Sunday, December 24, 2017

Cookies and Gingerbread

We have several Christmas traditions revolving around cookies and gingerbread.  This year December 18 was baking day.  The boys got right in there with me rolling and cutting pieces for their gingerbread houses and cookies to decorate.  Maybe next year I'll turn them loose to do it by themselves!



 Next on the agenda was our annual trip to the Reston Town Center Hyatt to see the Gingerbread Display.  Eliana wasn't too impressed, but she did really enjoy her after-viewing Panera pastries!


I also hosted my annual girls Cookie Exchange this same week.  The flu and other mishaps reduced our numbers to 7, but we had a great time anyway!  And I love my new "team captain" shirt!
 Wednesday we took on the houses.  The boys had a blast.  And so did Eliana when she showed up after nap time and discovered the tasty scraps. :)

 The last cookie activity waited until family arrived - the decorating.  This was the first time in my life I ever saw my dad decorate a cookie!
 Works of art.  So fun and sooooo yummy!!

The 24th I spent most of the day (after church) in the kitchen. So much cooking to do, but so much more fun when wearing a Santa apron. :)  Merry Christmas!

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Our Little Lemon

I'm updating because I know many of you want to know...as of this morning we still have a heartbeat! 14 weeks yesterday. Thank you for your continued prayers and messages. I have been so on-edge for the last few weeks and as a result have been checking on baby every week. I am trying to stay hopeful and at this point have good reason to be, but I have just had the hardest time relaxing. My latest loss (which happened in 2007) was at about 15 weeks, so I don't feel all the way out of the woods just yet. And I'm really thankful for a practice that lets me call them up and say "I need a heartbeat check today!!"  

And yes, I am still exhausted all the time and terribly nauseated, although my food aversions seem to be lifting a bit.



Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Geography Nuts

Yesterday Caleb and Joshua competed in the LoCo Homeschooler National Geographic Bee and finished 1st and 2nd. We celebrate with a cookie cake since yesterday was National Cookie Day. Congrats boys! Caleb will take the State Bee qualifying exam in January.  The top 100 finishers for the state will go on to participate in the State level of the Geo Bee in early April in Farmville, VA!





Monday, December 4, 2017

Really Joshua?

Yes, folks, this is twice in 8 months... Broken elbow this time. Well, at least I can't fault him for the way he's handling it.  Cheerfully! 2017 shall be known as "The Year of the Broken Bones" since I broke a bone this year as well. ðŸ˜•I have

Monday, November 27, 2017

13 Weeks!

I can hardly believe it...but I'm almost 13 weeks. I still don't feel relaxed and confident about this baby making it because I lost two after this point, but I continue to trust that no matter how it goes, God's got it. But of course it was certainly a huge relief to hear and see Pumpkin again today!  #stillbeating


Tuesday, November 14, 2017

Birthday Boys

We don't usually have actual birthday parties. I think Philip's last party was 10 years ago when we did a joint party with Caleb. We had over 50 people there! I just wasn't up for that this year, so we had a smaller group, but we celebrated nonetheless. Philip actually requested a rather specific cake to reflect his favorite active hobby. It wasn't perfect, but it made him happy. And Eliana liked it. "Wow! Man!" she said. 


Caleb also had a birthday this month.  Can you believe he's 14?!  I can't!  His love for the Seattle Seahawks continues, so his cake was on theme.  His growth spurt hasn't hit yet, so I've still got him beat by about 1.5"....I don't expect to be able to say that next year!!


Monday, November 13, 2017

Still Beating...

To my total surprise, Pumpkin's heart is still beating. I honestly went into today's appointment ready and expecting to hear them say, "there's no heartbeat. I'm sorry." On the way to the appointment the Mercy Me song "Even If" was playing and truly, truly that is the attitude of my heart. "I know You're able and I know You can...but even if You don't, I trust in You alone..." Whatever happens, God's got this and I trust His choice. But I'm so thankful and relieved that today we had a bouncing little baby.

I'll be 11 weeks tomorrow. I'm past the point of three of my losses. Two happened over the next week, so keep the prayers coming. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6fA35Ved-Y

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Halloween and Pumpkins!

Halloween was fun for the boys who once again created their own costumes.  This year we had a backpacker, a world map and Santa.  Santa was a bit of a surprise for those opening the door....  HAHA!


Hope you're not "pumpkined out" yet because here's one more picture.

In all seriousness, announcing now at 9 weeks because I've now entered the 2.5 week period when most of my babies have died and I'd appreciate your prayers. Ultrasound yesterday showed a beating heart, but all except one of my babies made it to yesterday's weeks. For those who have lost count, I've lost 6.

Hoping to welcome our "Pumpkin" in early June, but we trust that whatever God wills will be best.

Thursday, October 26, 2017

A Surprise Trip to Seattle!

In October we received news that Philip's Grandma had passed away.  We had known she was failing, but the news is always a bit of a surprise when it comes.  We had planned for Philip alone to attend the services, but a door unexpectedly opened for the whole family to be able to go and so, on 36 hours notice, we planned a 10 day trip to the Seattle area.  I was really nervous about traveling with Eliana, especially since our flights both ways included layovers, but it went much more smoothly than I anticipated.  Traveling with that many people does take a lot of bags, though!

Philip's Grandma passed right before her birthday, so we went ahead and celebrated anyway! Her first birthday in Heaven.

One cold morning we visited the Tacoma waterfront near where Philip grew up. So pretty!

Grandma's memorial service was beautiful and full of stories of people whose lives she had touched by her selfless service and love of others.  Both she and Grandpa were life-changers for many.

The four cousins - not often together anymore!
All the second cousins except Eliana, who was totally uncooperative!
 And the whole family.  This is the only occasion we had all been together.  It was really special to have parts of several day to just be together and get to know each other more.

The burial took place in the rain, typical Seattle weather, but we are grateful to know that the Son is always shining where Grandma is forever. 

Since we stayed in the area for over a week, we were able to do some "touristy things."  Here's Eliana checking out the sea urchins at the Seattle Aquarium.

Philip and the boys took on Mt. Rainier it's all it's cold, snowy glory!



We visited Point Defiance Zoo.  Best thing about it - multiple indoor exhibits since it was cool and rainy outside.  Eliana especially loved the monkeys!
Another day we hit Seattle, visiting the Pike Place Market, Seattle Pacific (where it all began one fateful weekend!), Sunny Teriyaki (I LOVE teriyaki and cannot understand why we don't have it NOVA.  I was determined to introduce the boys to it and now they understand why!)
 Nothing like visiting the Locks in the rain.  It was still pretty neat to see and a place I'd never been.
 Our dear friends hosted us the entire visit.  Laura and I have been sharing life since 1995 and are an invaluable part of us.  Visiting with her was a huge bright spot in my fall!
Between us, eight kiddos.  They had a blast together.  Not pictured are their two cats who Eliana couldn't get enough of!
 The iconic Space Needle.  We didn't go up it, but did visit the Pacific Science Center, which sits right beneath it.

On our last day, we tried to go to Mt. St. Helens, but a mudslide closed a road (unbeknownst to us until we tried to take it!) and we wound up rerouting to Mt. Rainier.  The hike was a little more than I had personally planned on due to the snow and slippery trail conditions, but we survived it...and some people enjoyed it.  Here we are at the top of the trial at Van Trump Park. 

 The Happy Hikers


Someone wet her pants due to her parents failure to change her in an appropriate time frame and had to travel down the mountain wrapped in my scarf and Joshua's sweatshirt, but nonetheless, she chattered and sang the whole way down!


A view of the mountain from the drive in.