Falling into Autumn

Chase posing by the "Big Ben" clock at Busch Gardens

Gabriel posing too!

Gabriel wanted a picture on the horse (we rode the carousel too)

Did anyone have back to school butterflies?

Before their first soccer game of the season

Chase showing off his skating skills

100% boy...soaking up that last bit of summer

Chase protecting the goal

Although I hated to see the summer end, I have to admit I love almost everything about fall: cooler weather (although we have yet to experience much of that), football season (HTTR....they finally won a game this season!), everything pumpkin spice (I know there are pumpkin spice haters out there too, but let the rest of us enjoy it) colorful leaves, witnessing my children learn new things in school, etc.  

Fortunately, going back to school on September 6th was an easy transition for the boys since they're still attending FOEC. I know not all students and parents had as easy of a transition. I have three nieces starting new phases of school: one starting high school, one starting middle school, and one beginning kindergarten; these have been big changes not only for my nieces but for my sister and sister-in-law. In contrast, the boys and I didn't have any back to school jitters. Chase has most of the same classmates from the first grade and the same teacher (his teacher teaches 1st and 2nd grade since it's such a small school). Gabriel has a new K4 teacher, but has adjusted well to her. He had a harder time over summer break with switching summer camp teachers than he did starting K4. He still has the same teacher at Hardy Elementary for speech class. It was encouraging to hear his speech teacher say that he didn't regress any over the summer. In fact, his speech improved over the summer months! Praise God for every ounce of progress! I'm excited for all of the learning that will occur throughout another school-year.

The busy fall schedule has already sunk in with soccer practices, soccer games, school, speech classes and long work hours. I also started attending a women's bible study on Monday nights and I still serve in the church nursery once a month. Even though all of these activities are positive and I'm glad we get to do them, Tim and I are already yearning for another beach vacation since our anniversary trip Labor Day weekend was cut short due to Tropical Storm Hermine. Nonetheless, we made the most of our vacation even though it ended up being more of a stay-cation. We still had one beautiful beach day to ourselves. Even though we headed home on Friday instead of Sunday, we enjoyed some alone time at home, which allowed us to catch up on some much-needed chores around the house, such as cleaning out the shed and the garage and shampooing the carpet in the main walkways downstairs. Aside from chores, we still got to go out to eat for dinner by ourselves and watch some TV without interruption while the boys stayed at Grammie and Papa Breeden's house through Sunday. Perhaps it was God's plan for us to cut our beach trip short so that we could have more time at home to prepare for our busy fall schedule that began right after Labor Day. 

Furthermore, I try to remind myself that we had such a blessed summer. One little storm isn't enough to dampen our spirits. We haven't always been able to do all of the fun things we got to do during the last three months with Busch Gardens, Water Country, pool visits, beach trips and more. I'm humbled and thankful that we were healthy and able to enjoy the season. I realize other folks I know are going through challenging seasons of life that haven't allowed for those same experiences this year. If you're reading this and you're one of those people, just know that I'm praying for you and I trust in God's perfect plan for all of the seasons in life we experience. 

On a lighter note, I always try to jot down some of the hilarious things the boys say so I won't forget, but I often fall short. But, here's one silly incident that comes to mind: Gabe still wets his bed on some nights. When he woke up wet one morning he told me, "I keep telling the sheets not to get wet but they're not listening." Then there's the story Pam Breeden already shared on Facebook about Chase partaking in communion for the first time at First Baptist in Hopewell. Chase asked Grammie Pam if the bread was plastic because it had a strange texture and was flavorless. There have been several more funny remarks, but too many to recall all at once.

Faith Outreach had a back-to-school skate night last Wednesday. Chase told everyone how great of a skater he was all summer and kept asking us to take him skating so he could show us his skills. He went every Monday during the summer with his summer camp class. We finally got to witness for ourselves that he truly is a great skater. He was flying around the rink going forward and backwards, and even doing the limbo at one point. I couldn't believe how well he did! Even more surprising was the fact that I got out there and skated with Chase and proved to myself that I could still skate forward and backward too and keep up with kids 30 years younger than me....no limbo for me though! Gabriel, on the other hand, skated as though he had two left feet and could hardly stand up on his own. However, I remember Chase being the same way at that age, so I'm not giving up on Gabe; just give him a few years. 

