Fear the Lord ~ Halloween 2015

The motor cooler is back in business!

Farewell Beach Days until next year! This picture was taken at the NC Aquarium pier.

Pirate Gabe....Arrrr!

Pirate Gabe (again) and Superhero Chase

This is the same Spiderman costume Chase wore for Halloween 3 years ago

Double dose of Spiderman

Look who can drive the John Deere Gater now!

Batman and Robin (this year's costumes)

First Day of School

My last blog posting was towards the end of summer and here we are almost halfway through fall. I'm not sure where time has gone over the past few months, but we've evolved from beach days and afternoons at the pool to school days and Saturday mornings on the soccer field.  We went from eating fresh tomatoes out of our backyard to incorporating pumpkin spice into nearly everything. Although leaves haven't changed colors yet, the cooler, crisp air reminds us that summer is long behind us.

We kicked off the school year at Faith Outreach Education Center (FOEC) right after Labor Day. Thankfully, it was an easy transition for both boys since they attended summer camp at FOEC. I remain proud of Chase as he's writing in cursive, learning basic math, doing sign language, taking drum lessons, reading, playing soccer, and citing 6 bible verses at a time. He's a sharp kid not lacking in social skills or the gift of gab.

On the other hand, Gabriel has had to work harder at mastering speech even though he wants to be as social as his brother.  He's attending 30-minute speech classes twice a week with Miss Hopkins at Hardy Elementary in Smithfield. Miss Hopkins isn't in a position to officially diagnose Gabe, but she thinks his symptoms point to apraxia more so than just a typical speech delay that some children have in their younger years. (I posted details on Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS) earlier this year.)  It's not easy for me having to leave work early twice a week and be the "mommy bus" driving Gabe from Hampton all the way into the heart of Smithfield for speech class, but it's worth the peace of mind knowing that I'm doing all I can to ensure that he's getting the help he needs. Between the speech classes and K3 preschool curriculum, Gabe has already improved his speech and learned more than I anticipated. We still have a long road ahead of us to truck, but at least we've made progress. He's still not 100% potty trained, but he's trying and has only had one accident at school (knock on wood).

As happy as I'll be to reach the day when Gabe won't require speech therapy and when I won't have to buy pull-ups anymore, it's bittersweet reflecting on how quickly my boys are growing. I still call Gabe my baby and he often corrects me and says, "I'm not a baby. I'm a big boy." I even called him "pumpkin" the other day and he said, "I'm not a pumpkin. I'm a big boy." I told him just a couple weeks ago that he'll always be my baby and he replied with, "and you'll always be my big boy." I cracked up at that remark! He's totally convinced we're all "big boys!"

Speaking of cracking up over remarks, Tim, the boys, and I were heading to our soccer game last Sat morning and we drove past a lady walking. Chase said, "aww, she must not have a car or a home." Even though that remark was far from the truth as it was just a woman enjoying a morning walk in our neighborhood, it depicts how big Chase's heart is and how easily he sympathizes with others. He also exercises faith better than I do at times. He's had a slight cold for the past week and refuses to take cough medicine. For one, he hates the taste of any kind of medicine (even the children's flavored syrups). Two, he claims in faith and says: "I don't need any medicine because Jesus will heal me." Gotta love child-like faith (even if it is an underlying conspiracy to avoid nasty tasting medicine).

Now for soccer...Tim graciously volunteered to coach the 6/7 year-old bracket again through Isle of Wight Parks and Recreation. Our team this season is the Buccaneers (we were the Sharks last season; and, yes, we enjoy nautical themes). Our team colors are red and black. We have several talented kids on our team, but we've only won one game so far this season. We still have tournament game(s) ahead of us, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can pull off another win. More importantly, we're just enjoying getting to be a part of the community. Chase has enjoyed playing goalie for most games and has saved several goals (and let a few by too, but we try to focus on the positive).

