365Project.2015 | Week 17

It was a full week. (What week isn't?!?) We celebrated Peter's 8th birthday, finished up our third year of homeschooling, and took two field trips at the end of the week. :) 

Day 110. Abby-girl is eating so much better!! Very thankful! She shares Mommy's breakfast smoothie every morning. :)

We had quite the storm Monday afternoon, complete with hail and very close lightening strikes.

Day 111. Officially, Peter's birthday was Wednesday, but we celebrated with friends on Tuesday. :) Interestingly, Peter's 2nd birthday was the first birthday we celebrated here at this home, and his 8th will be the last.

 

Day 112. Sometimes you just want to freeze time and remember. Like when your 5-yr-old crawls into your almost 10-yr-old's lap to play a game together. ♥

Day 113. :)

Day 115. Peter spent most every free hour for two days building his Lego crane and he had a blast! (He even shared with his sister and let her build a part of it.) :) Thanks for the special gift, Grandma and Grandpa!

 

It's amazing how this young man has grown. I looked back at a picture from the beginning of the school year this week, and he looked almost 2-3 years younger ... just nine months ago. He's a cheerful, sweet, hard working young man, and I am thankful for him. ♥

On Friday evening, we took a field trip to a local planetarium and observatory. It was particularly fun because the planetarium show lined up exactly with what we just finished studying in science. Yay for reinforcement! :)

Sadly, it was a bit cloudy to see anything, but it was still fun looking.

 

 

Day 116. And then while Mommy had lunch with ladies from her Sunday School class, Daddy took the kids (all four of them!) to the Children's Museum! :) Yay for Daddy!  

 

 

 

 

Day 117. This morning's light was beautiful ... 

And this week I pack while Chris finishes his last week of work.
We load the truck a week from Tuesday. 

Excited for what's coming,
a bit overwhelmed by the packing,
and sad for the good byes. ♥

Thanks much for your prayers. ♥

365Project.2015 | Week 16

It's been a special week from start to finish! I am so thankful for the Lord blessing us with good health and special memories this last month. He continues to show His hand in the myriad of little details involved with selling a home and moving. 

Day 103. We worked ahead last week so that we could enjoy our time with Grandma and Grandpa. We decided to go to the children's museum ... only to discover after we arrived that it's closed on Mondays. :( After the initial disappointment, everybody was able to enjoy plan B of fun at the library and park. :)

Abby and Grandma had so much fun together! ♥

Day 104. Today we celebrated our Monkey's 5th birthday!

 

I packed up all of my cake decorating tips and sent them to NY already, so I tried using one of the prepackaged icing bags with tips. Not. Impressed. Oh well. Matthew was happy to have his name written on his cake, so my goal was accomplished. :) 

Hannah indulged Matthew's desire for a picnic. ♥

And Peter and Grandpa worked together to get the tractors loaded on the trailer and much of the stuff from the shed loaded into Grandpa's truck bed.

Day 105. So. Wednesday. Let's just say that a four-day weekend and birthday celebrations do not diligent school children make. Abby was cute though. :) She's scooting backwards on her bottom these days, and found herself stuck in the corner before Mommy rescued her. :)

Day 106. Matthew loves his new spaceship Lego kit! Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa!

 Day 107. Eeeeee!!! Mommy's friend knit this adorable bunny.  I LOVE it!!! ♥

Day 108. Hannah turns ten in May, but last year before we ever had an inkling that we'd be moving this spring, we promised her a birthday party with her friends. So, we celebrated a few weeks early. So thankful for each of the girls who came to make this a very special day for our Hannah-bug. ♥

One of Hannah's special requests for her party was a professional cake. A friend from church made a beautiful and delicious creation!

 

Whether you give him wheels or a rope, Peter manages to figure out how to fly. :)

Day 109. Sunday morning smiles ... ♥

And today Peter had the privilege of enjoying the afternoon with his best friend from church. ♥ (I'll admit that it was pretty cute to hear them giggling as they took turns reading Dr Seuss' Fox in Socks.) :)

And now we launch into our last week of school!! Woo-hoo! We're all ready to be done. Teacher included. ;) After that we have one more full week which Mommy will spend packing, and then we leave the following Tuesday. 

Just sixteen more days. 

Pshew. Time. It does a'fly.

365Project.2015 | Week 15

It's been a normal week looking towards an extra special ending. ♥  Peter was baptized this morning, and we are so thankful for his testimony of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ alone. This Mommy's heart is full to overflowing. 

Day 96. Abby's going to have a leg up on crawling over her siblings ... big sister is a first-rate teacher!

Day 97. I do believe that sitting up independently is one of my very favorite baby milestones. It's so fun to see them playing and exploring, and it makes mommy's life so much easier! But then I think about baby coos and babbling and smiles and snuggles and giggles ... and I realize once again that it's impossible to choose a "favorite" stage. I'm so thankful for the unique specialness of each age and stage ... big and little. ♥

 Love those eyes! ♥

 Day 98. :) What's better than big paper? A really big whiteboard!!

Day 99. Abby's education and entertainment committees ...

Matthew was teaching her her letters ...

 Peter was making funny faces ...

Day 100. And Hannah was giving snuggles ... #sheisloved

Day 101. Slowly, ever so slowly, Abby-girl is learning to eat solids.

Day 102. And today was a very special day for Peter. ♥  He and another young boy at church were baptized this morning.

Before the service, Pastor demonstrated the process in his office to help the boys be more comfortable with what would be happening and then he prayed with them.

 

Peter gave clear testimony of his salvation beforehand, and was so obviously excited afterwards. ♥

 

 

This will be one of our hardest good byes. We are so thankful for our pastor and his love for our family over the last thirteen years ... he knew us even before we were married and has been there with us through all of the changes of four growing children and twelve years of marriage.  So. thankful.

And we are also very thankful that Grandma and Grandpa were able to be here with us for Peter's special day! They needed to make another trip down to retrieve the John Deere tractor, so we were glad to be able to coordinate it with the baptismal service. :)

And Tuesday launches our birthday month with Matthew turning five. In the next five weeks, we will be celebrating five birthdays, mother's day, and our anniversary; finishing our third year of homeschooling; packing a household of six; closing on our house; and orchestrating an 800 mile cross-country move. On top of that, Chris will be closing out twelve years of employment in a key operational role, and we'll be saying good-bye to our church family and more friends than we can even begin to count. So thankful that in the midst of so much change, our Lord never changes. We appreciate your prayers. It's an exciting time, but good byes are hard. 

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights
with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
James 1:17