So Much To Do

Days blend into weeks.  Weeks blend into months and here I am 2 1/2 months later posting.  Again, so much has gone on that I can only give you the highlights:

-We are in escrow on our Colorado cabin!  Yay!  We've been trying to sell that property off and on again for 3 years!  God's timing on this one for sure.  We are set to close escrow next month.  Praying all continues to go well.

-Jim went to Maine in April to check out towns and houses.  He REALLY liked it and was able to narrow our home search down to a specific area of about 7 - 8 towns.  It's a long term plan to move, but I still get a bit overwhelmed when I think about it.

Bangor

-I am almost 32 weeks pregnant and feeling VERY large.  I don't know if it's because I became pregnant so soon after having Grace or if this baby's coming early, but all my symptoms have been 4 -5 weeks ahead of schedule.  Right now, I am most definitely feeling like I'm in my 8th month.  Having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions.  Lots of aches and pains.  Tired more.  Ugh!!

-Isabel had ANOTHER surgery in March.  That poor girl has had 5 surgeries since coming home 2 1/2 years ago.  This was to fix the rod in her left arm.  It had migrated and was getting close to poking out of her elbow.  We had the same problem with the same arm in October 2013.  Luckily, it hadn't poked through yet, so it didn't have to be yanked out.  The doctor was able to pull it out, snip a bit off the end and put it back in more securely.  But it was another general anesthesia situation for our little girl, which is never fun.

Not a happy girl : (

-April began the birthday season.  Katie in April.  Will, Dan, Nate and Grace in May.  Next month is Isabel.  Baby due in July and then Anna's on her own in September.  We are busy and eating a lot of cake!

We are now winding down homeschooling and the children in local schools only have 3 weeks left. Hoping to keep summer plans to a minimum, but knowing our crew that's probably not going to happen. ;-)

Moving to Maine?

Ok, well, not now.  However, our family is seriously considering moving from one coast to the other.  Yikes!  As Jim approaches retirement, we are back to thinking about where to move, since we always knew we would move away for a bigger house with more land (for a cheaper price!) : )

We have a lovely cabin in CO on 17+ acres backing up to thousands of federal land. (Edit: This is not our main home.  This was to be our retirement home.)  However, we have far outgrown that home and are not up to building on. We are currently trying to sell it.  If you are interested in buying a custom cabin with a gorgeous view, let me know and I'll send you the info.  Seriously! ; )

The view from the front porch. So beautiful!

By chance, we were introduced to the idea of moving to Maine.  Since Jim and I have never visited there, we are trying to gather as much information as possible about the area.  Jim grew up near there, but never visited that state.  I joke with him that I will be sending him on a scouting expedition soon to check out some areas that look quite nice.

Have you ever been to or lived in Maine?  Please let me know.  Would love to know more!

Latest Ultrasound

I had an ultrasound Tuesday and was told I have a slight complication that requires me to "take it easy."  Ha ha!  Easier said then done with 7 children!!  

No more treadmill. : (  The treadmill is my sanity.  I have other restrictions, but that's the one that's going to be the hardest.  I have another ultrasound in April and if all is better then the restrictions will be lifted.  Praying that is the case.

The good news is that baby looks great.  She posed for us too.

Love!!

New 'Do

My (almost) 14-year-old is growing into a young man right before my very eyes!  He is already 2 inches taller than me and had his first shave.  He is getting muscular, veiny arms from rowing and now has decided he wanted to try out a new 'do.  It's just the beginning...

So cool! ;-)

Almost a Year

Wow!  What can I say?  Time flies when you're a busy momma!  I've been spurred on to renew this blog by my children and meeting a fellow blogger who asked me if I have a blog.  Well, yes, but a severely neglected one. : )

I know that my children enjoy looking back at old posts and it is nice to document our lives, even if I have no followers.  Not really the point.

Anyway, recap…

Baby Grace was born in May on Mother's Day!  It was also Dan and Will's birthday.  So, I now have 3 children born on the same day.  What are the odds?!?!

