School Pictures

I got to see Nate and Evie's school pictures yesterday. I decided about two years ago that I was finished purchasing professional pictures of my kids, and that when the day comes to buy school pictures I would be strong and resist the temptation to purchase them. We would just take some pictures the morning of picture day and print them ourselves. Besides, I live with a photographer who captures our family's best moments, so why would I pay someone else to do what he does better and for free?

Anyway, I went to view their pictures yesterday, and of course I melted when I saw their sweet little faces. That combined with my 25% discount for being a teacher there, and I was a sucker once again. I guess I'll be working on my will power between now and next year's picture viewing day, because I WILL NOT do this again next year. And so the story goes ...

 Sweet Evie Ray
(She has finally stopped pulling her hair out, so it's actually growing out on top. Yay!)

 Nate the Great 

(as his preschool teacher refers to him)

I didn't buy this one. I didn't know they'd have a picture taken together, so I didn't coordinate their outfits. I liked their individual ones better anyway.

Visit From Granddad

We were thrilled to have Stephen's dad here for the past week. We sure wish he could've stayed longer - and not just because of all the work he did around here! The brakes went out on our van at the perfect time, and he saved us a couple hundred dollars by taking on the brake job himself, with Stephen's help of course. He also helped weather proof our house, and I can't wait to see how much lower our electric bills are this year. And of course he spent some quality time with the kids, which is worth way more than any of those other things. They absolutely LOVED having him here. We miss you already, Granddad! Here are some pictures from the week.

 Trying out Stephen's summer project. I think it passed the test!

 Nate showing off for Granddad - and he was impressed.

 Evie can't quite make baskets yet, so she got the soccer ball out to show Granddad some of her skills.

 Goal!

 Hanging out in the garage during the brake job.

Little Red Wagon

Unfortunately I don't know the full history of this little red wagon. All I know is that it was at my Grandma and Grandpa Vater's house when we were little for all the grandchildren to enjoy. It ended up in my mom's basement after she cleaned out my grandma's house, and then when we cleaned out Mom's house I think it got thrown into the "Nobody else wants it? Okay, I guess we'll take it" pile.

Anyway, the wagon made it all the way to Texas and we use it in the garage to hold miscellaneous outdoor toys. We learned the hard way that it tips over too easily for the kids to ride in. However, on this day Nate and Evie pulled it outside and were playing so incredibly well together (I think more than an hour passed without any whining, crying, hitting, fit throwing, toy stealing, face clawing, etc.) that we couldn't bear to stop them. Nate even had to pull Evie all the way to the hospital in it because she swallowed three (three!) pacifiers. I like their imaginary world!

Baby Joy's Story

I know I haven't said a lot about life as we grieve the loss of our baby girl, but what do you say? We long, more than ever before, for the day when there will be no more disease, no more death. 

We named our baby girl Joy. There's a line in a poem by Kahlil Gibran that says, "When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight." The poem goes on to say how joy and sorrow are inseparable, and when one is with you the other is waiting for you. We are deeply sorrowful over the death of our baby because she was our delight, our joy. To us she'll forever be Baby Joy.

A few weeks ago I sat down to write the story of Baby Joy. I needed to write her story for myself - as part of my healing - and I wasn't sure whether or not I would/should share it here. But I know there are some of you who don't know the whole story and would like to - and I would like for you to. I also know there are some of you who are just here for the pictures, and I have to say I can't blame you. Those are some pretty cute kids. :) So for those who are here for the pictures, just scroll on down to the following posts and get your fill. For those who want to read the story of Joy, click on the "Read more" link below.

Like Father, Like Son

Stephen has always said he would rather spend his money on experiences instead of things. He'd rather travel the world than buy anything else that same amount of money could buy. For the most part I agree with him, and I think our children must be gaining the same mentality.

