In the slim chance that there's anyone out there that reads my blog and is wondering where our Christmas card is this year, don't worry - we didn't cut you from the list. Unfortunately I had to choose between keeping my sanity in December or doing Christmas cards, and I'm not really sure I did either one! Ha! But I like doing a letter, it kind of chronicles my year and one day I'll try to make sure I have them all saved. 2015 has flown by for us. The kids are 2,4,6 & 8 and I'm not buying diapers anymore! It kind of makes me sad. My mom says I'm in the "Golden Years," but I'm not really sure what that means, maybe I'll figure it out next year.
David finally got to play his long-awaited soccer and he did great. His dreams were a little bigger than reality, as you can imagine, but it was adorable to watch nonetheless. He often wore his soccer clothes the day before, to school, just to make sure everyone knew he was playing that weekend. My little clothes horse is still very picky about what he wears. He still loves his shorts but will willingly wear his "cool pants" which are some twice patched slim jeans. I finally broke down and bought another pair this week - his other jeans are loose fitting and just won't do, apparently. His clothes now live in my closet, lots of tears have been cried, and it's just not worth the battle for me. David is in preschool 3 days a week and seems to really enjoy it. He even has a wife picked out in his class, a cute little red-head.
I'm still homeschooling Sadie and Eli, and the year is going well. Sadie is my little procrastinator, she is just constantly plagued with one great idea after another of exciting activities (I don't think I've ever heard the child say she's bored), and she's slow to learn that if she just gets her work done she can have all the free time she wants. It is fun to do life with her, though, she's learning some things in the kitchen and helps me with projects and with her little sister. Eli is doing great with his school and still loves his sports. He continues to jump and climb things, often to the amazement (or nervousness) of strangers around us. I read an article this year about kids not getting to move enough these days and how it's causing motor, balance, and coordination issues. Eli might not be able to read as well as most 6 year olds his age but I have no doubt he excels at the gross motor area.
And I can't forget our little caboose. Mary Jo is another little climber and once she learned how to climb out of her crib we decided to go ahead and put her in Sadie's room. They've done great sharing a room, other than occasionally I'll find them both in Mary Jo's bed, which is just cute. She also recently potty trained, and is quite proud of herself for that. She is definitely the baby, though, I find myself carrying her around way more than the other kids would've been carried at this age, and if I don't do something for her one of the other kids will. They really do all dote on her and she loves her big siblings.
Steven is working a lot, preaching a lot, but still manages to squeeze us in. We might not get quantity when it comes to his time but he makes sure we get quality. He took me on a cruise in September and put his phone away for 4 days - it was great! He's also started helping out with wrestling again when he can, his nephew is a Freshman and is quite the stud on the wrestling mat.
I'm still working a little at the hospital, just enough to keep my skills up. I've started a new weekly bible study called CBS (Community Bible Study) which I love. The kids do AWANA and this year we started helping out with a ministry at Sadie's old elementary school. It's been fun and exciting to see the Lord working in these schools. We're still meeting at our little church in Randleman on Sunday nights, Steven is preaching at different places most Sunday mornings. We've recently gotten a bigger space for our church and have some new families so we're thrilled about that. As I recently saw on FB or somewhere lately, Jesus is not just the reason for the season but truly the reason for everything. There is no true life, no true joy, without Christ. May you find Him this holiday season if you don't already know Him. Love to you all and Merry Christmas!!
