Happy Halloween... in January.

WELL. Guess what?! I'm still as busy as ever! Go figure.

Last week did not help. Daniel scared the bejeebers out of me, having a horrible, dramatic seizure (lasting 15+ minutes) in which the EMS was called, firemen saved the day, and I was left feeling very blessed to have my little boy alive and well. I was grateful for a kind ER nurse and doctor, and the firemen who improved his labored breathing before being taken to the hospital.

Doctor appointments to the pediatric neurologist await us in early February, just to rule out a seizure disorder, but our best bet is a quick fever spike from a virus was the culprit. Terrifying, none the less.

So, let's look back at some happier moments from the fall. Has winter even arrived? Such a warm winter we have had! Hard to believe Halloween was almost 3 months ago, the weather has been so warm. (My wallet is thankful for low utility bills!)

We got to celebrate Halloween 2 times thanks to Miss Mara's costume birthday celebration the weekend before! (For those that don't know, Miss Mara...the witch pictured below ;-) has become a great friend this past year and is now Mr. F's new foster mom).

Sprinting into 2012

Blog? What blog? Yes, I know posts are rare. And after receiving a beautiful hardbound copy of all my 2010 posts from my husband for Christmas, I told him, well, you may have to combine 2011 with 2012, because 2011 was a bit lacking.

I do have some backtracking to do with the holidays I totally missed, as well as a few everyday moments.

Now we are already two weeks into January!

So, here are a few major (and minor) happenings in the Haut House:

~ Today marks the halfway point of the kid's school year. Both Isaac and Lauralyn have new teachers (yup, my kids ran off their original teachers ;-) Lauralyn's new teacher happens to be one of my dear friends! Yay!

~ I am already thinking about NEXT school year! Currently, I believe Kristin will be attending Kindergarten at our local public school, which houses all the K and K-4 classes in our city. From what I understand, having all the K and pre-k classes in one building is working really well, and I have heard glowing reports of the school. This is where Kristin receives speech therapy every week. I am considering homeschooling Lauralyn for 2nd grade as she is excelling in her reading, writing and math. Isaac will remain at his elementary school where he will be receiving extra help for his reading/writing issues (I am fairly positive he has dyslexia, although the school never makes an official diagnosis). School has been good for Isaac in many areas developmentally. Daniel will remain home his last year of being a pre-schooler. I will be putting him in Tumble Tots twice a week which give him gymnastics class and a pre-school lesson/craft.

~ Today also marks the last day of a 14 month journey. Mr. F will be moving to another foster home (who happens to be friends of ours) tomorrow. While we love him as a family member, we know this move is best for our family and for him. He will be local, continue going to our church, and well loved in his new home! We will be seeing him frequently! God's mercy is so visible in all of this!

~ Noah and I will likely NOT be renewing our foster care license which will expire in June. In this phase of our life, we feel God is calling us out of fostering, but we may return to it once our kids are grown.

~ We are hoping to take a spring trip to Savannah, GA, to show the kids where we met and married. We haven't been to Savannah in over 5 years!

And for my personal resolutions for 2012:

~ Eat as vegan/natural as possible. Cut out as much sugar as possible, as well as processed simple carbs and dairy. Drink more water, less of everything else. I will make exceptions on special occasions, such as eating out at an expensive restaurant with my love... but I really am trying to feel better by eating better. I am one week in, and feel great!

~ Floss more... like, everyday if I remember. I am bad at this. My gums need me to floss a lot more.

~ Focus on being content with what God has given me. For so many years I have really focused on growing my family bigger. I have always wanted more children, and right now, I am finding contentment in the four I have been blessed with! Trusting God knows what is right for our family takes the pressure off of me trying to figure it out. Taking what comes day by day, and enjoying the present. Sometimes I obsess over the future so much, the here and now is ignored. Such a waste! I am trying to change that.

Well, this long post should get folks caught up some with all that is going on in the Haut House. We will always be busy. I am going to try to catch up on the happenings complete with pretty pictures, but no promises on when that will be!

Merry Merry

She's 5!