Stephen took the kids to the play area in the mall while I was in Kentucky, and while they were there Nate saw someone jumping on a bungee jump. He asked to jump too, and Stephen told him no, but he continued talking about it all week. He has some birthday money left, so we let him decide if he wanted to spend his money to jump or save it for something else. Of course he wanted to spend it on that - like father, like son! We went last Friday evening and he jumped his little heart out!

Then it was Stephen's turn to pay for some adventure on Saturday. He and his friend Nathan ran in The Jailbreak DFW. It was a 5K filled with muddy, wet obstacles. He ran his little heart out too! :) Here are some pictures of Nate jumping followed by the race pictures:

I think this is the "What have I gotten myself into?" look.

 He loved it!

 Stephen and Nathan after the race.

 I think Stephen was trying to win the competition of who could finish the race with the most mud on them! I'm not surprised!

The side angle.

Ethan Matthew

My sister FINALLY had her baby! We specialize in late babies in this family. Ethan Matthew was born on September 8 and weighed 7 lbs 2 oz. He's the sweetest, cutest, cuddliest baby boy! And I'm not just saying that because I'm his aunt either. :)  A few weeks ago I bought plane tickets for that weekend in an effort to see him soon after he was born, but I never guessed he would be born the day before I arrived. It worked out perfectly though. I was able to spend the night in the hospital with Elizabeth while Matthew went home to get some good sleep in his own bed, and then I helped them settle back into their home with a newborn. I loved every minute of it, and I'm SO glad I got to go!  

 A family of THREE!

 Meeting his Aunt Sarah.

 Sweet boy!

So, this was the first time I had ever been away from my kids. Four years is a long time! I was pretty nervous about it - nervous that I wouldn't know how to act without them - not nervous at all about how they would do without me. Of course they loved their weekend with Stephen. He would be an incredible stay-at-home dad! And as it turns out I can make it without them too. Who would've thought? :) I really enjoyed my time away. Of course Stephen documented their weekend with pictures, so here are a few of those.

 Stephen took the kids to check out a new park. They all loved it, so I'm looking forward to checking it out myself.

 Swinging ...

 Painting cards for me.

Nate's card says "Hoş Geldiniz Mommy!" That's Turkish for "Welcome Home Mommy!"

New year

There's always an adjustment period when school is out and Stephen is home for the summer. Then it seems like just about the time we adjust to him being home and to a different routine, he's back to work and wrapped up in the craziness of a new school year!

Besides that, I got a job teaching 3-year olds on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the preschool program Nate is attending this year. I put Evie in the 2-year old class there, so the three of us are going to school together! Yesterday was our first day and I was completely exhausted by the time we got home, and I still had my own exhausted, whiny children to take care of. I think I'll get used to it soon, but these first days might be rough! Anyway, here are some pictures from the past few weeks.

 Nate and Evie got a package from their cousins Camo and Kate, and these sunglasses were in it for Evie. She loves them!

 The kids were being way too quiet the other day, so we knew something wasn't right. Nate was writing all over Evie. Here's the proof.

We spent Labor Day at a really nice park nearby. The weather dropped below 100 for the first time in months, and it was a beautiful day!

Happy 4th Birthday Nate!

It's really hard to believe I have a four-year-old! To celebrate Nate's birthday we had our usual low key party with a few friends. I decided a few months ago that Nate would have some kind of sports ball cake for his birthday this year, but I didn't decide which sport it would be until the day before. Since Nate's current favorite is soccer, and in honor of his first year to play soccer, I went with the soccer ball. And thanks to the Wilton sports ball pan set and soccer ball pattern that came with it, it wasn't as difficult as it might look!

 My big four-year-old!

 He's pretty excited to FINALLY be four. I don't think he liked being three! 

Happy boy! (With his friend Adelia next to him.)

Jack and Caroline - I guess Jack liked his pizza.

 Sweet Briar Rose celebrated with us.

