The adventures of the past 9 months!

Well! Safe to say A LOT has happened since the last post. Here's a quick month-by-month rundown!

 

July was spent enjoying the fantastic Oregon weather, taking Christian's four wheeler out on some gorgeous trails.

 

 

 

Judah (and Ahh-ahh) broke his wrist in August while we were on a day camping trip. He was riding a bike downhill...a little to fast! But happy to say that his wrist is now perfectly healed, and daddy threw his bike in the garbage (lol!) we haven't gotten him a new one yet, but I think it's time he get one again!

 

 

 Josiah began 1st grade in September, and we were blessed with a fantastic teacher! He had a great experience at Mulino Elementary and Judah and I (and eventually Elijah too) got to spend lots of time volunteering in his classroom.

 



 

In October  the boys and I enjoyed our annual trip to the Wooden Shoe Pumpkin Fest, we always have so much fun there!

 

 

November brought our third little blessing! Elijah Luke was born and I'm proud to say, I did it med-free! There were a few possible complications and we were going to have to schedule for him to be induced, but then he decided to come on his own. Lots of hours of labor at home, a few quick hours at the hospital, and that was it! Perfectly healthy healthy and we went home the next morning, praise God!! We didn't know if he'd end up looking like Josiah (blonde hair, blue eyes!) or Judah (brown hair, brown/green eyes!) but Josiah was thrilled to discover that Elijah looks much like him! Blondie all the way :)  Josiah and Judah were so excited for their brother. Just as I expected, Elijah has become Josiah's little buddy, and Judah is my little helper.

 

 

 

Aunt Kristy had a little fun with Elijah on Thanksgiving day! :)

 

December was a busy month with a newborn, Christmas, and Judah's 5th birthday!

Elijah taking a break in the Christmas aftermath!

Papa and Grandma got Judah his much-wanted remote control helicopter!

 

family of 5 now!

 

Judah woke up to a bed full of balloons!

5 years old already....wow!!
 

January was a rather calm month for us. (The calm before the storm!!) Nice to have a month like that once in a while! :)

celebrating 2013 (Madagascar time!)

 

 

 

 

 

February was a crazy, full of rather unexpected events! Christian was hired at a fantastic hospital in San Antonio, Texas. This meant quickly selling our house, finding a new one (rental), and relocating our family to an unfamiliar town. I spent 8 weeks in San Antonio for Air Force Basic Training...but that was on the OTHER side of the barb wired fence, lol. I hadn't gotten to experience San Antonio as a civilian! I have to say, I never thought I'd be back in San Antonio with a husband and three little boys! It's definitely bittersweet, because we've been praying and searching for the right job for Christian. But it is hard to leave all his family. Thankfully we will see them as often as we can and I have lots of Texas family just a few hours drive away!

 

We quickly put our house up for sale and prayed that it would sell quickly. And praise God, it did! We had a difficult time securing a home to live in in San Antonio since we couldn't view it first. But at the last minute we were able to get one with a nice quick commute to Christian's job, and in walking distance to Josiah's school.

 

It was a whirlwind trying to work out all the details, packing up our house, lots of house viewings (meaning keeping the house extremely clean and getting out with all the kids and dog whenever someone wanted to view it! whew!), getting Christian's Texas nursing license, working out job details, etc, etc, etc.

 

Of course, I don't have many pictures this month due to the craziness! But at least I have one of my lil valentine :)

 

 

 

In March we officially moved to San Antonio. Christian took a moving truck with our van on a trailer behind it. He also took our dog Milo. The boys and I stayed with Christian's parents for a few days before flying down. It was so nice for the boys to have that special time with their grandparents before we left.

Josiah also had to say goodbye to his first grade class. It was hard for him (and me too!). God had really blessed us with great teachers and classmates during our time at Mulino. Josiah made little "goodbye" bags for his classmates, complete with plastic bugs, candy, and he had drawn one particular bug for each classmate that he said would remind him of them every time he saw that bug. (so sweet!)

 In the middle of the craziness, I got my braces off (hooray!) I probably would've had them on for a few more months if we hadn't moved, but we didn't want to have to find a new orthodontist and I was so close to being finished anyways. Freedom! :) I don't mind having to wear my clear plastic retainers each night.

 

 

 

 

 

One last swing in the rain!

goodbye bug bags

 saying goodbye!

one last hug from teacher!

braces OFF! :)

bye daddy! See you in Texas!
 

That brings us to the present, and I'll be writing a new post on our San Antonio adventures :)



 

Goodbye Kindergarten!

I don't want to believe it....but, it's true. Josiah has graduated from kindergarten! Looking back on the past year, I feel very blessed (and a little sad, of course, but mostly blessed!) 

First and last days of kindergarten!

Right before school on the first and last days!

I couldn't be more proud of how much he's grown (academically and in maturity!) We were blessed with a wonderful Christian kindergarten teacher that not only taught Josiah, but protected him every moment from his peanut allergy. 

Josiah's school allergy meds....still UNOPENED!

Imagine my relief when I picked up his meds from the school office and his classroom....and was reminded how it never had to be used while he was at school! The plastic seals were still on the benadryl! Praise God!   I am so thankful to his teacher and other staff members who were trained and ready to administer his

 Epi-Pen if necessary. They played a very large part in keeping him safe! 