Aside from school and soccer, we have Halloween creeping up on us. Every day at our house is Halloween with as often as the boys try on costumes and get into superhero mode. We plan to go trick or treating with the Batman theme this year; Chase as Batman, Gabe as Robin, Tim as the Joker, and me as Catwoman. Hearing Chase talk in his Batman voice is hilarious.

As for the rest of our family, everyone is staying understandably busy, but doing well. We just celebrated fall birthdays for Kenden, Jaycee, Bella, Emily, and Ruthie. You'd hardly recognize my newest nephew now at 3 months old vs the newborn picture I posted of him in my last blog posting.  Our family continues to grow with Dawn expecting Baby Charlie in just a couple more months. Laurie and I are throwing a very small scale shower for her on November 7th.

As everyone gears up for Halloween and we tend to focus on scary things as a society, I'd like to conclude with one of Chase's (KJV) bible verses on how we should fear the Lord. However, this Bible verse isn't about the scary kind of fear; it's about respecting, trusting, and obeying our Lord so that we live a fulfilled life through Him:

"O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him." -Psalm 34:9 

Happy Halloween to everyone!

HAPPY 36th BIRTHDAY, TIM!

Baby Michael Paul Stephens (3 days old)

Proud Auntie

Tim and Gabriel on Billy Cotten's jet ski (not every 3 year-old gets to ride a jet ski!)

Every summer, we turn down the temperature in the hot tub to make it more like a lukewarm wade pool

Hard to believe this gal is a big sister!

Let me start this blog posting by wishing my husband a HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY 36^th BIRTHDAY today.  Words can’t express how much I love this man…we’ve been through A LOT together and I’m thankful for another year to spend with him.

In addition to birthday wishes for Tim, CONGRATS to Laurie & Ken Stephens on the birth of their precious little boy Michael Paul Stephens on July 21st.  I was hoping for him to arrive on my birthday (the 20^th), but I suppose he wanted his own day.  He was almost a week late and gave Laurie a rough time during the delivery process (as most 9 1/2-pound babies do), but thankfully, all is well with both mom and baby.  

More exciting news in the family: Dawn and William Moore announced they’re expecting a baby boy at the end of this year or in early January of 2015 (perhaps a New Year’s baby???).  So far, Dawn and baby Charlie are doing well and under the care of the EVMS OB professionals. 

As for us, sorry, but we’re done expanding the family tree on our end.  I may announce that we have a family dog many years from now, but even that isn’t a blip on my radar.  Chase and Gabe are more than enough for us.  We’re thankful for them and wouldn’t trade them for the world, but our hands are full right now!

Chase and Gabe are well into the Summer Camp program at FOEC.  I was a bit nervous for Gabe since this is his first preschool experience, but he has adjusted extremely well.  His potty training wars continue and his speech still hasn’t progressed to where it should be at 3 years of age; however, we just praise God for the small victories.  Gabe will start the preschool program with the 2 year-old's in the fall.  Our hope is he can be moved up with the 3 year-olds once he masters potty training and his speech evolves a bit more. 

Chase, on the other hand, continues to talk enough for his brother and himself.  Both boys have already had a slew of fun this summer with bowling, zip-lining at their Aunt Laurie’s house, watching 4^th of July fireworks (in spite of the rain), taking countless trips to the park and pool, and doing many other activities with FOEC.  Chase is jumping off the diving board and swimming in the deep end of the pool totally unassisted; keep in mind, this is the same boy who was hesitant just to go down the slide in the shallow end at the beginning of last summer.  Meanwhile, Tim and I continue to work (and, Tim has to work in the heat which is quite exhausting); even though we may not get to play all day during the work-week like our kids, we sure appreciate our weekends and remain extremely thankful for our jobs!  We still have two OBX beach trips to anticipate this summer to help motivate us through the work-weeks.

