Merry Christmas….and a Happy New Year!

We rang in New Year 2012 with Nana & Papa Livingston and Uncle David.  It’s become a bit of a tradition. The rest of January and February are dull, dreary months around here. We try to stay warm and get a lot of schooling done, since no one likes to be outside. In March, Erin went to a women’s retreat she helped coordinate and both spoke and played piano.

April was a fun month – we watched the space shuttle Discovery on its last flight and then saw it brought to the Smithsonian’s large, outdoor exhibit.  We all enjoyed that! Peter started attending a youth group at a local church with some friends, and Caroline got braces on her top four teeth. We went to Virginia Beach in May this year – the kids love to dig holes, build sandcastles, and catch crabs. Peter got a bearded dragon and named it Rex. June was a good month to get a tour of the Capitol Building – I wish they’d let you look around a little more, but it was neat. Victoria learned to tie her shoes and also to read!

July was busy! Tim was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, so we had a party with family and friends coming from as far away as California, Michigan, and Vermont.  We had a very full house with all the comings and goings.  Peter and Caroline spent 2½ weeks in Vermont.  Peter worked with Uncle Dennis, Caroline hung out with Jazzy, and they both played with cousins on Cape Cod.

Jonathan finally got his braces off in August! He loves to chew gum in front of those that still have braces.  He has a retainer, but is pleased with the huge difference in his teeth. Peter, on the other hand, had his braces put ON.  Tim had shoulder surgery to repair some torn ligaments in September; he is healing well.  We also went back to Virginia Beach. It’s just a nice, relaxing time.

The best month of all was October – Victoria accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior! What a praise! We also welcomed Nana & Papa Mewes to Virginia – they are here until spring. Victoria lost her first two teeth this year. The first was exchanged for an Eisenhower bicentennial dollar; she was SO impressed that such a little tooth could “earn” such a large coin! Her second tooth was lost at Thanksgiving dinner (at Nana & Papa Livingston’s) and never recovered. We wrote the Tooth Fairy a note, and she received a Susan B. Anthony dollar. 

Christmas was celebrated at our house – with too many presents and food, but a lot of love.  Thank God for his gift of Jesus! We will have both sets of grandparents as well as Uncle David here for New Year’s again – I told you it’s become tradition!

Now may the God of all grace bless, preserve, and keep you.  May He look mercifully upon you, show you His favor, and grant you His peace.                                                                                                                                                                      

Happy birthday!

And here's the most amazing birthday to me...my oldest, Peter, is 14 today.  I simply can't believe we haven't lost him, wrecked him, killed him, or totally ruined him!  It's really a milestone - for him and for us!  When we first brought him home from the hospital, I couldn't even imagine this day...and now it seems like but a moment.  Happy birthday, Peter!!  Thanks for putting up with us as we practice on you!  As we always tell you, we're saving for therapy, not college.  Tee hee.

Happy birthday!

Today is Victoria's birthday!  Hard to believe she's only six.  Tee hee!  She certainly acts like she's at least twelve, if not twenty!  She's our chatty, happy kid.  We always thought Caroline talked a lot....and then we had Victoria.  We thought Peter was our stubborn one...and then we had Victoria.  And we wouldn't want her any other way!

Best decision ever!

Tuesday night, Victoria accepted Christ as her Savior!!  She was doing her nightly devotion time with her daddy (just the sweetest thing ever, btw), and she decided to pray a prayer of salvation.  She has loved Jesus for a long time (for a six-year-old).  She sings songs to Him (that she made up!), she thanks Him for things, she has even known why Christ died on the cross ("to save me from my sins so I can go to heaven").  Yes, she knows she sins and what sin is (not living up to God's standards).  We'd even allowed her to take communion because we felt she loved Jesus as much as any person could - with her whole heart.

But Tuesday night....she prayed to Jesus and trusted Him as the only way she can get to heaven!  Praise Jesus!

Do you know where YOU'RE going when you die?  Wouldn't you like to be sure?

Straight Teeth!

Before braces

Jonathan had terrible teeth.  He had a narrow face and an extra tooth (!).  Last year, he got an expander to give him more room in his mouth.  He also had his extra baby tooth pulled, and we waited to see which of his two (!) canines would be straighter.  Then we had the crooked-er tooth pulled.  He was a trooper.  He was in SO much pain when he got the expander and then when he finally got braces on his top teeth.

After braces - with GUM!

