Sidebar: It's New Year's Eve, it's 10:45, I'm blogging, and my husband is snoring on the couch. Ah, but no worries, I plan to wake him so we can "ring in the new year" watching a scary movie, eating some popcorn, whilst all four kids sleep soundly. I know what you're thinking...we're a wild bunch here!
The year 2008 has flown by! And what an eventful year it has been…
January
January
- Chris’s grandfather passed away in January, and though we were saddened by his passing, we were thankful that we knew it was going to happen so we had the rare opportunity to say goodbye. Chris was especially thankful for that.
- We found out that we were expecting our fourth child! However, it was Chris and my little secret at that point.
February
- I had lots of morning sickness. And afternoon sickness. And evening sickness.
- Pierce quickly figured out that if Mommy came sprinting through the house, everyone should get out of the way so that Mommy could make it to the toilet in time. He was then kind enough to be the commentator of everything that was going on in the bathroom while Mommy was "being sick"!
- We got two new kittens to replace our old cat Milo, who ran away. The boys named them Stormy and Mud Puddle, and all of the kids adored their new pets!
March
- I had continued pregnancy-related sickness, plus strep throat for the boys and me.
- And I’m afraid to say that the rest of the month is pretty much a blur for me.
- Chris continued to work pretty long hours at Smith Fertilizer and Grain in Knoxville, and while we always miss him when he has to work long hours, we are proud of how hard he works for our family.
April
- We shared our “baby” news with family & friends!
- We celebrated the Resurrection on our Savior!
- We realized that we might have a serious snake problem. We encountered well over a dozen snakes IN the house throughout month, which is a problem when both of the adults are
uncomfortable aroundpetrified of snakes.
May
- Our little Emmersyn turned TWO! At age two, she already loved makeup and dolls, but also loved trying to keep up with her brothers in their “hunting” and “fighting”. She’s still quite ornery & feisty, but also sweet & adorable.
- After a lot of prayer, tons of research, and lots of little & big signs from God, Chris and I finally surrendered to God’s will for us to homeschool our children. While it was and still is a scary decision, we know it is what’s right for our family.
- We had the opportunity to get acquainted with lots more snakes, much to our delight.
June
- It was a wet month for most of Iowa, and while we were blessed to not have major flooding, we did get quite a lot of water in the basement. This wouldn’t have been such a problem had we not been living in the basement! Emmersyn’s room had standing water in it, so she slept in our room for a few weeks.
- I took the plunge and started my own very small business selling custom cards on eBay. I'm still loving it!
- Xander celebrated birthday number FOUR! We celebrated his & Emmy’s birthdays together at Happy Joe’s in Pella and had a ton of fun! Afterwards Daddy & Mommy brought Pierce & Xander to their first movie in a theater: Kung Fu Panda. We all loved it!
- Chris and I also had the wonderful opportunity to go to the big Homeschool Convention put on by our state's Christian homeschool association. It was such a blessing to see so many other homeschool families, to be encouraged, and to get more informed. We were particularly blessed to visit more with Jason & Leigh (Hi guys! We miss you!). We met them randomly in the summer of 2007, and God used that chance meeting in a big way to help confirm to us that homeschooling was His plan for our lives.
July
- We started homeschooling (early, so we could take some time off when the baby came).
- We enjoyed the Independence Day festivities in Sully, with Chris watching the parade rather than marching in it for a change.
- Xander was a ring bearer in our friends’ wedding on the 5th. He did fantastic and looked so handsome in his little tux! I could have cried… All of the kids were so fun to watch at the reception as they danced the night away. The boys even “paired off” with a couple of little girls their age, dancing with them during the slow songs.
- Chris and I celebrated our 29th birthdays in July, and on my birthday, July 30th, we found out we would be having another baby GIRL!
August
- Chris and I celebrated our 7th Anniversary!
- As a family we enjoyed the Iowa State Fair on opening day, and got in for free! It was a beautiful day for August.
- We said goodbye to our cat, Stormy. Mud Puddle had run away in the spring, but Stormy stuck around long enough to give us a major flea problem. So we set her “free”, bombed the house, and I took every ounce of clothing and linens to the Laundromat where God blessed me immensely from amongst heaps and piles of laundry. Notice all the links in there on this one topic? Me-thinks it consumed me a bit much...
- We started looking at houses in the Knoxville area after feeling like that is where we are supposed to be at this time in our lives.
September
- We made the decision to move to a house a mere 1/2 mile from Chris's workplace.
- Chris and I made a trip to the maternity ward at the hospital only to find out that I was NOT in labor and I apparently don’t know much about labor signs after three previous childbirths! What a "funny" pregnancy it was!
- The snakes returned a month early...they must have really loved us.
October
- We FINALLY got to meet our sweet little daughter, Aniston Danielle, on the 9th. We all fell in love with her right away!
- The end of October brought some trick-or-treating fun, with Pierce the Pirate, Xander as Optimus Prime, and Emmersyn the bunny rabbit.
November
- I packed, packed, packed at the old house.
- Chris remodeled, remodeled, remodeled at the new house. Chris actually stayed at our new house, and while it was worth it in the end, it was hard for all of us!
- We celebrated Thanksgiving, though a large portion of the day was spent working on the new house!
December
- We finally moved on the 6th, and the boxes are gradually getting unpacked!
- Our firstborn son, Pierce, celebrated his 6th birthday, which we celebrated at Pizza Ranch. We also started the “stay up as late as you want after your birthday party” tradition. (Have I seriously not posted pictures of his party yet?? Coming soon!)
- We enjoyed our daily opportunities to light the Advent candle and remember that Jesus’ birthday was fast approaching.
- We had so much fun celebrating the big day (pictures to come soon)! This was, by far, my favorite Christmas yet because of how much time we were able to spend together, just us on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Let me close with a fun little prayer for our family, to our Lord (hey, God has a sense of humor too!!).
God in Heaven, Thank you for all the ways that you blessed us in this year 2008. Thank you also for all the ways you TAUGHT us in the year 2008. But Lord, if you wouldn’t mind, please teach us in 2009 without the use of morning sickness, snakes, and fleas. Either way, Lord I thank you for the fresh start that we get with each new year. Please help me to remember that each moment can be a fresh start because of your strength and forgiveness! In Christ’s name, Amen!
God in Heaven, Thank you for all the ways that you blessed us in this year 2008. Thank you also for all the ways you TAUGHT us in the year 2008. But Lord, if you wouldn’t mind, please teach us in 2009 without the use of morning sickness, snakes, and fleas. Either way, Lord I thank you for the fresh start that we get with each new year. Please help me to remember that each moment can be a fresh start because of your strength and forgiveness! In Christ’s name, Amen!
