Springing forward from a Whimsical Winter

After several years of saving and looking for the "right one," we finally found this silver jewel. Love this sweet ride!

There is no such thing as a serious selfie with Gabriel.

Enjoying the only big snow we had this winter

Pulling back into the garage after a cooler ride around the block. Gabe wore his mask and carried his sword the whole way around the block.

Straight A's and Perfect Attendance (Gabe with a Spiderman glove on, bat in hand, and Ironman mask on his face...this kid is always imagining something super-hero related)

St Patrick's Day...no denying these boys have some Irish blood in them (Gabe said he was the Incredible Hulk in this picture)

Chase trying out the skates he got for Christmas. The skates were glowing with the black-lights on in the skating rink.

How is your 2017 going so far? If you're like me, winter is your least favorite time of year with colder weather and shorter days. Fortunately, spring is just a couple days away. Furthermore, my goal this year is to find joy in all seasons and I don't just mean the four seasons winter, spring, fall, and summer. I'm talking about finding peace even during those trying moments in life. My prayer for all of you reading this is that you'll share that same goal with me when trials and tribulations come your way (and perhaps they already have this year).

Our family had a glorious Christmas filled with celebrations from all sides of the family. The boys were pleased with all that Santa brought them. Tim and I kicked off the New Year by falling asleep on the couch watching TV....such the party animals, aren't we? We woke up abruptly to the sound of neighbors letting off fireworks at midnight. Don't get too excited; we went right back to sleep without a problem. Although not exciting, I feel like I started off the New Year well by organizing a few cabinets in the house and purging some of the boys' toys that they outgrew. After having over a week off from work I felt ready to go back to work knowing that the house was in better order. 

The first couple months of work this year brought on many challenges and long hours. Tim is still mostly working 10-12-hour workdays and some weekends. I worked a few extra hours myself and had some challenging job assignments. It didn't take long after coming back from Christmas for me to yearn for another vacation. However, I'm thankful for an abundance of work and keep trying to turn any of those anxious feelings that try to creep up into joy. 

Winter wouldn't be winter without snow! We had almost a foot of snow the second week of January. The kids went sledding in the ditch in our backyard and made plenty of snow angels. Even Tim made a snow angel and attempted to go for a ride on our motor cooler (it didn't do so well without traction, but it was a fun attempt). Although the snow was pretty to watch falling, by Day #3 of freezing temperatures the Snow Grinch in me was ready to see it melt. Since then, we've had many ups and downs with the temperatures rising all the way to the 80's and then back down to freezing. The groundhog didn't see his shadow in Hampton Roads, so I guess he's to blame for the shorter, milder winter we had (not that I'm complaining). Everyday is a surprise with the weather around here!  

Speaking of surprises, we haven't had any surprise birthday parties for this year. Last year around this time we had the big surprise party for my grandmother as she turned 90 years old and I'm thankful she made it to 91 this year! So far this year, the family birthday celebrations have been much more subdued. However, we did take Grammie Pam Breeden out to a Japanese restaurant for her birthday. Gabriel did not like the part when the chef lit the fire on the grill. He hid behind the chair, but he finally warmed up to the chef towards the end. 

Gabriel continues to do well in school and his speech is continuously improving. While he loves pan pizza from Pizza Hut and Digiorno's without the "wock-o-woni" (pepperoni), his appetite for learning has also increased. He's starting to get more curious about God and Jesus, which melts my heart. He's having a hard time understanding why we can't see God and angels. I love the many questions he's asking as it gets him closer to understanding the concept of salvation. He has expressed that he loves God and Jesus. As he grows, I'm looking forward to explaining 1 Peter 1:8. Meanwhile, big brother Chase has been reading Bible stories on his own before bedtime on some nights, which also melts my heart.  I'm so in awe that he's choosing to read Bible stories over the many other books he has to read! Chase also made straight A's again on his last report card. God is so good and I love seeing him work through my children--perhaps one of the greatest rewards on this earth! 

A few funny blurbs to wind down this post:

-Gabe calls Kool-Aid "Oh Yeah Juice" (as in how the Kool Aid mascot says "Oh Yeah!")

-Tim test drove a Tahoe and got airborne as we hit a hill going a tad too fast. Praise God, we did end up buying a 2015 Tahoe in March, but it wasn't that one! 

-Chase commented on a Cialis commercial, "Why on earth do those people have bath tubs outside?" Truthfully, even I thought it was a great question. 

-After a routine cleaning with the dentist in Feb, the dentist lectured Gabe on how he needs to stop sucking his thumb. Since then, he has totally stopped sucking his thumb but there was a time or two in between that I caught him sucking his thumb with a blanket over his head thinking I wouldn't see him. 

-Chase practiced with the wrong soccer team for the first practice session this season. He is now with the 8/9 year-old's since he will turn 8 in April. It wasn't a total oversight on our part because there are two teams called Orange Crush, one in the 6/7 bracket and one in the 8/9 bracket. We practiced with the 6/7 year-old's thinking we were with the right team Orange Crush the entire hour. It wasn't until I texted the right coach after practice that we figured out we were with the wrong team. 

Keep finding humor in the simple things in life and remember to seek joy in all circumstances (which can be a constant battle for most of us). Now that we've sprung forward, we'll have a lot of fun things to talk about in the next blog posting: another soccer season beginning (Tim is coaching the Pirates again), the boys turning another year older, birthday and Easter celebrations, longer and warmer days, etc. However, none of these fun things would be possible without all of the blessings God has given us. As we enter the Easter season, I pray we can all reflect on the ultimate sacrifice that was made for us on the cross so that we can experience grace and mercy. If you haven't read the book "The Shack" yet, I highly recommend it as it's a creative yet earth shattering perspective on the Trinity and the love God wants us to share with Him and each other. The movie "The Shack" just came out in theaters but I wanted to finish the book first. It's an incredible read and I only have a few more pages to go! 

Perhaps this winter wasn't a good one for you. Just as spring brings us warmer weather and new growth, God can renew us too. So spring forward rather than dwell on the past! 

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!"

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭43:18‬-19 NIV‬‬

Wishing you new, exciting spring adventures!