Chase and I had our "show off" moment at the skating rink. Gabe always has his "show off" moments just being the baby of the family. So when does Tim get to show off? Well, Tim had the chance to show us the machine shop that he works at nearly every day. After church last week, he gave the boys and I a tour of Craft. The boys enjoyed looking at all of the huge machines and now they have a better understanding of what their daddy does for a living. Chase told me during the car ride home, "Mom, don't tell dad this because I don't want to hurt his feelings...I like the machines and think they're cool but I don't like the metal shavings and don't think I want to be a machinist when I grow up." 

We're already two games into our soccer season and both of our teams won both games. Tim is very patient coaching the 4-5 year-olds this season. The Pirates showed no mercy during their first game. I lost count of all of the goals but it was around nine! They didn't score as many goals during the second game, but still had enough to win. Gabe didn't score any of the goals but he looked like he enjoyed playing his first couple soccer games and he kept up with the ball. Chase's team is called the Dolphins.  During the first game, they had five goals before it was all said and done and Chase helped assist with two of them during the second half of the game. He played goalie during the first half of both games and didn't allow anyone to score! We're very proud of how well he's been playing! Go Pirates and Dolphins! 

Whether you're cheering on your child's sports team or your fave football team this fall, just remember that God is always our biggest cheerleader. He's always cheering us on during our game of life, even when we're not playing with all of our heart. He never chastises us if we fail; rather, He comforts us with His unconditional love. I pray we can all show that same kind of love towards others during this fall season and beyond. 

Pumpkin spice cheers til next time. 

Fun in the Son

4th of July Backyard Fireworks

Tim showing Gabe how to pull the string on this kid-friendly firework

Just a few of the cards we received for our birthdays on display on the piano (we had more that were on the window sill)

Funny story behind this picture: Gabe didn't like his stuffed animals staring at him while he tried to sleep so he asked Tim to turn them all around facing the wall...ha, ha!

Gabe asleep during a car ride home from summer camp...still wearing the orange (his favorite color) mask he made

Gabe still loves playing in this police car...love it when he shows off those dimples

Chase still loves his old John Deere Gator

Gabe still hasn't mastered the art of pedaling, but we think Santa will still bring him a bigger bike for Christmas

This is Chase simulating the Tahoe getting pulled out of the sand with the Gator and police car, ha, ha!

Orange ice pops are mandatory at the pool for Gabe!

Happy 15th Anniversary to us!

We’re well into the dog days of summer.  Tim and I both had July birthdays making me officially past the midpoint of my thirties and Tim another year closer to forty.  Time flies!  Before we all know it, the kids will be back in school and we’ll welcome fall.  I’ve already gotten all of the kids’ school supplies and soccer gear for the fall season even though I’m not just yet ready to part with summer.  I must say it’s been one of the best summers I’ve had as an adult!  I say, “as an adult,” because childhood summers are hard to beat reflecting on when we were all more tolerant of the heat and had fewer responsibilities.  However, I’ve been reliving many of my childhood memories with my own children this summer and that has been exciting in a different way.  

For instance, we’ve gone to Busch Gardens four times this year and hopefully we can still squeeze in one more visit before the end of the season.  I remember having a season pass as a kid and spending countless days there.  Those were the days before I could even drive when Mom would drop my best friend and me off at the park in the morning and come back to pick us up when the park closed.  I learned the park like the back of my hand.  Fast forward two decades, and I’m getting to walk the same park and ride some of the same rides I rode as a child. Chase is tall enough to ride some of the rollercoasters now so I’ve enjoyed seeing the excitement on his face as he’s ridden many rides that lots of adults won’t even attempt.  Tim and I were even able to squeeze in a date night at the park by ourselves when we could ride all of the “big kid” rides.  Unfortunately, my body can’t handle the rides as well as it could when I was younger, but I don’t let it stop me….pop in a Dramamine and ride on!

Not only has Chase conquered riding his first rollercoasters this summer, but he’s also learned to skate, improved his swimming, and practiced diving and flipping off the diving board at the pool.  Even Gabe rode the Elmo rollercoaster at Busch Gardens and conquered his fear of the water slide at the pool.  Both boys showed no fear at Water Country this summer on the bigger slides too!  Chase even did one of the Vanishing Point slides that entails a vertical drop (even I didn’t try that one….but, I had a good excuse since Gabe was too short to ride that one and I had to wait with him while Tim and Chase were the adventurers). 

Gabe may not be big enough for all of the rollercoasters and slides yet, but he’s catching up to his brother in other ways.  He’ll get to play his first season of soccer this fall with Tim coaching his team called the “Pirates.”  Gabe picked out the team mascot as he loves pirates.  He came up with a song that goes something like, “Ahoy! The pirate in the end…” We have no idea what “the pirate in the end” means, but we’ve heard that song hundreds of times.  Life with Gabe is like living out a musical as he’s always singing about something. 

