A Decade With Addison

Happy Birthday to my Addi girl, the one who made me a mom 10 years ago...how the years have flown! I still remember what I was doing when I went into that loooong labor with you. (Making fruit pizza for a Forth of July party that evening) I just kept on working on that pizza, which turned out to be the best thing ever when, after 37 hours of labor, someone brought that untouched dessert to us in the hospital. Great recovery food;) I still remember putting you in the car for the first time, and I sat in the back seat with you as we drove away from Vanderbilt, and I cried my eyes out...happy tears...you were real and it was all so real and it sunk in that very moment that I was a mom, forever after. You were the baby I learned on: learned to swaddle, to nurse, to rock to sleep, to have patience through long sleepless nights of your colic. You were the toddler I learned on, and now the ten-year-old I'm still learning on. I've made so many mistakes, and will make so many more, of that I'm sure! But know that I love you with all my heart and always will, no matter what! I love seeing beautiful glimpses of who you're becoming. I love that you like to take walks with me and still hold my hand. I love helping you find great books at the library and adventuring with you on trails. I love watching you take care of Eden and look out for your sisters. You have boundless energy and great gifts of leadership and extreme organization...some of these get you into trouble right now, but you will learn to use them for God's glory and someday these gifts will serve you, and others, well. I pray this would be a year of growth in these areas, but most importantly, a year you grow closer to Jesus and know him more.Happy Birthday!!

Favorite Color: Sky blue and French blueFavorite Food: Carrots, Mexican food, apples, split pea soup, Brussels sproutsFavorite Dessert: Apple pieFavorite subject in school: Math and Language Arts and HistoryFavorite thing to do inside: Make forts, read, play games, play with my sisters, knitFavorite things to do outside: play tag, climb trees, jump on the trampoline, push people on the swingWhat do you hope for this year? To play basketball, go to the beach, and go to MTWhat makes you happy? Knitting, mom, reading good books, watering house plantsThing you learned last year: Not to go down big hills on rip sticks!Favorite Book: Caddie Woodlawn, The Martha Series, American Girl booksFavorite Movie: The Greatest Showman; Parent TrapFavorite time of year: Thanksgiving, Winter...as long as it isn't a super bad winter!Favorite thing to do as a family: hiking, exploring new towns/cities together, eating ice cream in the back yard in the eveningFavorite Sport: Basketball, ice skating (watching)I'm most excited to be 10 because....."I don't know why, I just am!!"

Izzie: 5 Years Old

Izzie, you're 5! Actually, you've been 5 for over a month now, but as usual, I'm quite late in posting this. First, here's what I have to say about you, and then we'll get to your "interview", my favorite part of birthdays! You started out life as the family clown. You have always been hysterical, making us laugh like crazy, bringing so much joy to this house. You went through a phase from about 3 and a half to 4 and a half where you were still funny, but did NOT like to be laughed at. You would say and do funny things, but all of a sudden, we weren't allowed to laugh. You would cry and run away with your feelings hurt. Well, somewhere in the last year, you've made yet another turn (for which I'm thankful!), and while you do have a serious side, you've come to appreciate and recognize your funniness, and you laugh along with us. You are great fun! I always tell you, if I were a five-year-old, I would pick you to be my best friend. Not only are you funny, but you are so kind! You often tell me in the morning that you prayed before you got out of bed that Jesus would help you to be kind all day. You think so hard about things you can do to show kindness to your sisters and daddy and I. You are also so generous with your loving words! You sometimes come in from playing, just to give me a hug and tell me, "Mommy, I love you and you're the best mommy in the whole world." You're always saying the sweetest things and just pretty much melting hearts everywhere! You write poetry (in your little handmade poetry book you keep handy for whenever inspiration hits!), create entire villages out of ponytail holders and trash--not trash to you of course:) You talk and talk and talk, I guess because there is just so much exciting stuff in your mind all the time! You definitely love your life, and I am so thankful for that.  Now, for your interview!

