Fun Stuff

Last year I flatly refused to let Rachel participate, but this year I finally caved. Saturday was the GHS "Cheerleading Fun Day", where elementary kids could spend the day at the high school, playing games and learning cheers to be performed during half time of the JV game that night. To my extreme chagrin, the day exceeded Rachel's expectations. She absolutely loved it. And she was pretty cute out there on the gym floor, along with about 90 other little girls, doing her cheering routines, although there was a bit too much hip-swaying for my liking! We did enjoy going to the game and were pleasantly surprised that Mr. Moo made it all the way through 2 quarters and half time before we had to make a fast exit.

On Monday, all four kiddos and I headed down to the Newport Aquarium, where we were joined by my mom, both my sisters and their little ones. They're doing a special promotion during the month of February, and for every adult ticket purchase ($20), 2 kids 12 and under are free. It was well worth the 1.5-hour trip (even with all the gas station pit stops)! We were there from 10 (when they opened) until 3, and all the kiddos did pretty well. Malachi wasn't in the greatest mood, but as long as I kept his mouth stuffed full of cheese and crackers, he did alright.

We saw penguins, alligators, frogs, turtles, sea anemone, sword fish, sting rays, sharks of all sizes, just about every character from Finding Nemo, gigantic star fish, and a fascinating array of underwater life. The only bummer was that my favorite display - the jellyfish - is closed for the next 6 months for renovations. But there is a new play area called the "Frog Bog" - a favorite both for the kids and for their tired moms (grandma)!

Below are a bunch of pictures, which is really just a small sampling of everything we saw . . .

The alligators were a big hit.


I don't want to be anywhere near one of these guys!


Me, Moo, and some kind of large snapping turtle


I loved that the place was so hands-on.


The kids met Paula the Penguin, who, we found out, poops 20 times per day. (nearly as many times as Karis)


Rachel's favorite part was "petting" the small sharks.


Malachi was just beside himself with delight at the little sharks. He even tried to dive in after one of them.


Rachel was a big help with Malachi . . . when she felt like it.


The Amazon tunnel, in my opinion, was one of the coolest parts of the whole experience.


Sting rays are such graceful swimmers - I could have just stood and watched them for a very long time. It looks like they are smiling from the underneath.


Relating with Jonah . . . except I guess he was swallowed by a whale, not a shark.


My view of Mr. Moo for most of the day (this and his rear end waddling toward forbidden exits)


I would love to know what's going through either one of their minds at this moment.





Off to explore another tunnel with Grandma


Six of the Seven cousins


The aquarium is part of a beautiful plaza overlooking the river. The kiddos thought the riverboats were pretty cool. Truth be told, Rachel thought she was pretty cool with her new "Littlest Pet Shop" sunglasses.



We packed our lunches, so we spent a grand total of $20 for all five of us. Not a bad little field trip. It's nice this time of year to have a day like this, and I'm pretty sure we're going to be hearing about different elements of it for the next 2 weeks!

Kiddo Craziness

There is never any shortage of laughter around here, and God has a way of supplying humor just when I need it most.

Like Mr. Moo's attempts to play a little plastic recorder we got at a white elephant gift exchange. He "hums" into it, so you hear his weird little voice and the high-pitched notes from the recorder at the same time. The best part is the self-congratulatory smile that consumes his face afterward. One of his very favorite things to do is to start smacking his tummy with both hands as soon as he's naked. And when he's trying to tell me he wants something and I finally guess the right thing, he just goes nuts, laughing and dancing around. (Although I can never get him to be happy in a picture.) I'm just thrilled he's finally learning to feed himself with a spoon!

And then there's our bizarre second son - the best bear-hugger in the world - who makes me wet myself (it actually doesn't take much) at least once a day, with his unique dress-up concoctions and the even more unique noises he constantly feels the need to make. I recently found out that he told his Sunday School teacher, "You can call me Beef Man". Talk about a compliment! I'm not putting any up pix of him in action for this post, because for his 5th birthday, at the end of March, I plan to treat everyone to a collage of Zekers craziness. You won't want to miss it.

As for the girls . . . Rachel is just becoming a little sweetheart, and so independent. After begging for weeks and weeks, I finally caved and started allowing her to walk home from the bus stop this week. It's 4 blocks, and she has to make some turns and cross some streets, so I haven't been comfortable with the idea until now. She's just so little. But she's done great all week, and looks so grown-up bopping up the sidewalk toward our house. She loves to read and write, and composed her own book today, entitled "Whar Do I Sleep?" I also found a journal entry she'd done a while back about Mommy going to a "confrens" and hearing some "peple spek" and then getting hit by a deer.

