Dear Selah (6th birthday letter)

Dear Selah,

So, I started this post closer to your actual birthday, but apparently it didn't save. So now I'm trying to recreate it. :)

On July 19th, you turned the big SIX! I can't believe it. You had a fabulous year, but really that's just always you. You are always smiling, easy going, and other centered. Sometimes I feel bad because I feel that I give you the least amount of attention, but that's because you are always so great!

Every night when I ask you what you favorite thing of the day was, you always tell me that it is me and that your least favorite thing is "nothing" -- I don't think that is always the case, but I love hearing it just the same.

Shortly after your fifth birthday, we moved to a new house and you have adjusted very well. You enjoy climbing trees and playing in the creek. We traveled to Florida and you met Grandma Ruth and enjoyed your time at Disney World. On one ride, they chose children to act out the story of Belle with the Princess and at first you didn't want to, but once you saw everyone up there, you decided to join it. It was fun to hear the narrator call you "a friend from the village" since they had already cast all the kiddos. :) You were so glad to have a picture taken with Belle.

You were really upset that you didn't start Kindergarten at five. In fact you cried "I was born too late"-- but mommy and daddy were content on keeping you home one more year. You spent the time playing with Asa and Hezekiah and being the bearcats class at All About Kids.

You are so beautiful and full of life. You've met great friends at the La Grange campus like Lucy and Julianna, but I also know that you make friends with everyone and are still so good and getting to know other people's names. You are a delight to each and every teacher and babysitter.

I'm excited to see what God wants to do in and through you. Praying you'll have a huge evangelical heart as you naturally love people. Thanks for being my near-perfect little girl.

Love,
mommy

Dear Jonah (7th Birthday Letter)

Dear Jonah,

On May 3rd you turned seven! I can't even believe you're already this old and yet I also can't seem to remember life before you. You are such a fun boy-- you are always dreaming up some neat story! We celebrated with a family party and you had your first real friend party at Bricks and Mini-Figs. You enjoyed a morning with your friends and legos.

You have such a leadership skill, buddy... one that influences our entire family. As your interests go, so does all of ours. It started with firetrucks and David and Goliath. You went through a train phase and so did daddy. This year began with you still loving Star Wars, but those interests gave way to Ninjago, Ninjas, Martial Arts, and now you're starting to get into super heroes.

You have been taking a Ninja Warrior class at All About Kids for the last several months and enjoy growing in your love for obstacle courses and booby traps.

You finished first grade at Highlands Latin and did great in Miss Wiggington's class this year. She had nothing but rave reviews for you. After much prayer, we are getting ready to switch to homeschool and will have you do first grade again... not because of anything academic but because of your age. I didn't really want to wait before sending you to second grade because I took two years of first grade and hated it, but daddy keeps reminding me we are doing this for you and not to you. We know that another year will boost your leadership and maturity. I'm also kind of excited that you get to be at home with us for another year. :)

You've done wonderful this year with moving houses and starting attending the La Grange campus of church. You've become good friends with a boy named Tripp. You all have similar personalities and I often think he might very well be our answer to our prayers for you to find a great friend.

You remain an incredible artist. We always tell you that God gave you special hands and we can't wait to see what He will do with them through you. All your teachers notice that you really do have a gift beyond your hears. Your attention to detail is amazing and so is your accuracy. I love seeing the pictures you draw of the Bible!

We traveled to Florida in March of this year. You enjoyed going to Legoland and Disney World... we also went to Sea World where you sobbed when the orca splashed us and your face was on the jumbo screen!

You continue to be funny and your personality is unique. I'm proud of the man you are becoming and how other centered you can be. I'm excited to watch God move in you over this next year.

This year you said that when you grow up you want to be the president of the united stated, but then once your terms are up you want to be a ninja. I think that is great plan, but I also remain certain that perhaps you are going to be called into vocational ministry. I don't know what God has in store for you, but I'm sure it will be big. He already uses you and your tender heart to touch your daddy and I. Once we saw a homeless person asking for money and you INSISTED we find them and give them some money because we have some and they don't. I pray you never lose your tender heart.

Thanks for being so wonderful my lego-loving, super hero! I'm proud to be your mama!

Love you,
Mom-mom

Gross Conversations...

Actual conversation from a recent car ride...

