I have a feeling there are going to be more of these as the years go by so we’ll do generic numbers for them. The boys enjoyed a good ol’ time with Mark at a local camping park. I had a blast with the girls and Tobin watching movies and doing nails but we forgot to get pictures!
This past spring, I saw a homeschool day offered for a museum in our state. We’d never been, so we decided to sign up for it.
We were pleasantly surprised to find a great museum based on the history of times from the Bible. We learned a lot and there was a lot of hands on activities that kept everyone interested the whole day.
This year’s church family camp was a little easier for me to breathe! I was 35 weeks pregnant with Tobin last year. And this year I was just toting a eleven month old (well, Mark carried him in the pack). We had, as always, such a great time with everyone and in the Word.
Tomorrow Super Ems flies! Monday, Emmie will meet Dr. Steinberg and then have an MRI and angiogram. She’ll lay flat for 4 to 6 hours and will probably stay overnight in the hospital. Thursday, November 15th is go time.
In honor of our amazing superhero, I thought i would share a small piece of my heart observations that I wrote back in May.
The alarm starts blaring letting me know that it’s 7 am. The latest I should possibly sleep before we’re super behind on our seemingly never-ending busy days. My brain tells me to move but my body is begging me to stay still and rest longer. I roll over and see Emmie asleep on Mark’s pillow. As usual, she came sneaking in during the night needing our snuggles and she gently fell back asleep. I watch her quiet slow breathing and am reminded, once again of how precious this gift is. This happens almost every day. I am in awe that I get to cuddle with this almost four year old or hold her hand as she drifts off to sleep in the wee hours of the morning.
This morning, I decide to roll over and let my body win. I close my eyes but our superhero stirs beside me. Nope. No more sleeping today. She rolls over and with sleepy eyes and a groggy-waking-up voice calls, “Mama.” She waits patiently for me to roll over and look at her.
“Yes, baby.”
“I love you.” She reaches for my hand and smiles contentedly.
This little girl who has been through so very very much in such a small amount of time and she still smiles constantly in wonder and awe at the world around her.
She amazes me that at four years old, she can strut into a doctor’s office and pretty much have everyone wrapped around her finger as she smiles and offers up high fives and hugs. She has an insight into how to interact with everyone…humans and animals…that far exceeds her age. Maybe it’s her experience but maybe, it’s also how our God has equipped her to deal with all that is ahead in the life she has.
The sweet, unexpected “I love yous” are just the tip of the iceberg of what I have learned these past four years of living with a super hero.
Number One: All mornings should start out with love.
At parent observation class for ballet this year, she sidled up to each person in class…her friends. One friend was just not having it that day and crossed her arms and poked out her lip and looked at her mama for rescue. Eventually, Emmie moved on. A day or so later she said, “Mama, I sat by E in class and she didn’t like that.” I agreed and we discussed how maybe she should ask if she can sit by a friend before she does so. She agreed.
The next week, she remembered our conversation and told me she would ask E if she could sit by her this week. But then she went a step further. She drew a picture for her and made sure to present it to her after ballet. E’s face lit up bright as the sky and Emmie was thrilled she had made her friend happy.
She’s intuitive to the needs of others (most of the time…she still is very much a self-centered typical four year old) and wants to show love to those she cares about.
Number Two: Always seek out ways to make others smile.
With Emmie’s age, we are entering a new era of tests, pokes, and understanding. She’s become more aware of it all. We’ve always been honest with her about what is going on but that doesn’t mean that she isn’t scared or doesn’t get sad. On her new brace day this year, after two hours of fitting and waiting, she had to cry. And it was okay. Cuddling up with daddy we told her to let it out and cry it out.
Number Three: Sometimes life is hard and it’s okay to cry.
Days with a four year old are filled with questions. There is so much learning at this age. Emmie is no different than other kiddos her age. Her questions range from “What age are you?” to “Will you read me a story?” And if we’re discussing an activity, she lights up like a Christmas tree and says, “I so excited for that!” She truly is. She finds joy in going to the store, church, doctor’s offices. There’s joy in seeing a dog on a walk or a fish at the fish shop. She gets equally excited watching her siblings at awards ceremonies or swim practice.
Number Four: Find joy in the “every” things.
We don’t have a clue what her future is going to be like. But, we can look back on her life and how she has grown. God has taught us so much through our superhero as she grows.
Several years ago, Papa and Grandmere had a grandparent camp for our kids who were 5 and older. That meant it was for Zoe and Ace. Well fast forward through several busy summers, and we were finally able to plan out grandparent camps for our kids ages 5 and up again. We split them up into groups of 2 to 3. Ace got a solo trip which included a mission trip.
Three camp trips was a lot for one summer but so worth it. The kids were able to get special attention. Most importantly, they were able to spend quality time learning about their grandparents and family! We are so blessed to have two sets of parents who love our family and love on our family. Not only that, but both sets are fast approaching FIFTY years of marriage! That fact has not been lost on us and we definitely don’t take it for granted.
We surprised the kids with a trip to Brick Universe in August. They never have super awesome reactions to surprises even though they enjoy them. So, I never get a good video of our surprise reveals. We saw some amazing Lego Creations by real artists! And the kids go to make some creations of their own.
We enjoyed a trip to the zoo with our church friends. Mr. J, suggested it and we all jumped on board.
Lots of babies have been born this past year at our zoo. and we all enjoyed searching and seeing them. The giraffe baby was so sweet and cute.
Baby Koala…
Silas enjoyed getting in the picture with the wallabys!
Tobin loved watching the bears.
Tobin also loved the merry-go-round and was super sad to have to get off.
Official picture by the lion statues…
And a scalpie for Ge and Granddaddy.
July brought us a too good to pass up purchase of a travel trailer. It’s a hybrid/expandable one with three beds and a table and couch fold out bed. That means all 12 of us fit in it and my dream to take the kids to see the lower 48 states might actually happen. We took Dolly the Camper out on her inaugural trip a few weeks after she came home.
Everyone pitched in learning how to set her up.
Even storms couldn’t dampen our fun spirit.
Tot and Lulu enjoyed making sure the beds were secure.
Ace the shark doo, doo…
We scored a sweet deal on a nice inflatable kayak on our neighborhood trade page and decided to get a decent two person inflatable kayak so people wouldn’t go out solo (or fight over the single kayak).
Those got tested out.
And everyone enjoyed splashing while waiting their turn.
We are looking forward to many more adventures with Dolly and our kayaks!
Our local minor league team had a scout night in June. They invited all sorts of troops out to watch a game, camp in the outfield, and settle in for a movie. Mark took the girls. I got to have a “guy” night with my boys after the littles were in bed. As the game was ending, the organizers realized that a giant thunderstorm was heading their way. They had to cancel the campout but they offered for them to enjoy a movie on the big screen. AND in VIP seating. They were so gracious to offer the movie and even threw in free popcorn. The girls had a blast. Mark napped on the balcony while everyone enjoyed the movie.
Parade before the game.
Ceili Rain won a pair of glasses.
Bryant, Malachi, and Emmie had swim lessons in June. Bryant technically didn’t need them but I was paying for three slots so I had him go to improve. He improved and so did Malachi. This was Emmie’s first swim lesson and she is still getting used to being in the water. She did good and she loved her teacher.
Miss E rocked it with our kids. They loved having her there. This was the first time we’ve done lessons at this place. I loved that it was a semi-private lesson and she was able to teach to each child’s ability.