Poobly- Boo has more quotable quotes than anyone I've ever met. The other night at bedtime she said a heartfelt prayer of thanks for "Mommy, Daddy, Rachel, Zeke, Malachi and President O-Bottom". I confess, in spite of almost superhuman efforts, I couldn't stop myself from howling with laughter, which kind of ruined the rest of the prayer time. Today, I sent her to time-out on the sofa 3 times in one hour for screaming loudly enough to burst our eardrums. The 3rd time, as she walked past me on her way to time-out, she rolled her eyes and said, "I give up!" And then there was the other night when she went with me to JC Penney and on the way back we stopped at Broadway Joe's. We chatted over cafe carmela (me) and a cookie with sprinkles (her). The conversation had me chuckling more than once. Suddenly she stopped in mid-sentence, got a sheepish grin on her face, and decided to announce to the whole place, "Whoops - I just tooted!"

I can't wait to see (hear) what they come up with as they get older.

One Lucky Girl

*SIGH*

I really don't want to write about this. And yet I feel that I need to. It's been on my mind all morning and maybe writing it out will help me to be able to think about something else!

This is probably where I reveal how nuts I truly am, but here goes. . . Have you ever found yourself replaying conversations from the previous day? Or laid awake at night, inwardly cringing over something you said earlier? (This is pretty much every night for me!)

Two conversations from yesterday come to mind. In the first, when the person asked how life was going with 4 kids, I found myself replying, "Oh, well, you know - one day kind of runs into the next." Then later, in conversation with someone else, I lamented, "I am SOOOO ready for spring!"

OK, I've said a lot worse. But the thing that keeps getting to me is, WHY??? Why did I feel the need to complain about my life when I have so much to be thankful for? I love and enjoy my family tremendously. I've been blessed beyond measure in more ways than I can count. And why, for crying out loud, do these kind of comments flow forth from my mouth at church, of all places? During a time when we're all together as a body of believers to celebrate our Lord and Savior?

What makes me cringe the most is knowing these were missed opportunities. Instead of demonstrating the joy that comes from knowing Christ Jesus, I chose to reveal the discontent in my heart.

And that's really what this is about: "Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks" (Mt. 12:34) It's not about changing my words; it's about changing my heart.

I don't want to live my life just looking forward to the day when things are different. I don't want to live for the days when my kids are more independent - I want to soak in and LOVE every minute of their little-ness now. (with the possible exception of Malachi's blowouts) I don't want to spend every winter pining for spring - I want to embrace each day - no matter what the weather or the circumstances involved - as an undeserved gift from God.

There is a difference between transparency and complaining. I do not want to be someone who always acts as though things are just peachy when inside I'm fighting for sanity. We're called to bear one another's burdens as believers, and this can't happen if we aren't honest when we genuinely have a burden. But my speech yesterday was not transparency; it was discontent.

So, if I have ever made comments like these to you, I am truly sorry. And if you ever hear me make a statement that sounds like complaining, please call me on it!! (at least I'll be able to sleep that night) Because I really am one lucky girl . . . . and by "lucky" I mean BLESSED.

Don't Dwell!

Along with 8 others from our church, I've been taking part in a 13-week counseling class (I guess you could call it "Biblical Counseling for Dummies"!). For the past few weeks, we've all immersed ourselves in big thick books and little skinny pamphlets on various topics such as Fear, Worry, Anger, Suffering, and even the need for Biblical Counseling.

I tell you what - the class has pretty much amounted to an intense counseling session for me! I really don't enjoy my sin being continually put before me; and yet this class has opened my eyes to attitudes and tendencies in my own life that I can't pass off any longer with excuses like "That's just the way I am", or "It's just so hard trying to raise 4 kids" (whiney tone included). The fact that I sometimes spew hot lava all over my kids when I allow myself to erupt is SIN. Wasting time and energy worrying about the future is SIN. And holding grudges against others - failing to truly forgive - is SIN. This has been the most convicting week for me by far.

See, I haven't really understood before what true forgiveness involves. In his book The Christian Counselor's Manual, Jay Adams spells it out: "Forgiveness means no longer continuing to dwell on the sin that was forgiven. Forgiveness is the promise not to raise the issue again to the offender, to others, or to oneself." (p. 65)

And there lies the rub. I've grown when it comes to not bringing up past wrongs to the offender or to others (although a lot more growth in this area is needed). But where I allow myself to get bogged down is in the area of dwelling on offenses - allowing my thoughts to spend way too much time there. It makes sense: where we allow our thoughts to camp out makes the difference between falling into sin or leading a life of righteousness.

