The reason...

I haven't posted lately...
We are here...


Meeting her...



And hoping to be back in Iowa soon. Things are wonderful...we can't wait to begin our life as a family of 7. It's been the BEST Thanksgiving ever. We are blessed!

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November thankful...Charlie

There are SO many reasons I'm
thankful for Charlie, but look at his Christmas list. I love this kid...he makes me smile every single day.

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November thankful: teachers!

This being conference time and all, I have been overwhelmed with thankfulness for the teachers we have been blessed with in our lives and our kids' lives. They love our kids like they were their own; they desire success for our children, both academically and in their development as "kids of character." At a (wonderful, I might add) public school, we have been blessed with several teachers who love Jesus and who pray for our kids and all the kids my children interact with. What a blessing! I have struggled at various points as to whether public school is the right choice for us. I am pro-public school in the right setting--at the same time, I fully understand why people choose private school or homeschooling as well and trust me, I've had all of those conversations with myself and with the Lord numerous times. But each time I keep coming back to the fact that sending our kids to public school (for now) has been a much-prayed about and God-driven decision for us...not one we entered into lightly or by rote. And when I left 3 kids' wonderful conferences this past week, this decision has been confirmed over and over again. I fully believe that our kids are lights for Jesus in their school. Because their lights are shining, others can see their good works and praise our Father in heaven (paraphrase from Matthew 5:16). Thank you, Lord!

As a proud mom, I am also overwhelmingly thankful for the hard work and growth I've seen in each of my children since school started this fall. Zoe is reading!! She is a champ at math apparently and is the "queen of rhyming". :) After a bit of a rough start, Zoe is making great behavior choices and we are SO proud of who she is! Chars is reading well above grade level and is a superstar artist...he has started (just for fun, I might add!) creating his own superhero comic books starring Tate and Charlie as defeaters of monsters. Love that!! And Max...well...typical oldest child...perfectionist, rule-follower, hasn't missed a spelling word all year...all I can say is wow. Yes, I love these little monkeys, and I am SO proud to have the privilege of parenting them and watching them become who God intends. So very thankful.

Our last few weeks in photos!

Max & me at the Civic Center for a super fun field trip!






Followed up with a trip to the Science Center! What a great group of 3rd graders. Thankful: that I get to stay home and do these awesome things with my kids.



My cousin and her family came for a fun weekend visit. E & L (my cousin's daughters) got a shot on TV with our local weather caster!



The little miss needed a trim. I debated about getting it done as she really wants her hair long, but it badly needed the trim and I'm glad I did it! Even just trimming the 2 inches, there was practically an entire head of hair on the floor! She is such a dolly, this girl. Love her gorgeous hair!!






I love sweet pictures of sleepy kiddos. And yes, Tate's carseat is flowered. :) Poor kid.


And look who turned 3 years old!!! Wow!!! He is such a sweet little guy and we are blessed to have him in our family. Love love love you, Tater Bug!!!

More birthday and thankful posts to come. Happy Tuesday.

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November thankful #4

This guy deserves at least a week's worth of thankful posts...probably the whole month's worth. He is our provider and the emotional rock of our family. He is our spiritual leader and he showers each of our children with a sweet and individual love, showing them here on earth a glimpse of how God loves them.

He is blessedly patient and gracefully forgiving. He is a gifted listener and also puts up with any movie I'm in the mood to see (I also got him totally hooked on The Good Wife!! Yes!!). He really is my very best friend. Man, God blessed my socks off when he picked this guy for me way back when we were 16 & 17. So in love and so, so thankful.


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November thankful #3

I love autumn. It is absolutely my favorite time of year. Bring on the sweaters and the Ugg boots! Yes I know, talk to me in January when I want to throw my Uggs out the window and hop a plane to Hawaii. But I am thankful for the change in seasons, the beautiful colors, and the little bite in the air. Reminders of God's power and presence through His creation are everywhere in this season. I am thankful for a warm home. I'm reminded many nights of people who don't have that luxury when one of our kids (usually Max or Zoe) prays for "the people who don't have homes to stay warm tonight". I'm also thankful for a mug of hot apple cider, the appearance of peppermint hot chocolate at McDonald's (woo hoo!), and under-a-big-fleece-blanket-snuggles with my kids while watching Toy Story with the fireplace going. Love this season! And you can bet that I will be loving that extra hour of sleep tomorrow night. :)

November thankful...day 2!

Oh so thankful for Jesus! Jesus who hears every whisper of our hearts, Jesus who comes near when we say "Lord, help me!" I had a couple of what I fondly call "Lord have mercy moments" when I thought I might just lose it with the kids today. Some days I have none of those moments, but when they come they seem to come in full force. Buck was out of town tonight and with drum lessons, church night, bath night and cold and dreary weather all rolled up into one L O N G night. But Jesus...He's there. Speak His name and He comes to us. Thank you, Lord, for your truly amazing grace. Thank you, Lord, for being strong in our weakness. Thank you, Lord for your LOVE.

November Thankful

I'm going to try and post most days about what I am thankful for...and no promises because goodness knows I can't do anything other than eat and sleep every single day. :) But I will try. This morning I was overwhelmingly thankful for my oldest child. Yes I am thankful for each of my children every single day...and you'll likely hear more about them in the coming days. But today...Max. We were at the orthodontist for the big "money appointment" as I described it to Buck. They laid out Max's treatment plan, how much it would cost, how long it would take. And Max asked more questions than either of his parents!! Love that kid and his attention to detail and curiosity.. I am also thankful for his adventurous spirit and being willing to try anything once. He was the go-getter at Disney World, trying every single ride possible. Yesterday he gave a speech for the student council elections...he wrote the whole thing himself and did not even ask for help. The last sentence of his speech: "remember, Horizon, a vote for Max is a vote for the pillars of character." How does he come up with this stuff? Yep, I'm so thankful for Max.