Before you know it, I’ll be posting an “end of summer” blog update.  If you’re going through a rough time this summer (perhaps your circumstances go way beyond just enduring the heat), remember that God has a reason for all seasons and that He will carry us through the “deep water” in our lives.  Even I have to admit that I hit a patch of discouragement over the past month after hearing so much negativity in the media (not that I should be surprised by any of this negativity because that’s how the media thrives).  It seems like so many folks in our country choose to be offended (yes, my friends, being offended is a choice!) over everything rather than choose the path of forgiveness.  If everyone could just get over themselves for a few moments and stop fretting over stars-and-bars and rainbows, then perhaps we could focus on tackling the more important issues in our country.  It gives me a heavy heart that our country is steadily becoming more self-centered (is anyone else tired of seeing duck-face selfies on Facebook?..or how about the constant reports on what Caitlyn is wearing?). Obviously, the majority of our country has turned its back on God; however, I just have to remind myself that all of this “deep water” (ironically, it’s shallow thinking that got us here) will soon pass.  God is faithful and will carry us through…  

“When you go through deep waters, I will be with you.” –Isaiah 43:2

2015 Summer Kick-off

Tim set up this Monster Truck bounce-house mostly by himself for the boys' birthday party...cracks me up that you can see Gabe's head peeping out of the bounce-house in this pic.

Two Birthday Boys anxiously waiting for the bounce-house to fully inflate

Another incredible work of art by Patti Allen

Bless Patti's heart for baking cakes for both boys!

Bringing out the slip-n-slide the first time this year

This picture captures our entire family because we planted the beautiful tree in the background in honor of Connor Liam Breeden, the son we lost when I was 5 months pregnant in May 2008.  This tree blooms every spring and reminds us of the son we have in heaven....it also makes us so thankful for the two healthy sons we have on earth.  

Our Kindergarten graduate!  Congrats, Chase!

Happy unofficial start to summer! Memorial Day weekend just passed us by to give us all summer fever. We couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather over the weekend. It sure felt like summer to us with the temperatures in the 80's for most of the weekend; grilling out good ole American food every night and biting into ice cold watermelon and ice-cream; letting the kids play outside until the sun went down; enjoying the pool opening for the summer season; and just getting to soak up the sun's rays and God's many blessings. To me, those things I just mentioned are what life is all about this time of year!

Since my last blog posting, we: celebrated the boys' birthdays; endured our first soccer season with Tim as coach (that's not intended to be derogatory towards Tim because he did a great job); enrolled Gabriel in speech therapy sessions at Hardy Elementary School in Smithfield; and, congratulated Chase for graduating from Kindergarten.

Although the highlights above are the major accomplishments for the past month or so, Tim and I are thankful to rejoice equally in the smaller things, such as finally being able to go out to eat as a family again! For a long time, we didn't bother going out to eat with the kids because it was inevitable that one of them (or both) would have a temper tantrum that would make the whole experience more of a chore than something enjoyable. We're thankful our boys are old enough and cooperative enough to enjoy a meal out now. Of course we don't want our boys to grow up too fast, but we're enjoying the perks of the age that they are now.  Something as simple as getting my family or Tim's family to watch the kids for us for a weekend is such an appreciated experience since our "alone time" is so rare with both of us working full time (and overtime) and juggling after-work errands.

To elaborate more on the soccer season, we just wrapped up our last tournament game on Thursday. Unfortunately, we only had one win, one tie, and the rest were losses for the season...but, the losses were so close to wins and looking at the final score of the game doesn't reflect Team Shark's true talent. Watching each player improve with each game was a rewarding experience for all of us (especially Tim). Furthermore, just getting to do something positive for the community and getting to know the soccer players and parents was the majority of the fun. We still have a reception for Team Sharks in store for the near future where we'll present trophies to the players.  Thankfully, this first coaching experience didn't scare Tim away...he's already committed to coaching the fall soccer season.

