Birthday

We're so blessed to get to celebrate Mike. 
Happy Birthday!

Family Christmas

Over the years we have developed our own Christmas traditions, and we have typically celebrated Christmas at home.  This year, a nice change to the norm, we traveled to Cincinnati and spent the holidays with extended family.

We were in Cincinnati for a week, spending time with cousins, uncles, aunts, and grandparents from both sides of the family.  Christmas Eve was celebrated with Mike's family, Christmas day was with my family.

It was a busy week with lots of fun activities:  Union Terminal Museum Center, Festival of Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo, bowling (twice!), sleepovers with cousins, Christmas cookies, Christmas services at both grandparents' churches, magic shop, movie theater Star Wars, driving range, gingerbread house decorating, and lots of playing.

The kids were a bit disappointed we didn't have snow this Christmas - they assumed traveling North they'd finally have a white Christmas.  Temperatures were more like Tennessee, in the 50's and 60's all week!
It was very special to be with family for the holidays.
(Layla was a very good sport :)

Mike's Family:

 Amy's Family:

7 months

Our sweetness, Addy is seven-months-old!

Addison is such a good baby.  We are constantly entertained by our strong little one - she's quite fun.  We love her experimental sounds and dramatic expressions.  She is definitely a social baby, preferring to be in the middle of the action with lots of attention.  She's lucky to have 9 busy and adoring siblings.  But, our babe is also quite the snuggle bug, loving to be held close, studying faces and snuggling in close - melting our hearts.  

Addy is pure joy in our lives.
We are so blessed by her.  

 At 7 months:

sleeps 11 hours at night

(no longer needs a "paci-pop" during the night)

drinks 30 oz. of formula throughout the day

puts in her own paci

SITTING!

can crunch up into a full sit

rocks on her knees

wearing 6-9 mo. and 9 mo. clothing

takes a 3-hour nap each afternoon

rolls front-to-back and back-to-front

drool baby

(still only 2 teeth)

chews on everything!

rolls around the floor to reach things

waves her arms when excited (hitting her chest)

opens and closes her hands (waving?)

giggles

mimics sounds

works on new sounds each weeks

gasping, throat clearing, raspberries, babababa, dadadada

loves to stand

prefers and audience

scoots herself across the floor (on her back, pushing with her legs)

chews on her shoes

sticks out her tongue - mimicing

still sleeping in mom and dad's bedroom

loves to be held

very social

very happy :) 

 

*Addy was such a sweetheart visiting with extended family on our Christmas trip to Ohio.  She was quite the charmer, full of smiles, showing off her tricks, and snuggling with relatives.  She is a delight :)

7

Rejoice!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Preparation

Jesse Tree

Christmas Cookies

Ornament crafting

Tree painting

Operation Christmas Child Shoe boxes

Christmas carol singing

Christmas books

Memorizing of the Night Before Christmas

Visit with Saint Nicholas

Christmas PJs

Fudge
Zoo Lights

Wintery Mix
Decorating a Gingerbread House

Candy Canes

Christmas Movies
Driving around to look at Christmas Lights

The Nutcracker
Wrapping Presents

*This year the kids saved money and purchases gifts for their siblings, cousins, and friends.  We are so impressed with their generosity and thoughtfulness.  The kids (combined) spent nearly $300 on Christmas gifts this year!  They also contributed to the purchasing of gifts for their own Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes to be sent to children around the world.  

While Christmas isn't about presents, it is a season to celebrate the incredible generosity of our loving Father and to celebrate the gift of a Savior and share His love with one another.

I love Christmas :)

Forts

The kids favorite afternoon activity: fort building.  In our household, we have fort teams and battles.  The kids gather materials and create impressive multi-roomed forts in all corners of the yard full of all the necessary battle equipment.  Teams are constantly changing and spies are always a threat.  Between building and battles, this is an activity that often keeps our crew busy til nightfall. 

Big Sis

Christmas Parade

One tradition we love in our small town - the annual Christmas Parade.  The parade is held downtown the first Monday of December and features various local groups: marching bands, ROTC members, local government officials, scout packs, local businesses, dance troupes, firemen, football teams, and many decorated floats.  This year the parade had nearly 100 entrants!  The kids love bundling up, cheering on the parade participants, and collecting bags full of candy, while we sip hot coffee and chitchat with friends.

This year, the boys marched with their karate dojo, doing bo staff demonstrations along the parade route.   
(Hendrick was proud to participate in his 4th parade - pretty impressive for an eleven year old :)

 

On a side note, the boys are working really hard with their karate training and are preparing for their first belt test.  They hope to take their yellow belt test early in the new year.  