 I've learned many lessons this year as a mom....and one of the greatest was the reality of how we can't be there with our child every moment of the day...we truly have to place them in God's hands and trust that He is there every moment! To remember that God loves my baby even more than I do is comforting! Having to  place that trust in God is not easy for me, but He has proven to be faithful time and time again! 

Lunch notes!

My sweet boy had saved every lunch note I've written to him this year (in his nightstand drawer)! After he got home on his last day of school, we glued all of them in a special book so that he could read them whenever he wanted. Special memories for both of us!

 

To make the day fun, Josiah got a special pancake breakfast, a few small gifts (a new Hot Wheel car and a bug-catcher watch!) and got his pick of ice cream at the grocery store. Judah and I also decorated the front door for him when he got home. 

So proud of our little 5 year old! I look forward to seeing him grow and excel every year (as long as it doesn't go by too fast!) He has amazed me in so many ways and I'm so proud to be his mama!

2012!

2012!

2011 was a crazy ride for us! We bought our first home, Christian graduated from nursing school and got his RN degree, and we got our puppy, Milo. Josiah became 5 years old and began Kindergarten. Judah became 4 years old (just a few days before the new year!) and took the training wheels off his bike. We explored lava caves at Mt. Saint Helens and spent time playing in the sand at Cannon Beach. There definitley was a lot of hard work involved, but there were also many, many moments of laughter and happiness!

The boys and I (Christian had to work!) celebrated New Years Eve on Eastern Standard Time, so we'd be done at 9. We were still able to watch the ball drop in NYC as they aired it live. We had a great time remembering fun times from 2011 and partying like little people do!

Each half hour, the boys opened a new present. Inside was a small treat and a slip of paper with a new activity idea on it :)

Opening the first gift to start off the party!


We decorated cookies, blew bubbles, had a crazy dance party to Alvin and the Chipmunks music, played with glow sticks, colored, played a board game, had popcorn and watched Charlie Brown's New Years Eve, and watched the ball drop in NYC. Whew! I can gladly report that we all slept well that night!

 So excited to see what 2012 brings! I know there will be difficulties and trials, but looking forward to the growth, fun, and joy our family will experience! Happy New Year!

Soccer Star!

This fall, Josiah played his first team sport....soccer! I was beyond thrilled as I absolutely loved playing soccer all 4 years of high school, and I'd probably still be playing if they had a league for

out-of-shape mommies! :)

Josiah at his first soccer practice!

He jumped right in and really loved it! He had one practice and one game each week. It seemed to be just the right balance for his attention span!

The Green Team!

Josiah became fast friends with his teammates :) He had two excellent coaches that were so great with the kids! It was actually pretty suprising to me how much they actually played the game of soccer...and not as much of the "flocking geese"running after the ball that I had pictured in my mind! Josiah caught on quickly to the concept and rules and I was such a proud soccer mom! We had lots of fun at the parents vs. kids final practice (they won!)! There's nothing quite like loving a sport as a child and then watching your child play and enjoy it!

Score!

Run Josiah!!

On the sidelines!

Judah being supportive from the sidelines, lol!

Green Team! (Josiah's in the colorful hat!)

Josiah scores!

Josiah tries hard to score....a little too hard, lol!

We can't wait for next season, when Judah will be old enough to play as well! Nothing better than seeing them have so much fun, getting lots of exercise, and falling right to sleep at bedtime! :)



Kindergarten Kiddo!

Well.....*sniff, sniff*......our baby boy is now a kindergartener! So hard to believe! But I have to say, the way his eyes light up and the huge smile that comes on his face when I say the word "school" makes it all worth it :) It's exciting to have such an eager learner!

The road to our decision on kindergarten was certainly not an easy one (at least for us as parents...!).  We had considered possibly holding him back a year (he just turned 5 in June) or whether we would put him in a public school (and searching all of our options). But through the prayers, God has completely granted us a peace, relief and an understanding that for this moment...right now....we have made the right decision. We understand that by continuing to listen to God and having our hearts in the right place, we can't go wrong! So we are moving forward with a sense of excitement, anticipation and pride for our boy.

It turns out that Josiah is the only peanut-allergic child at his school (quite suprising!!) and so there were many phone calls and a meeting with the school to create a plan that would keep him safe. I was really stressed about it, but the school has done an excellent job with taking every precaution necessary. His kindergarten room is now peanut-free, and they designated a special table in the cafeteria for him to sit at (they even wrote on it with permanent marker, lol!). They also removed peanut butter sandwiches from the cafeteria menu. The staff has been trained in how to administer his Epi-Pen injector as well. I've been really impressed and sooo thankful with everyone's cooperation and willingness to make it a safe place for Josiah!

It was SO hard to drop him off for his first day...(hard for me, that is! He was more than excited to be there!) but it's gotten easier as I hear about the things he's learned that day, the friends he's made and why he's excited to go back next time! It's been a little tough for Judah as well, he really misses Josiah during the day. But at the same time, I think he really enjoys the one-on-one attention he gets at home!

I'm so proud of Josiah and the love he has for learning. Almost every time I pick him up he says "Mama, we didn't do a section on rocks today" lol, but we have plenty of time on his days off to learn about all of the science topics that he loves most (such as rocks, bugs, vocanos, outer space, etc!) It's so exciting to watch Josiah embark on such an exciting new adventure in his life!