If you keep up with Tim and me on Facebook, you’ve probably seen our beach pictures by now.  Although we didn’t encounter any “pirate in the end” during our trip, we started off with a little speed bump with the Tahoe’s half axle giving out on us and leaving us stuck in the sand.  I accidentally said a bad word when I heard the sound of the half axle breaking (shame on Mommy!).  Chase didn’t let me forget that I had slipped up and said a bad word and brought it up to me several days later which just goes to show that children are sponges and we have to watch everything we say and do around them.  When we were stuck in the sand, I remember Chase crying and saying, “I don’t want to live on the beach forever.” I had to snap out of that panic mode, which meant go from saying a bad word to being the mom I needed to be to console my children and remind them that everything would be just fine.  Indeed, everything did end up being just fine and we were back in 4WD on the sand with the Tahoe the very next day. 

Several years ago, Tim and I would have allowed something like that to ruin our vacation.  However, after experiencing much greater hardships in our lives, we realize that there’s no need to sweat the small stuff any more.  We have friends who are fighting much bigger battles in life right now, such as stage IV cancer; those bigger battles that are life threatening make car troubles pale in comparison. During those bigger battles, it seems like pity parties are warranted.  Nonetheless, God is always good and faithful to us and He gives us a sense of peace that surpasses all understanding; He uses our struggles to mold us into better people, not to harm us. (Read Philippians 4:7 and Jeremiah 29:11.) As a beach bum, I love the story of footprints in the sand and visualizing the Lord carrying me when I’m weak.  If anyone were to ask me, “what’s the appeal to being a Christian,” my response would be: regardless of what struggles I’ve faced in my life, I’ve always had hope and peace through Jesus (even during those rock bottom moments) that makes life worthwhile and fulfilling.  Plus, God’s love and grace is a gift that I thankfully don’t have to earn. 

While God often strengthens us and gives us grace during our weaker moments in life, we should still sharpen our spiritual and mental tools through reading scripture.  I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not always consistent with deep-diving into God’s Word like I should be.  However, one neat thing I did over the past couple of months was read “The Birth Order Book” by Dr. Kevin Leman (Christian author).  I got this book through winning a baby shower game back in April (the book was the prize).  I’ve heard Tim’s family talk about this book several times over the years and I always wanted to read it for myself.  My mother-in-law has always told me I function more as a firstborn than a middle child and she was right.  However, the book also says many times that middleborns are the hardest birth order to pinpoint.  Even though I have many firstborn qualities (reliable, conscientious, a list maker, well organized, etc.), I also have some of the typical middleborn qualities: sociable, friendly, outgoing, takes life in stride, laid-back, easygoing, not competitive, peacemaker, mediator, avoids conflict, etc.  However, I didn’t always have all of these qualities nor do these qualities always work in one’s favor.  For example, I remember being painfully shy during my elementary school years.  My older sister did a lot of the talking for me back then, so I was always the quieter one in the family being sandwiched in between the older, talkative sister and the baby in the family.  As my older sister started to grow up and make friends outside of the family, I was forced to be more independent and started to come out of my shell more.  I also wasn’t born a natural leader like most firstborns; the thought of giving a speech or being in a lead position at work would have given me a heart attack several years ago, but now it’s more instinctive. 

The Birth Order Book also pointed out that middleborns tend to make the most patient spouses due to the fact that they often avoid conflict (Tim, I sure hope you’re reading this, LOL).  However, this can work against us middleborns as we often don’t stand our ground as firmly as we should since we’re conflict avoiders.  Tim and I make good matches since I’m a middleborn with a blend of firstborn and middleborn qualities and he’s the baby in his family.  I’m proud to say that we’ll have made it to 15 years of marriage on August 25, 2016.  It hasn’t always been an easy road for us, but marriage is worth fighting for, especially when it’s rooted in God’s love. In spite of our struggles, I'd still marry Tim all over again if I could; there's no doubt in my mind that we're stronger now as a couple than we've ever been.