But look at the results!!  We (well, I) had hemmed and hawed, hoping that we could do just one "phase" of orthodontics, but two Christmases ago, his Sunday school was acting out the Christmas story and one little girl didn't want to "be his 'wife'" in the skit because his teeth were ugly.  It crushed me, because Jonathan is THE sweetest kid.  Seriously.  Anyone who knows him knows his loving heart.  We had a good talk about where your worth comes from (which is who you are in Christ), and whether the outside is a good reflection of what you are inside (it's not).  It was also good to have his brother and sisters be just as horrified at this girl's reaction. By the way, I don't know who it was, and she's just a kid - kids say mean things, mine included - so I'm not mad.  I was just sad for my sweet boy.

Onto the rest of the story....if you look at his calendar page from 2011, there are very few smiling pictures of Jonathan.  2012, however....almost all of them are smiles!!

Well worth the cost, I say!

July - whew!!

July has definitely been a busy month.  It really started in June, though.  At the end of the month, my in-laws, my sister-in-law, and her two kids came down to stay for a few days. There was a big thunderstorm (derecho) while they were here.  Very exciting for my SIL and her kids, as they're from southern California and it's pretty dry there.

After celebrating Independence Day (a few days early) with them, they left to go back to Vermont... but they  left my nephew at a music camp and took two of my kids!!  Yes, it was planned.  Caroline and Jazzy (my niece) are almost exactly the same age.  We figured they'd have a good time together in Vermont - and they did!  They were able to hook up with ANOTHER cousin that is almost exactly the same age in Cape Cod.  The summer the girls were born, Tim's Nana had FIVE granddaughters (or granddaughters-in-law) all due within about a month of each other.  I think one baby was born in June and the other four in July.  But I digress.

Peter also went to Vermont.  He was going to stay with Uncle Dennis.  He had a good time, even though he didn't get to sleep in like he does at home!  He worked with Uncle Dennis, camped with him, and hung out with his grandparents, sister, and cousins as well.

While the two kids were gone, Jonathan, Victoria, and I enjoyed a little peace and quiet!  They went to two different movies (Madagascar III and Ice Age IV) and had fun playing what THEY wanted to play, not what their older sibling wanted.

We also had Vacation Bible School one week, and I helped with that.  Every morning, I'd throw a batch of pork butt in the oven to cook while we were gone, we'd go to VBS, then we'd return, do our chores, pull pork, and get another batch ready.

Why so much pork?  Well, we were going to have a big party!  Tim was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel!!  We invited all of our friends from church and all of our family.  I "catered" it - pulled pork, homemade buns, coleslaw, and beans.  Our friends and family brought dessert, and my mom, mother-in-law, and I set up that morning.  I think it went very well....although I had (have) a lot of food left.  I put most of it in the freezer.. we'll see how long it lasts..

So for a few days, we had Tim's whole family here.  I think he really enjoyed it!  Congratulations, darling!!

Happy birthday!

Today is Caroline's birthday - and she's not here.  It's the first time ever.  She's in Vermont with her grandparents, aunt, and cousin.  I know she'll have a great day!

Family pictures

 These pictures are about six months old, but I thought you'd like to see our beautiful family.  Our friend Mary took these pictures for us last October.  Enjoy!

Jonathan's birthday!

Well, Jonathan's birthday was at the end of April, but I just recently got around to taking his birthday picture on the "birthday chair".  Every child has had every birthday documented on the chair.  It's a good gauge of how they've grown.

Jonathan had a sleepover, which I always dread.  I remember MY sleepovers (at other people's houses, as I now recall....my mom was no dummy!), and how little sleep we got.  Now that I'm the parent, I feel like I have to be relatively alert when those kids are here.

He had a wild animal themed party, so there were zebra-striped napkins and fun posters on the wall.  We did a pinata, just like usual, since it's a tradition that continues until you're 13 in our house.

Jonathan had his usual favorites for birthday meals.  Lucky Charms for breakfast (thanks to Uncle Eric for THAT tradition!), clam chowder for lunch, and steak for dinner.

Jonathan is growing like a weed, of course.  He likes to run (just for fun), play with Legos, and read.  He's still our "little love", even though he's about five feet tall.  Happy birthday, Jonathan!!

A Week at the Beach

We just got back from a week at the beach!  We're able to stay on a military base down near Virginia Beach, and since it was "off-season", there was almost NO ONE there.  The kids were really excited.  So excited, that we had to go even this past Sunday when there were crazy wind gusts (up to 40 mph!) and they didn't care.  Tim and I had on sweatshirts, cuddled under a beach towel, and we were STILL cold.  Not our kids.  They were in swimsuits and in the water having a grand old time.  

