Christmas
2016
Greetings
dear family and friends;
We
have just returned from a trip to the sunny south of Arizona, and
today woke up to a nice blanket of snow. So beautiful, so festive,
so cozy. Although there is only a couple inches, the kids donned
their winter clothes and have ensured they used up every inch of it
having fun.
This
year we welcomed baby Levi Gregory on May 3. My Mom (Beth) came to
stay with us and help out, which was a real treat. He still doesn't
sleep much and hates his car seat, but that's the norm for all of our
babies, so we weren't surprised. He just turned 7 months so has been
perfecting his crawling skills and got his first 2 teeth last week as
well.
The
oldest kids (Luke (11), James (9), and Elise (7)) have been taking
piano lessons this past year which warms my Mama heart. The boys
aren't to thrilled to take lessons but both want to learn to play
other instruments, so learning the piano will be a good base for
anything else. Elise loves the piano, and can be heard playing songs
whenever she has the chance. She also plays by ear, so learning the
notes and reading music has been more of a challenge for her. She is
also singing, whistling or humming whenever she isn't playing.
Luke
and James enjoyed wrestling this past season at the school as well
(and I think Greg did too!) They worked hard and definitely improved
their skills. Swimming lessons are another favorite time in the
summer. I enjoy those times as much as the kids do. It gets us out
of our normal routine and I love watching them learn and grow and
challenge themselves.
Isaac
(5) and Celeste (2 ½) spend their “school time” coloring or
playing together. Isaac has officially started kindergarten and is
soaking up information as fast as we can feed it to him. He loves
animals of all sorts; especially owls, ostriches and peacocks.
Celeste loves playing house, dolls, “Hawberry Hortcake” and
dressing up.
Greg
is still working at the same machine shop he has been for 6 years.
He's kept busy managing the shop while his boss vacations in Arizona
most of the year. The stress level is high, so we've been praying
about options. He has taken up leather working in his (very few
hours of) spare time, which has been enjoyable and good for the
creative side of him. He turns the big 4-0 on Dec. 21.
I
mostly just try to keep the house running somewhat smoothly, keep the
kids schooled, the mouths fed and the baby happy. I end up tackling
whatever happens to be at the top of the priority list at any given
moment. I haven't even blogged once since Levi has been born; due to
a lack of time, mental clarity or even coherent thought. I guess
that's the new normal with 6 kids! I still have dreams of grandeur
in so many areas, most of which will likely never come to fruition,
for good or bad! Oh, well.
Love
and God's Peace,
~Rachel
with Greg,
Luke,
James, Elise, Isaac, Celeste and baby Levi