Anyhow, I highly recommend this book as it provides insight not only to yourself, but it helps you better understand others.  I didn't mean to give a book report, but it's a rarity for me to find the time to read a book cover to cover.  Furthermore, Dr. Leman puts a Christian spin on everything (although still sticking with the facts), which is always spiritually uplifting.  Aside from putting “The Birth Order Book” as a must-read on your to-do list before summer ends, be sure to just simply have fun in the Son. “Fun in the Son” has been FOEC’s motto for the summer.  That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to travel to a beach, go to a theme park, or wade in a pool…rather, just soak up the “Son’s” rays and blessings in every day living and don’t take the simple things in life for granted.  

Springin' into Summer

The pool still wasn't open when this picture was taken, so the hot tub had to suffice. (Yes, I realize Chase is a very white child...thank God for sunblock!)

Posing with Grammie Pam on a giant fish on the VA Beach boardwalk (this was before we saw the sign that said, "keep off the artwork, LOL)

Chase getting his ear muffs ready for the Monster Truck show as he's standing in front of a cool, big Chevy truck (Tim in the background)

My Mother's Day cards and flowers from Tim and the boys

A frequent springtime visitor in our yard

Mix-n-match day at school

Before Gabe's K3 preschool presentation

Double springtime picture cuteness (yes, I'm biased)

Way to go Chase and Gabe!

One cool little 4 year-old

Since my last post, Chase and Gabriel turned a year older (Chase-7, Gabe-4) and wrapped up the 2015-2016 school year.  Congrats to Chase on making the A-Honor Roll and for receiving several awards for his outstanding academic performance.  Chase and Gabe both had perfect attendance for the last nine weeks too!  Gabriel concluded the school year with a super cute preschool program where he and his classmates got to share some of what they learned, such as sounding out different consonants and recognizing the letters of the alphabet, counting to 20, and citing John 3:16.  It's an awesome experience to hear 3 and 4 year-olds being able to speak the word of God from memory!  So proud of both boys!

Team Riptide concluded the soccer season with 2 wins, 2 losses, and a tied game.  We didn't make it far in the tournament, but we sure had fun this season and topped it off with a pizza/cupcake reception for the kids at Nike Park.  Tim will most likely coach the 4/5 year-old's in the fall so that he can help ease Gabriel into soccer for his first season....now, that will most definitely be something to blog about this fall!  

April and May turned out to be busy months with soccer, baby showers, the boys' birthday party as well as a 63rd birthday celebration for my mom, the monster truck show in VA Beach, a couple trips to Busch Gardens and our first trip to the Smithfield Swim Club pool this year.  We've had so much fun doing the aforementioned and can't wait to see what the summer brings us as we have more trips to Busch Gardens planned (including a date night for Tim and me where we can ride the "big kid" rides), a trip or two to Water Country USA, many relaxing days by the pool, and a couple beach trips to OBX.  In the meantime, the boys will be attending summer camp at FOEC again during the morning hours and spend the afternoons at my grandmother's house.

The month of June started off bittersweetly with my uncle David Griggs passing away on June 4th after a 3-year battle with lung cancer.  His funeral was today with family and a few friends gathering to celebrate his 57 years of life.  Pastor Joey Hartman of Faith Outreach preached his funeral and did an outstanding job glorifying our Father in Heaven and extending the invitation of Christ to everyone in the congregation. I'm a firm believer that all things work together for His good and perhaps the funeral today will help reach a few lost souls out there who need the reassurance of knowing that Heaven will be their home when their time on earth ends. I'm sure thankful I have that reassurance and hope that everyone reading this has that same peace!  The peace of the Holy Spirit can outshine the summer sun any day!  Have an awesome summer kick-off month!  

 

April Showers...

Chase, Gabe, and Jacob (Chase's friend across the street) colored eggs for Easter.

Recognize this place? This was as close as I could get without crossing the double fences (and risk being arrested, LOL)

Chase's new smile without his top, front teeth and Gabe's classic smile

Family Picture around our Japanese Cherry Blossom Tree (in honor of Connor)

An attempt at a close-up with the boys and I, but Gabe wouldn't stay still and we were zoomed in too far.

Tim and his mini me at Morgart's Beach (we were at our neighbor's wedding)

Beautiful view of the James River...beautiful, sunny spring day as you can tell by Gabe shading his face.

Happy Spring to everyone!  April showers bring May flowers, but apparently, the word “showers” even applies to snow!  We had a brief snow shower at our first soccer game this season.  Within the same week, we also had temperatures above 70 degrees. The weather in Hampton Roads is always a rollercoaster, isn't it?! Usually accompanying the drastic weather changes are seasonal allergies and whatever other nasty viruses are floating around. My family has suffered a few bouts of the dreadful "stomach flu" (yes, I'm well aware it's really a virus and not the actual flu).  Some of us were unfortunate enough to get the stomach bug twice!  I got it again just a week and a half after I had it the first time, or perhaps I never fully shook it the first time.  If you’re not into bathroom humor and sarcasm, please spare yourself and stop reading now.

