It has been a fat minuet between posts here. Facebook screwed things up! Now Im longing for those good ol days when you could post things and see things from friends that were meaningful and not filled with contention. So back to the blog I go! It has been a mixed bag of emotions going through the old posts here. Lots of happy feels, and sad feels for opportunities missed. Well that is life I guess... Hopefully I will keep this motivation to blog, but we shall see... I suppose a brief update is in order. . . Somewhere in the last 5 years we made it to Disney World! It was not all I would have hoped for. We did Yellowstone in 2019. We also went to the grand canyon last month, And I didnt even get pushed off!  We also did a lot of other trips, but those are the recognizable hot spots. We have had some cats, and some ducks. And we currently have a dog, 3 chickens and a cat. Tami has worked her butt off and has a masters in teaching special education. I work at a last chance RTC for boys 14-18 with backgrounds in self harm, assault, and homicidal ideation. My passion project is creating board games and I currently have created 2 that are getting great reviews by all who play it. Now if only I could get it out there....

BRIANNA

Is in high shcool and has been in 2 plays. "The king and I", and "Frozen Jr".  She was so fun to watch. She is also in the French dual emersion program in school. And has been in stage crew (while also in the plays). She loves to paint, has a great sense of humor and seems to be the favorite of all our animals. And she may or may not have driven in a church parking lot with her dad...

MIKAYLA

Just started Jr high and is already in Jazz club and stage crew. She just nailed her first solo on piano despite forgetting her sheet music! She is also trying out for a part in the "Moanna Jr" play they will be having this year. Mikayla is always the first to volunteer to help her parents and is super thoughtful. She is also in the French dual emersion class at school and is also starting to tackle Spanish. She loves crafts and baking.

DAVID

Is also in the French dual emersion and is in 6th grade. He is super good at math and loves to play Minecraft and Skylanders. He is a good and loyal friend who will always stick up for the underdog.

ALYSON

Also in the French dual emersion program. She is super outgoing. The textbook definition of a social butterfly. Every day when we pick her up from school she is the center of attention in her little entourage. She also loves to bake and is super crafty.

Us in 2015

Mass Move

Our sleeping situation has not been ideal. Three kids in one room. Brianna crying all the time that the babies are touching her things and David gluing stuff together. And all the touching.

 Alyson still in our room. Aside from the toys everywhere, David's clothes are folded on my cedar chest put away. He had been using my night stand for a dresser, but his clothes finally out grew it. There was no one else to put them.

 But after working all summer. Their new rooms are finished. I didn't want to mud. I wanted to pay someone, but things weren't working out and my patience at bedtime was gone. So I worked. And worked. And finally the kids moved rooms.

 Its so nice.

 Alyson has a hard time at night, but overall doing great with the change.

I would post a new picture of our room, but I've haven't rearranged the furniture around yet. And I want to repaint the room. I just need a break.

A Confession

Here I go. Confessing to something. I dress Alyson in church clothes the night before to help us get to church on time, yep, instead of getting up earlier. It's very shocking. I'm sure. However, today was the first day in a while that many others liked how she was dressed and told me so. She is pretty adorable.

 

 

PIC 1

 

PIC 2

French

Brianna loves learning French and is doing a great job at it. I'm glad that we went with the French program. She sang in school. Did really well, although I think she may be mumbling at times.

 

 

I've been busy

I hadn't realized it had been so long. Here is a really quick look back over the last few months in a random order.

Alyson
She crawled and now walks. Loves strawberry milk. Has started hitting David when he gets close. Loving her bed hair.

David
Everything in our fish room survived a two hour attempt to toilet train. It has been over a month since he has spit in my face. He loves his rolling game. He loves his costume.

Mikayla
I think she is speaking clearer. She grew sunflowers in our front yard. She has stopped bringing potato bugs inside. She is as darling as ever.

Brianna
 She loves learning French. She is wonderful being the oldest.

 

Me
Has realized a benefit to cold weather. No more bugs in the house. And van. I have a nook. Oh my, there are so many free books. Good thing or I could easily put our family in financial ruin. Yep, I just admitted to my real time suck.

My Honey
Working. Made a Santa sweater.

This year has been good. Christmas was good. However, I always look forward to a new year. As if the ending of one year is the ending of a chapter. And a new year brings fresh pages to fill.

The Dress and more

During my fourth pregnancy I bought a dress, on clearance for a dollar. Because one always needs more baby dresses. I loved the dress and was planning on using it for spring earlier this year and bought 12m size. So many plans. Plans that changed. My parents saw it and questioned why I had it in the D.I. pile. I reasoned that it would fit during the wrong seasons. They replied that Alyson could still wear it in December. It was then packed away.

 They saw it as just a dress. I saw so much more. I saw what I longed for, prayed for, and then lost. A painful reminder.

The dress eventually ended up hanging in the closet. Months it hung there, reminding me of other plans I had dreamed of. Until a couple of weeks ago I decided that Alyson was going to wear the dress and I would be okay. And I was.

Allie in the dress

The dress was thrown into the laundry and forgotten. While folding laundry I pulled it out of the basket expecting to feel the anxiety I always felt when touching the dress, but instead I immediately felt peace. It felt good. While folding the dress I noticed that it was not a 12m size, but an 18 month size (I had thought the dress was really big on her, but she is only eight months old). Tears came quickly. What an incredible tender mercy to receive. I may still get to use the dress during a spring like I had planned.

In other news, we have been busy enjoying the summer. Which is why it has been two months since my last post.  We have enjoyed many trips to Hogle Zoo.

A skunk in our back yard.

And a trip to the Dinosaur Park with cousins.

So many other things are going on too. We are also working hard on finishing our basement.