Luke 17 contains a hard truth. "If your brother . . . repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times saying "I repent", forgive him." (vs. 3-4)

So, the same person could do the same hurtful thing to me seven times in the same day, and I have to forgive them? Yup. So, the person just gets off scot free? They need to know that whatever they did / said hurt me and be made to suffer for it!

If I continue on in this attitude, I become like the ungrateful servant in Matthew 18:21-35. If I fail to truly forgive, and to make efforts to reconcile the relationship, I am, in essence, refusing to acknowledge the sin in my own life - forgiven in full by the blood of Christ. He forgave a debt I had NO HOPE of repaying. How can I refuse to release a fellow believer from a debt so much less it's not even comparable (any more than 100 denarii to 10,000 talents).

If I refuse to forgive - if I harbor bitterness in my heart over past offenses - I am not displaying the gospel in my life, nor am I acting like a child of God. To be honest, I've had to spend a lot of time this week praying (and crying) over offenses I've hung onto, and asking God to help me release them. If only we would exercise the discipline to let these things go. What is any relationship - be it marriage, friendship, or whatever - without forgiveness and reconciliation?? What kind of message would this send to people who are lost if they saw us forgiving the "unforgivable" - seven times a day, and "seventy times seven" times? How much more glory would Christ receive from this kind of forgiveness?

And as hard as this teaching seems, at the end of the day Christ's words are: "So you , too, when you do all the things which are command you, say 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'" (Luke 17:10)

This teaching is so contrary to the natural man that everything inside my hard head and stubborn heart rebels against it. This teaching is so difficult and shocking that the disciples, upon hearing this, immediately cried, "Increase our faith!" To which Jesus replied that they already had the faith (faith as small as a mustard seed is sufficient); but that it is a matter of obedience. We don't forgive expecting a medal for our supreme righteousness. No, we forgive, recognizing that we are only doing what we ought to have been doing all along as followers of Christ. No matter how much someone has sinned against me or hurt me, I've wounded and sinned against Christ far more - and He's forgiven it ALL!

Oh God, continue to show me the magnitude of my own sin, and of Your sacrifice on my behalf - the amazing GRACE that covers it all. And because of this, help me to forgive - repeatedly and joyfully, because in doing so, I'm becoming more like You!

Steelers Fans

Sunday morning of Steelers' Super Bowl Win - 2006




Sunday morning of Steelers' Super Bowl Win - 2009




Well, it looks like we've managed to produce one more Steelers fan in the past three years. And my feelings remain the same: although we like dressing the part, this is the closest I will ever come to posting on football!

Adventures in Family Land

When one of Zekers' little friends stopped by to take him sledding last Sunday afternoon, I realized something: We have never taken our kiddos sledding! We've pulled them around on a little purple saucer sled occasionally, but they've never had the downhill experience. What kind of parents are we, anyway?!







So, one day last week when Danny got home from work, I had them all bundled up and we headed out to Memorial Hill - the perfect sledding hill for kids. They lasted about 45 minutes, and we only left when we did because Mr. Moo decided he'd had enough. It was so much fun, though! I've really missed our family bike trips since the weather's gotten colder; so it's nice to have another (FREE) activity the whole family can do together.









The kiddos got another special treat when their cousin Esther spent the weekend with us. The girls all slept in a room together, and Zekers slept in his tent downstairs, so everyone was happy. Saturday we hit Burger King and then the girls, Zekers and Danny hit the slopes again.

Speaking of Burger King . . .

One of my goals for the year was to spend a little less money on groceries. I averaged what we spent last year per week, and determined to spend $25 less per week this year. I got all giddy at the thought of how much cash would become available to us just through food savings. (IKEA, here we come!) For the first three weeks of the month, I furiously clipped coupons and comparison shopped; I planned our menus carefully around what was on sale; I bought in bulk; I went generic on almost everything. I love a good challenge and was fairly certain I could pull it off.

