twentyten part1

Life is so busy in our family. So busy. I wanted to reflect on this last year as a sort of record. My purpose for blogging, anyways.
Going backwards......

December
This was by far one of the best Christmases (is that even proper grammar? I used to be so good at that. I need a refresher) by far. We were so incredibly blessed this year. And just went we thought our children would have ONE thing to open on Christmas, they had 7 each.....and a stocking stuffed, just from us. God is so good. All the time. It is so hard for me to fully trust in the Lord at times...and then I see what He does, and am saddened that I didn't just have more faith.
In general, we don't usually focus on material things. We love the verse found in Matthew 16:26, What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Of course we love the song done by Tobymac called Lose Your Soul. Its so fitting for this day and age.
It was so great to give to our children this year. Childrens Christmas program was awesome.
I started this blog. Sent our picture Christmas cards for the first time EVER. Woman's Ornament Exchange. Zoolights. Multiple Christmas celebrations. Family Movie Night on Christmas Eve instead of driving around looking at lights, we broke tradition.....but it was fun! Our oldest son, AJ turned 12. Since when did I give permission for him to grow into a young man? I stopped drinking PEPSI!!
November
White Thanksgiving!! The kids were home a week bc of snow and Thanksgiving break. I loved it. I cooked Thanksgiving dinner by myself for the first time ever. It was yummy. {and not too terribly hard, although as my mom pointed out- I'm used to cooking for an army ;)}
My first month as a Partylite Consultant, you should go to my website here. {we have an awesome NEW line and I'd love to talk to you about earning FREE candles}
We had a milestone of a birthday and now have 2 teens~Amia turned 13!! Oh how happy she was/is!!
Learned I'm among the worlds top 8% wealthy-bc I have change in a dish. I did the Thankful challenge on facebook. Avery finished up soccer, his first season on a team and he did awesome....& its not just bc I'm the mama, he did. AJ's 6th grade basketball team went undefeated! Oh I forgot, we had a horrible wind storm. Branches and debris everywhere. As I go over my facebook page I am reminded of my thankful heart that month. I loved the thankful challenge. I'm pretty sure this was the month the twins stopped taking naps-{nope, it was October}. My babies always napped. Don't love this.
October
Started Partylite. Halloween- cowboy, cowgirl, cat, b-ball player, 80's workout girl, this is my costume tshirt, bloody football player {awesome}. Erin {lil sis} turned 21. We went out for a drink. Made homemade roasted acorn squash and veg soup-it was pretty yum! It was a great October for playing outside. field trip to the zoo. Ariana's first Homecoming Dance {hearts}She came home w/ her dates suit jacket. Typical. October was a weird time for us. We moved from a house we lived in for 4 yrs at the end of Sept/ beginning of October. We didn't love the house. But we lived there for FOUR years. We have a lot of memories there. Thats where we brought the twins home. Where I worked fulltime, for a few years {it was a new thing for us}Where Alaina started Kindergarten and the older kids starting going to public school. Its where we made so many neighborhood friends. It was home.....'it' being the neighborhood, the community. It was comfortable. At the same time it so wasn't and we needed to move. October we spent trying to make this house home.....and truthfully, we still are.
September
This was another weird/hard month. Packing 9 people up to move. Figuring out schools. Stay, change, homeschool. Hard decisions. too many decisions. Kinda, really stressed. Not enough time in the day. School shopping and first day of school. Trying to soak in all the time w/ our neighbors/friends all the while.....epic packing, purging, cleaning, organizing. Unsuccessful yard sales. Youth Coffee House~Amia's first solo. She sung Temperary Home by Carrie Underwood, so nervous. Did so well. She had 4 grandma's in attendance.....5 generations in one room. Berry picking galore {esp the twins, they loved papa's berries} Started 'extreme' couponing, will never pay big money for things again. Thanks, Amanda. Busy month for photoshoots :) enjoying the last of summer, soaking up the vitamin d while we can......it is the PNW!! Family time. Pool days. Avery finally agreed to cut his hair.....10inches off, still long.
August
Hot. Babies wore diapers most days {if we were lucky ;)} Babies 18months~ please tell me where the time went? Ava=dare devil. Dash point beach. Owens Beach. Never camped.....all summer long. Thats sad. But indeed we had a good summer. A lot of water parks. a lot. Brightest, darkest, reddest {bad, I know} sun ever during sunset. Pictures don't do it justice. Lemonade stands. Laughing, running, skipping and jumping. Sprinklers. Bike jumps-epic bike jumps. High school kids down to elementary @ the jumps. Dirty and dusty. Dusty dirt. Sun-kissed skin w/ tan lines. Skateboards. Bikes. Jump ropes. Pool days. High School orientation. really?? High school soccer. Lets just say the girl is in major shape ;) Family BBQ's. Family lunch and walk at the waterfront {love}
July
Avery stepped into double digits. He joined the ranks w/ the olders!! My baby boy, 10....again, where does the time go? Averys hair so long, middle of his back, still refuses to cut it. At this point only to spite his Gma's. But it fits him. Best Vacation Bible School ever. Kids came out of the woodwork and more importantly, came to know Jesus. They will have that forever in their hearts. We gained youth this summer at church. Funnest photoshoot w/ Ari, Kylie and Theron. Fun, Fun, Fun. Aunt Minna visited from AZ. Get together at GG-pa & GG-ma's. Gorgeous view. Binoculars. Good times {great pix} Fourth of July BBQ w/ new friends. Red, White and Blue. Fireworks. Come to think of it, we broke our 4th of July traditions, too. Clearly its the year for breaking all the rules. Titlow beach. Oh, how could I forget......my dad bought all g-kids passes to our local pool. So fun, but incredibally hard work w/ twins. We had fun.  Everyone, but Aiden. It took him far too long to get used to the water. He just wanted to walk around & get into strangers snacks. How do I not have any  pictures of the pool days? *sigh* I think I didn't want to have to worry about my camera, & twoddlers, & the olders. Drive-in movies- a first!! Babies fascinated w/ trains that passed at the pool & beaches. Sunnyside Beach. VBS workers BBQ & beach vollleyball. The kids and I stayed for hours, just playing. It was so nice. We ALL enjoyed it.....hard to accomplish w/ 7 kids.

Wow. What a year it has been. Of course if I added everything, it would be a novel. This has been a interesting writing experience. It has brought me many smiles and a few tears....I am happy I took the time to do this, even though I may be missing out on some precious sleep. Stay tuned for Part2, June was oober busy!!