A Lifetime of Love

For us, 2011 was a year of learning… Thomas (9) learned to serve others by volunteering to gather and take out the garbage at a local pregnancy center.   He reports for duty every Monday and greatly enjoys the work! He also learned the value of a dollar as he worked for several neighbors and friends doing yard work and house/pet sitting this past spring and summer to earn money for art camp. Thomas is continuing to work and save his money as he plans to go with our church’s youth group to The Wilds Christian Camp in the mountains of North Carolina for one week this upcoming summer. We are excited about how the Lord will work in his life, especially while at camp. Tanner (6 ½) is learning to read in school. It has been fun to witness him read words on his own as we drive around town. He has also begun to read more books to his younger sisters, which is a great help to me! This summer and fall, Tanner learned to operate the lawn mower and leaf blower. If you know Tanner well, you...

Here is our most recent family picture. I am including it in our Christmas card...if I can ever find the time to write them! Life for me has become even busier than it was before. I am struggling to find a balance between my expectations and reality of what I can accomplish in a day. My "To Do" list is so long and yet it seems I spend all my time between laundry, dishes, and caring for children. It is discouraging to see my list get longer instead of shorter, but I know soon enough a routine will be established and life will get back to "normal," whatever that was. On a different note, Taryn is gaining weight quickly because she eats so often! During the day, she goes about 2 hours between feedings. However, starting around 8pm, she feeds about every hour and a half. I am nursing her but find myself giving her bottles of formula more and more because she just doesn't seem satisfied, even after nursing for 30 minutes or more. On the bright side, the kids (...

My dad and a close family friend (Donna) drove down from Ohio to visit us for Thanksgiving. They arrived around 1:30pm on Thanksgiving day. After some playtime with Grandpa and a tour of the house for Donna, the younger kids settled down for naps while Th and the adults chatted and  I finished up dinner preparations. We ate our Thanksgiving meal around 4:30pm, I cleaned up and then prepared dessert while the kids and other adults played outside, enjoying the unseasonably warm temperatures. Shortly before 7pm the kids came in and began their bedtime routines of showers/baths. We then sat and enjoyed a variety of desserts prepared by both Donna and myself. Once dessert was over, bedtime for the kids was not far behind, and by 8:30pm all of the adults were gathered in the living room for the evening. The busyness of the day left me exhausted and as I sat watching TV and chatting with the family, I realized I was having mild contractions...