It has been a year of great change. Emotionally, spiritually, in numbers, and much more.
God has challenged us financially this year by allowing our nest egg of savings to be completely drained before the end of summer. With our hearts in the right place we set about two years ago to follow Dave Ramsey and save, spend wisely, live on a budget and give our Money to God. I set my mind to saving and began, unknowingly, to put my trust in the savings rather than in the Lord. I did not mean to misplace this trust. I KNOW God is the provider and nothing comes we cannot handle. But, I put much faith in our savings being the crutch by which all would crumble or fall depending upon how it fell.
Well it didn't take long for the Lord to show us, and to do so loudly, that He was in control of how the crutch would fall and that savings was not the means to the end. He is the End. He is the provider of Justin's job, his pay, our savings, our expenses, our livelihood and only to Him will the glory be. So we regrouped, fixed the car and the A/C and moved on with nothing in our savings account. It was at this time that we were at the most peace. No longer striving for something God could take in an instant but rather trusting and holding to Him to make it. It wasn't an easy path.
We grew much in our church family this year. Loving Desert Breeze church and our small group. Doing some wonderful teaching series and really digging into podcasts, Voddie, the Homeschool Convention and much more to determine what would be the lighthouse in our family. There quickly became no clearer option that homeschooling, family worship time, digging into God's word and finding and living for His truth. This takes time. We slowly moved along this path as life begins to take place, Justin traveling, the kids growing. We trotted and sometimes walked along this growing path but we did so and looking back we have come a long way.
We've since switched churches to West Valley Bible Church where we feel we are growing more, are being fed more of the spiritual food we need, and connecting. The growth continues.
We added a wonderful, beautiful member to our family, Westin James. I'm more blessed and enamored with him daily. He's so beautiful and sweet, snugly and warm. All furled up against me and wanting to suckle and be touched. There wouldn't be a number child I wouldn't find to be a pure miracle of God. We are all, and I mean everyone, thrilled and blessed by him.
Cole, my oldest, tenderhearted guy. He has grown so much. I sometimes look at him and think his legs are longer, he's taller, smarter and becoming a real boy not a child. Then at times, I look at him, while he's on the ground throwing a tantrum and I know there is still child in him, and I smile. Well I smile on the inside and on the outside I send him to his room! We crack up with this boy. He's always learning something new, challenging himself with some task or activity. Since August he has learned to read and sound out words along with writing. He's always learning to write and read new words and finds the challenge to be a lot of fun. He sometimes does not was to go to see Alana, his tutor, but he always has fun. We are moving on with reading now into Phonics rules and Phonemes. I'm super excited about the year ahead and the progress he will make. We will also be starting math in February, with Math-U-See. I know he will excel.
He's been attending Awanas at Palmcroft Baptist Church and is an amazing memorizer. He can do anything to music or just plain memorizing. He's earned 7 jewels so far and has until April to finish his book. I'm so proud of him tucking God's word into his heart. He learned to ice skate, play baseball, and is a wonderful helper for mom. He's such a great brother and friend. He's a great leader and passionate about things. He has much to learn and ways to grow and we know God will do a work in him. We are so thankful for him.
Brody, my sweet, compassionate, sensitive Brody. He too has changed a lot this year. His vocabulary and talking has grown and improved so much. He is a full blown boy now. He loves to give hugs and kisses and hang with the adults. He has lots to say and desires to understand everything. He loves to keep his "things" in a special place, taking good care of the things that matter to him. He follows his own lead with his love for pirates since the other two love knights. He loves comfy clothes, his blankets, and his pirate stuff. I tend to find things from around the house in his drawer which sometimes leads to a lack of sharing with others. We are working on that. He loves his brothers and engaging in pretend play. He can tell you many letters and write/copy most of the alphabet even though we don't work on that too much. We encourage a lot of play at this age and help them engage in imagination. He attended gymboree this year with Trace and spent a lot of time creating art projects and learning letters. He also learned to ride a 2 wheel scooter this year. He taught himself! He also attended Awana this year and learned many verses earning four patches for his vest. He loves to eat and drink milk. He's really a precious little guy and very friendly.
Trace, my crazy, funny, loving Trace. This boy cracks up. He has an unmistakable laugh and an infectious smile. His eyes sparkle. He loves Brynn and Baby Westin often giving hugs and kisses. He is playful most of the time, engaging in imagination and pretend play as a knight/prince. He always has his "tick" sword in his pants and a back up tucked into his belt. He loves to ride his Strider bike to the park and play outside. He loves to dance and sing to music. He has an even better handle on writing and practices often. Sometimes he writes on things other than paper or the white board, we are working on that one too. He is very passionate and sometimes intense which can result in some screaming and/or loud talking when he is upset. But when not upset he is sweet and compliant. He too attended Gymboree and learned many letters and played many games. He also earned 4 patches at Awana for learning his verses and we are very proud. He is tucking God's word into his heart too. He loves his Grammy and spending the night over there. His a wonderful boy for which we have much Joy.
Brynn, my only daughter. How I LOVE this girl. She is really talking now. She has so many words I can't count anymore. She loves her belly button and mommy's belly button and sucking her first finger on her left hand. She goes to sleep like a champ, hardly a cry or a sound. She has an infectious laugh, a great smile and perfectly round brown eyes. She can melt your heart in an instant. She loves to be crazy with the boys and do whatever they can do. She follows directions so easily and is very compliant. She is a great helper and a sweet sister to her brothers. She gives hugs and kisses to them each day and night before bed. First thing in the morning she asks for "the boys". She is my special little girl and we are so Blessed God gave her to us.
Sweet Westin. Time will tell with this little one, who God called him to be. But for now, he is sweet, snuggly, always wanting to be held. He is warm and smells wonderful. He is a little unsettled with upset tummy from time to time, swallowing a lot of air when he eats and often struggling with nose congestion. This has made it hard for him to get good, solid sleep. So mommy is suffering too. But, it is a labor of love and I LOVE him!
Justin has been working out of town since about September or October, its hard to remember. We miss him when he's gone and always want him back home. It must feel good to be wanted as much as that man is wanted around here. Daddy is the BEST. He's learned to play the Ukulele this year, performing at Aunt Lacey's wedding with Richard. He did a great job. He's spend any free time he can drum up to listen to podcasts about God, find inspiring music online, read books, and hang with me!! He built the boys amazing bunk beds this year with his bare hands and spent countless hours sword fighting, doing shadows on the wall at bed time, reading books, singing songs, and praying with the kids. He's an amazing dad.
Me, I'm the mom. Enough said!!
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