It's a Wrap

2013.

I remember telling myself in January that I needed to be more organized this year. Hmm.

Looking at my filing system (a laundry basket overflowing with papers from the past few years) and my kitchen cabinets (crammed with odd assortments of just about everything,) I can see that "getting organized" did not make it to the top of my priorities after all. And yet--our bills are paid, we always manage to find something to eat, and our sons have grown.

What did I do this year that matters for eternity? Clean out some cabinets? File some papers? Did I print my pictures or dust the hard to reach places in my house? Nope! Maybe some day I will get to those things. I really hope I can. But tonight I am choosing to look at 2013 as the year I supported my husband through lots of changes at work. It's the year I loved watching one son rise to the top at his middle school while bringing his 6th grade brother along with him. It's a year to celebrate Aaron's health, and his little-boy sweetness with snuggles at night and big squeezes for hugs. It's a year I stepped outside of my own little world and asked God what He would have me do for Him.

I have loved this year. Thank you, Lord, for an incredible 2013. It is filled with much love, rich friendships, highs, lows, tests, and trials. I think the song Never Once, by Matt Redman, describes what I'm trying to say.

"Never once did we ever walk alone. Never once did You leave us on our own. You are faithful, God You are faithful."

To wrap it up, I have more Christmas pictures to post. :) Surprise! Tee hee! I noticed I didn't post as often in my blog this year. It's not because of pinterest. I don't like pinterest. It must be because I'm so busy being a mom to 3 growing boys...and maybe I'm on facebook too much? ;) Happy New Year!

Making gingerbread cookies with Aaron

Braylen and Kaleb made almond bark pretzels.

Kaleb called them "barky pretzels."

Aaron was a toy soldier in his school program. :)

The 3rd grade Christmas gift is...

...a handprint rug! Now we have 3!

Waiting for Grammy & Grampy to arrive

A favorite gift this year for Aaron

Eagles vs. Bears :)

Another favorite gift--his own pottery wheel.

Christmas Eve

His last present to open...do you think he likes it?!

We played lots of board games this week--especially Clue. Although the game pictured here is Sorry.

Aaron's air swimmer that he wanted SO badly! It's huge!

My biggest blessings of all, my family.

Merry Christmas - He is With Us

Merry Christmas dear family and friends!

"He is With Us."

Emmanuel, Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Our God is with us. Through deep sadness and hurt. Through great joy and celebration. Through every day moments and big moments.

Through it all, Jesus is with us.

Merry Christmas with love from Derek & Sarah

Kaleb and Braylen received a hunting rifle from the 4 of us.

Ginger, a.k.a. Rudolph, rejected her carrot!

Derek and his starlight mints!

Grammy's Christmas morning cinnamon rolls

Braylen bought this gift for Derek and they both loved it.

One of my mom's creations this year. I asked for headbands!

Proverbs 3:5-6

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths."

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Okay, so I came up for the title of this post by typing the song currently playing on my Pandora. But it fits, since this time of the year IS pretty great!

This past weekend we welcomed Christmas into our home. We put up our tree and decorations. I made a double batch of sugar cookies. I even unpacked and set up my Christmas village. Last year I didn't set it up, since we traveled to Illinois for Christmas. When I opened this box the other day, look at the note I found inside. It says, "Packing this up on March 13th, 2012. When I get it out again, I pray Aaron will be seizure free and thriving. I believe in God!" :)

Believing God

Wow, am I glad I set my village up this year! What an awesome blessing! I had forgotten all about this note I wrote. Discoveries like this one really do make this the most wonderful time of the year. Aaron is indeed thriving. His last seizure that I saw was on May 13th, 2012...exactly 2 months after I wrote this note. Praise the Lord!!!

In other news, Braylen and Kaleb performed in their band concerts last week. It was strange to see Kaleb in concert and not have him sitting in the bleachers with us. Good thing Aaron had his cousin to sit with. :) Kaleb's 6th grade band is the biggest band the school has seen in recent years with 65 students in it. They sounded great, and our Kaleb was easy to spot in the trumpet section with his blond hair!

He's still easy to find, don't you think?!

Braylen is having a great year as top dog in middle school. The 8th graders in jazz band wore santa hats for this concert. Braylen played the trap set, tympani, and tom toms. It's fun having a percussionist and a brass player this year. :) Braylen's last song of this concert was called "Celtic Carol," and it was my favorite one of the night.

My handsome musicians!

Around the house we've been staying warm in this deep freeze that's hit the nation. Winter has come early this year, but that's fine by me. The other day I found a tick on our dog and it makes me wonder if it's been there awhile? The great thing about winter is all those creepy crawly insects go away for the season. :) And we're not mowing any lawns!

Painting his new bunk bed shelves Daddy built for him. They are working out great!

Finally, here are a few pictures from Christmas arriving in our home. We've been having fun hiding our elf in unusual places around the house. I REALLY like where we put our tree this year. Why did it take us 10 years in this house to find the perfect spot? Aaron took Derek and I to a family fun event at school where he built a gingerbread house. It was a messy, fun time for the 3 of us. :) Yep--we sure are having fun during this most wonderful time of the year!

