2012

Well, wasn't that year a doozy! 

As Teresa once said, "My didn't saw that one coming!"  If you're still visiting this little blog and keeping up with our lives, thanks for sticking it out.  

The word that comes to mind for 2012 is SURVIVAL.  I figure I spent a good 10 out of these past 12 months just surviving.  First, adding a fourth child to the mix (which always takes a little adjustment), then losing our nephew Luke just 6 weeks after, then finding out about Rachel's skull at the end of April, followed by illnesses and difficult losses for several friends . . . so often I found myself with nothing more to say than, "UGH."  I gave up trying to recover from one blow before the next one hit.  My prayer became figuratively throwing my hands into the air and mentally exclaiming, "Blahhhh!" 

No words left. 

That's OK.  God knows our needs even if we can't put them into words.  How do I know that?  He never stopped taking care of me or those I love.

At one point early in the summer, my focus was making it through the day. If I could still physically stand up straight with the fear and anxiety that was raging through me, well, that was a good day.  One day CM friend Sarah posted this on her Facebook page. 

 

That was it. 

Maybe there was more to life than merely making it through the day.  Thanks to a little extra encouragement from my mom and a little added help from my friend Zoloft, things started to look up.  (We have since parted ways for the time being, but I have to say once again that modern medicine is a wonderful thing.) 

This year was mostly SO, SO tough.  There were so many situations I didn't want to be in, conversations I didn't want to be having, things I didn't want to be thinking about. . . but,  

thankfully, God's GRACE is SUFFICIENT in our weakness.  In everyone of those situations, I came out stronger on the other side. 

As Glennon at Momastery so aptly puts it, life is "brutiful"--a blending of BRUTAL and BEAUTIFUL. 

For all of the tough stuff, there really was so much beautiful--watching all of Rachel's "firsts" and some of the big 3's "firsts," too,  our vacation to Minnesota in June, the family weddings and celebrations, the gift of ordinary days . . . .  so, so much beauty. 

More than any of us could ever deserve. 

As we jump into 2013,

I hope we will all dream a little bigger,

endure the brutal

and embrace the beautiful.

 

I also hope you will keep stopping by.

More adventures await!

 

Dec. 28

How have your "leftover" days been treating you?  Ours have been quite the opposite of lazy, that is for sure!

Yesterday, David won the Husband and Father of the Year Award.  (Whew!  That was close!)  I had planned to go to Aberdeen and take Teresa with me, but at the last minute she decided she wanted to stay home.  David told me to take my time and enjoy my present from him (uninterrupted shopping with shopping money).  I did and it was WONDERFUL!  I did my part to help Aberdeen's economy (I'm always willing to help out), and came home to find the boys' beds bunked with the former office shelves moved into their room.  Teresa had scored a couple of cabinets from the office, too.  All of the big kids had "new" living spaces and they were so excited. 

Today I got into the mode of cleaning, organizing, and pitching, too.  If you weren't enjoyable to look at, useful, or had sentimental value, you didn't stand much of a chance around here today.  It feels SO good to get organized and ready for the new year! 

 

 

But . . . before we march into 2013, let's take a look back at Christmas 2012!!!

First, we have Melius Christmas.  We have our Santa Baby Rachel, the girl cousins (missing Lydia), John, Jodi, and Avery sharing the Christmas story, the boys' combines from Grandpa, and Dad helping Landen build a very complicated ship model Uncle John brought back from China.  It took him several hours to finish.  It obviously clouded Dad's judgement as he told Nathan he could have Mountain Dew before bed!  Nathan loves it when such opportunities arise!

Here we have Christmas in Eureka with the Joachims.  Just a cute closeup of Rachel, Rachel kissing Nathan, the grandkids with Papa Butter and Grandma Shirley, Landen's FAVORITE present, Aunt Amanda with her nieces and nephews, and Teresa with her new doll that came with matching jammies (they make such a cute pair)!

 Finally, we have Christmas Day at home!  Teresa got a Doodle Bear, Nathan tried out the gift bag, Rachel got into the fun and loved her new phone from cousin Lydia, the big kids kept the secret of a new farm picture for Dad, and Landen got what he asked for--a power strip, which came with the added bonus of an extension cord!  What more could a boy ask for? 

We hope you, too, had a most blessed Christmas with those you love most!

Stack of Facts

One of these days, I'll get a new fancy schmancy Christmas collage posted, but I just spent an hour going through all of the photos and, well, I feel a hankering for a Christmas cookie coming on.  (I must wean myself off the constant sugar intake gradually after the Christmas grazing.) 

Instead, I will leave you with this stack of treasures that Landen received.  After he opened Life's Imponderables at my mom and dad's, he was done opening presents because he was too busy reading!  I love it!

Happy Christmas Vacation!

Ever since we returned from Rochester, all I have wanted is one thing for our Christmas vacation--all of my little chicks together, gathered around the EdenPure heater (no fireplace here), drinking mugs of hot chocolate and singing Christmas carols as we all smile adoringly at each other.

Enter REAL life today after the school Christmas parties at the VERY start of Christmas vacation. . . .
Nathan and Teresa hitting and yelling at each other because Teresa isn't moving out of Nathan's seat.
Teresa screaming her head off because Landen's book bag is in her way.  This continues while I run into the Cenex to discover . . .
the gas station completely out of Cenex cards and I only had 1 more to get! 
Landen whining that he has no idea what he will do all Christmas vacation.
Me finding out halfway home that the gift card Landen took for his teacher never made it to school and he has no idea where it is.
Me trying another Cenex (no gifts cards there either) to return to find Teresa and Landen fighting over a book.
Getting stuck by the mailbox and having to shovel myself out before I can enter my driveway.
Rachel waking up from her nap as soon as we came in the door.  (Shocking, since all of her siblings are SO quiet.)
Landen telling me he is in a "living nightmare" because he has too much responsibility in life.
(Son, it's only going to get worse.) 
If we follow our history, someone will be puking by Christmas morning, too. 

But, it doesn't matter.  Sure, we will never have that PERFECT Christmas, but NO ONE EVER HAS.  Someone once painted the idea they had in their head, but that portrait only existed in an imagination.  Thousands of photographers have staged fake family holidays for their magazine pages, but they were never real. 

No,  I am afraid "Silent Night" around the EdenPure in 4-part harmony is not going to happen.  But, it really doesn't matter.  The most important part of my dream Christmas vacation is HERE--all of us are together in our loud, crazy, messy, imperfect glory.  I am all too aware that there are many, many families (my extended family included) who are not blessed with such a gift, whether it be that members have passed away or are just not able to come home to be together. 

No, none of us will have a PERFECT Christmas, but that doesn't mean that it can't still be wonderful.  No matter what have lost or are missing, we all still have an abundance of things to hold close and celebrate . . . as loud, crazy, messy, and imperfect as those may be!  :o)

Snowman Kits

Tomorrow Teresa and I will go to Nathan's class to help with the Christmas party.  We hope they like these Snowman Kits that we made as part of their snack!