Natchez

For our Anniversary in August, Mike gave me a stack of cards made by the kids.  I was a bit confused reading through cards saying "we'll miss you" . . . my husband had arranged a special trip for us!
In early October, Gramma and Grampa came down to spend time with nine of the kids, making this trip possible - they stayed busy with soccer, karate, playground, skating, and the trampoline Sky Zone while we traveled to Natchez.  I'm not sure who had more fun :)

Mike and I (and Addy) ventured south along the Natchez Trace to Natchez, Mississippi - a place I've been wanting to visit for nearly 16 years!  I first heard about Natchez while studying historic preservation at Purdue University.  Natchez, set atop bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, will be celebrating its tricentennial next year.  The historic city boasts an impressive number of antebellum homes, many carefully persevered and open to the public year-round. 

Historic sunken trail along the Natchez Trace

While in Natchez, we stayed at a B&B (built in 1880) - along with 2 British couples and an Australian Blues musician.  From our home base, we walked along the bluffs each night for dinner and spent our two days touring historic homes.  

In 1716, the French founded Fort Rosalie overlooking the Mississippi to protect the trading post established earlier in the Natchez territory.  In 1763, following the Seven Years' War, the British took control of Fort Rosalie and surrounding area.  The territory was then given to the United States under the terms of the Treaty of Paris in 1783.  In the late 18th century, Natchez was the starting point of the overland Natchez Trace route, a trail used by Ohio River valley boatmen returning home and used heavily until the introduction of steamboats.  By the 19th century, Natchez had become an incredibly affluent town.  It's Mississippi location made it a pivotal center of trade, commerce,and (sadly) slave trade.  The city attracted wealthy Southern plantation owners as residents.  With their plantations located along the riverfront, Natchez became their principle port for export, the owners build huge mansions in Natchez.  Their homes were showcases of their incredible wealth.  While many of the residents lost their fortunes after the Civil War, many of their gorgeous antebellum homes have survived. 

We chose three homes to tour during our stay - there 11 homes open year round to visitors and many, many others available during their annual fall and spring pilgrimages. 

Longwood, located on the outskirts of Natchez, began construction in 1860.  It's Philadelphia architect planned an octagonal home with four main floors, a fifth floor solarium and sixth floor observatory.  The structure was designed to have 32 rooms, each with its own entrance onto a balcony.  The lavish exterior was to be only a hint of the magnificence foreseen for the interior.  In April 1862, all homes and dreams for this home were smashed by the declaration of war.  The Philadelphia craftsmen dropped their tools and fled North.  The family and their slaves completed the basement level where they lived.  The rest of the home was never completed.  

Melrose, built in 1842, is currently owned and operated by the National Park Service.  Melrose stands today virtually as it did more than 138 years ago.  The house, outbuildings and grounds have been unchanged and its interior features original furnishings, French wallpaper, solid cypress hand painted doors, rare French gilt mirrors, and 10 Italian marble fireplaces.  

Stanton Hall, a magnificent Greek Revival home, was built on an entire city square on High Street in 1857. 

Longwood

Melrose

Stanton

It was such a treat for Mike and I to have this special time together.  And visiting Natchez was truly a dream come true for me.  We absolutely loved Natchez and would love to return to see more homes (and hit the hot air balloon race in Mid-October!). 

My hubby is quite amazing setting up this adventure for us.  Thank you to Gramma and Grampa for making it possible! 

Saint Nicholas

Week 21, 22, 23

I am thoroughly enjoying this part of the pregnancy.  I am in the 5th month, feeling good, and not on bedrest!!!  Yes, bedrest will be coming - we're tentatively planning a 6-week strict bedrest starting at week 30/31 - so now is the time to just enjoy the amazing miracle of pregnancy.  I am so thankful!

At week 21, we started weekly progesterone (P17) shots.  Mike is a champ, giving them to me every Sunday evening.  This is just a part of our plan to achieve our goal of a full-term baby (many women who have experienced a previous premature birth have had success in prolonging subsequent pregnancies supplementing progesterone).  Despite being a bit sore for several days after each shot (and a scary long needle), I'm thankful for them, and we're really hoping they'll help keep everything calm and this sweet baby in utero.  God willing, these shots will continue til week 38. 

While (I guess) it should be expected, it's a bit crazy how much bigger I am with this 7th pregnancy than I have been with any other.  Being 35 with my 7th pregnancy is a whole different experience than when I was 23 with my 1st.  Gone are the days of working to gain the recommended weight - not a problem this time around.  At 23 weeks, I've already gained 20 lbs. - yikes! 

For now, I need to remember that my top priority is taking care of this precious baby - shots, weight gain, and planned bedrest are all a part of taking care of our child.  Soon, this time will be a distant memory - I don't want to take it for granted.