They dug in the sand, jumped over waves, found crabs, picked up shells, ran around and then started all over again.  Every morning, several afternoons, and even a few evenings found us at the beach.  When we weren't at the beach, we played Wii games, relaxed, and made up a new yummy snack - 'Smoreos!!  Roasted marshmallows between Oreos are delicious!!

We didn't spend the entire time at the beach, however. We poked around a couple of military bases, we climbed the Cape Henry Lighthouse (191 steps!!) and went to the Virginia Aquarium.  What a fun place!  We saw sharks, touched sting rays, and watched river otters.  We had a great time. We had a bit of a time getting Victoria to touch the rays, because we had been watching an old Steve Irwin show on Animal Planet and I happened to mention how he died.  <sigh>  Finally explained how they made it perfectly safe, and then she was happy to touch one.


We had fun, but we're all looking forward to sleeping in our own comfortable beds, and the kids are very happy to not be sharing a room anymore!

My "babies"

As a stay-at-home mom, days just seem to go by  with no discernible difference between them.  Get up, exercise, read my Bible, pray quick before the kids get up, make sure someone's up to walk and feed the dog, get the other kids up, get breakfast, do school, run errands, make lunch, plan dinner....you get the idea.  Then I go to bed and do the same thing the next day.  The only thing different on a weekend is I don't usually exercise.

I don't usually take time to look around and notice the differences since last week, month, or even year.  But recently, I've been struck by this thought - I no longer have a baby.  Or a toddler.  Or even a pre-schooler.  I would no longer be allowed into MOPS!  

As I've taken time to notice how Victoria has grown, it has helped me to see the changes in the other three.  Victoria is adorable.  She can tie her shoes, ride a bike, make a sandwich, set the table, make her bed, read simple words, do math, loves animals, and talks non-stop.

Caroline is beautiful, inside and out.  She loves to dress nicely, is kind to others (except sometimes her siblings!), loves to read, has quite a sense of humor, is a hard worker, and LISTENS!

Jonathan is so cute!  He's worked really hard to not cry at everything, and is doing great at that.  He still has a tender heart that I don't want him to lose, though.  He is also a hard worker, uses a push mower to mow the edges of the yard, loves to bake (he's my go-to guy for bread machine recipes!), loves to laugh, and is kind to others (except sometimes his siblings!).

Peter is...well, he's so big!  Every once in a while I get a glimpse of the man he's going to grow into and it's weird.  Good, but weird.  He backs the car down the driveway and then pulls it back up when the others want to play basketball.  He can cook, he babysits, he mows the lawn (riding mower), does laundry, and is also kind to others (except sometimes his siblings!).  The thing I'm most enjoying about Peter is watching his walk with Christ.  It's cool to see him work this out on his own (we're here, of course, but it's HIS walk, not ours).

None of them "need" me anymore, and I think that's great.  They want me around, they talk to me, they hug me and kiss me, they make me nice cards for no reason, but they don't NEED me to do anything for them.  I don't dress any of them, change diapers (thank GOD!), bathe them, pick up after them (much)... it is amazing how much has changed sooooo slowly over the past 13 years.

I guess I write this as an encouragement to moms of little ones and to myself.  Years and years of diapers and nursing and consistent correction (over and over!) and being frustrated and tired and all the things that a mom of preschoolers is (and should be, if she's doing her job!)....is worth it.  Yes, I know I'm not done and there are years and years of more work and prayer and crying and trusting God.  But I'm not one who does a good job at looking back and noticing the good.

So here I am - looking back and noticing the good.  God is good - ALL the time.  Through deployments, war, sick kids and broken washing machines, dog bites, eleven moves, homeschooling, loneliness, and my sinfulness, God has been good and will continue to be so.

"Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her" - Proverbs 31:28

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."                                                     - Galatians 6:9

Happy birthday, Jonathan!

Jonathan at 4 months old.
Isn't he the cutest pumpkin ever???

Today is Jonathan's 11th birthday - I can hardly believe it!  I still remember when that sweet little boy was born.  We were living in Monterey, CA.  We were there for about 10 months....just enough time to get pregnant, have him, and then time to move again!  Jonathan is a joy to have in our lives.  He's always been our little cuddler and has a very tender heart.  I look forward to many more years celebrating him!

Welcome!

I have decided to get rid of our pay site.  I mean, after all, why NOT use a free service if I can?  I will do my best to keep you up-to-date on our family.