Thoughts

I was on such a roll with blogging, but somehow I had overload the last month...can't imagine why. This random picture illustrates what I feel - everyone with different things going on everywhere I turn. To boot, Maggie likes to hold on and stand up, usually wherever I am, so I feel like I am dragging her along as I go...and I have a splint on my thumb due to a Pump It Up injury. Almost every day Brandon says "4 kids is a lot." It's true. People told me 4 wouldn't seem anymore than 3, but I guess I don't have as much energy as they do. Anyways, I do have a few minutes each day to myself, and I check what is going on with other people but rarely have the energy to post about us. Enough excuses...I'm back on the horse.

Time to turn over a new leaf and take control of some things. Even though "resolutions" are easily broken, I am always thankful for an opportunity to start new. If one of the things I am resolving to do, or not to do sticks, it's been worthwhile thinking about it and doing it. Some of the things I am "committing" to at the start of this year are: getting out of my house more and seeing more people; finding a good Bible study to be a part of that works as far as time and content go; sewing and doing things that I enjoy more. I also plan to get back into teaching classes and doula-ing more. Also, I am going to be eating less, being in my house less...there's probably more or less. I am going to be posting some more pix soon, and posting my "Christmas" letter on here soon, so stay tuned. I have been thinking of this hymn a lot recently. We sang it at our new year's eve service we went to every year in England, and thought I would share it here: 

Standing at the portal of the opening year,

Words of comfort meet us, hushing every fear;

Spoken through the silence by our Father's voice,

Tender, strong and faithful, making us rejoice.

Onward then and fear not, children of the day!

For His word shall never, never pass away!

I, the Lord amd with thee, be thou not afraid,

I will help and strengthen, be thou not dismayed!

Yea, I will uphold thee, with My own right hand, 

Thou art called and chosen in My sight to stand.

For the year before us, O what rich supplies!

For the poor and needy living streams shall rise;

For the sad and sinful shall His greace abound;

For the faint and feeble, perfect strength be found.

He will never fail us, He will not forsake;

His eternal covenant He will never break.

Resting on His promise, what have we to fear? 

God is all sufficient for the coming year. 

More autumn leaves

Autumn leaves

I love the fall time. This whole time I have been meaning to get pictures of the kids playing in the leaves...but finding the time and help to accomplish that has been difficult. I had an hour to myself last night - imagine...alone in the house...and decided to take control of a few things. On my early morning walk in the fog this morning (again alone, believe it or not) I found the perfect set of leaves just round the corner from our house. So, we did it! I love how they turned out too. Happy November! 

Thanksgiving

Jesse's third birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year, so it feels like we celebrated double time. I finally got a nap today. It will probably be another 6 months before I have another nap. Anywho, we had fun...we had family...we have tons to be thankful for. We actually still have our third installment of Jesse's birthday/Thanksgiving to look forward to on Monday, but in the mean time here are a few pictures of our adventures. Monday - his birthday party with friends at Oso de Oro; Wednesday - Thanksgiving/Birthday at Grammy's; Thursday; is THE day: to the zoo with family and on to Uncle Wes and Auntie Karen's for dinner and presents. If you have never tried it, the zoo on Thanksgiving is fun. There was that wonderful crispness in the air that only a holiday brings and very few people. The animals were very active and the walk made for a good appetite for dinner! 

Moving forward!

One of my least favorite stages of a baby's life is crawling backward. I know, it's foundational and important, but it is frustrating for me to watch. Who wants to go backwards. I am not a big fan of moving backwards. Maggie has been crawling backwards for a few weeks (although it seemed like years) and is now finally moving forwards. She "army crawls" mostly, but is taking 3 or 4 crawls forward on her hands and knees! She can also sit back up from crawling and has been practicing that for a while. Yeay! This is much earlier than any of the other kids; she is very focused and determined. We had a couple days of terrible sleep...but are back to being much happier in that area too. Our life is moving forward. It's especially fun this time because we are not going to be going back to the start in less than 2 years and do the dance all over again. We are all growing up, even me! I can look back and see how I was at this stage with each of the other children and see how much I have changed. I am relishing the new-ness of being "done" with the baby stage and not having to dread it. I do know, however, that there will be new challenges along the way...different ones. We are moving forward.

Speaking of moving forward, Jesse and Abbey are in a new phase of being best buddies. They are sharing a room right now, and have been for a year or so. Recently they have started to disappear into their room at any opportunity and play with "Little People" and Barbies, make clubhouses, and all assundry of other schemes I am sure. Last night they wanted to sleep on the floor together. I had my doubts, but they did fall asleep. I snuck in and took a picture. They are so cute. I'm guessing this won't last too long, but it is so cute to see such a team right now! 

Thanksgiving Break

I am so thankful for a break. It used to be that I didn't like breaks from school because everyone was home. Now, it's the reverse.  A break for them is a break for me. Yippee! I started my vacation by reading a whole book last night. It was a "fluffy" fiction book - Twenty Wishes. It did inspire me to maybe make my own Twenty Wishes list.  Today I am planning on making a CD of Thanksgiving/Harvest hymns that I remember from my childhood to play this week. Music was very important for me growing up, and I am determined to expose my kids to all kinds of music. I also plan on starting and completing Christmas shopping/making this week. Probably a little bit of a dream, but that's what I am aiming for. Monday is Jesse's birthday party - so I have some preparing for that, though it will be VERY low key. We are really looking forward to spending time as a family this week, and seeing more family. Jesse's birthday is on Thanksgiving day. We have a lot to be thankful for, including this break! 

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