Gabriel is enrolled at Hardy Elementary School in Smithfield now to receive speech therapy twice a week. We're slowly but surely hearing signs of improvement with his speech. Thankfully, he's receiving therapy for the remainder of this school year and will resume therapy in the fall after summer break. I'm just excited we have the ball rolling for him. Now if only we could get him interested in potty training and get him to sleep through the night better (he still has some nights that he'll wake up and try to sneak into my bed)....I know these things will come with time. In the meanwhile, I just have to remind myself to appreciate all of the "Momma's boy" moments.  I feel close to both of my boys, but Gabe is by far the Momma's boy between the two and Chase likes to be Tim's shadow.

Chase graduated from Kindergarten at FOEC (Faith Outreach Education Center) with flying colors! He had perfect attendance and straight A's for the last quarter of school. He also memorized several lines and presented them well during the graduation ceremony. He had one skit as George Washington, another as a disciple, and another as a cowboy. All of the students seemed to have so much fun during the ceremony and you could sense their happy spirits and the friendships they've established with each other over the school-year. One thing I LOVE about FOEC is their reinforcement of God's love and His word. I was amazed at how well the K-level classes could recite Bible verses.

We have lots of excitement to anticipate this summer: two trips to OBX (one with the kids, one without), the arrival of Michael Paul Stephens in July (Laurie and Ken's first son and second child together/third child counting Bella), my mom's 62nd birthday this Tuesday, my birthday and Tim's in July (I turn 34 and he turns 36), our 14th wedding anniversary in August, and several beach and pool days! While Tim and I work, the boys have summer camp at FOEC every morning to keep them entertained and their afternoons will be spent at Great Grandma Anderson's house. This will be Gabriel's first experience at FOEC, so I'm anxious to see how he'll adjust.  Too bad we all don't get a summer break, but I'm beyond thankful for my job. If I'm totally honest with myself, I'd probably go stir crazy if I did have off the entire summer.

As we just celebrated Memorial Day and have July 4th only a month away, I hope all of us will take the time to be thankful not only for those who have lost their lives serving our country...but, for Jesus Christ who sacrificed everything so that we could have TRUE FREEDOM. The real war going on isn't just among nations...it's a war against all of sin. Thankfully, that victory has already been won through HIM! May you claim that victory as your own this summer and always!

"Hoppy" Easter (2015)!

Chase's Spring School Picture (5 3/4 years old)

The excitement of opening Easter baskets

New Drumsticks!

Grammie Pam Breeden colored eggs with the kids last week.
This egg has a dove sticker on it that says "Hope."

Gabriel playing with an array of toys on Easter morning 

HAPPY RESURRECTION SUNDAY!  Have you seen the series “The Bible?” If not, I highly recommend it as it depicts the real life events that occurred from the beginning of time all the way to Jesus overcoming death.  That last part (Jesus overcoming death) is what Easter is all about even though I admit I still enjoy incorporating the Easter Bunny, coloring eggs, candy, and egg hunts in with the holiday.  Of course when you have children who are hypersensitive (extremely picky) eaters like mine, it’s kind of hard to load them up with candy they’ll actually eat.  Therefore, the Easter Bunny brought Chase and Gabriel just a few select edible treats and items such as bubbles, yo-yos, mini beach balls, etc.  Chase even got new drumsticks that he’s testing out right now as I type. 

All in all, we had a beautiful Easter morning.  Gabriel woke me up before sunrise, and Chase woke up shortly afterwards excited to tear into his Easter basket.  Since Gabriel’s nose has been running like a faucet for the past few days, we decided to stay home today rather than brave the Easter crowd at church and share our germs.  Truthfully, Tim and I are enjoying a morning at home after being on the go so much lately.  Work has been busy and a little on the challenging side for me for the past week.  Tim’s work is just as busy as mine as he’s transitioned to running a different machine the past week.  Aside from work, we’ve been running the kids around during the week between soccer practice on Mondays and several speech therapy appointments for Gabe.