Asa: Mom, there's something "sang"
Me: What's strange, buddy?
Asa" When I put my finger in my nose my boogers are all wet.
Me: That's not strange, that's snot... and don't put your finger --
Selah: Hey! He's Right.

Blah!

2016-2017 School Year!

On August 30th the older children started another year of school. Havana in 2nd Grade with Ms. Dickert as her teacher and Jonah in 1st with Miss Wigginton. They both go to school three days a week and have loved their year. HLS has been a good fit until now, but both Jason and I felt called to change schools next year. So, they will be attending New Song Christian Academy next year which is a homeschool program. Two days a week they will attend school for art, Spanish, science, and history. The rest we will do at home. Jonah will also be repeating first grade again because the 2nd grade class at New Song was full. 

Our Final Move (We Hope)

As with everything on this blog, this is a bit delayed. :) I did begin a draft last May that I will paste below and then continue on from...

(Written on 5/27/16)

Well, it's Friday... The end to a very crazy week.

On Monday we thought it would be nice to enjoy a family day at Holiday World. Big mistake. As soon as we pulled in we noticed that it was very crowded and hot. We managed our way through for a while... Hezekiah wasn't enjoying any of the rides... And then during the kids area/splash park time I was trying to get Heze to sleep. When selah came to say she had to go to the bathroom I handed Hezekiah off to Jason. Fast forward a couple minutes and when I came back out I saw Asa sitting on the ground crying. I asked him what was wrong and he couldn't speak. I took Hezekiah from Jason and he picked up Asa. Asa's teeth were chattering and he couldn't speak. I was sure he had broken his foot. Jason said it was hard to break a child's foot and maybe he just sprained it.

For the rest of the day, Asa would/could not put any weight on his foot. It swelled up, too. We had to carry him on and off every ride. That night he tried to get off the potty by himself and stepped on it and the scream was terrible. It was one of the first times I really wished it had happened to me instead of to my son.

On Tuesday we had a babysitter arrive so that Jason and I could attend Havana and Jonah's end of the school year program and then go look at houses. With Asa's foot still out of commission, we took him with us, again having to carry him everywhere.


After the school program, we drove to La Grange, Kentucky to look for houses. We saw a couple of options, but nothing that was perfect. Jason and I have been craving to find our "forever house" and our list of wants is pretty particular. I suggested maybe we look at some of the houses with a realtor, but Jason said, "It will be at least 18-24 months before we will move."

While looking at the houses, we get a text from the babysitter that Hezekiah has thrown up three times. We quickly return home.

On Wednesday we took Asa to the doctor and discovered that he broke three bones in his foot. He had been playing on the playground and fell from the 2nd story. We made an appointment to get a cast on it on Friday. So the rest of the week was spent carrying him from place to place. He would want to play with the children and so he would scoot on his bottom with his foot up in the air.

Thursday was Havana and Jonah's last day of school!

On Friday, Jason took Asa (and Havana) to get his cast. I stayed home with the others. On their way home, they stopped by Meijers. I sat on the couch looking at Zillow houses on my phone. Then I saw it! A house so perfect for our family. In our price range (which I kept thinking was a mistake, how could we afford this house?!), had the land that Jason wanted and the house I wanted. I called Jason and said, "I found our house." "Oh sure you did. We'll go look at it with all of our free time."

When he got home he said, "So, what's the house?"

I showed him and he couldn't believe it. We talked about how it must have been a typo because that shouldn't be in our price range, and why had we not seen it before?

Jason went down to the basement to take a nap before his overnight shift, about an hour later he came up. I was shocked to see him up so early so I said, "You okay?" He confessed he could not stop thinking about the house and wanted to do something. Of course, by now it was friday evening of Memorial weekend. So, we began making a list of everything we needed to do to get our house ready to sell.

As Jason left for work tonight he has plans to look at storage units and pick up packing boxes. Who knows what is in store, but we are hoping this house is. I have never, ever seen Jason get excited about something so quickly!

(Written today)....

Well, we bought the house. :) We saw it online on that Friday, drove to see it on Sunday (Jason and I sat in the driveway and prayed for God to protect the house for us). And then toured it on Tuesday, made on offer on Wednesday, and the following Friday we had a signed contract. It was a blur but it was wonderful.