Derek can't pick Braylen up for this job anymore!

Aaron's pretty proud of his house, complete with a sugar cube snowman out front!

F-f-f-freezing F-f-f-freddy!

;)

Birthday Boy Kaleb

Happy 12th Birthday to our Kaleb Matthew!!! How fun to celebrate his birthday on a Saturday this year! We had a slow morning and made time for important things--like opening presents and talking on FaceTime with family. Since we had the whole day together, we decided to go out for lunch to Kaleb's favorite breakfast restaurant. Yummmmm!

Kaleb and his pile of presents :)

With 60 degree weather on the last day of November, Derek and the boys spent lots of time outside today. They played basketball, catch, and kick the can. Braylen took family pictures for his aunt and uncle at a nearby park, so Kaleb and Aaron helped Derek put our Christmas lights on the house. I made homemade pizza dough and chocolate cake for Kaleb's family party--yummmmmmm!

When I asked Kaleb what he wanted to do on his birthday, one of the things he mentioned was watch a football game. We managed to get that done today too. :) Kaleb wore his Ohio State t-shirt, and they barely pulled off a win. But they DID win!

Kaleb is 12 years old, and I could not be more proud of the young man he is becoming. His first word was "happy," and that fits since he has always been a happy child. A few facts to help me remember what Kaleb is like at 12 years old:

• His favorite thing to do with Dad is go camping and ride 4-wheelers.
• His favorite thing to do with Mom is read together.
• His favorite thing to do with his brothers is play catch. I would also add play games on the iPods and Wii, wrestle, and be LOUD!
• He wants to be a chiropractor when he grows up.
• He's looking forward to visiting his Grammy and Grampy's house this next year of his life, and he also wants to visit his Uncle Eric and Aunt Amber and cousin Will!
• Kaleb is content in his own skin and content with what he has. "What you see is what you get," describes Kaleb well.
• 6th grade has been smooth sailing for Kaleb, and he's well-liked by his peers and teachers.
• He wants to invite one friend over to spend the night rather than a group of friends for a few hours.

We love you Kaleb!!! May God bless you richly as you live each day of your life. :)

Isaiah 40:31 "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

Kaleb loves his chocolate cake!

New Things

Our computer is back! Some things are still missing. Like my email. I think all of my emails I saved during the past 7 years are gone. Gone! Who knows what I had in my inbox? And while we're at it, let's change Internet providers and email addresses. Wow, what a mess. But our pictures are all here. And our iTunes account was recoverable. You know, the important things. :)

So, here we are, 2 days before Thanksgiving. School is out until Monday--woohoo! Lately I've been thinking about fresh starts, new beginnings, and new ways of doing things. A Bible verse has been floating around in my head the past few days, and I think it captures what I am feeling.

Isaiah 43:19 "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."

I dreaded Derek leaving his position at the high school. I dreaded night shift even more. Those changes were my own personal desert and wasteland. But I had no idea how many good, new things would come from them. It's like God was waiting in the wings whispering, "Trust Me. I am making a way for you." I was too busy mourning the life we were leaving behind to hear those whispers. I hear them now. :) While not everything is perfect, and some things are hard, our home is filled with more joy than before. More togetherness. More laughter. More peace. Only God can make a way like this.

Another new thing around here? Derek is willingly listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving! In the 19 years I've known him, that has never happened. :) My favorite new (to me) Christmas CD is by Lady Antebellum. My oldest son calls my taste in music "that country trash," but I've caught him listening to it a few times. :)

Yesterday Kaleb was given permission from his doctor to run and jump again--his knee has healed! 2 months is a long time for an active boy to sit out in PE, but he kept a positive attitude through it all. What an example he is to me. I've said that before, haven't I?

Speaking of Kaleb...he turns 12 on Saturday. 12!!! My big, chubby, 9 pound, 10 ounce baby boy is becoming a young man. We have so much to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving!


Kaleb's pyramid project. Everything is edible, even the graham cracker "sand."

Aaron's latest book. He showed it to Ginger, since she looks like the main character. :)

Braylen and Derek each got a buck this year. One shot each!

I find this picture amusing, since Kaleb is the one reading a book!

The beauty of our land is in the sky!

Nocomputer November

     So far we have made it through 9 days without our computer. I miss it. It's much more tedious to pay bills and check our main email account on a tablet. Thankfully I found an app for Aaron's online math homework. Without our iPads I would have panicked. Is that sad? Probably so, but it is our reality. A first world problem, for sure. Our pictures are obviously not accessible, but thankfully they are backed up. After too much money and loads of frustration, we WILL get our system up and running again.
     I have been looking at pictures from the Philippines. The devastation from the typhoon is heartbreaking. I get tears in my eyes when I see those people suffering. It makes our computer problem look like no problem at all. We are so crazy blessed in America.
     Today is 11-12-13. We are 12 days into November, the month we remember to give thanks for our many blessings. I think it's important to tack on WHO we are giving thanks TO.