Tim decided to take on the challenge of coaching Chase’s spring soccer team with the Isle of Wight County community soccer league for 6/7 year-olds.  Chase got to choose the team name and colors: the “Sharks” in teal and black.  The spring soccer season is very short only consisting of 5 games and we already had our first game yesterday (which we lost).  Tim has his hands full with soccer practice with eleven 6/7 year-olds every Monday. Chase is the youngest on the team still being 5.  Tim says herding cattle is easier than getting 11 kids that age to stay focused long enough for an hour of practice, but I think he’s enjoying it so far and that many lessons learned will be gained from this first season. 

Gabe’s speech therapy appointments have been time consuming with me having to leave work early 2-3 times a week for him to have 45-minute therapy sessions at a time, but I think we’re seeing small signs of improvement.  It will take time, patience, practice, and perseverance for Gabe to catch up with his speech, but I’m thankful we’ve at least started the process.  The therapists we’ve seen to date (the one through Early Intervention as well as the one with the public school system) both seem to believe Gabe could have weak muscle/tongue movement in his mouth that is hindering him from forming consonant sounds (the medical term for this is “dysarthia”).  They also believe he could have Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), which there is no official cure for other than intensive intervention with therapy and practice at home.  Thankfully, we’ve ruled out hearing as being an attributing factor with a trip to the audiologist last week.  This whole experience has taught me to be thankful for speech—if you have children who never needed extra help for speech, don’t take it for granted!

Furthermore, we’ve registered Gabe to begin preschool (K3) in the fall and I truly believe being around other kids and getting in a routine will also improve his speech as children naturally try to mimic other kids.  We still have lots of other milestones to reach in the meantime.  Potty training hasn’t even been on his radar; so far, even mentioning the idea to him results in a temper tantrum and power struggle, so I don’t want to totally turn him against it if he’s simply just not ready.  Believe me, I’ve read the books, watched the videos, and heard oodles of advice on how to potty train a child, but I’m still a firm believer that a child has to be ready and somewhat interested and willing; otherwise, it’s just not going to work and it will result in frustration for everyone.  I remember Chase mastered potty training shortly after his third birthday while I was home on maternity leave with Gabe….just goes to show all children develop at different paces and what worked for one child may not work for another!

We have lots of exciting things to look forward to this month, including a field trip with Chase’s class to the circus, the boys’ birthdays (Chase turns 6 on the 22^nd and Gabe turns 3 on the 21^st), soccer games, and warmer weather.  The warmer temperatures will carry us into the Smithfield Swim Club pool opening next month (hard to already think about swimming).  Chase and Gabe are also enrolled for summer camp at FOEC starting in June.  Needless to say, we have lots of fun things lined up to keep us busy for the remainder of spring and into the summer months.  However, today, I’m glad to slow down and reflect on all that our Savior endured on the cross for our sins.  What an awesome God we serve!  We witness so many daily blessings we often take for granted—I assure you God still performs miracles (I’ve witnessed them firsthand in my own life).  The miracles in our lives may not be as obvious as Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead, but they’re still a display of His boundless mercy and love for us and an ever present reminder for us to keep that spark of hope alive! 

1 Peter 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead...(NIV)

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

Holly, Jolly Christmas!

After church on a beautiful November Sunday

Our real Christmas tree

Gabriel laying underneath one of our Christmas trees

Chase posing by the gingerbread house he made with Grammie Pam Breeden

Gabriel playing with toys

Talk about a close-up!

Holiday decorations have been on display for several weeks.  Christmas shopping is done.  Presents are wrapped. Wish lists have been told to Santa (well, at least by Chase; Gabe remains terrified of the man in the red suit). Cookie tins are filled with baked goodies.  Rudolph, Elf, Christmas Vacation, the Grinch, etc. have been watched more than once. The Elf on the Shelf (Chase named him "Mack Paul Breeden") has made his rounds to many locations in the house keeping close eye on the boys.  The drive down the VA Beach boardwalk was made to see the holiday lights at the beach. You get the picture...we're ready for Christmas! This has perhaps been the best build-up to Christmas I've ever experienced now that Chase is old enough to really understand Christmas traditions and Gabe is so vivacious.  