Lucky me, the second bout of the stomach bug occurred during a business trip to Washington DC. I turned all of the main tourist attractions into the Brown House, the Crappitol, the Stinkin’ Memorial, the Wash-your-hands Monument…you get the point!  Thankfully, God is good and He carried me through that business trip that felt like an eternity as I fought off waves of nausea sitting in an 8-hour class for 2 days.  Tim and the boys had the stomach bug too, so they can relate to the misery I felt.  Chase had a wonderful explosion of vomit from the top bunk bed in his room that looked like a scene from the movie “The Exorcist,” only his head didn’t spin (but, I think mine spun when I saw the mess).  As a parent, experiences like cleaning up a horrific mess like that can only humble you and make you laugh in hindsight.  Moreover, if all we have is a little stomach bug in comparison to some of the other ailments people suffer around the world, then we still have a ton to be thankful for health-wise. 

April is a big birthday month in our family.  “Papa” Breeden led off the birthdays this month.  I won’t tell you how old he is, but Tim has been jokingly calling him an “old fart” long before he ever qualified as one.  Papa and Grammie Breeden also have an anniversary this month, so Happy Anniversary to the two lovebirds who are well on their way to that golden one.  There are other family members with April birthdays too: Uncle Dennis, Robert Coffey, Bert Griggs. I’m sure there are others I’ve missed, but the two that stand out the most to me belong to Chase and Gabe.  Chase will turn 7 years old on April 22^nd and Gabriel will turn 4 years old on April 21^st.  I can hardly believe the baby in my Facebook profile picture will be 4 years old…unreal!  Happy, Happy Birthday to my back-to-back birthday boys!  I’m so thankful for them and remain proud of them for all of their accomplishments.  Chase continues to make the honor roll as Gabriel continues to improve his speech and learn new things in preschool.  Both boys are learning so many new things.

Chase is reading all sorts of books now and completed his very first book fair project for school last month (got a perfect score on it too!).  Beyond schoolwork, he also experienced a wonderful lesson at the dentist last month.  He had several baby teeth that just wouldn’t give up the fight, but the permanent ones were already growing in and leaving his mouth too crowded.  As a result, we scheduled for the dentist to intervene by pulling out the baby ones.  He was able to lose one on his own first, but the dentist still had to pull the other three.  He was so panicked when I picked him up from school the morning of his appointment.  I felt so bad for him as I had to wipe his tears and try to reassure him everything was going to be alright.  When we arrived at the dentist office, we said a prayer in the parking lot.  We specifically asked God to help ease his nerves, to help the dentist to do a good job pulling his teeth and to give him a brief and easy recovery time.  Chase immediately calmed down as soon as we walked in the dentist office and everything went better than expected.  He was quite the trooper and ended up being a comedian with the laughing gas.  Even the dentist was laughing as he kept repeating, “I really like this stuff,” (referring to the laughing gas).  So, the lesson learned from all of that was for Chase to always ask God to help him whenever he’s feeling anxious.  No prayer request is too big or too small for our awesome God!  As a reward for being such a trooper, I took Chase bowling right after his appointment.

In total, Chase has lost 6 teeth in less than a month from the 3 teeth pulled by the dentist and 3 more lost on his own.  The Tooth Fairy may have to take out a loan at the rate this is going!  Chase has no top front teeth right now, but you can just barely see the buds of the permanent ones starting to poke through his gum.  While losing teeth has been Chase’s big news over the past month, Gabe’s big news is that he’s FINALLY pooping in the potty.  There was one particular moment when Gabe refused to go poop in the potty and he ended up doing it in his pants after I had repeatedly asked him for the past hour if he would go to the potty.  I was so frustrated with his stubbornness and the mess that he had made that I’m sure he could sense my disappointment.  It seemed like that was finally the breaking point for him.  The very next day he voluntarily pooped in the potty all by himself and he’s been doing it ever since then.  He still has an occasional accident, but we’re moving in the right direction.  Praise the Lord! 