Favorite color: pink, purple, sparkly blue Favorite food: baked potatoes  Favorite dessert: muffins Favorite book: You Go First Favorite Holiday: Valentine's Day, because we get to to to the nursing home and take cards Favorite TV show: You vs. Wild, Olivia the Pig Favorite Bible story: Noah's Ark Favorite thing to do: Go to the park Best memory from being 4: Going to the park all the time Most excited for 5: I get to do super fun things, like having peas from the garden! Thing I want to learn about: Astronauts and space, even though I don't like astronauts and space
Well...I will do what I can to grow lots of peas and make more muffins and teach you about astronauts and space(??) I hope five years old is so much fun! I love you to the moon and back times a trillion;) Happy Birthday Izzie!

Happy 7th Birthday Lily!

My sweet Lily goose, you turn 7 today! This year, way before we even thought to ask you what you might like for your birthday, you shyly told us one day that all you wanted this year was an instrument and music lessons. We almost got you a piano, until we realized that it was us that wanted a piano in the house; what you really wanted was a violin, but it goes against every grain in you to say what you really want, lest anyone be disappointed. You are so sweet:) And so, we along with your grandparents, got you a violin and we'll start you in lessons in the new year. I can't wait to see how you like playing music...my girl who asks for music to be on every waking minute! You love all kinds of music, but you, out of all your sisters, loves classical music. I think it all started with your love of the Nutcracker when you were just three years old. (Remember all your Nutcracker dates, and the Nutcracker themed birthday party you had when you turned 4?) Anyway, I hope you love playing your new violin:)

Favorite colors: Red, green and blue Favorite food: Rice and Beans Favorite Dessert: Mud Pie Favorite thing to play: Jumping on the trampoline Favorite thing to learn: Science and history What do you want to be when you grow up: Nurse Favorite Bible story: The book of Matthew; the Sermon on the Mount Favorite book: Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes  Favorite TV show: Berenstain Bears Favorite Movie: Leap Favorite place to visit: Montana, and also Tennessee Most exciting thing you learned while you were 6: How to read! Favorite thing about TX: Our neighbors are really nice Best memory of being 6: Going to the pool in Hamilton on Addison's birthday What do you most want to learn while you're 7: More about how to bake, and gardening! What are you the most excited about for this next year: "This probably isn't exciting to you, but, moving up a grade!" Lily, you are suuuuper silly and suuuuper sweet too. Such a fun combination for a kid! We love you so darn much, words just can't say. Happy 7th Birthday. Hope this is a wonderful year for you!! xoxo

Izzie's 4th

Happy 4th birthday to Izzie! Izzie, you are (still) one funny kid, though you don't like people saying that. Funny as you are, you take yourself very seriously (which only makes you all the funnier...sorry kiddo!) You are almost never in a bad mood, unless you are super tired, at which point you are completely inconsolable and irrational. Besides that, you are an absolute delight, and a blessing to our whole family. You make us all smile from the moment you wake up until the moment we tuck your sweet self into bed for the night. You wake up with exuberance that even I, a morning person, cannot fully comprehend. As I'm drinking my morning coffee, I hear your bedroom door burst open and your heavy footsteps walk running down the hall, where you make a beeline for me to snuggle and tell me every dream you had and what you plan to wear and all the things on your agenda for the new day. You bring me life at 7 am! You talk more than any human I've ever known, and you also sing and dance your way through the days. I love that you will walk up to a complete stranger and sing them a song made up just for them! Your nickname is "Tank" because you are tougher than nails, often bowling over and through things, taking more than your fair share of tumbles (though rarely crying), and just basically plowing your way through toddler hood like a tank. Though you are so tough it blows our mind sometimes, you also have an affinity for pink and purple and glitter and pretty things and you are oh so girly! It's a fun combination.  Favorite Colors: Sparkly blue, pink and purple Favorite food: PBJ, grilled cheese Favorite Dessert: pudding, ice cream, popsicles, pie and cake Favorite thing to play: blocks What do you want to be when you grow up: Doctor or be in a parade Favorite things to learn about: butterflies Favorite thing to do outside: tire swing, climb ropes and jump on trampoline Favorite Bible story: Noah's Ark Favorite book: Llama Llama books Favorite TV show: Little Einsteins  Favorite movie: Mary Poppins Place to visit: friend's houses to play Best Friend: my friends in Helena

Happy 1st Birthday Eden

My littlest, Eden Keziah, you just turned 1! Here is a picture of you and I just a minute after you were born, and a picture of us a year later. What a year we've had!