Evie got to do one of her very favorite things - feed baby Luke! Our sweet friends Travis and Rebekah have spent A LOT of time with our kids lately, and Evie is starting to think she's Luke's mommy. We're so grateful for you guys!

Free Entertainment

I get this kind of entertainment every single day. For free. Can't beat a deal like that!

Little Sarah

Everyone says how much Evie looks like Stephen, but my sister was looking through some old pictures and realized she actually looks a lot like I did when I was her age. The scanned picture isn't all that clear, but I think you can see the resemblance in these two pictures.

 Summer 1982. Playing with Nathan and Elizabeth in the pool.
I'm the baby in the picture.

Early morning playtime outside while the temps are still in the 80s!

Unexpected

To say that this post is unexpected is an understatement. Early Tuesday morning I gave birth to a tiny baby girl who is living at the side of Jesus. We don't have much to say and don't feel like sharing a lot yet, but I'm sure there will come a time for that.

The words that have been on my mind today come from Psalm 139. We were blessed with the privilege of holding our sweet baby of only 18 weeks, and after seeing how intricately and wonderfully she had been formed, these words seem truer than ever:

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
   when I was made in the secret place,
   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
   all the days ordained for me were written in your book
   before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
   How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
   they would outnumber the grains of sand—
   when I awake, I am still with you.

Of course, we'd love your prayers, but know that we're doing well and are grateful for the Lord's goodness to us.

Chicago

For the final phase of our trip, we went to Chicago (actually Geneva, IL, but we always just say Chicago) to visit my brother's family. We were all supposed to spend Thanksgiving together last year, but my sister-in-law was only a month away from her due date after a very eventful pregnancy, so they had to opt out. We starting planning a summer vacation together to make up for it, but ended up spending a few days at their house instead.

We did a bad job of taking pictures there, except for the day we spent in Chicago. I sure wish I had a picture of chunky baby Will! But here are some of the pictures from Chicago:

 Nathan and Samuel on the train going to Chicago.

I'm not sure why the color is so messed up on this one!

 We went up in the Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower. The kids really had no clue what they were doing (besides looking at each other to pose for a picture instead of at the camera), but they were standing on glass so they could see below them.

 Wiped out!

 Uncle Matthew got some good practice pushing the stroller around all day!

 Evie was just as tired as the boys, but refused to sleep. She was struggling to keep her eyes open.

My request for the day was to have my picture taken with my husband. It was taken in the middle of our rush to catch the train back home, but I'll take it!

Northern Kentucky

After spending a day in Campbellsville catching up with some good friends from college, we made our way to my sister's house. This was my last time to see her before she gives birth to baby Ethan!

One of the reasons we planned our trip when we did was so I could be at my sister's baby shower. Here we are at the shower: 32 weeks and 17 weeks. Can you tell we feel silly holding our bellies?

A rare family photo! We went to Newport on the Levee, and then walked on the Purple People Bridge that goes from Newport, KY to Cincinnati. The kids were a little distracted by their green monkey and pink elephant balloon animals!

 As usual, we spent some time at the piano.

 Another family photo! My brother-in-law built this huge picnic table for their deck. It seats at least 16 large adults and doubles as a bomb shelter and play pen for kids! Kentucky evenings were so cool and beautiful compared to our Texas evenings, so we spent most of them outside.

Lewisport

Phase one of our annual summer trip was spent with Stephen's family in Lewisport, KY. (We decided after just a few hours in the car with the kids that this two week journey was a trip, not a vacation. Vacation implies rest, and although we absolutely loved every minute of our visits with friends and family, it was not restful. So, this was our summer trip.)

As usual, Nate latched onto his cousins and completely wore himself out running around with them all day. And he adores his Granddad, so first thing every morning he was by his side asking for tractor rides! Here are some of the pictures from Lewisport:

 I'd like to see how this picture turned out! 

 Waiting for the sun to go down so we could watch some fireworks.

 Cameron teaching Evie how to do a somersault!

Nate and Kate.