A weekend of PLAY as mommy and daddy went AWAY!

So as Tim's business grows so does the travel time, important meetings, and conferences to build and establish relationships. And so with the help from my parents and brother, we were able to sneak away for a weekend in San Francisco! So off we went to relax, have fun, and SLEEP-IN!!!!!!!
Bill, the general, and his wife Jodi, came as well and we had a great time all weekend. It started with us having to drive to Seattle being there was a "plane shortage" in Bellingham. Good thing we left extra time for the drive. Our flight was pleasant and we stayed at a historic hotel, Sir Francis Drake, right next to Union Square.
Friday, Jodi and I casually strolled downtown and enjoyed shopping and eating rooftop at The Cheesecake Factory. The guys had a break and were able to meet up with us as well!


That night we explored China Town and were able to sleep straight through the night without interruptions. (unlike my Sister-In-Law and mom)
Saturday the four of us toured Alcatraz and the waterfront which is always entertaining when people watching and seeing the seals play. 



Sunday brought a leisure walk and more of the waterfront entertainment which began as we drove past a gentleman taking his leisure stroll, Starbucks in hand, flip-flops on his feet, and his God given birthday suit in sore eye sight to those passing by. 
I'm so very thankful for the ability to spend quality time with My Honey and for our kids to be well taken care of by our family. It was a gift to be able to walk hand in hand, share a smooch or two, and just BE with My Love all weekend long.

Recent Everyday Life

January is now almost done and life is back to routine and structure after Christmas and New Years. Addison has been doing awesome with her school studies and has finally broken the triple digit subtraction curse that brought tears to her eyes the moment I mentioned math. Charlie has made big strides as well in his ability to recognize his letters and numbers! I was getting a little nervous and we still have a ways to go but the school thing finally clicked for him and he now enjoys learning. Today he did his first addition problems too! I feel incredibly blessed to teach our kids and can't wait to see them expand their learning abilities.



Myriam has been busy as ever but thankfully out of the toilet! She's finally back on a decent schedule but sometimes bedtime comes early mid-bite at dinner time.


Addison is always up for abuse when it comes to making Myriam laugh! Part of her Physical Education involves using Myriam as weights which is always entertaining. Horse back riding seems to be popular lately.


Earlier this month the big kids were invited to Michaela's 4th birthday party at the Tickled Paint Studio here in town. I'm pretty sure the kids would go there everyday if I allowed them too!



Last week Chuckle's surprised Auntie Traci when she had her chemotherapy treatment! Charlie has been extremely emotional knowing Auntie doesn't feel well and has to have special medicine to make her better. This comes in the form of many tears followed with prayers and then drawing pictures for Auntie Traci. One thing is for sure...Charlie ADORES his Auntie!


While Charlie was at Auntie's, the Little Ladies spent time at Auntie Lindsay's...overnight! They had a blast even though Auntie got little sleep or rest. I figured it was a healthy introduction to having multiple children!


I'm so thankful for family that loves our children and who in Charlie's words "spoil" them often. 

The Voice of Courage

It was just two and a half years ago that our oldest, Addison Jean, struggled with selective mutism. As hard as it was for us it was SOOOOOOOOO much harder for her. Sixteen months of silence in church settings, no communication at family get togethers, longing for friendships but not sure how to navigate them, two years of preschool without a word spoken...it was frustrating to say the least. Addi would go to her cousins house for sleepovers and the only voice heard was laughter or a lip-pressed "ugh hmm." Questions that required more than a yes or no were always asked of her. Rude remarks made and questioning of her mental health were voiced to me when thought of Addison's ear shot was at distance. She had a friend from preschool that came to play and quickly put Addi at ease when she said, "Don't worry Addison. You don't have to talk if you don't want to. I'll do all the talking for us both!!!" The girls played fantastically, without pressure, for hours!
Tim and I were told to see a specialist and to get her on medication. We used our own medication that had been taught to us from an early age: PRAYER. We prayed over her, encouraged her, we made Addi feel special no matter what others thought or said, we went with her pace, and spent silly hours at Papa and Nana's house in the bathroom, door shut and in the bath tub, as Addison squeaked out a small voice. Finally, she found the courage to speak to me in nervous places outside of walls and around corners from others.


And then, November of 2010, the kids had an evening date at my parents house. We left the new iPad there as an interactive way to play with the old folks but little did we know it would be the iPad that brought out the voice. Addison sat on Papa's lap and STARTING TEACHING PAPA HOW TO USE IT....WITH HER VOICE!!!!!!!! You can only imagine the reaction that got from my parents and me, who had been for months saying "don't react! Act normal!" was in the background saying those same words as dad sat there with tears in his eyes.


Fast forward years later and Addison has done an AMAZING job of overcoming her fear, worry, stress, and fought back with faith, prayer, and courage. So many little things have been done that would NEVER have been done two years prior. Raising her hand at Sunday School and answering questions in front of many other kids is a huge accomplishment.  This past week is a prime example...
I had taken Addison out on a date and was asking her about her friends and if there was anyone at church she would want to invite over to come and play. Indeed there was! So when we got home, Addi quickly made the cutest invitation for her friend Olivia to come and play. THIS WAS SO BIG!!! On the next Sunday, we found out who Olivia's mommy was and we now will have a play date on Thursday. I think of "faith of a mustard seed" and see how it was COURAGE of a small seed that needed to be planted in order for our baby girl to make these, what seems simple, but are HUGE actions!
Take it one step further and I made Addison interview another friend, Jesse, about what it's like to be deaf. When I first told her what she needed to do, I was met with tears and resistance. As we have been studying the life of Helen Keller, I thought what better than to ask what it's really like with someone who we see and interact with regularly. After some coaching, Addi nervously interviewed Jesse yesterday which for young ones was comical. Question and answers...simple answers. It was done in probably less than a minute!! But it was bigger than just a simple second grade school project. Years earlier and we would have never put Addison in this position and she would have never imagined doing this either!
God is so good. We never question why Addi had to walk this very difficult road and have to fight through nerves and still lingering cloud of being shy BUT, we are thankful that God has taught her to be brave. Tears of frustration are now tears of joy and one of being a proud parent to the most amazing daughter with a heart full of compassion, full of love, who is selfless, graceful, and who is always looking out for her family. She is a helper during the day with her siblings, a referee, an AWESOME big sister, and one who likes to be a kid. She is our Addi Jean and we can't be more proud of the simple things in life that she has overcome. God is bigger than a simple problem that seems impossible to overcome. Simple is relative. Maybe someday Addi will surprise us all and become a famous speaker to millions...I know that whatever it is will be met with fierce courage and bravery.