All of the above things certainly add to the excitement of Christmas every year, but they come nowhere close to illuminating the true reason for this season: JESUS!  "She [Mary] will give birth to a Son and you are to give him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21) Although Tim, Chase, Gabriel, and I have had fun anticipating Christmas and doing all of the normal seasonal preparations over the past month, I don't ever want to lose sight that the whole reason for all of this hustle and bustle is to celebrate our Savior's birthday.  I pray you and your families will keep Christ as the focal point of your Christmas this year and throughout the new year. As always, I appreciate all who follow along with this blog.  It's hard to believe I've had this going for about six years!  I plan to still keep it going in 2015 so please check in every couple of months or so for updates on our family and pictures of our growing boys.

Speaking of our growing boys, Chase concluded this year with a certificate for making the A-B Honor Roll and a perfect attendance award at school.  We're so proud of him!  All of the students at Faith Outreach Education Center put on an adorable Christmas presentation on the 18th and wrapped up the year with classroom parties on the 19th.  Chase still enjoys playing his drums during his spare time at home; we hope to set up lessons for our little drummer boy in the new year with an older boy from his school who is willing to teach him.  Aside from drumming, Chase likes to play with his LeapPad, play with friends, and ride his bike.  He's asking Santa for a new, bigger bike for Christmas.  He recently got to enjoy a sleepover with his cousins at Aunt Laurie's house. He continues to love being with family and we wouldn't trade his gentile, outgoing, loving spirit for anything! 

On the other hand, Gabriel is the more rambunctious one of the two boys. His facial expressions are very animated and hilarious at times.  He is speaking a few more words since my last posting.  We're still a long way from fluent speech, but I rejoice in the small victories with him as I know he has a more stubborn personality than Chase did at this age.  I had to break down and trim his hair in November because the cooler, drier air was relaxing his curls too much and making it look like he had a mullet. The latest development is him climbing out of his crib; truthfully, I'm surprised he lasted as long as he did in his crib because he's been capable of climbing out for a long time. He's been fighting us on bed time the past few nights and climbing out of the crib to wake me up in the mornings.  Beforehand, he'd always wait for me to come and get him in the mornings.  I guess our little guy is growing up and ready for a big boy bed.  He has been testing the waters of independence ever since the day he was born.  Although he wants to do big boy things, he still has his baby tendencies: sucking his thumb and snuggling with me on the couch when he's tired, wanting to be picked up and toted around (not an easy feat since he's getting heavy) and carrying around his little blankets.  Aside from the many temper tantrums, I'm trying to soak up these cute, little baby moments because they'll be over in a blink of an eye.

I took off from work yesterday and today since Chase was already out of school for the year and I had plenty of vacation hours to spare. In addition to my days off this week, I have all of next week off assuming I don't get called into work to resolve any emergent issues.  I'm thankful for the extra time off to spend with family over the holidays.  The boys and I spent the past few days watching Christmas movies and baking goodies to hand out to our neighbors.  I'm trying to teach the boys to care for others and to do nice things. Small gestures like handing out cookies to our neighbors can go a long way as we never know what they may be going through since we normally only see them in passing.

Another small gesture of kindness for us was going to visit Tim's grandparents in Scottsville for his grandmother's 80th birthday on December 5th.  That was the first time his grandparents had seen Gabriel in person so we were long overdue for a visit.  Fortunately, the boys did wonderfully with so much travel crammed into one day.  So many of us take for granted our health, which often deteriorates as we age; it was a blessing to get to visit Tim's grandparents as they can no longer make long trips to see us.

