A Long Time Coming

Where is all our snow this winter? Temperature swings, sunny days, WIND--we've had all of that. But snow? No. The Great Lakes region and East Coast have hogged it all. I bet they would gladly share--but obviously that's not how it works.

Well, we FINALLY received a few inches of snow the other day! Braylen shoveled our driveway before school without being asked. I love my servant heart son! Kaleb joined him just in time to shovel the street, telling me he made it easier for me to back out of the driveway. All-righty then! I love you too, Kaleb! :) Aaron and Kaleb bundled up to play outside on Saturday and I believe they were out there for hours. Braylen was at an all-day honors band event, so more fun in the snow for him had to wait until Sunday. Derek took him and Kaleb sledding while poor Aaron stayed home not feeling well. Anyway--we are thankful for the little snow we received and are making the most of it. Notice in my pictures the sun is shining? :)

Kaleb building his fort

Aaron's fort

Another much more important event has taken place in our lives recently. Like the snow, it is something we have been waiting a long time for. We have prayed for years for this. Twice the answer has been "no." But this time, after what we thought was another "no" at Christmas, God gave us a "yes!"

Derek has been promoted to a sergeant position within his police department. :) He tested and interviewed for this position--it is quite a lengthy process. He was up against some great competition. We had no idea if this was God's plan for him or not. We prayed a million times for God's best--whatever that looks like. The answer came through last week and I am SO SO SO happy for my husband! 

In all of our excitement, I am not keeping my head in the clouds here. I am convinced that this job assignment, although a promotion, will come at great cost to Derek, and to our family. What it looks like down the road, only God knows. But like the old saying goes, "God doesn't call the equipped. He equips the called." And so we rely on Him to be everything we need--our leader, companion, helper, and guide.

I have a few funnies from the kids recently. Kaleb and Aaron are both fighting colds. The other night at supper Kaleb said, "My nose is so stuffy I can't even smell my stinky feet!" For some reason, when my middle school boys wear black socks their feet REEK! For the record, I could smell his feet just fine, lucky me.

Aaron has always had lots to say. He has lots of questions and deep thoughts, and he processes things out loud. I love it and dread it at the same time. :) In one of his verbal moments he told me, "Life would be boring without words." Indeed.

At bedtime one night, Aaron asked me who was older--me or Braylen? Oooookay, there are SO many ways I could have answered that question. I took the direct route and simply said, "Me. Now get in bed and let's say your prayers." Why on earth my 9 year old son had to even ask me that question is beyond me! We must keep him up too late at night. :)

Speaking of night--only 2 more night shifts for Derek and then he's back to days for a while. Yippee, we are all ready for that!!!!!!

Saturday at Home

While Derek is having a "guys day" at an auto show with his brother and our boys, I am enjoying a Saturday at home. Since I'm fighting a cold, it feels good to do a whole lot of nothing. Cleaning up the kitchen and vacuuming are about the only chores I felt up to doing today. The sun is shining (like always) and it's in the 50's. My neighbor across the street has his windows cranked open. I wonder if we will ever get snow out here. I'm thinking we live in a snow-less bubble of the Great Plains this winter.

Recently, Kaleb and Aaron rediscovered their air soft guns. Target shooting in the back yard led to tree climbing. I never thought I'd see the day when our trees would be big enough for climbing. But as the kids keep growing, so do the trees. Without snow to play in this winter, the boys are getting pretty good at coming up with things to do outside. Air soft guns, basketball, soccer, catch, ripstick, and bikes give them plenty to do on these mild days.

One of Aaron's Christmas gifts was a loom for making rubber band bracelets. We have every color imaginable, glow in the dark, and striped rubber bands around the house. He's very good at making these and following directions online. I don't have the patience for it, but I try to help him when he needs it. Last weekend he made a panda bear charm out of rubber bands. He's so proud of his work! :)

Two weeks ago, Braylen played drums in the high school pep band during a home basketball game. We sat in the stands and watched the game, but we were really there to watch Braylen play in the pep band. Derek worked security that night, which he really enjoyed. He still misses being at the high school every day, and this gave him a chance to reconnect with administrators and students. Back at home that night, Braylen played around on his drum and Kaleb joined in on his trumpet. Aaron found his way downstairs to play the trap set. Our house was very loud!

Notice his hat made from a basketball net?

Playing "El Paco Loco" together

Big brother teaching little brother how to play the drums. :)

We are nearing the end of Derek's night shift rotation, hooray!!! Only 7 more to go. I'm very thankful to be on this side of it. Most days I don't mind handling things by myself, but I do get weary at times. Still, I know we are very blessed with a good job and good health. Several of my friends are going through some hard times this week. One friend is in the midst of a messy divorce. Another one lost a family pet in a truly horrific way. An acquaintance of mine is fighting cancer--two years after her husband died from cancer. She has two little boys she's raising alone. With all of these heavy things going on, my first response is to say, "It's too much, God. It's just too much." And yet...

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." ~Romans 8:37-39

I am thankful for God's love, which gives me HOPE in the middle of the yuck of this world.

When I look at the week coming up I see one big thing on the calendar--9th Grade Parent Info Night. Wow!!! I also see my brother's birthday, which reminds me--I need to get his gift today! :) Better get going, I guess. I'll be back in February! :)

Living, Remembering, and Honoring

2 weeks is a long time for me to go between blog posts, but it's becoming more and more normal, I guess. Life keeps happening all around me, and I'm trying not to miss it. I also want to capture it--so here we go!