How can it be? Kristin is 5 years old today!



It has been 5 short years since God chose to bless us with this special child.



Unique, beautiful, and loved beyond measure.



Happy Birthday, my precious daughter!

Smitten

Twenty-four hours in, and we are all smitten. He is such a great dog. Quiet, loving, and happy. He is calm, too, for being a big puppy.

I can't stop thinking about his sister (litter mate) who is in the pound now. She is on the chopping block so to speak... the powers that be have yet to deem her worthy of adoption. She was surrendered by the same former owner of Jackson, but for whatever reason, he surrendered her a few weeks after Jackson.

Hmmmm. We could totally handle 3 dogs, right? Hint, hint, dear husband of mine ;-)

Jackson

Adopted today! We are all adoring him... well, look at him! What's not to adore? :-)

Dear Judah,

If I had it my way, I would be sitting in a hospital bed, counting your perfect fingers and toes, marveling at your sweet face, comparing you to your siblings.

If I had it my way, I would not have experienced the overwhelming grief over losing you. A grief that took over my being and would not stop tormenting me.

If I had it my way, I would have been able to replace you with another baby. Immediately. Instead, I wonder why, why God has closed my womb, and why God chose to take you away before I could meet you. I had waited so long for you, and then you were gone.

I won't understand God's plan until we are reunited one day, and I can see the tapestry clearly.

This has without a doubt been one of the hardest years I've faced, losing you. Every day it seemed I learned of another friend or acquaintance expecting a baby. Salt in the wound repeatedly... why did there have to be a baby boom this year? Blessings abound for others, while it seemed all I faced was loss. Two old friends gave birth to babies this very week. I should be posting your picture online, celebrating and rejoicing as they are.

The blessings have come, though. God did not leave me without a life preserver. Two friends who have walked the path of infertility and loss. I was not completely alone in my grief, knowing they understood. They understood how insensitive words spoken by well meaning (and often clueless) people could sting for days. How one could be so devastated at a "miscarriage" when the house is already full of children.

God has renewed my purpose, my hope, and reminded me that I am blessed with 5 incredible children, a faithful, strong husband, and loyal friends. God gave me the horses, when I was felt all hope was gone for joy in my life. This in no way negates how much I miss you, but it gives me reason to be thankful and rejoice in God's graciousness to me.

It has been a 9 month journey, starting with the joy of you, and ending, now, knowing you should be here, but instead wait for me in Glory. I have peace. Granted, things haven't happened the way I wanted, and seeing other people enjoy their sweet babies makes my heart ache. However, there will be a day that the broken will be restored, the dead brought to life, and our perfection will be made complete through the One who loves us most. I look forward to that day.

I love you, Judah.

~ Mama

I'm BACK! Back in the Saddle again.

Yes, the Aerosmith chorus runs through my head, hence the title.

After that wonderful anniversary weekend, I came home bound and determined to make riding apart of my life again. Horses have always been a big piece of who I am, and they have been missing from my life for a good 6 years. I stopped riding and instructing once Lauralyn came on the scene, and at that point I was 100% happy to be a full time mom.

Mothering is also a big part of who I am, but lately, it has felt like that was my entire identity. Starting my photography business has helped my creative needs, but something was still missing. I tried to take up jogging. While it was great for my endorphins, let's face it, a runner I am not. It border lined on torture or at the very least annoying.

In my searching, I found a nice barn, which actually has nice horses (not your typical half dead lesson horses). I have been taking lessons with the part time instructor who comes from Greensboro, mostly to help knock off the rust and get me jumping again. In between, I am able to ride as often as my schedule allows, teach a homeschool riding class to help cover my expenses, and use of the horses/ponies to teach my own kids to ride!



The facility is very nice. Nicer than any of the barns I have been to since leaving Farewell many years ago.

The horse I have grown quite fond of is a lovely mare named Abigail. She is really a perfect ride for someone like me. Complicated enough that I don't get bored. But she won't stop at a jump (I really have no desire to come off in my old age haha), and she is quiet enough to let the kids get on in the round pen. She has a rocking horse canter to die for... making the Arabian proverb come to life: The wind of heaven is that which blows between a horse's ears.


