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!