We quickly painted, installed new carpet, and put in new appliances in our old house. No one even looked at it for a month. But then, God moved and our neighbors bought it. What I loved about all that is that we were able to live in our house and not keep it show ready all the time. We closed on August 2nd (to which our relator laughed about how many things could have gone wrong but didn't) and on August 7th I cleaned it with a bunch of friends. We moved our stuff in on the 9th, but the moving process was so stressful that we spent the night with the Bayless family and spent the first night in our new house on August 10th. Jason had to work that day from 2-10pm so I did dinner and bed by myself with the children. That Saturday, we had a house-anointing party and then just began the life of farmers. :)

We didn't close on our old house until September 1st so we would occasionally go back and forth (doing laundry and watching cable). It was certainly an adjustment period learning how to manage the 26 acres and figure out our house.

Everyone asks us if we are settled yet. I say settled is an allusive term. We are living here and it feels like home, but settled is still a few years away.

Upon moving in we bought a tractor and other farm equipment and are trying to figure out how to stay on top of it.
Paved half of our driveway.
Jason finished a little scrapbooking room for me (which I love).
Jason finished most of the trim work in our bathroom.
We added a sink in the boy's bathroom and a drain so that their bathtub works (for the first few months they were bathing and brushing their teeth in the guest bathroom).
Bought a small swing set and climbing dome to help entertain the kids (they miss the old one)
Jason's organizing the garage.
We sold Jason's car and he upgraded to a truck.
Jason has landscaped the front of the house... the back of the house will come next year.

On our list to do this summer is finished the basement, finish paving the driveway, paint the red room (to make it a school room), and paint and decorate the prayer room. If we can do those things I think it will be a success.

I wrote a few blog posts on my marriage blog about this process... those can be found here and here.

We hope and pray God doesn't call us away from the property. We feel like this is our forever house and enjoy daydreaming about our family's future.

When I grow up

Jonah told me the other day that when he grows to he will be president. Then after someone else is a president he is going to be a ninja. Love his dreams - although I still tell him I think he would be a good pastor. 

Dear Asa (4th Birthday Letter)

Dear Asa,

You are one sweet and amazing little boy. I am so thrilled to watch you grow. You have had a busy year...

In May, at Holiday World, you fell off a playground and broke three bones in your foot. It was so sad and I often found myself wishing it was me more than you. You handled your green cast like a champ... even though it would get very stinky and itchy.

You didn't let the cast stop you, you marched right along in your boot determined to keep up. I love your determination.

You adjusted well to our move, although you still like to throw out that you think this house is boring and you want to go back to the old house. I think you do it for the attention. :) You see, to have this way about you... you turn your head and say something with a pouty voice and I tend to melt. :)

You have a way with manipulation. Once you came out of bed and I said, "Now look..." and you popped up and kissed me and said, "Now look what?!" --

You also told me that you are going to give your wife gifts every day. Especially when she cries.

You love to color a piece if paper and wad it up and then give it me as a "su-pies"

You have a big heart towards everyone... but especially little Hezekiah. The other day in the car we crossed over the railroad tracks and you said, "Hezei, maybe Tommy is on this track." -- you were engaging him in something he liked. It was precious. You're precious.

You love to snuggle and often ask "Mom-mom, can I snuggle you?" And the other day you asked if I would hold you forever. Then you wanted me to promise I would hold you forever. I told you I couldn't promise that, but that I would hold you up the stairs. I loved that you wanted to be with me forever.

We do this cute little thing where I say, "You're so cute I could eat you up." and then I make this eating sounds. You reply, "You're so cute I could eat you up..." and make the same noise. Then I tell you, "You're my baby." And you say, "No, you're my baby." I joke that we are going to say that to each other even when you're married.

When I tuck you in at night... you say, "I'm gong to give you a gentle kiss and a gentle hug and then a tight kiss and a tight hug." Then you pause and say, "first, the gentle things..." and I don't know what it is about the way you say it, but I melt. :)

For Halloween this year you were the red teenage mutant ninja turtle... you kind of have a thing for them. For your birthday you had a cake of them, but for the family party your request had to do with captain america (your other love). You asked for the green guy smashing CA house... cute!

You love all things crafts... painting, play dough, etc. I wish I had more time for that with you right now. My goal this spring is to get better about giving you time and space to make a mess.

You are fun, smart, kind, and such an amazing boy. I pray that you will use your gifts and talents for HIM... and not for yourself.

I love you so much!
Mom-mom