", rolling down the hills, enjoying the crisp air and adventuring around the pumpkin patch.

We started a new year of home school with the boys. PreK. I'm still feeling my way through with having a toddler/preschooler who isn't quite ready for big boy stuff. But, the boys and I enjoy learning together. And on our own terms, which is even better. Some days, it just Bible stories and play. Other days, the twins do some worksheet activities and more hands-on learning. We learn about letters, self-care, helping out, Bible verses and we make stuff. Some days are more crafty than others.
Some days, I just come up blank with how to balance a toddler and schooling the twins. Some days, I am more creative than others. Baby boy loves to glue, so if I need to, I pull out a big sheet of paper and let him glue scraps of paper to it. This allows me to work with the twins a little closer.
Not every day is "productive". Not every is "ideal".
Some days, I clean and they play. Some days, we all play and make messes and nothing else gets done.

And, I'm just over here trying not to panic.


In October, we quietly celebrated my thirty-fifth birthday. Yep, 35. I'm cool with that, other than I'm still wondering what happened to 32 and 33....

November brought weird weather and a great time of Thanksgiving. I so enjoy this time of year. I love hosting our family in our home.

Even Captain America didn't stand a chance against that bird!

[December and Christmas have their own little post over here]

We love snow! For about 15 minutes.

Baby boy turned two!

Christmas was peaceful, beautiful and will live in our hearts into and throughout the new year.

In the midst of the craziness and chaos, I tend to forget that this life is made up of seasons and seasons change, seasons end. And life goes on. Time stands still for no one. (darn you, time!)

I struggle with anger, guilt, exhaustion, missing my husband, missing me-time, missing rocking babies and bottles, and occasionally want to bang my head against the wall.
BUT, I am so glad to be their mommy. I am so glad to have these healthy babies (really, they'll always be our babies, right mommas?)
At the end of each day, I give thanks to God that we had today. And I focus on the good. I write down the good. There is always something good.

These guys are...AMAZING!

I hold tight these memories of me and my babies. Thank goodness for pictures, blogs, Face Book, Instagram, and Picasa Movie Maker for allowing us to store up some of these sweet memories and good (and crazy) times.

Thank goodness for times of change, growth, and lots and LOTS of grace.

While I am a bit sad to see another year end so quickly, I look forward to a New Year and all the good things to come.

...We're all over here counting down the days until summer vacation. Ha!

HAPPY NEW YEAR FRIENDS! 

May 2014 bring you great happiness, new blessings and most of all, the peace of Christ.

Resting.

The time between Thanksgiving and the day after Christmas just might be the fastest time in the whole year. Part of me can't help but wonder, "What just happened?"
It's like our family sat down for Thanksgiving dinner, then...[insert buzzing or whirring sound here]...here we are, holidays over and it's the end of the year.

And to be honest, I've been on the brink of panic. Like, "Oh no! another new year and I'm just not ready!"
But then.
God.

This Christmas was really the first time I participated in an Advent Bible Study. And what a difference it made for me. All through Advent season, I felt the joy and peace of the Lord like never before. Whenever I began to panic about Christmas gifts, schedules, decorations, etc., I paused and remembered what it was really about. I said many times, "I'm resting in Jesus."

There is nothing quite as healing as pausing, taking a deep breathe 

and whispering the name, "Jesus".

While Christmas day has passed, Christmas isn't over. It lives in our hearts, weaved there with The Cross, The Empty Tomb and The Resurrection.

As think in terms of Jesus and what has been done for me and what is TRULY important, I slow down. I am filled with peace. And great joy becomes me. 

I am resting in Jesus.

This. This is what I what my children to get. To realize this Gift we have been given. That life hinges only on believing in and what we have done with this Gift we have been given. 

No doubt, we have a good life. We have been blessed. God has given our family good things and I am thankful. But what if that was gone? What if we woke up tomorrow and all the "stuff" was gone? The good job? Gone. The house? Gone. The car? Gone. The clothes? Gone. (you get the idea.) Would we be lost? Would we be empty? Jesus isn't going anywhere. He isn't in any of that. 

He is so much bigger. !!!

I pray my boys will grasp that. I pray you, friend, will grasp that. I pray that in the New Year my focus will remain on resting in Jesus. That when the chaos of this life threatens to envelop me, I will pause and breathe, "Jesus".

Two; Isaac.

"Two, but more like three."
 
A hurricane was named after him (well, sort of). He growls, a lot. He pushes, he yells, and he stomps whenever he walks, which by the way, he's been doing that since he was 9 months. Isaac is one tough little boy, er, toddler.
He talks. Lately, it's "Are doin' mommeeeee? ARE DOIN???" (what are you doing)
My favorite is, "Hi guys!" (whenever he walks in a room)
I love hearing his sweet voice.
Like big brothers, the kid's got an arm. He can throw, he can kick, he can climb and he run. Like lightening. I blink and he's running (usually while laughing).
He laughs, a lot. His smile and his laugh will light up a room. He can bring joy to the most somber group.
One day, an old man in the grocery store had to cross the entire store looking for the little one laughing. As he stomped up to us, I thought he was going to yell at us. He said in a gruff voice,  "That laugh brought such a smile to this old man's face, I just had to find the source!" And pointing a shaky finger at Isaac, said, "Don't ever stop laughing, little boy!"
And he walked away.

Fitting, since God inspired his name. Remember the story of Abraham and Sarah? (see Bible, Gen. 21)
In my own words with my own emphasis;
Well, they were this really, really old couple who hadn't been able to have kids and one day after this really long message full of incredible stuff, the Lord said to Abraham "you're going to have a son next year."
Abraham laughed.
Sarah giggled, "No way God! I am waaaaayyyy too old!"
But God.
They DID have a baby and Sarah laughed again, probably very heartily, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me..." ...

Like Sarah, I didn't think we could have any more children. Through years and prayers, God had blessed us with the twins.
But God!
We laughed when discovering I was pregnant again and pretty much haven't stopped since (you know, when we're not crying...ha!)
Isaac is just who God intended. He's funny, sweet, smart and very, very strong.
While all our babies are growing much too fast, I am excited for their future. I am excited to witness where God leads. I have always prayed that my children would bless God's Kingdom and so far, it's been a joy watching just that.

Happy birthday baby boy. I am so thankful for you!!

Christmas 2013.

We spent the month of December following the story of Christ's birth through Advent and the Scriptures. We visited the zoo to see the Wild Lights. We hung Christmas lights all over our house (even the twins' room!) and decorated our new fake tree. We drank peppermint hot chocolate, ate too many candy canes, did a little sledding out back, made snowflakes, had a blast at our annual family Christmas dinner, made lots of Christmas ornaments, made (and ate!) lots of Christmas cookies, watched Calliou's Holiday Movie a bazillion times, (and several others!), enjoyed a "sweet" spread at a Happy Birthday Jesus! Party with our church family, enjoyed some down time with daddy, had a sleepover with all the little cousins,  and gathered with loved ones both Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Christmas at our house is pretty simple; we enjoy being together, we give thanks for the Gift of Jesus and we give and receive gifts from each other. Oh and we ate a lot of good food.

Merry Christmas!