And then they started eating. Around the first of the year, for some reason unknown to anyone but Almighty God, my little birds turned into Tawny Scrawny Lions. They began eating ravenously - all day long. I'm not kidding. They eat a bowl of cooked cereal for breakfast, often followed by 2-3 eggs EACH and/or several bowls of cold cereal. (It's insane the number of eggs we go through in a single day!)They beg for snacks all morning long, consuming crackers, raisins, carrots, pretzels and fruit by the bowlful. They eat a pretty decent lunch (today Karis ate 3 all-beef hot dogs and Malachi ate 4), more snacks after naps on the way to pick Rachel up at the bus stop, and a large dinner. Then, of course, they want more snacks before bed. I try to give them lots of fresh fruit - which is, of course, one of the more expensive things to keep stocked up this time of year.

Also just discovered: Malachi's new favorite food is hummus. That's right, he just couldn't cram it into his mouth fast enough. Since it's a lot less pricey to make than to buy, I guess now I need to start stocking up on tahini and garbonzo beans. I have my wonderful parents to thank for this. They came for dinner on Saturday and brought some with them - and I think Malachi ate more hummus on crackers than the rest of us put together. I guess there are worse things he could be pigging out on.

As a result of all this, I've realized with growing dismay that, barring supernatural intervention, I'll be spending not less, but MORE this month than our average from last year. I guess it's back to the drawing board for me. I'm beginning to realize that we may have reached a new phase in family life: the 20-year "phase" where your kids begin to eat you into the poor house! I know all of you with teenagers are probably having a good laugh at my expense (if you think it's bad NOW . . . ) But even at their young ages, it's becoming clear to me that "groceries" is one category we won't be cutting back on anytime soon.


And now, for your viewing enjoyment: proof of my negligence in housework. No, I have no idea how long it's been since I've swept under the bunk bed - probably since we moved it into the room. On the upside, the kiddos have a whole new batch of toys and puzzle pieces - and dust bunnies - to play with now!

Not for Sissies

Several years ago, someone asked me which element of parenthood, in my opinion, had been the most unexpected. I have to confess, I drew a complete blank. A dozen different things came to mind - all of which had been unexpected at one time, but had since become such a way of life that none of them currently seemed like that big a surprise.

Over the past month, however, one recurring theme has caused me to reconsider this assessment, and to realize there is something that continues to surprise me on a weekly, and even daily, basis. It looks ridiculous to write it out, but here it is anyway: one of the biggest surprises about parenthood is how 1)gross and 2)physically painful it can be! (and I'm not referring here to labor, delivery or breastfeeding)

I was prepared to love my children more than life itself; I expected to be challenged emotionally, mentally, and spiritually by them, especially as they grew older. I knew each addition would significantly alter our family dynamic. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. What I wasn't prepared for was how much time I would spend cleaning up really gross messes, and the number of times I would get beat up by the producers of these messes.

Every day for the past several months - well, pretty much since Malachi was born, I guess - I have spent a large percentage of each day on my hands and knees scrubbing POOP out of the carpet, off the bathtub, out of Malachi's pants, Malachi's legs and yes, even Malachi's neck. I've cleaned PUKE off the floor, the beds, their clothes, my clothes, and Malachi's neck. I continually wipe thick green snot out of crusted nose holes and wipe three bottoms at least twice daily. (I know . . . I've been trying to get Zeke to do his own paperwork for months now, but let's just say he's not very thorough.) I got really depressed yesterday just thinking about all the minutes and hours of my life I've spent during the past six years, just cleaning up bodily fluids.

But now for the "physical pain" aspect, which has pretty much surprised me more than anything. Since Rachel's babyhood, Danny and I have: had fingers shoved up our noses until it brought tears to our eyes; received dozens of bruises from being used as human teethers; been kicked (accidentally) in the shins; tripped I don't know HOW many times over little bodies standing right behind us; had our heads used as drums and our backs used as trampolines; received actual black eyes and fat lips from surprisingly hard heads being flung back in our faces. Danny has had leg hairs pulled out by the handful. And apparently, the loose, wrinkly skin on the battlefield that used to be my stomach is ideal for pulling, pinching, and generally abusing (usually followed by a comment such as, "Wow Mom - your tummy looks like mashed potatoes.").

And then there was yesterday, where we combined all of this into one fun-filled package. I had just cleaned up another blowout - we're talking all the way down the leg - and stood Malachi up beside the tub so I could wipe the last remnants of the mess off his back. He decides it would be great fun to pee on the bathtub, floor, and me. I yell, pick him up, and run him out to the living room to wipe him off again. I re-enter the bathroom, and end up sliding across the floor, out of control, due to his previous incident, which I hadn't had a chance to clean up yet. I end up half-falling into the bathtub with him still in my arms. Fortunately, he isn't hurt, but now my arms and chest are soaked, and so are my legs, which have pretty much mopped up the mess on the floor. I get changed, wash him, brush everyone's hair (his was the last bath), get him out of the bathtub and lay him down to put a fresh diaper on him. At which point he decides to pee all over me once again. It strikes him funny, so he laughs and does it again. I think he likes hearing me yell.