Last night I spent two hours teaching Kaleb how to write a speech. He would much rather stand in front of his class and read a paper he wrote. (I would too, wouldn't you?) But his teacher expects a 3-5 minute speech. This is a new experience for Kaleb, and I loved being the one to help him with it. Together, we translated his paper into bullet points on note cards. I gave him tips on his delivery. Several times he told me my suggestions were "too girly!" Yes, I'm sure he's right. Good thing he can filter out all the "girly" things, and I am confident he will give an excellent 6th grade boy speech on Friday. :)

Aaron had another medication decrease recently. On 12/24/13 we decreased his Depakote to 3 pills twice a day. Last week's blood test showed his level to be 58, which is pretty low on the spectrum of therapeutic range. But his doctor says as long as he's not having seizures, we can continue at this dose. We are SO thankful to God for how well Aaron is doing. It amazes me that he was taking 6 pills twice a day for so long--and now we've cut that dose in half. Praise God!

You would think by now I would have a system in place for 3rd grade boys to practice math facts and read books. I don't. It's a battle for me to get Aaron to do these things. His timed math tests in school reflect the lack of effort he puts in with learning his multiplication facts. Consistency has never been one of my parenting strengths--right, Derek? ;) So I'm looking for something that will work for Aaron. A checklist, a set time every day, SOMETHING that will help us remember he is our little boy who needs to learn these very basic things. I wonder if I was better at this with my older kids? By the time the youngest needs to learn things the older ones mastered long ago, you kind of forget he doesn't know it yet. And that's a glimpse into my world of top-notch parenting, 101. Ha!

Braylen stepped up last night and helped Aaron with his flashcards. We didn't even ask him to. Those two can so often be like oil and water--never mixing--but last night they showed me it IS possible for them to get along. Way to go, Braylen! 8th grade continues to be a good year for him. Some days he tells me school is "boring." In fact, that's the response I get most often out of him. He also says it's "lame." As long as he keeps getting good grades and getting along socially, it can stay boring and lame! I'll take it! :)

My mom and dad retired from their jobs on January 10th and 17th. I still have a hard time imagining them at home every day and not at their jobs. They each had a retirement party I wished I could be at. Thank goodness for FaceTime. I was able to hear all about their parties and see the gifts they received--it felt like I was right there with them. Our boys loved visiting both Grammy and Grampy at work. Over the years we made many visits and took lots of pictures. I pulled a bunch of those pictures together and made an online album for Mom and Dad to enjoy. The kids and I really liked looking at it too. Here are a few of my favorites:

2 year old BRAYLEN with my dad

2.5 year old KALEB with almost 5 year old Braylen.
They kinda look the same size, don't they?

They were so cute and little!

Kaleb, age 8

AARON, 3 weeks shy of 8 years old

At at my mom's work...

BRAYLEN age 4 and Grammy

I wonder if this was the first time he rode in the totes? I'm thinking it is.

My most favorite picture--Braylen, age 8.5

Kaleb-6 and Aaron, almost 4

Kaleb-10.5 and Aaron, 8

Aaron-6, Kaleb-8.5, Braylen-10.5

Congratulations, Dad and Mom!!!

Keep taking pictures, Eric, because that is the BEST way to remember all of these things really happened! Speaking of pictures, I do have some from recent days. And I have more to write about. But it seems right to save all that for next time. I will try and squeeze in one more post this month. :)

A Quiet House

With life group unexpectedly cancelled tonight, the kids at church, and Derek at work--I am left in a quiet house for a bit. And it's not even midnight! (Usually I stay up late since that is the only time I can be alone.) Where do I even go with my thoughts when it's this quiet??!!

Our Christmas break was anything but quiet. And just when I thought the kids would go back to school and I would get a break from all the extra dishes and chores and activities around here--the polar vortex happened and school started a day late! We all rolled with the changes and I was really proud of everyone's attitude. With Derek on his long working weekend, we had to keep the house quiet for 3 days while he slept. Not an easy task when everyone's been together for a 2 week holiday break. God must have poured an extra measure of grace into our days together, and overall we had a good time.

The new year is moving right along. When I think about this being Braylen's last semester of middle school, I am reminded again how short our time with our kids at home really is. Next month we're attending a parent meeting to learn all about registering our son for high school. How did this happen? Really, how did I get here? All those years Derek spent working at the high school, and I never really thought about our kids actually going there. It was always far off in the land called "someday." Now that day is just about here and Derek is not at the high school anymore. I trust that this is all part of God's plan for our family, but it sure would bring comfort to this mother's heart if my husband were still at that school.

Speaking of Derek's job...we are down to just one more month of night shift! Woo-hoo! I'm pretty sure Derek is even more relieved for this than we are. I've been keeping a mental list of things that have happened these past few months, and I really should take the time to write them down. I would title it, "You Know You're Married to a Police Officer When..."

Before I pick the kids up from church, I have just a few pictures from our days stuck inside during the brutally cold weather. When our house was not quiet, but quiet enough for Derek to sleep in. :)

Aaron wrote me a message one night and talk about melting a mommy's heart!

Aaron LOVES eggs.

All on his own, he made this race track and called it the AK 500.

They used the cars Aaron's made with his new car maker.

Ginger is wearing one of her new pretty collar sleeves made by Grammy.
This one is red with white snowflakes on it.

Aaron earned a 2nd place medal in his class for reading points. He also received
Gatorade from his teacher. The picture he painted is part Ginger, part wolf!

Happy 2014!!! :)