Here is a pic of Abigail... with someone else riding. I am smitten.

I am rotating the kids' turns out at the barn. On Tuesdays I take Kristin and Daniel. Kristin is my little rider. She would ride for hours if I let her. She even rides bareback without fear. Daniel lasts about 2 minutes and only will ride behind Kristin because he likes someone to hold on to. But, he talks about riding and going to the barn for the rest of the week.



Isaac is another natural. He loves being in the saddle, and has even asked for paddock boots and half chaps! (Much to Noah's dismay... he thinks English riders should all be girls, even though half of the big time riders and trainers are men, who make good money doing it).

Lauralyn enjoys going to the barn, but has more fear of riding, and doesn't stay on long. She really likes spending time with the animals, though, and is great at grooming the horses. As time goes on she may enjoy riding more.



I am feeling so blessing and thankful God has given me the opportunity to fit right into an ideal horse situation. It is far better than anything I expected to find, especially just a 15 minute drive from my house.

How can it me the middle of November?

Fall seems to rush on by. I suppose with it being my "busy season" with the photography
business, I simply go from one photo shoot to the next and life zooms at warp speed.
Christmas is in less than 6 weeks!



Here is our current life in bullet points:

• School is going well for all.
• I have started riding again.
• I am teaching a homeschool equestrian class.
• I am also teaching our kids to ride.
• We recently celebrated having Mr. F in our home for 1 full year.
• Next week we'll celebrate Mr. F's 14th birthday.



Beyond that, life continues to march on.
AND I actually got our Christmas card done already!
That is quite an accomplishment if I do say so myself.

Flashing Back... just 2 years.

Saw these and just couldn't get over how in just 2 years, my babies have grown up so much!










I remember he posed for this and asked me to take his picture :-)

Soccer 2011

This fall we took a break from baseball, and 3 members of the Haut House hit the soccer field.



Noah is coaching a YMCA team that both Isaac and Lauralyn are on.



Noah is also participating in an adult soccer league with some friends.



Both Isaac and Noah enjoy soccer... Lauralyn is another story.



I'm pretty sure we can cross soccer off her list of future careers (or hobbies for that matter).



But she is really cute prancing around the soccer field, avoiding the ball at all costs.


(This is one of the 1st and last times she got near a ball at a game ;-)



My guess is, we will have another soccer player in our family... but for now, the ball makes a decent pillow.

10 Years

Yes, we are still here. My lack of blog activity is a direct result of the busyness of the season. I do have some posts to catch up on... including the fact we celebrated our 10th anniversary a couple of weeks ago!





For 10 years we have been married. For 10 years we have lived in our house. Ten years sort of went by in a flash. I assume the next 10 years will be even quicker, which is slightly scary.





God has accomplished a great deal in our lives these 10 years. Growing us, stretching us, challenging us, blessing us. An abundance of blessings really, peppered with the occasional heartache. Plenty of character building, many lessons in loving one another and perseverance.



Ten years ago, I don't think I understood love. Or sacrifice. Both of these things came gradually in marriage, and went warp speed once children entered the picture. Love and sacrifice... living out the gospel at home (however living it much less gracefully and selflessly as I aught).



For our anniversary, we went away for 3 nights to a guest ranch in Georgia. The first long weekend trip without kids since Isaac came along. It was wonderful. And my darling husband was kind enough to give me a trip where horseback riding was a twice a day activity. (He actually really loved it).



Thank you, Lord, for giving me a marriage beyond my greatest dreams. A husband who is faithful, kind, generous, and even a little humorous... a man who loves me despite my craziness and selfishness. Thank you for blessing us with supportive extended family, and 5 children to love and hold on a daily basis. For giving us friendships and a church family that makes this small town home, a home we savor and enjoy. God, guide our steps as we set out on our 11th year, please continue to protect our marriage from apathy and discontent. Set our eyes on You and purpose us for Your glory. Amen