Speaking of praising the Lord, there’s nothing cuter than hearing a 3 year-old singing the praise song that goes, “Here I am to Worship.”  The part of the song that goes, “You’re altogether lovely, altogether worthy…” is the best, because Gabe says “wormy” instead of “worthy.”  Although I’ll be thankful for the day when he can fully annunciate words on his own and not need speech classes anymore, I have to admit that it’s cute to hear him say some words the wrong way.  Our almost 4 year-old can be very stubborn at times, but he’s still a happy child with a big sense of humor.  He’s always dancing and singing.  We attended a wedding for our neighbor yesterday afternoon and he was quite a hoot dancing along to the music. 

As for cute/silly things said by Chase, you may have already seen Tim’s Facebook post about their walk on the Windsor Castle Park nature trail.  Tim took the boys for a walk while I was at a baby shower last Sunday (congrats to my sweet friend Emily Lamb who is expecting a baby girl this summer).  While they were on their walk, Chase was ahead by a few steps. Tim noticed a silly grin on Chase’s face and he asked him, “What’s up, buddy?”  Chase replied, “I’m connecting with nature…yeah, I’m farting.”  Thank God we have a family with a good sense of bathroom humor!  Perhaps that sense of humor goes a bit far at times with Gabe “pooting” on everyone, including his speech teacher.  We’ll have to establish a fine line of when it’s ok to joke about that sort of thing and when it’s inappropriate. 

Our God is so worthy (not “wormy”) of praise! We had a wonderful Easter weekend with Tim’s parents in Hopewell.  It was too cold and damp outside for an Easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday, but that didn’t stop us from having the hunt indoors.  The kids always love their time with Grammie and Papa Breeden.  They also love being with cousins from both sides of the family.  Even though they didn’t see cousins from the Breeden side on Easter Sunday, Aunt Laurie took Chase, Gabe, and Bella to the circus as the boys’ birthday gift during their spring break.  That was Gabe’s first time at the circus and he seemed to really enjoy seeing all of the animals and stunts. 

We’ve had two soccer games so far this season. Although we enjoy soccer, sometimes soccer games can feel like being at a circus too.  However, we seem to have a great team this season with good chemistry.  Our team name this season is “Riptide,” (of course we stuck with another nautical name).  During our first game, we were up by a point until the last quarter and then our team lost momentum and the other team scored twice during the last few minutes.  We couldn’t have asked for our players to try any harder especially since we were down three players the entire game and the other team had all eleven players.  I still think we won the game in talent with the eight players we had in spite of what the final score said.  Plus, we got snowed on during that game; that goes back to that good ole Hampton Roads weather I was referring to earlier.  Our second game was much better than the first with warmer weather and a win for Team Riptide!

Hats off to Tim for sacrificing time to coach in spite of his busy work schedule.  Tim usually works 11 or 12-hour days during the workweek and he often works weekends too.  He’s normally heading to Thursday practices after a long day of work; and, he typically has already logged in half a day of work before our Saturday morning games even begin (in other words, he has already worked 2-3 hours or more before most of you are even out of the bed).  One thing is for sure; Tim and I both log in plenty of hours of work, whether it’s at a machine shop, at the shipyard, on the soccer field, or just right here in the comfort of our own home (keeping up a home and raising a family is a full-time job in itself). 

It doesn’t look like our schedule is slowing down any time soon.  Aside from work, the next few weeks entail several soccer games, a baby shower for our neighbor, the boys’ birthday party here at our house, a Monster Truck show to attend, and hopefully our first trip to Busch Gardens for the season. It’s also hard to believe that Smithfield Swim Club will be opening its pool at the end of May….doesn’t seem possible for pools to open and schools to wind down for summer with the snow that we just had last week. What a blessing it is to be able to do all of these extra things that keep us busy! I know we’re not the only ones who work diligently and have busy lives so I’ll conclude this blog posting with positive words for all of you hard workers out there.

“Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

Leaping through Winter

My Snow Minions

Papa Pirate and Mini Me

Happy 63rd Birthday, Grammie!

My sister Laurie and her youngest daughter Caroline.  Laurie turned 32 in February.

Loved ones surrounding Grandma for her 90th birthday celebration on 2-6-16

Looking great at 90 years old!

Two Peas in a Pod; friendship is one of God's greatest gifts in life! Liz also had a birthday in January.

