A Little Catching Up to Do

It has been so long since I have blogged, I don't even recognize Blogger so... we'll see how this turns out!  As much as I don't have time or motivation to blog, it makes me sad to lose this piece of our family history.  So, this will be a week of catching up before baby girl turns 2, which is still blowing my mind.  I'll start with Owen who turned five way back in April.  We discover new parts to this little man's personality all the time.  He was once the most laid back, happiest baby you ever met.  Now he is quite the perfectionist, always afraid he's missing out on something, working oh so hard to keep up with his precocious older brother, trying to find his place as the middle child, making very sure his voice is heard at home, and giving us quite a run for our money!  He loves to cuddle, have his back rubbed, and give and get hugs.  He loves adventure; he loves to do wild and crazy things that scare me half to death; he loves collecting things; and he is quite the scientist.  He can be found at any time putting his thermometer in all sorts of crazy places to see how high or low the temperature will go.  He puts it in the back of the freezer, in the bathtub, out on the hottest part of our back deck.  It is quite amusing.  He loves to time himself doing various activities and chart how far he can jump (down the stairs, off his swing in mid air, off the table, etc.)  If you were a fly on the wall in our home, you would never believe he was shy.  But if you took a look in his Sunday school class, you would see an introverted little boy trying hard not to make eye contact or get noticed.  His little mind is always churning, and he has been labeled "a thinker" by more than one person.  He tried playing baseball in the spring and has told me "no" to every attempt to get involved in something since.  Matt and I  don't want to push him-we definitely understand the desire to stay in the background.  He did not want to attend preschool last year.  His words were "why am I the only one who has to leave?"  It about broke my heart, and Matt and I decided to start home-schooling him along with Micah.  He did a fantastic job keeping up with work two grade levels ahead. He learned to read and is recently really getting the hang of writing.  Math is his favorite subject, handwriting his least.  He despises drawing, but gets really into reading stories.  He likes to swing, watch movies, play video games, and go hiking.  He is starting to have a real relationship with Margot, and it is fun to watch them interact.  She thinks he hung the moon!  He continues to be best friends with Micah-I think these boys will always have a special relationship.  He loves Jesus, and we love watching his faith grow.  Oh, how we love this boy- the good, the bad, the laughter, the tears.  We are so blessed to have him as a son.  

Beach Trip

Today Margot is with Matt's mom, the boys are enjoying this wonderful weather outside, and I am recovering from surgery. So, I figured I would post some pictures of a happier time a couple of weeks ago at the beach. Back when our whole family was together every day, back when I could move my face.

Quick note about the surgery: I had a tumor in my parotid gland. It's been there a while, albeit we didn't know what it was. It began growing earlier this year, so I had to have a partial parotidectomy last Thursday (no fun!) The good news is: the doctor says the surgery went well and that he preserved my facial nerve (although the extreme numbness and inability to move my face has me feeling less optimistic than he), and all the preliminary tests are showing it to be benign. He assures me that I will be able to move my face again and that the pain will subside, it just takes time-like months time. I might, however, never regain feeling back to my face and ear. I suppose that I will get used to that. Okay, enough boo hooing. Back to the beach:

We decided to take an early Spring Break with Matt's mom, dad, and sister to Gulf Shores. Despite the unseasonably warm winter, we had lots of clouds and chilly wind. Honestly, it wasn't too much of a bummer for us not to have to lather sunscreen on the kids every day. Most days were still very pleasant to be outside playing, walking along the beach, etc. The ocean on this particular trip was especially gorgeous. Because of the heavy cloud cover, it looked absolutely enormous because you couldn't tell where it ended and the sky began. The waves were huge-such a soothing sound. Matt and I commented on one of our walks that we felt so small. Such a tiny speck in this enormous world. Isn't it funny how we blow ourselves up to be the center of the universe sometimes? And yet, small as we are, the Lord of all creation loves us and cares about us? So humbling it was staring at that vast ocean.

The kids had a blast playing with so many attentive adults. They braved the chilly waters and jumped in the waves, swam in the indoor pool, played beach golf, built castles, went on a scavenger hunt, flew kites, played Pass the Pigs hundreds of times with Aunt Maggie, drove go karts, and ate adventurous foods (both the boys declared a love for oysters on the half shell!). Margot was enthralled by the ocean. She asked about the beach all the time. She loved putting her feet in and jumping when the waves crashed against the shore. If I would have let her, she would have jumped all the way in; she's a water baby-that girl. She became very skilled at "pat pat" patting the sand in the buckets to make a sand castle, and asked to get in her "back pack" for walks with the family down the shore. She now puts her dolls in her small play back pack and walks around the house-so cute.

We so enjoyed ourselves and all the quality time we were able to spend with family. Funny how you can live in the same city as someone, and yet it takes a getaway to really spend time together. We are so thankful we had the opportunity to take this trip and hope we can plan another one soon.

Margot and her Aunt Maggie

Hymns for a Kid's Heart

As part of our school day, the kids and I have been learning hymns, reading about their authors, and practicing reading music while a cd plays in the background. This has been such a fun activity for everyone including Margot who even dances and "sings" along. Whenever things are spiraling out of control, I push play and everyone piles in the big leather chair for a hymn! In fact, I think our favorite memories from this past Christmas were all centered around the Christmas hymns that we sang. The series of books we are using is called Hymns for a Kid's Heart. Our favorites right now are "A Mighty Fortress is our God" and "O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing." The boys especially loved learning that Charles Wesley was one of nineteen children and was homeschooled.

O for a thousand tongues to sing

My great Redeemer’s praise,

The glories of my God and King,

The triumphs of His grace!

My gracious Master and my God,

Assist me to proclaim,

To spread through all the earth abroad

The honors of Thy name.

Jesus! the name that charms our fears,

That bids our sorrows cease;

’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,

’Tis life, and health, and peace.

He breaks the power of canceled sin,

He sets the prisoner free;

His blood can make the foulest clean,

His blood availed for me.

He speaks, and, listening to His voice,

New life the dead receive,

The mournful, broken hearts rejoice,

The humble poor believe.

Hear Him, ye deaf; His praise, ye dumb,

Your loosened tongues employ;

Ye blind, behold your Savior come,

And leap, ye lame, for joy.