Please don't misunderstand: I LOVE parenting, and am often overwhelmed with gratitude at these gifts that have been entrusted to my care. But I am considering purchasing, and wearing, some full-body armor for the next several years! And somehow, I just have to trust that in the midst of wiping up really gross messes, I am glorifying Christ - IF I do it without grumbling and complaining! And of course the trade-off is all the bear hugs and the "I love you Mom"'s, and ultimately - dream of all dreams and prayer of all prayers - watching them one day surrender their lives to Christ Jesus.

And now . . . I'm being summoned to wipe another bottom.

Operating on Beef Time

This morning was just another typical breakfast for my Beef Man. I was about to get on his case for the 68th time about finishing his cinnamon rolls and eggs, when I realized it might be kind of fun to document his craziness. So, about every 5-10 minutes, I snapped another picture. And here he is, folks - Zekers in action. (This, by the way, is his favorite breakfast of the week, so you can only imagine how he does every other day!)


About 20 minutes into breakfast (the girls have just asked to be excused and deposited their empty plates into the sink) . . .



10 minutes later he begins to notice there is actually food on his plate . . .



5 minutes after shoving an entire roll into his mouth (where it stays for a very long time, until he finally gets around to chewing it)


I'm not kidding - about 2 or 3 minutes later, his plate was completely empty. I think our new word of the year will be FOCUS.

And here's a glimpse of what Mr. Moo has been up to for the past 3 days. He contracted some kind of a fever/congestion thing on Tuesday evening, and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. I haven't gotten much done since Tuesday, but man, oh man, has it been sweet to spend so much "snuggle time" with my baby.

Stress-Reliever?

I read something today that made me laugh - it's from the book Women's Ministry in the Local Church, in which Susan Hunt sites an article in The Psychological Review reporting on the way women react when they are stressed. It struck me as funny that something which can be the cause of large amounts of stress can also help relieve stress.

" . . . Scientists generally believed that when people experience stress, they trigger a hormonal cascade that revs the body to either stand and fight or flee as fast as possible . . . Now the researchers suspect that women have a larger behavioral repertoire than just "fight or flight" . . . it seems that when the hormone oxytocin is released as part of the stress responses in a woman, it buffers the "fight or flight" response and encourages her to tend children and gather with other women instead. When she actually engages in this tending or befriending, studies suggest that more oxytocin is released, which further counters stress and produces a calming effect. This calming response does not occur in men . . . because testosterone - which men produce in high levels when they're under stress - seems to reduce the effects of oxytocin. Estrogen . . . seems to enhance it."

It is kind of incredible to discover yet another of God's provisions. It makes perfect sense that fulfilling my God-given calling as wife and mother is actually beneficial to my mental / emotional health. Every law and task He's laid before us is intended for our benefit - and ultimately His glory.

That said, I somehow think Karis is going to be very unimpressed the next time I throttle her and yell that she is supposed to be relieving my stress . . .

And All That Jazz

I'm not even going to attempt to write about everything that's transpired during the past couple of weeks. It's been a whirlwind - a good one! I enjoyed getting ready for Christmas, I enjoyed celebrating Christmas, and I am now enjoying being done with Christmas. Here are a few "highlight" photos:


One evening last week, I had just gotten the girls out of the tub and into their jammies, when I walked back into the bathroom to find THIS. It's never been any secret that Malachi loves a good hot bath, but I had no idea how much until now! I also learned that spiderman slippers can hold a great deal of water.




The weekend before Christmas was a blast! We took the kiddos to the Piqua Mall (which Karis is still convinced is called the "Pickle Mall"), where they got to ride the Christmas train. Malachi loved every minute of it. Zekers, of course, absolutely would not be persuaded to remove his 3D glasses for any reason during our mall visit.


We came home for naps and then took off again, this time for the park in Eaton, where we drove around and looked at thousands of Christmas lights. Afterward, we stopped in at the lodge for cookies, hot chocolate, and SANTA! This was an historic moment for us - the first picture ever with Santa where one or more of our munchkins isn't red-faced and screaming. Even Moo, who I was sure would be terrified, sat there and grinned like a banshee. (And to think, we almost decided not to wait in the 30-minute line.) AND the kiddos got to see even more of Santa as we were leaving - we passed him outside taking a smoking break, which, to be honest, he looked like he desperately needed. Good times.