Tim is still working today and tomorrow morning, but he'll get a mini-vacation from 1:00 tomorrow afternoon through Sunday.  We plan to kick his time off from work by attending the Christmas Eve service at church tomorrow afternoon followed by horderves at my grandmother's house. We're hosting Christmas Day with my family at our house and spending the 26th with Tim's family. We have several days of Christmas celebrations that await us.  Moreover, we're looking forward to another year of spiritual growing as a family. Each new year is full of opportunities to grow stronger in Christ regardless of our circumstances--so let's take on the new year challenge to make 2015 the best one yet by staying in tune to God!  Shana Tova ("Happy New Year" in Hebrew)!

Isaiah 33:2

O LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress. 

In Awe of Autumn

Gabriel in his pajamas after trick-or-treating

Sporting my fancy witch hat

Tim's costume in line with current events

Chase as Raphael the Ninja Turtle, Bella as a witch, and Gabe as a dragonsaurus

Ken as a cop, Laurie as a prisoner, and Baby Caroline as a lady bug

Gabriel during one of his happier dragonsaurus moments

Our pumpkin art (most of the credit goes to Tim for the carving)

Here we are a couple days into November and I’m in awe of how quickly autumn is flying by! Since my last posting, we’ve been slam busy enjoying the season.




Chase is two months into Kindergarten and I couldn’t be any prouder of him. He has adjusted fantastically to being in school for full days. His teacher has reported several times that he’s doing extremely well with writing, math, and phonics. Academically, he’s excelling, but his only downfall is the occasional day he has when he’s overly talkative during class. Hey, you can’t expect perfection out of a 5-year old. Fortunately, his teacher Mrs. Parker (along with the rest of the staff at FOEC) is very kindhearted, patient, and understanding. I was able to chaperone the Kindergarten field trip to Disney’s “Frozen on Ice” in September and witness firsthand that Chase isn’t the only talkative child in his class.



Aside from school, Chase was very busy playing his first season of soccer during September and October on the Isle of Wight league team called “the Thunder.” It was so much fun watching Chase and the rest of his teammates improve with each game. By the end of the season, Chase was scoring goals every game and was definitely one of the MVPs! Meanwhile, Gabriel would play on the playground at the park or kick a ball around on the sidelines of the soccer field. We endured many temper tantrums from Gabe during practices and games, but we survived.



Gabriel is definitely living out the “terrible 2’s.” He’s very independent and can be extremely stubborn at times. I sure hope his persistent attitude will serve him well later in life because it sure is giving Tim and me a good run as parents. Nonetheless, we love our little guy and wouldn’t trade him for anything. He still has his sweet moments when he likes to cuddle on the couch and watch TV with us. He’s slowly coming around with his speech; we’re sure his lack of being able to communicate well with us intensifies his frustration and temper tantrums, but we know the day will come when he’ll speak fluently.



The month of September kicked off the fall with soccer games and a picnic with some of my co-workers. October consisted of four different family birthday celebrations (with the commonality of pizza, cake, and bounce-houses): Emily (13), Bella (5), Jaycee (4), and Kenden (9). We concluded October by spending Halloween with Laurie, Ken, Bella, and Caroline. They came over our house for trick-or-treating. Laurie and Ken stayed home with Caroline to hand out the candy while Tim and I took the kids around the block. The kids were adorable in their costumes and even we adults dressed up to join in on the fun. Bella and Chase were well behaved, but Gabe was over trick or treating about an hour into the ordeal, so we had to head home a little early. However, Chase, Bella, and Gabe had more than enough candy even with us not stretching out trick-or-treating any longer.



Now that Halloween is over, we can focus on the impending holidays. I especially like the month of November because it encompasses the theme of being thankful. First Thessalonians 5:18 instructs us to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” My prayer is for this verse to be our focal point this month and throughout the years to come. Happy Thanksgiving Month!