Us in the Here-and-Now

Welp, I've been meaning to become a more consistent blogger for...years now! Every time I have committed to blogging again, I just get overwhelmed by where to start...do I try to catch up from the last time I blogged consistently (which would be 2009/2010!!), do I just hit the highlights over the last 4 years or do I just start from the present. Because of the overwhelming task of the first two (thus why I have yet to start blogging again) I have chosen to do the latter. Just start from the here and now. If I get a chance to backtrack and put a few posts up from yesteryear, then great...but the longer I put off blogging, the more overwhelming it is - so I've just decided to start now...

So, hello again! Chris and I are now an old married couple (11 years this month!) The boys are growing faster than I can stand and our faithful companion, Riley, is still our precious pet (every time I say the word "precious," I feel the need to say it in a Gollum voice...but I guess you can't hear that when I'm writing, huh?)

We have been in our home here for almost 3 years now. It's hard to believe that Chris has been out of the Army for 4 years - though he still works for the Army in a civilian job. I will be starting my third official year of homeschooling the kids next month. It has been such a fun (and challenging) adventure!

Picture Credit: Morning Joy Photography (Thanks again, Mandy!)

Luke - who is 7 now (when in the world did that happen??) - continues to be a mini-me of Chris. He will be going into the second grade next month. He loves (to name a few) art, baseball, Legos and being a goofball.

Will - who is 5 1/2 (and that 1/2 is very important to Mr. Will!) is a little more quiet and reserved - but just as much a goofball. He will be going into the first grade next month. He loves (to name a few) making silly faces, soccer and video games.

 

Owen - who is 18 months (uh...where did my baby go?!?) is nothing short of spunky. Mischief sticks out all over him. He loves stuffed animals (mostly dogs), books, pulling things out of drawers and carrying on conversations that only he knows what is being said.

Riley - who is 10 now (ahh, I remember when she was just an energy-packed puppy!) enjoys her spoiled life of sleeping on the guest bed, barking at all nature of animals in the woods and keeping an eye on the neighborhood while stretched out on "her" bed.

So, this is us in the here-and-now! More to come!

My Grandpa

My Grandpa walked onto heaven's shore on June 17th, 2012. Words seem to fail me when I try to speak about how much Grandpa means to me. Maybe because words don't even come close to captivating Grandpa's character and life.

He was such a strong yet gentle man. Kindness and compassion flowed from his eyes - with a twinkle that spoke to his great sense of humor. He was a man with an unwavering faith in God, an eternal love for our Grandma and a steadfast love and devotion for his family.

     

I will never forget seeing him at the table with a pile of Shaklee vitamins, a scrumptious morning breakfast with hot coffee- and before partaking in any of this he would say a morning prayer that covered all of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren by name.

I will never forget sitting in his lap as a little girl as he helped me learn the motions to "Patty Cake", and then as a teenager how he looked me in the eyes and told me he believed in me and how he always encouraged me to stay strong in the Lord at all times. Through baptisms, weddings, and baby dedications he was always there with his quiet smile, gentle laughter, and words of wisdom.

So, thank you for being our Grandpa. You have left us a rich heritage and a lasting legacy. You lived your faith. And we couldn't ask for a better Christ-like example.

Though you are gone from this earth and we miss you so much - we know we will once again see you on heaven's side. Good night, Grandpa - we'll see you in the Morning.        

Letting Go?

When I was a girl, my Grandma Winegarden made me a doll house. It was one of those wooden kit kinds – but she went far and above just gluing some wooden pieces together- she made pretty yarn carpets and painted the house a cute white and blue. It was a Christmas gift and I LOVED it! 

 I still have this doll house…at first I thought maybe I’d have a girl one day to pass it down to…but it’s quite apparent that we just make boys. =) Through our many moves, the doll house has started to fall apart…and at this point it’s pretty much in pieces. And yet, I still can’t bring myself to get rid of it. I mean, no one is making me…it doesn't take up that much space – but it’s broken into little pieces…probably to the point where it can't be fixed.

So why can’t I just let it go? I suppose it’s the memory of my Grandma Winegarden that I've attached to the doll house. She has been gone 13 years now and I miss her terribly. 

Through the years I've been able to part with a lot 

of her things – 

dishes, decorative items – but there are a handful of things that I just can’t seem to let go. Things like the white and blue plastic canvas church she made for me, the set of bells (she gave me one every Christmas) and the doll house.  Why do we attach such strong emotions/memories to physical things? I don’t think I’m alone in doing this (or maybe I am?) Do you have items that have memories so interwoven in them that you find it hard to let them go?

I brought the doll house out of storage today to take a look at it. It's in pretty bad shape. Maybe it really is time to let it go...but it sure did make me smile to see the house "played" with one more time...(even if the boys were pretending a tornado hit the house and they had to fix it!) And ya know what - I think it would have made my Grandma smile too!

4 Month Comparison

I thought it would be fun to compare baby pictures of when all the boys were 4 months old...

Luke at 4 months

 Will at 4 months

 And Owen at 4 months

Do you think any of them look alike?

Finally an update!

Ok, so I've attempted many times to update the blog...but it seems I can never get more than a few sentences typed out before one of the kiddos needs me for something.  I'm pretty sure it would be impossible to give a full update on the last four months...but I will attempt a brief one!=)

Luke is almost 6. 'sniff sniff' It's hard to believe that 6 years ago we were eagerly awaiting his arrival and all of a sudden he's turning 6. He hit a growth spurt a few months ago and it's hard to realize that I can barely even lift him up anymore! He is finishing up Kindergarten - and though there have been many challenges homeschooling, there have also been great rewards. This year I got to watch him learn how to read,  add and subtract, become more aware of the world around him, develop his drawing skills, and the list goes on.  He also took his first soccer class and really enjoyed it!  This year he's been into Star Wars, super heroes, video games, soldiers, drawing and he loves loves loves to play outside.  He is just so much fun and so very sweet!

Though most people don' t get to see it because he's a bit shy, Will is just so full of personality! He makes us laugh every day! And though he is at times very challenging, he's also very sweet and affectionate. He is finishing up his first year of preschool and is almost always eager to do school. He's learning how to write his letters and numbers and it's been neat to see how much he's learned over the last year.  We still have to work with him quite a bit with his speech...and he can still be hard to understand at times.  Thankfully Luke is an expert interpreter when we just can't figure it out.  Will is interested in anything Luke likes and I am so thankful that they play together so well. They have such a great brother relationship...I just hope it stays that way when they're teenagers!!=)  Will also took his first soccer class and had a great time! Will is very inquisitive and asks "why" about a million times a-day!  I'm so thankful for the internet because  most of the time I have to say, "I don't know the answer...let's look it up!"

Owen is four months old and still very good natured. He is such a joy! We have declared him "mobile" now since he rolls everywhere. I guess it's time to baby proof again! He loves his jumperoo and doing tummy time with his toys.  He "talks" to us with a variety of coos, grunts, giggles and most recently, raspberries. He just had his 4 month check-up and weighed in at almost 18 lbs and is 24 1/2 inches long. He's not so little anymore...which is bittersweet. Knowing he's our last baby makes it a little bit harder to see him "grow up" so quickly. He is such a cutie though - and we are still smitten by him!

Phew! I finally got a blog completed!! Now it's time to feed the baby and go to bed!=) Nighty-Night!