Oh my gosh, it is the day after Christmas and I am exhausted! I have to admit all that Christmas stuff sure is a lot of work. As if it's not hard enough to do everything you are supposed to do around the house, but then I try to add baking cookies and decorating, hosting parties, going to party and my personal favorite buying presents. Praise the Lord that Jesus came, but I'm sure glad that his birthday party is done for this year.
Let's see I'd like to give an update on everyone in our family, since I didn't manage to get a family letter and cards out this year. I did however manage to print 50 of the same picture, so some of you should eventually get a photo in the mail.
As you can see, I'm kind of busy. It sometimes seems that from sun up to sun down I am constantly doing little tasky things, letting dogs in and out, making meals, taking out the trash, starting and finishing laundry, picking up toys, changing diapers, dealing with discipline, etc. That is mainly my life right now. Occasionally, I get to read a book, watch tv and visit with friends, which makes my life a lot better!
What I've been doing besides taking care of my home, family, and running kids here and there, this year, I started helping our MOPS group again with the childcare for our group. I organize all the volunteers, make sure enough people are there, and make sure all supplies are there, and many times I help with the kids too.
I also have been in a great Bible study this fall, as well as attending some women's bible studies with my church. This really helps me get rooted in God's word and encourages me to open my Bible on a daily basis and really meditate on what God has to say to me.
I also spent time this summer helping with my church's VBS program, that is always a highlight of the year.
I attended a Mom's Conference called Hearts at Home this fall with a couple of other ladies. That was awesome! It was fun to have a night away with some great girls I know from church, but also to be refreshed and encouraged as well. I can't wait to go again next fall.
I haven't mentioned much about Partylite yet. Well, I did my last official show back in May. I did several catalog orders between then and now, and as of right now, I am semi - retired I guess. I just haven't had the time to put into it that I need. I did do a final clearance sale a few weeks ago and that is why there is PL stuff on my Blog. I am really going to miss doing shows, but in the long run, I know that it's what is best for my family. I am still going to be putting in my own orders every few months, so if there is something you need, just let me know.
As for Brent, he has been very busy as well! He really enjoys his job at Amerisure as an Actuarial analyst. This fall he studied and studied and studied some more and on Nov. 1st, he took his exam. We found out last wednesday that he Passed! Yeah and Hooray. He now has 7 of the 9 exams he needs to complete the program. We are hoping that in May he'll pass that exam and then he'll study for the last exam the following spring. The best part about this for me is that he will now be studying only one season a year for tests in the spring. That is a big relief to me as it is really hard to sacrifice so much time with him on the weekends and evenings so that he can study. Every year that passes and he is still taking exams, I swear I am going to plan the biggest hoopla event for when it is finally over! Besides his professional acheivements, he is a great Dad! He loves our kids so much and is really enjoying Ethan getting to be a little bit older. They are building lego things together, playing video games and sports and stuff like that. He enjoys the other too as well, meeting them right where they are at.
Ethan is now 6 and 1/2 as he would put it. He thoroughly enjoyed Christmas this year. It was fun to see him guess at what presents were in his boxes. His new found entertainment is video games. Brent got out his old nintendo that he bought when he was in middle school, and Ethan has been enjoying those games. He is in first grade and is working hard to learn to read. I decided to start tutoring him with the hooked on phonics program and he seems to be making great strides at learning to read. This has been a pretty stressful thing this fall. He has often been discouraged when seeing others in his class that can read really well, but for him it is a real chore. I can see though that if I continue to help him, he'll make progress. His teacher has him working with the reading specialist, and one on one with a parent as well to help him get lots of time at working on reading.
Otherwise, he seems to really enjoy school. He has a lot of fun with his classmates and others at the school. Ethan also has played a lot of sports this year. He played 2 seasons of soccer - think this is his favorite, he took some tennis classes this summer, he also played T-ball this summer as well. He is looking forward to being in a basketball clinic this winter.
This is the area where Ethan really excells. He loves sports.
The best news I have to share with you about Ethan, is that he accepted Jesus into his heart earlier this month. We were reading a book at bedtime, and he indicated to me that he wanted to pray the prayer of salvation that the characters in the book were praying. He knew that he needed to have Jesus in his heart to take away his sins, to help him be a better person, and be ready to live in heaven someday. It was an amazing moment to hear him say that to me. I've been praying for this moment for the last 7 years. He has a lot to learn about how to live a Christian life, but he has begun the journey!
Corlissa Grace will proudly tell you that she is 4 and 1/2 years old. She also enjoyed Christmas time very much. She loves all soft things and surrounds herself with them. By this I mean, she loves to have soft teddy bears and stuffed animals, soft clothes, mittens , coats and blankets. She loves to watch her favorite shows, and lay by the heater to stay warm at this time of year, but she also loves to jump on trampolines, play outside in the snow and go to gymnastics class.
She also goes to Preschool 3 times a week for 2.5 hours. She loves it there. Her teacher is wonderful. She also had Ethan in class and I just think she's great!
She has been growing her hair out long this year, and now looks very serious with her long bangs. Her hair has really gotten quite long, and she loves it. She often tips her head back to see if her hair reaches her bottom! I think her favorite Christmas gift this year was her pound puppy. its soft and very cute.
Corlissa also has responded to wanting Jesus in her heart. I'm not sure that she understands it as well as Ethan did that night, but I am sure it is a sweet sound in Jesus' ear to hear a little one express that she loves God so very much!
She has a very tender spirit and is just a really sweet little girl. She does get into trouble once in a while, but for the most part, she is a doll.
That leads me to Brayden. Wow has he changed in the last 12 months! he has gone from being an infant to a walking, climbing, babbling almost toddler! He has an amazing smile and laugh that could charm anyone! He is hard to take care of though. Right now, he enjoys climbing everywhere. He has defeated me many times over in my attempts to baby proof. I have been trying so hard to keep the chairs pushed in at the table, but now he knows how to move them and he often ends up on the counter tops, and table tops! He loves getting into everything and throwing things - like trash and papers, older kids toys, carrying shoes around the house and leaving them in other rooms. I think you get the picture. He is definately a challenge right now! But at the same time, he is a huge joy to our home! I do enjoy seeing him exploring and developing and changing every day.
He is a little squirt. he's around 20 pounds now at 15 months. He is pretty thin too. His pants tend to fall off occaisionally. He does enjoy eating though! His favorite foods right now are pancakes and bananas, but likes many things. I think he is going to be very athletic like Ethan is, but time will tell.
We still have our sweet dogs. They are another bright spot in my day. Sasha is almost 9 years old, and Ginger is 5. It's hard to believe that Sasha is going to be 9! She still seems like a puppy sometimes.
One of the highlights for 2007 was our trip to Beaver Island. This was our 4th year going up there in the summer time. We ended up spending aroung 12 days there. It is a beautiful place. I love being there because I feel like I can just let go of the stress in my life and basque in God's glory! The beautiful beach and forests there are just wonderful. It has a rustic feel to it, but we have always stayed in a nice home. The first few days we were there this year, we stayed with the Evan's family again. They rented the house next door to theirs for their big 4th of July party. We stayed there with some other people. We had a great time. We then moved down to the house we rented and enjoyed a week of peace and quiet there.
I highly recommend visiting there!
One thing that I've noticed this last year is how quickly time seems to be going. I pray that in 2008 you will cherish each moment you have with family and friends, create margin in your life so that you can rest and relax and not overdo it, and be able to serve your family and others around you with the love of Christ.
May love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control reign in your life this coming year (Galations 6 - the fruit of the spirit)
I send my love to you this Christmas and New Year season!
Andie
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1 comments:
Beautifull pictures !
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