2015 Winter Wonderland

Tim and his mini-me 

Gabriel playing with my heart-shaped balloon

Chase sledding downhill (the center spec in the picture)

Chase braving the snow

Gabriel almost knee deep in the snow

This is what Breeden boys do for most of the winter: hibernate!

Are you a snow bunny or are you ready for spring?  I’m somewhere in between the two.  I enjoy one good snowfall a year, but I’m ready to see it leave after 2-3 days.  This week has been historically frigid and I’m definitely yearning for warmer weather.  However, Tim, the boys, and I enjoyed a snowday together the day after President’s Day.  We baked cookies (Chase has been hooked on sugar cookies ever since the holidays), had the fireplace going, and even ventured out for an hour or two of sledding.  Chase had a blast until an older kid ran into him (it was an accident), which took his legs out from under him and caused him to do a face-plant in the snow; but, he made a quick recovery.  Gabriel, on the other hand, wasn’t interested in sledding, but had fun slinging wads of snow everywhere.  It’s amazing the memories that can be created with just an hour or two out in the snow.

Aside from the “snowpocalypse,” this year got off to a busy start celebrating birthdays within the family: my sister, Dawn, turned 36 years old on January 7^th followed by my dad turning 61 on the 8^th.  If my dear grandfather was still with us, he would have turned 90 on January 9^th.  My friend Liz celebrated a birthday on January 30^th with Grammie Pam Breeden’s birthday immediately behind it on January 31^st.  We took Grammie Pam out to a Japanese hibachi restaurant, which was a lot of fun considering the boys had never seen the samurai cooking presentations before.  In the month of February, we just celebrated my grandmother’s 89^th birthday.  I’m still amazed at the stamina of my grandmother at the ripe age of 89!  She’s a true blessing to our family and I’m thankful for every year on earth she has with us.  She does so much for our family even at age 89.  I truly believe she is healthier than most people half her age.  I can only hope I hold up as well as I age.  Concluding the February birthdays was Laurie’s 31^st birthday on the 17^th.  We have already done our fair share of birthday celebrating this year with lots of meals shared as a family and gifts exchanged—oh, and don’t forget Valentine’s Day in the mix too! Thanks to my husband for the chocolates, balloon, and nightgown (yes, it was a "spicy" little nightgown).  Again, Happy Birthday to all of the January/February folks--and, hopefully, everyone exercises showing love to each other on more than just Valentine's Day.

Another celebration to make note of for this year was the annual Breeden get together we had in January following the holidays.  In lieu of trying to squeeze in a gift exchange and gathering with that side of the family in December, we defer it to January since everyone’s schedules tend to be more open.  It amazes me how much the Breeden side of the family changes with each passing year (we usually only see each other in January).  The oldest Layman boy cousin (Michelle & TD’s son: Camden) is now a teenager and does so well entertaining the younger kids.  Zach (Michelle & TD’s youngest son) and Kenden (Amber & Jeff’s oldest child) are trailing behind by just a few years, but still growing so fast.  Then, there’s the only girl cousin on that side of the family, Jaycee (Amber & Jeff’s little girl), and she has no problem hanging with the boys.  Of course, my two boys blend right in with all of the other kiddos.

Yet another celebration to mention: Laurie and Ken will be welcoming a baby boy into the world in July!  We’re excited to add another boy to the Sneed side of the family.  Up until now, Chase and Gabriel were severely outnumbered by their female cousins.  Laurie and Ken picked out a beautiful name for their little boy: Michael Paul Stephens.  “Michael” is after my dad and “Paul” is after my grandfather (and both are biblical names too!).

Last, but certainly not least for this year (and this celebration makes me the most excited of them all), Chase accepted Jesus into his heart and will be getting baptized on March 1^st.  The Bible tells us we should mourn when a child is born into this world due to the fact that every human is born into sin.  Likewise, we should rejoice with death (even though that sounds morbid and goes against our nature); but the spiritual meaning behind that is if a person is saved, death in this world marks the beginning of a perfect life in eternity with our Savior.  With all of that said, I’m thrilled to tears that Chase will get to rejoice in Heaven whenever Jesus calls him home.  Chase has always had a tender heart and has always been spiritually sensitive even at a young age.  He has even had very explicit dreams about God.  Between teachings at school, church, and home, he has grasped the concept of salvation even not being 6 years old yet.  Some may argue he’s too young, but I really believe he is genuinely saved.  Furthermore, he was the one who asked Tim and me if he could get baptized (he pronounces it “bap-a-tized”)—it wasn’t us pushing it on him as some parents do with children.  So, on the Sunday morning of March 1^st, you’ll see me crying in the sanctuary as I rejoice in the Lord about my son publicly proclaiming his salvation through the act of baptism. In addition to that awesome news with Chase, I have to continue to brag on him as he got straight A's for the last semester.  He's also taking drum lessons now and I can actually hear some real rhythm coming along instead of just banging.  He's already signed up for spring soccer, so needless to say, he has a variety of exciting events happening.

It’s hard to follow the aforementioned paragraph with anything to top that excitement, but I can’t leave out Gabriel.  He officially graduated into a set of bunk beds over the holidays.  He makes it through most of the night in his bed, but will weasel his way into my bed for the last hour or so on most mornings, which I’m ok with as long as it’s just that last hour and he’s starting off in his own bed for the night.  On another note, we’re pursuing speech therapy for him through the Isle of Wight County Early Intervention program.  After his second speech evaluation (the first was done right at age 2, the second done this year at age 2 ¾), he is still very much behind with his speech development.  I had hoped after his first evaluation at CHKD last year that I’d notice some improvement with him working through some of the kinks on his own (which is not unrealistic thinking on my part), but it’s clear that he needs additional help that we’re (family) not able to provide.  I’m hopeful we’ll make some progress over the next 2 months through the Early Intervention speech therapy sessions; however, we’ll then be turned over to the Isle of Wight County public school systems for further therapy once he turns 3 years old in April since the Early Intervention program only caters to children from birth to age 3.  Other than the speech delay, Gabriel seems to be on target with all other skills and milestones for his age, so I’m trying to stay focused on being thankful for his overall health and being confident that his speech will evolve with time and therapy. 

Six paragraphs later (and there’s always more to say), it’s time to conclude this blog posting.  Thankfully, we’ve only got one more month of winter to endure and I’m convinced that time will fly just like the first two months of this year.  Tim and I stay super busy working, which helps in making time pass quickly. We’ve both put in some overtime hours this year, more so Tim than me, but we’re extremely thankful for our jobs.  Aside from work, we have the boys to keep us busy.  Chase even has homework to work through some nights (yes, our Kindergartener is already reading and has little books to read for homework).  Meanwhile, Gabe is always chasing me down to put in his favorite movie: the Veggie Tale version of Jonah and the Whale.  Then, there’s Tim’s hobby of guns (buying, selling, target practicing, etc.) that takes up quite a bit of time too.  As you can tell, time is something we could use more of (I’m sure everyone could say that).  However, we’re only given 24 hours to make the most of everyday.  Hence, enjoy each day (even if you’re a Snow Grinch and itching for spring) and give God the glory for being in control of everyday and every season of our lives.

“God…does great things which we cannot comprehend.  For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth.’”  -Job 37:5-6