The next day, Sunday, was the kiddos' Christmas program. Zekers and Rach rang handbells, then Rach performed in the mini-musical and just sang her little heart out. It was so sweet. If only we could have gotten Zekers to actually pay attention and quit making faces . . . maybe next year.



We celebrated Christmas with my parents on Wednesday afternoon, ate dinner and went to the Christmas Eve service at church. Christmas morning we had pancakes and eggs, read the account of Christ's birth and coming sacrifice, and tore into the gifts. We went light on the presents this year. Due to some overzealous garage saling last year, we had a mountain of gifts waiting on Christmas morning, and I felt like we WAY overemphasized that part of the day, so this year we wanted things to be different. I felt a little guilty, though, when I realized that we hadn't gotten Malachi anything - until I saw how thrilled he was playing with the wrapping paper and boxes.





After lunch, we spent the rest of the day with Danny's parents and his sister & her family. Although she was loving having an afternoon without a nap, by the end of the day, Karis was pretty worn out!

The next couple of days have been exhausting in a wonderful sort of way. Friday we spent the day running errands in Dayton, and shopping at IKEA, where we purchased some shelving units and it absolutely inspired me to reorganize and clean the entire basement, which I spent most of Saturday doing. It was like once I started I couldn't stop: I also reorganized and cleaned out most of the kitchen cabinets, and made some changes to our bedroom. Thanks to our little trip to IKEA, I now have a long "wish list" for the rest of the house! Haha. I'm working on a new diet, where we live on one meal a day for the next 10 years, so I can buy all the new furniture I want.

Anyway, I hope you had a very merry Christmas. My next entry probably won't be taking place until next year . . . .

Wright Highlights

*Welcome to our annual "newsletter". I apologize for the fact that if you read this blog regularly, this is all going to be pretty redundant. But it's the best way we could come up with to let our out-of-town friends and family know what's going on in our lives AND include as many pictures as we want without draining a half dozen ink cartridges! I sometimes dream about being able to sit down for hours and write each and every one of you a long personal note; and maybe one of these years it will happen. But for now, this online newsletter will hopefully get the job done. We love you and pray for you a Christmas full of joy. *


Well, it's that time of year again, where I attempt to boil down hundreds of thousands of moments into a few short paragraphs. This year has been a full one: full of challenges, full of laughter, full of everyday craziness, and full of blessings. Even the tough times have brought blessing, because they've forced us to look to our heavenly Father and find deeper intimacy with Him.

I'll fill you in on each of the kiddos as best I can, and then share a few noteworthy events from the year. More than anything, we desire for you to glimpse the amazing work God has done in our hearts and our lives over the past 12 months. Here goes . ..



Rachel (6) is thoroughly enjoying the first grade. Every day, when we ask her how school was, we get the full report: who got into trouble, who went home sick, who fought with whom. She'll make a fortune someday as a gossip columnist. Her favorite things to do include: reading; writing little "books" and illustrating them; helping Mommy bake; sleepovers; eating anything containing sugar; telling her siblings what to do and how to do it; dressing up like a princess; and singing praise songs. And she still loves to talk. Three words I would use to best describe her would be: independent, dramatic, imaginitive. This fall, she played soccer for the first time, and loved having her daddy as her coach. It was fun to watch her become more confident and enthusiastic as the season progressed. Another highlight of the year was losing her 2 front teeth. She's enjoyed taking part in Sparks (part of the AWANA program), where she gets to play games, make crafts, and learn lots of Bible verses.



Zeke (4) continues to be his own little person. He's always surprising me with what he knows: the other day, he spelled out 5 or 6 words for me. When I looked at him in shock and asked where on earth he learned that, he replied, "From watching Super Why." He operates on his own timetable. If he's not ready to do something (reading, potty training, etc.) it's absolutely no use to get him to try. But when he's ready, he takes off! In a "slowest eater" contest, I'll put my money on him every time - a typical breakfast for him lasts from 30-45 minutes. He's thoughtful and sensitive and affectionate. Several times during the day I'll hear a little voice behind me: "Mom, I love you", or "Mom, thank you for fixing dinner for us." A sweeter kid simply does not exist. Or a louder one. He's typically pretty quiet and enjoys playing by himself, but when he does talk, he has only one volume - LOUD.