*We're hoping baby will turn soon.  With baby upside down, it's hard for the kids to feel the frequent kicks. 

Final!

This morning, we were honored and blessed to go to court to finalize our adoption of Addy.
Addison Morgan is officially ours! 

After six months of post-placement social worker visits and reports, we were thrilled to get a speedy court hearing for the finalization of her adoption.  We were hoping and praying to be able to finalize before the end of the year.  Our lawyer was able to submit our paperwork and get us a quick court date - we had a 7 hour notice (!).  The judge waived the 6 month waiting period and made her adoption official.  God's hand in this was evident - we are so humbled and thankful. 
We are beyond thrilled to officially give our sweet daughter our last name :)

(And we're excited to move forward in growing a relationship with her birth parents!)

 And, Addy is SITTING!!!!

Our Crew - 2015

:: Addy - 6 months ::

formula :) 

grabbing toys

pacifyer, ring of keys, Freddy the Firefly

crunches

Mommy's singing
social

:: Dabney - 2 years ::

bananas

singing (Winnie the Pooh)

stroller and babydoll

dancing like a ballerina

Baby likes to Boogie
big girl copycat

 :: Maclaren - 3 years ::

apples, bread

drawing pictures

little people princesses and dressups

riding a tricycle, dance class

Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit
spunky

:: Kolpin - 6 years ::

cereal, milk

Legos and action figures

Legos and games

learning to read (!), karate

Dr. Seuss and Super Hero books
all-boy sweetness

 :: Maegli - 7 years ::

strawberries

Disney Princess Dolls

singing

sewing and chess, ballet

Perfectly Princess books
drama

:: Hiwot - 8 years ::

hot sauce

Coloring

Running

sewing, ballet

Anne of Green Gables
little mama, determined, shy

 :: Burke - 8 years ::

pizza

Action Figures

training for the Olympics

baseball (front yard whiffle ball), karate

Greek mythology and Captain Underpants
charmer

 :: Davis - 9 years ::

cheese

Legos

boogie boarding

building Forts, playing Legos and board games, karate

Hatchet
engineer

:: Tesfaye - 10 years ::

shiro

electronics (anything that moves and lights up)

soccer, archery, bike riding

archery and push-ups, karate

anything by Rick Riordan
compassionate, hard working

:: Hendrick- 11 years ::

poppyseed chicken casserole

Legos

catching Animals and building things (forts, habitats, Lego models)

karate, cooking

anything by Rick Riordan, Brandon Mull, or John Flanagan
leader of the pack

School 2015-2016, November

We plugged away at our schooling for the month of November, getting our days total to 80 - we're thrilled that we'll reach our halfway point in the school year by Christmas!  It is hard to keep motivated on schooling with the lovely distractions of the holiday season - we're all eager to take a break from school soon.
We took a week off in November, and we're only planning to do 2-1/2 weeks of school in December.  We're trying to push through the holiday season knowing we'll be taking nearly 6 weeks off this Spring with the arrival of a new baby :)

This month we entered our second unit in our history study, leaving the Middle Ages and focusing of the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration.  So many discoveries were made during this age.  We pulled out lots of maps and lots of art books.  We've followed the brave (although slightly misguided) journey of Columbus to Central America and learned about the conquests of Spain and Portugal.  After Columbus' journey with the promises of riches, hundreds of expeditions from Europe set forth - we read about only a fraction of them: Ferdinand Magellan, Amerigo Vespucci, John Cabot and Vasco de Gama.  We poured over the works of Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael - with minimum giggling over their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle names.  The kids were a bit shocked by the naked bodies featured in the humanist work of the renaissance artists. 

We spent more time looking at Botticelli's "Primavera," and Michelangelo's ceiling in the Sistine Chapel during our daily symposium time.  We also listened to "Bolero" by Ravel and Bruckner's 4th Symphony.

This month the kids memorized for recitation "Politeness" by A. A. Milne and "Mrs. Mitchell's Underwear" by Dennis Lee. 

The kids continue to make good progress with their Math and Language Arts - our bare minimum schooling on busy days.  Davis and Tesfaye are working more on multiplication and volumes.  Maegli, Burke, and Hiwot are working on fractions and weights.

Just a few more weeks of work until we enjoy a full Christmas break! 

Ethiopian Fix

While I've worked to keep up my teff starter, it has been much too long since we've made a full Ethiopian feast at home - we were overdue and seriously craving Ethiopian food.  Thankfully, just 90 minutes away from home (and only a few blocks from the zoo), there is a fabulous Ethiopian restaurant.  We thoroughly enjoyed our Ethiopian food fix.   Yummmmmmmm!

And, following our family tradition, Addy's first solid food was Ethiopian (yellow peas)! 
We'll have to try our rice cereal next :)