Can you believe we're already almost two months into 2016?  Even with it being a Leap Year, one extra day this month isn't enough to slow down time.  We celebrated the many January birthdays we have in our family: my sister Dawn, my dad, Pam (Grammie), and my friend Liz.  We also kicked off January with our annual Breeden Christmas; we always get together in January instead of December due to every one's busy schedules in December.  Most of us wore ugly Christmas sweaters or some sort of Christmas apparel to add to the fun.  TD (Tim's cousin's husband) dressed up as Cousin Eddie from the Christmas movie classic: Christmas Vacation (with Chevy Chase).  Tim's sweater was hilarious too with the saying "Oh Snap" and gingerbread men falling apart.  Then there were Pam and Ted with their matching Santa shirts and the rest of us sporting some other form of Christmas gear. Beyond our silly shirts, we all wore smiles and enjoyed each other's company.  It's always fun to see how much the children grow in a year and watch how they interact with each other; surprisingly, they always seem to get along together so well, which is a rarity when you consider the various ages.  Last but not least, I won the "Breeden Lotto" this year, which is a fun dice game we play where everyone puts a few dollars in the pot and tests out their luck rolling the dice.

How has your 2016 been so far? Have you stuck to all of your New Year's resolutions? Tim and I would both still like to shed a few unwanted pounds (don't we all?) to get our bodies beach-ready. However, we're not ones to stress over that sort of thing.  I think everyone should indulge in all-you-can-eat-chocolate on Valentine's Day, buy a few boxes of Girl Scout cookies, and not take yourself too seriously when it comes to body image.  We'll also have to get ourselves in shape (whether it be fit-n-trim or just a rounder shape) for Water Country this year! That's right; the boys don't know it yet, but their main birthday gift from us this year are Busch Gardens and Water Country fun passes. That will be a nice early birthday surprise for them; we'll present the surprise to them in March when Busch Gardens first opens.

Speaking of birthday surprises, we pulled off an amazing surprise 90th birthday party for my grandmother on February 6, 2016 (3 days before her real birthday). Grandma thought she was just coming to my house for a small birthday gathering for her and Laurie since we traditionally celebrate the February birthday girls together. To her dismay, we had around 35 family members and friends at my house to celebrate her 90 years of life. I was thrilled that we had family from out of town to join us for the occasion. We had beautiful weather, great food, and awesome guests to make the event fun and memorable. Most importantly, we gave my grandmother an irreplaceable memory and gift by showering her with the love and attention she so deserves.

We've had a crazy winter so far with temperatures ranging from freezing to in the seventies. The boys were fortunate enough to enjoy a few snow days as well as unseasonably warm days playing outdoors in short sleeves. We even had a tornado touch down in Waverly, VA this month due to the unusually warm temperatures bringing a massive storm front across the country. We're hoping for more stable temperatures with so many things to do outdoors as we knock on the door of the month of March: we'll begin another soccer season (and, yes, Tim is coaching again); we'll get to try out our Busch Gardens passes; we'll be able to try out our new grill and cook many great meals (most things taste better grilled, right?); and, last but not least, we'll get to reflect on the ultimate sacrifice of our Savior this Easter....which also means celebrating with coloring eggs, egg hunts, family gatherings, etc.

For the most part, we've had a nice winter. However, we had a few minor winter woes with Chase and Gabe getting colds and the 24-hour stomach bug. I had a slight cold myself during one of the snow weekends we had, which took away my motivation to want to go out and build a snowman. But, it was still fun watching the boys sled down the hill in our backyard from the window. Chase was scheduled to have a few teeth pulled this month, but he had a stomach virus the day of his appointment which bought his baby teeth a little more time (lucky for him, but it really just delayed the inevitable). He has permanent teeth growing in, but his baby teeth don't want to give up the fight and let loose, which is leaving his mouth overcrowded. He's had several loose teeth for a few months now, but they're just not loose enough to merit the Tooth Fairy's visit.  That's certainly not something we're looking forward to in March, but we'll survive (prayers appreciated). On a brighter note with Chase, he had another great quarter in school with making the honor roll and perfect attendance. I remain proud of my firstborn and can't believe how grown he seems at just 6 years old. In his downtime this winter, he has enjoyed playing games on his Tablet and practicing on his drums.

As for Gabe's winter struggles, he refuses to do #2 in the potty because it involves having to sit down. For whatever reason, he has it drilled into his head that the toilet will engulf him and that only girls are supposed to sit down to use the bathroom. One of these days, we'll get that stubborn child 100% potty trained. At least we have #1 squared away. As for speech, I'm thankful to report amazing strides of improvement just in the New Year. He is meeting the goals laid out in his Individual Education Plan and his teacher has noted on several occasions that she's happy with his progress. We can tell a difference at home with more clarity in his words. Gabe is also doing well overall with the K3 curriculum. Yay for Gabe! In Gabe's downtime this winter, he has enjoyed playing dress-up with Chase in their many superhero and pirate costumes, building Lego cities and trains, and playing with an array of Paw Patrol toys, fire trucks, dinosaurs, pirate ships, etc....the life of a 3-year old sounds rough, doesn't it?  