Zeke's crowning achievement this year was receiving a 3rd place trophy in a kiddie tractor pull. He enjoys attending Cubbies (AWANA) on Wednesday nights and his absolute favorite place to go is Chuck E Cheese.





Karis (3) is our little fireball. Her favorite thing to do is to contradict anything I say. She's . . .. well, we'll call her "multidimensional": She loves to play rough-and-tumble games with Daddy or with Zekers, but she also loves taking care of her baby dolls. She pushes all of my buttons, more than any of the other three, but she also makes me laugh like no one else. She constantly attacks her baby brother (and anything else that moves) and yet she can be so sweet and snuggly. She has been loving her first year of Cubbies, and done a great job learning her verse every week. And she finally has enough hair to do something with! In September, she broke her big toe and smashed the her second toe, at a wiener roast; we're still waiting for her toenail to grow back. She certainly has a way of keeping life eventful. She also informed me today, in the middle of a restaurant, that she'd rather have her bottom wiped by me than by anyone else. Talk about a compliment . . .





And then there's Malachi. He turned 1 in October and he's a little man of extremes - either laughing and squealing in delight, or screaming in rage. We had a rough start with him, but the older he gets, the more fun he becomes; he loves to wrestle around with the others and is finally learning how to fight back! He can be so demanding, he drives me batty some days; but then he gives the best hugs. When he's in the mood to snuggle, he grabs onto my neck and nestles down on my shoulder. And somehow, in those moments, all the day's frustration is forgotten. One of his favorite things to do is to bolt as soon as his diaper is off, and run around the house, buck naked, yelling as loud as he can. He's a total clown and a total Daddy's boy, more than any of the others were at his age. (Must be because they share so many of the same strange habits). You will never see his head without some kind of scrape or bruise or goose egg, and you will never see his chin without drool. He's full of life and does everything 100%.




As for Danny and me . . . .

June and July were fun, busy months for us. We headed up to Put-In-Bay with my extended family for 3 days, then drove to Camp Forest Springs in Westboro, WI, where Danny spoke for youth camp. The kiddos had a blast and it was nice to take some time away. We stayed the night in Chicago both on the way there and on the way back, which afforded us the opportunity to visit Millennium Park and eat at Danny's favorite pizza joint: Lou Malnati's. The day after we arrived back, our church had VBS, where Danny got to teach 3-4 year olds for the week!

In October, Danny stayed with the kiddos for 3 days so I could attend Nancy Leigh DeMoss's True Woman conference in Chicago with 20 women from our church. It was great to spend so much time with adults, the worship was so refreshing and the messages were straight from God's Word. What a wonderful weekend. On the way home, a deer hit our van (I was driving), and pretty much totaled it, but praise God all of us were unharmed. And He provided us with a "new" van shortly afterward.

I've also enjoyed being involved in Grace Moms, a ministry of our church for young mothers (OK, some of us aren't so young but have young children!). We meet monthly, as a large group and in small groups - it's been such a joy to receive godly instruction from older women of our church, and to spend time with other moms and realize others face the same challenges I do and are just as crazy. It is truly a gift to be part of this group, and to be able to study the Bible with other women through several Bible studies that have taken place throughout the year at our church.

Just a few weeks ago, Danny was able to go to the Dominican Republic, where he had the chance to help with a baseball clinic; speak in a couple of church plants; teach national pastors-in-training; and go to the beach! He was thrilled to be able to spend time with Bob & Anna Nilsen, who our church sent as missionaries to the DR about 5 years ago. And the kids and I actually survived the week without him . . . barely!

He has also kept busy with preaching, teaching, counseling, marrying, etc. One really cool thing he's been able to do since the kiddos have gotten older is to take Rachel or Zeke with him every so often on hospital / nursing home calls. They love the one-on-one time with him in the car, and they get the added bonus of encouraging someone in the process.

As I glance back at the year behind us, I'm filled with awe and gratitude at what God is doing, both in our family and in our church body. We see evidences of grace all around us - and the ultimate GRACE, the reminder of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, born to die, to become sin for us so that in Him we might receive His righteousness. HIS physical birth led to our spiritual birth. We have been given unending life through HIS death and resurrection, if we only turn from our sin and believe in Him. Oh, blessed miracle!

O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments and His paths beyond tracing out. Who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor? Who has ever given to God that God should repay Him? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things; to Him be the glory forever! Amen.

We pray for you that you may know the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God this Christmas.