She was and is such a sweet, mellow baby; such necessary traits for #7. ;-)  Here's a recent picture of her starting to crawl.

Let's see… what's new with the kids… well…

Will started the rowing team last fall.  He's really enjoying it and would like to stick with it through high school and join the varsity team.  He's quite good at it, so we hope to find a way to make it work financially and with the busy rowing schedule.  Will is still homeschooled, but will attend our local high school in the fall.  He's really looking forward to it.  After months of looking at different options and discussing those with Will, we realized that he really wanted to attend the local high school.  We also believe that it will be a good fit for him.  

Will's in the middle in the black shirt.

Anna still loves horses and visits Sunny (our horse) every Thursday to train her, groom her and just love her!  She would go there every day, if I let her.  : ) Anna has been playing violin for a year now and joined the local youth symphony in the fall. She has played a couple concerts and we have so enjoyed watching her grow in this skill.  Anna is also homeschooled and will continue in the fall.  Both Anna and Katie are also part of a Keepers of the Faith group (think Christian scouts).  They are in a small group of lovely young ladies learning about Christ and what it is to be a godly woman. 

Katie is our budding artist.  She was taking some great art classes at a local art studio in the fall.  Unfortunately, she has had to stop the art classes since starting 4th grade at our local elementary school.  Since the art classes were in the morning, this was no longer doable.  I really enjoyed homeschooling Katie, but we felt that allowing her to try public school at this time was ok.  She has been asking to go and after talking and praying about it, we felt peace.  She started after the Christmas break.  Since she had never been to public school before, she had a lot to learn and get used to.  She really loves it, though.  Not sure if she will continue in the fall, but it's quite possible.

Daniel has grown so much this year.  He started Kindergarten at our local elementary school in the fall and has both excelled academically and matured a lot.  Daniel is so sweet with Isabel.  They are "best buddies" and I love to see how he takes care of her and plays with her so kindly.

Nate is a silly little 3-year-old.  He has a sweet side, but also is working through his frustrations with not getting his way and sometimes feeling pushed aside by the arrival of Isabel.  Even though it's been over 2 years, we can see he has "issues" with her.  He is either super sweet with her or he's pushing her off the swing!  He's getting there, though.  He attends preschool 3 days/week and enjoys his time at school.

Isabel has had yet another surgery since last spring.  Her last one was in December to fix her left arm/thumb.  The cast just came off 2 weeks ago and she is learning to use the thumb since it has been moved again to hopefully be in a better place for her to gain a pincher grasp with her pointer finger.  She attends preschool 5 days/week and gets much-needed therapies while there.  It's mostly occupational therapy.  She is extremely bright!  Isabel is very sweet-natured and wants nothing more then to be helpful and right by my side.

Grace is our little baby.  She is loved by all, of course.  Grace adores Maddy (our old golden retriever) and Maddy puts up with the "cuddles."  Grace is very mobile as she has mastered crawling and has started pulling herself up.  I'm sure she will be walking by 1.

And that brings me to the new baby arriving this July.  Huge surprise!  Really!  I found out late last year and honestly had a lot to settle in my mind about it.  Both Jim and I felt complete after Grace was born. We know that given our ages, Grace was a gift and we were so grateful for her arrival.  I was ready to move forward as a family of 9 and become a mentor for my older children as they transition through teenage years to adulthood.  I was ready to get back into shape and feel healthy again.  Grace's pregnancy was really hard on my body.  (Old age!)  So, when I found out that I was expecting again (and so soon after Grace's birth), I struggled.  I'm now 16 weeks and with the passing of time and seeing her little face on ultrasound, I have renewed strength to embrace this pregnancy and joy.

There's so much more I could share about the last 11 mths since my last post, but it would take far too long.  Not only would it be a marking of events, but a reflection of my continual journey with the Lord.  This last year brought ups and downs in different areas of my life.  Through it all, I knew that God would never leave me.  I knew that he would take his time with me to gently reveal what he would have me learn about him, about myself and the treasures found in his Word.

I hope to keep this blog updated.  It's been good to mark this place in our lives and look forward to all that is in store for us this year.