Us::

:: Daniel has had a really busy but productive two months or so. He has taken on more responsibility within the church, particularly with our homeschooling ministry, Christian Fellowship Academy. I know I'm partial, but I think he's doing a great job with all the transition and added work. He works strange hours and is basically always "on call," and yet he doesn't run out of energy and enthusiasm. I don't know how he does it, but I sure am amazed by and proud of his never-ending servanthood.

:: Jackson continues to be like a flower unfolding slowly before us. I feel strange using that analogy since he's a boy (maybe someone else can help me out with a more masculine one!), but it's the only picture I have to describe what getting to know him has been like compared to the stronger and more in-your-face personalities we have here at home. He is generally a very sweet and contented boy. Bit by bit, we are learning what he really likes (dinosaurs, in particular) and also what weaknesses he has. I love this process of discovering who my children are!

:: We are having a great school year so far. I love the curriculum we're using and am ever thankful for the "Aha!" moments that help me make it just right for us. Learning to manage a home and mother an infant, toddler and preschooler, along with homeschooling, is a constant adventure. I confess to too often losing my joy and peace because of things like long-lingering dust bunnies in the corners, dirty kitchen cabinet fronts, a frequently empty (and dirty!) refrigerator, and poorly tended gardens, but I really am thankful even for the things I don't get done because the Holy Spirit is using them to teach me how to walk in grace right in the midst of those things.

:: We're taking a break from organized sports for the fall (no soccer fans in the house and I'm just not ready to get into football yet, despite the boys' pleading) and are instead taking the opportunity to add in some other things. Gabriel began studying piano when we kicked off our school year and is loving it. Yes, he really wants drum lessons and, yes, we have every intention of getting him some eventually, but I really wanted him to begin his official music studies with piano-- and I think he's been surprised by how much fun he's having! In addition to weekly piano lessons for Gabriel, Bronwyn is part of a weekly hour-long ballet class, which she adores. I am happy to be the sports mom, but I have to admit that it's easier for me to make the sacrifice for music and dance. Good thing Daniel's around to balance me in this!

(And, don't worry, come January we'll be ready for basketball and then in April we'll do baseball!)

:: Claire is fast-approaching her first birthday. I know I keep saying it (and you're probably all, BELIEVE IT ALREADY), but I just can't wrap my mind around how fast this year has gone. Sure, each infancy has been fleeting, but ohmy. Didn't I seriously just walk out of the hospital with my brand new, smooshy, red-haired delight? The only things that help me realize the fullness of a year's passing are 1) her temper tantrums when she doesn't get her own way (specifically, if I don't give her something to chew on while the rest of us eat dinner), 2) how dreadfully she's been sleeping lately (all my babies have gone through major Sleep Strike around 12 months), and 3) that she has a sense of humor and tries to make us laugh! I have to tell myself, "Sorry, Self, but newborns don't do those things." Sadness, really.

:: I took reading nice and slowly with Gabriel (maybe a little too slowly due to paranoia of "pushing" him???), but there's just no denying it now: he's an independent reader who devours books like the Star Wars series, the Winnie-the-Pooh collection, and anything else that catches his eye. Bronwyn, who has not had any great fondness for learning to read, suddenly became inspired lately when she realized that knowing how to read enables her to snuggle with and bless younger ones. She can often be found reading simple books to Aubrey (or cousin William, when the chance arises). It's blessed me to see how motivated she's been by wanting to delight others.

:: I am playing fantasy football for the first time this year. It gives me great pleasure to announce that I beat Daniel this past week. Now, even if I lose the rest of the season, I am content.

:: My canning efforts were less this year than last, largely because I wasn't sure I was ready to take on quite as much work. The funny thing? It was such a piece of cake the second time around, free of all the jitters and insecurities of trying something new! At least we have enough strawberry jam and applesauce to get us through a good portion of the winter months, but I have made a note to myself to not be afraid next year.

:: Aubrey is still a walking, talking, galloping (her version of dancing) miracle. She remains on daily medication, but it's very standard heart disease management and much less nerve-wracking to deal with than some of the other medications she was on as an infant. This will be her fourth year receiving monthly synagis shots (medication that helps her body fight RSV), but a home healthcare nurse comes in to administer that. The cardiologists continue to say that she will need surgery and that they won't want to wait much beyond her fifth year to operate; I continue to pray and believe for a complete miracle.

In the meantime, the Make-A-Wish Foundation is putting things together to grant her a wish sometime in the next year or so, and that's very very VERY awesome. Tonight at the dinner table she was talking about it and I thought to myself that I just adore the way her eyes simultaneously squint and sparkle when she's excited!

:: We are talking lots these days about house projects and what to do when. I get alternately excited and overwhelmed. I love the dreaming and talking about what it will be like to have a real guest room again (for the first time in almost 7 years) and how much more functional the yard will be and the ways we will grow our gardens and what I want the bathrooms to look like, but I am also a little bit older and wiser after our kitchen/family room remodeling: house projects are a lot of work-- even when you're not the one doing most of the work. It's probably a very good thing we don't have the money to do everything right when we think of it or else-- between Daniel & I and our "dreaming"-- we would be living in constant chaos and upheaval!

:: I am really appreciating the community of ladies that God has surrounded me with. So many examples to look up to! So much encouragement and Godly exhortation to feed off of! So many understanding words, sympathetic hands to help, and gracious "overlooking" of shortcomings! I. am. blessed.