You came into this world just two weeks after we uprooted our lives and moved thousands of miles away from everything familiar to us and the people we love, to start a life in Waco, TX. You came while we were still high off of the exhilaration of moving to a new place and exploring and seeing everything through rose colored glasses, but over the last 12 months, the glasses came off, we suffered much loneliness and isolation, melancholy during holidays, and intense homesickness for friends, family, mountains, church, and familiarity. But you...you've been this bright spot for the rest of us five in the family! We could only feel a little sorry for ourselves because there was no time for wallowing...we were too enamored with "our baby" (as your sisters call you), watching you as you made your first cooing noises, learned to roll over, laugh, sit up, eat solid food, crawl, and now walk. You must've decided it would be cute to learn to walk the week of your first birthday, and you are pretty proud of yourself!

You have brought this family so much joy! Each baby has been a joy of course, but there is something about watching your older siblings find joy in their baby sister, and it's so fun for us to watch as parents. To see one of our girls having a crummy afternoon for one reason or another, but then you wake up from your nap, and that girl's eyes light up and she forgets all her troubles as she races down the hall to be the first to scoop you out of your crib and snuggle you...well, it's priceless.

You had a rough start...6 hours stuck but ready to come out and greet the world, then a tough time learning to nurse (darn the tongue tie!!), and then a terrible UTI that put you in the hospital for five days when you were a tiny little five week old. You stayed small (off the charts small) for so long, but we knew you were healthy and fine, and you were! You weighed in at your one-year appointment this week at 18 pounds, which puts you in the 10th percentile. You've earned the nickname "Peanut" from your Papa, and you may be small, but your personality is anything but! You're a hoot! You've got a big, happy personality and you know how to brighten anyone's day, from one of us to a perfect stranger at the grocery store. 

I have to admit, I had an emotional day on your birthday. I don't know if you're my last, only God knows for sure, but in my mind, I'm pretty sure you're my last baby, and so every birthday might make me emotional, as my littlest grows older and older. But it's exciting to watch you grow, none the less. I pray that God blesses this second year of your life, that you continue to grow healthy and strong, and that you keep your happy, spunky personality, bringing much joy to those around you.

Words cannot express how much I love you! You're one of my blessings, and I thank God for you every single day! Happy Birthday sweet girl!

  

Life Since October...

Happy belated New Year everyone! I've decided to revive my blog...not so much as to get readers, but because this seems to be the best way for me to keep a photo album of sorts for our family. I "dusted off" this space a few weeks ago, looking back over the past six years of posts, and decided to get back to it. It's so fun to be able to look back at so many moments in our life, kind of a "highlight reel" of sorts. Plus, with us living far from family and friends, I thought blogging more often would be a nice way for anyone who's interested to keep up with us in more ways than the phone.  So, here goes! Photo wise, this post is a bit sporadic, partly because I'm condensing four months into a relatively short post, but also because I broke my phone a couple of months ago and lost all my pictures. My mom sent me what she had on her phone from pictures I've texted her, but other than that, the rest are gone. 
Life in TX: Can I just say, we love January! I mean, we have honestly enjoyed each month and the slow changing of seasons, but winter is proving to be absolutely fabulous. The weather is up and down, from the 40's (less often) to the high 60's (more often). It rains every week, which warrants a "winter" day in to cozy up with books and blankets and hot chocolate, but within a couple of days, the sun is back out bright and we are all spending our days outside again. The girls decided winter is the best here because it's the perfect temperature, the mosquitoes and bees are dormant, we don't have to worry about sunburns, and they can scamper through the middle of the woods instead of sticking to trails because the snakes are hibernating! (If anyone needs a break from snow, we have a guest room...come on down!)
I'll start way back in September with a story of God's providence in our lives. Eden was just a few weeks old, and more lethargic than I remembered our other girls being. Near the end of the month, she started spiking these high fevers that would surface and then go away as fast as they came. My mom had planned on coming in early September, closer to when Eden was born, but my dad had surgery (the day of Eden's birth) that ended up being much more difficult than expected, so she wasn't able to make it to Waco until the end of the month. Late one night a few days after she got here, Eden spiked another fever and Brad and I decided to take her to the ER. They found that she had a UTI and gave her a shot of antibiotics, sent us home with a prescription and orders to come back the next afternoon just to make sure she was looking better. The next day, I dropped Brad, my mom and the girls off at the children's museum and headed to the ER for her re-check, assuming we'd be in and out. While we were there, her fever spiked again and her blood work showed high white blood count, so they admitted us. She got an IV (watching my tiny infant go through getting an IV put in their arm is the least fun thing I've ever done) and hours later we were settling in to the pediatric wing of the hospital for what would be a four day stay. Brad was just a couple of weeks into his new job, and we didn't have a home church or anyone we knew very well at that point, so my mom "just happening" to be here when she was was such a huge blessing, as she was able to take care of the girls all day every day while Brad worked and I stayed with Eden at the hospital. She was able to extend her trip a few extra days, so after Eden was discharged and in good health, we got to do some fun things with mom:)