All our love,

Danny, Charity, Rachel, Zeke, Karis, Malachi

Elf Yourself

As controversial as it may seem, we've apparently taught our kids to dance. But if you want to know who's really responsible for the craziness, just ask Marissa.

Tis the Season

This weekend has been quite bizarre, with really great moments and also moments I'm trying hard to forget.

Friday (Danny's day off) we ran down to the mall with the 3 younger kiddos to do some Christmas shopping and also because Old Navy jeans were $12 all day. It was a disaster on both counts! I found out shortly after entering Old Navy that the sale was actually on Saturday. But I tried to console myself with the thought that the trip wasn't a total waste because we still needed a few other items.

We decided to have lunch first, since it was 12:30. I got the kiddos some Taco Bell, Danny hit his favorite Gyro place, and I didn't get anything, because my stomach had been feeling strange all morning. After lunch, we took the kids to the play area. I was feeling a bit lightheaded, and I thought it was because I hadn't eaten anything for a while, so I finally decided an Auntie Annie's pretzel didn't sound too bad (I had a almond pretzel - SO good!).

About 5 minutes after finishing my pretzel, it became evident that I was going to have to make a run for it. Unfortunately, the nearest restroom was on the upper level and some distance away. In a panic, I got up and hurried toward the stairs. I got about as far as the end of the play area and realized I could no longer walk because my legs had gone completely numb! And the next thing I knew, I was sitting on a bench with my head lolling back and a small crowd of people standing around me saying things like, "Ma'am, can you hear me?"

Condensed version: I eventually became able to move, but still couldn't walk, and had to be taken out to our car in a wheelchair. I do thank God that it wasn't until we arrived home about an hour later that Ralph viciously attacked. And that it only lasted about 12 hours, although I felt like "death eating a cracker" on Saturday. One thing I discovered is that it isn't too difficult to keep the kiddos away from whoever is sick, unless the sick one is ME.

The really good part of the weekend was Sunday. Rachel and I left early from church to head down to Waynesville, where we attended a ladies' Christmas tea hosted by Jayne Nixon, a friend who several years ago planted a church in Springboro with her husband. The day was extra special because on the way there we picked up my sister Hannah and her daughter Esther. Rachel was absolutely beside herself - we got to eat at Steak 'n Shake on the way there, she got to spend time with her Aunt and cousin, AND she got to attend a "real live tea party!" (She ended up drinking a cup of hot blueberry tea, which she didn't even really like, but drank anyway just because it was "real" tea).

There were about 20 ladies gathered in Jayne's home and it was such an encouraging and fun time. I was a little nervous - she had asked me to do some performance songs and lead in several Christmas carols before & after the speaker, Beth Z., shared. The really, really cool thing was that Beth and I hadn't coordinated what we were singing/sharing beforehand, but of course, God worked things out so that the music and the message emphasized the exact same things, and we even used some of the same verses (ones that aren't in the "Christmas story account" in Luke!) What a blessing. My absolute favorite part was hearing everyone lift their voices during the Christmas carols - so beautiful. Rachel mentioned several times that day how much she liked getting to spend some time with "just Mommy". I feel badly that often when I try to spend time with her, 3 others are trying their best to make sure they, too, get a slice of the mommy pie. It was really wonderful to be able to spend some one-on-one time with her.

We drove straight from there to dinner and a concert at the church with Jeremiah and Marcie Olson, dear friends from college whom God has gifted musically and in many other ways. The kiddos were all with us for the concert, which was a little . . . ok, a lot . . . distracting. But I was still able to enjoy their hearts and their music. About halfway through, Jeremiah invited 5 people to come up on stage to help him out. As soon as he said the words, "The first five people up here will receive a prize," one of my munchkins made a mad dash for the stage, along with a little friend / partner-in-crime. It was too cute - they all got hats & antlers to wear as they danced around a human Christmas tree!

And today, we are doing nothing, since Ralph visited again last night - this time in Malachi's room. I'm trying really hard to find the joy in continually cleaning up really gross messes, but I am grateful for a chance to stay home for the day, and have decided, along with Zekers, that I love my PJ's so much I'm going to leave them on all day.

And here are a few pictures from the last couple of weeks:


A little too much fun with the flour


Malachi is IN LOVE with dogs!


You can always tell when Zekers has been feeding Malachi his yogurt. (We all started referring to him as "Baby Santa")


Our attempt to get a Christmas picture of the 4 clowns


Speaking of clowns . . .