Although most of our lives consist of more work than play (unlike our kids), Tim and I are doing well with our jobs. Tim has consistently been working Saturdays and some Sundays. Even with his long workweeks, he is content with his job...although he's still hoping for a good raise. I'm extremely blessed to say I was promoted at work and got a raise this year. Unfortunately, several folks aren't getting raises this year at the shipyard and it's no secret that we've had layoffs and could possibly have more reductions to the workforce. I'm humbled and thankful that God has provided for our family through our jobs. There are oftentimes when we feel like our hard work isn't recognized, so it makes it all the more special when our efforts are acknowledged by others. However, one motto I try to live by even during those times I may not feel appreciated is that my joy and strength comes from the Lord (Nehemiah 8:10).

Next time I update this blog, we'll be a few more steaks into using our new grill; Chase will have a few less teeth in his smile; longer days and warmer temperatures will be here; Gabe will (hopefully) overcome his reluctance to sitting down to potty and be able to speak even more clearly; and, we'll have praised our way through another Easter. For all of you snow bunnies and cold weather freaks, enjoy the last few weeks of winter while snow grinches like me grumble just a little longer. On a serious note, may God be with all of you as we conclude another winter and gear up for the spring. Soak up the blessings in 2016 because the year is already quickly passing.  Happy St. Patrick's Day; Happy Resurrection Sunday, and Welcome Springtime!

Farewell 2015...Bring on 2016!

Yes, Christmas in shorts and short-sleeves!  2015 was the warmest Christmas season I can remember!

Amber and Jaycee on Dec 26th

Too cute to be on the naughty list (but, believe me, there were some close calls!)

Aunt Carrie and Baby Charlie

One Motley Crew on Christmas Day

Santa Claus was here!

Mack the Elf will be back next year!

Another Christmas season has just about passed us by as we're knocking on the doors of another New Year.  Santa was good to us in 2015!  The fun wasn't just tearing into the gifts that Santa brought us, but enjoying the build-up of excitement through our children's eyes throughout the month.  If the biggest problem I currently have in life is sorting through an array of plastic toys and trying not to kill myself by tripping on Hot Wheel cars, then I consider myself richly blessed.

We didn't do anything extravagant in 2015; no exotic, tropical vacations, just three summer trips to the Outer Banks; however, that was all we needed to get our salty air fix for the year.  We didn't buy any new vehicles; in fact, we flipped a few bills to fix the ones we have, but they still run!  We didn't do any major home improvements and our house has its flaws, but it's still standing in spite of our two tornadoes (Chase and Gabe) that frequently touch down.  Our soccer team didn't come out as the overall champions, but Tim got his feet wet with coaching and still carried our team to a few victories during the spring and fall seasons. Chase graduated Kindergarten with flying colors and Gabe began preschool and speech class.  Sure, they both still have lots to learn, but they've come such a long way in a year's time.  Tim and I may have occasionally gotten mentally and/or physically drained from challenging jobs at work and long hours, but we're so thankful that we were able to work another year and that we still have jobs to sustain us in 2016. My point in saying all of this is that we we may not live flashy lives, but we can certainly rejoice in all of the small victories we experience in a year's time.  Oftentimes when we exercise hindsight and add up all of those small victories, we realize that they're nothing short of a miracle!

Speaking of miracles, we welcomed two new family members in 2015: Michael Paul Stephens in July and Charles Vaughn Moore just earlier this month.  Tim and I have no plans to continue the expansion of our family tree; moreover, we just hope to continue to nourish and strengthen the branches of our existing tree in 2016.  We will have a very special birthday to celebrate in February of 2016 as one of the oldest and strongest branches of our family tree (my grandmother) will turn 90 years old!  There is a surprise party in the making right now for February 2016!

Whether we're just a budding branch or a seasoned one, we can surely reflect on how good God has been to us throughout 2015.  For some, 2015 may not have been the best year they've ever experienced; however, each season in life has its purpose and we just need the right perspective to look at our current circumstances.  May 2016 be the greatest year we've ever lived due to spiritual wealth, which is far greater than anything Santa Claus brought us in 2015.  HAPPY NEW YEAR!  (How many times are you going to write 2015 by mistake in 2016?....2015....2016!)