• Thank you God for my family. All of them.
• Thank you God for my husband's job. Derek's shift is going better than I thought it would.
• Thank you God for medicine. Aaron remains seizure-free.
• Thank you God for laughter. We laugh a LOT in our home. With 3 boys, how can I not laugh?
• Thank you God for good books. I enjoy reading so much.
• Thank you God for our kids' schools. They are thriving in them.
• Thank you God for food. We never go hungry.
• Thank you God for my house. I don't like paying the mortgage every month, but I love living in our cozy home.
• Thank you God for friends. I am blessed with so many good ones.
• Thank you God for freedom. It didn't come to us without great costs.
• Thank you God for music. I started playing Christmas music yesterday. Shhh. :)
• Thank you God for nature. I see Your handiwork in the sunsets, colored leaves, and bright moon.

So now it is time for me to let Aaron do his math homework. Maybe next time I can post a picture. :)

Halloween Already!

The sun is shining today. After lots of clouds, it's good to see the sun again. Our trees are really pretty this fall--lots of bright gold. It's already Halloween, and I just can't believe it. Tonight I will trick-or-treat with Aaron and Kaleb. I think Braylen might stay home and pass out candy? Not sure. Derek will be working, and I imagine he will be busy. Our friends we always have over on Halloween have kids "aging" out of our tradition. We knew it would happen, and happened it has. But our family in town still plans to come over and trick-or-treat with us. :)

Last week we took family pictures, and I could not be more pleased with how they turned out. I wanted to capture our family in this moment--with one "little," one "middle," and one teenager. Our kids are at such different stages, and yet they still play and laugh and romp around like the brothers they've always been. I want to remember these days with pictures. My first wish was for my brother to be close by. He's become quite the talented photographer--but there are too many miles between us. 3 years ago we asked a friend to take our pictures, so we decided to ask her again. She did an amazing job, and as far as family photo shoots go, this one was by far the most fun! Family pictures--fun? Yep!

This is my favorite one of our boys.

We almost left the dog at home for these pictures...I'm so glad we didn't!

There are many more pictures, and now I need to decide what to do with them! Braylen had braces put on last week. (October 23rd) He only needs one tooth straightened out. One! I needed my entire mouth re-done! He has braces on 8 of his top teeth, and we plan on being done in less than 6 months. We'll see how that goes.

We watched a friend's little boy last week, and he thought Kaleb's trumpet was pretty neat. He also loved playing football in the yard with my boys, piling on top of them when they were on the ground. Kaleb asked me why so many babies come over to our house--I think we've watched 3 different little boys these last few weeks. That is a lot to Kaleb, I guess. :) Good thing my boys are good with the little ones, cuz some of my friends keep having more babies! I'm happy for them, and we're all happy it's them and not us. :)

Sometimes Derek sends me a text telling me to look at the sunset. This is one of those times.

To wrap up this Halloween post, Grandma bought pumpkins for the boys again this year. Thanks to Braylen's idea to carve them on Tuesday, Derek was here to help. I take pictures and help design faces, but the boys and Derek do all of the work. Pumpkin guts and seeds went flying, and we had fun!

Kaleb's big grin and a funny little photo-bomber :)

And here are the finished pumpkins this year! They turned out great!

Status Updates

I don't spend much time at my computer these days. Seems like the school needs more subs this fall than it usually does, so I am there quite often. Braylen gets his braces put on this morning, so pretty soon I will go pick him up from school for that fun appointment, ha ha. We are adjusting to Derek's new shift--what other choice is there? When I think about what our life was like last fall, and what it's like now, the differences amaze me. Like everything else, there are good things and hard things about our "new life." Yet through it all, God IS faithful, and we keep on keepin' on. :)

Aaron loves his punk-o-bot. Remember this creation from last October? Now he's added legs and a hand-drawn symbol, similar to the Autobot Transformer symbol. I think he's going to wear this for Halloween again, which means I don't have to do any creative costume design--yay! What a good son. :)

Kaleb has been wearing his leg brace for almost a month already. He's had the BEST attitude with this--sometimes I wonder where in the world did his positive attitude come from? What an example he is to me. While his knee does not hurt, I noticed some swelling in it the other day. That concerns me, especially since the swelling is on the other side of the knee this time. He goes back to our orthopedist on Monday, so we'll have a better idea of what's going on soon. Thankfully they just started an archery unit in PE, so Kaleb can say goodbye to the weight room for a while and feel included in his class once again. :)

Kaleb and I thought these clouds rolling in from the west were pretty cool.

Our Aaron earned himself another character award at school this fall. There is no greater school achievement, in my mind. For my son to have outstanding character is more important to me than his grades. (But that is not an excuse for slacking off!) :) I hope he always treats others with respect and lives his life with integrity. Go Aaron!!!

I think he looks more like Derek as he grows up.

Finally, I recently spent 4 days with one of my best friends from college. She lives in California, but flew in to my state for a cousin's wedding. Lucky me! I picked her up at the airport and we had 4 days together. Rachel has ALWAYS made me laugh, and this weekend was no different. We stayed up WAY too late, watched movies, talked and talked and talked, and just enjoyed being together. However, we failed in one way--we never took any pictures. The only ones we have are from the photo booth at her cousin's wedding. Oh well! Next time I see her it will be my turn to fly to California. Lucky me! :)