A few highlights for us the past few months have been hosting Brads parents for Thanksgiving, a spontaneous afternoon visit from some dear friends/mentors from Helena who stopped by and ate lunch by the pool with the girls and me, a quick visit from my aunt, uncle and cousin which happened to be while my mom was here, buying a house(!!!), exploring all the little nature spots in and around Waco we can find, and joining an amazing group of women and kids called Wild and Free (it's a local branch of a nationwide home school group...I'm meeting my cousin at a W and F conference in Dallas next month!)  Another thing we did this past fall and hope to go to each year is the annual Homestead Fair, where a large community of Anabaptists open up their community for the city of Waco to come hear live music, watch and even participate in pottery making, blacksmithing, woodworking, weaving, etc. There was a hay bail maze for kids, a petting zoo, and amazing home made food around every corner. Such a fun time!
Christmas, well, it was hard on all of us leading up to it. December was a sentimental month filled with nostalgia of the past seven Christmases spent in MT, and there were more than a few tears shed over the course of the month. However, not feeling in the "spirit" of Christmas made me focus of Christ more than ever, remembering that no matter how far we are from family and how alone and sad we feel, we are in the presence of Christ wherever we are; that the spirit of Christmas is really all about how much of the Spirit we are inviting into our space, whether that space is with or without the people we desire to be with. That said, we did have a lovely Christmas Eve service, watched The Snowman before bed as is tradition, and had a lovely Christmas day, taking goodies to the Waco dispatchers and going to some friends' for dinner. We hope to go to MT next year for the holiday. 
And so here we are, mid January, with a nearly 5 month old Eden, and a spunky kid (see immediate picture below for proof!) who's about to turn four...FOUR!!! We've got several visitors coming over the next couple of months, some light travel plans for Spring break in March, and before we know it, summer will be upon us and it'll be road trip time! 
I hope January finds you well and enjoying the calm after the holidays, drinking something warm and delicious by the fireplace, reading something that stirs your soul, and tackling those 2019 goals! 
To everyone far...we miss you more that words on a screen can convey. You are tucked close in our hearts and we think of you each and every day, and look forward to summer!
Much love...   

Lily, working on school, snuggling the baby

Thanksgiving

Mother Neff State Park: enjoying it in the winter. We've heard there are too many rattlesnakes to go the rest of the year.

New outfits to match their dolls, and (unintentionally) matching new sewing boxes from Grammy and Papa. They spend much spare time since Christmas making little things for their dolls...and I find pins and needles everywhere! 

Not as fun as going in the woods, but a Christmas tree farm got the job done:)

The Sunday before Christmas

At the Silos with Mom

Closing Day!!!!!

Eden, in Pictures

I didn't want to photo dump on Eden's birth story, but I just have to share some more pictures from the last days of pregnancy and from the first moments and months of her life. She's brings so much joy to our family!

Less than 24 hours old

The girls with my midwife, feeding the goats a few days before Eden was born. So fun!

39 weeks...

My 36th birthday with my girls. Eden was 5 days old.

More recent...Lily loving on her baby sis:)

Izzie talks about how she and Eden will be best friends. She's already "reading" books to her:)

Just a few days new. Addison is smitten

In the hospital at 5 weeks old:(