January always brings us two birthday celebrations: Jerell turned 11 on 1/4
Then, on the 16th, Jaden turned 5!
Soon after, Rob and I were off on a wonderful vacation to Barbados! We were there for 8 days along with my parents and sister, aunts, uncles, cousins and my grandparents.
We enjoyed touring the island
Swimming in the Caribbean and laying out on the beach.
However, I don't recommend that kind of trip while 32 weeks pregnant. I wasn't able to do a whole lot while we were there (I even asked my doctor beforehand if I could jet ski, to which he replied "um, no.") And by the time we made it to the Dallas airport my feet were so swollen I couldn't even walk and had to be wheel chaired through the airport - which did have an upside as we went to the front of the very long customs line!
In February my firstborn turned 13! Davon didn't really do too much for his birthday but we did have a cake here with just our family. Hard to believe I am the mother of a teenager!
I also was given a baby shower (I hadn't had one since baby #1) which I was very thankful for!
The first part of March was spent preparing for our baby to arrive... and with me hobbling around, not sleeping and pretty much being miserable. *Summed up here in this lovely pic 2 days before the big day...
But it was worth the pain and hugeness (I suppose!) when we welcomed a healthy baby boy on the 12th! Isaiah Michael :)
Then Rob turned 34...
And we also celebrated our 5th anniversary on the 28th (well, we didn't actually 'celebrate' since we were now the parents of FIVE, but it was noted. haha)!
In April my beautiful Grandma came to visit! I was able to get out of the house baby-free to have lunch and shop with her :) We then had Isaiah dedicated at our church on Easter Sunday!
Later that month I officially closed the "baby factory" (yes, this is important to remember!)
In May Jaden graduated from preschool at Josiah's Playground. We are happy that Jaden is growing up but were sad to say goodbye to all his wonderful teachers there. That place was truly a blessing!
That day I left with my mom, sister, 2 oldest boys, nephew and the baby on a 15 hour journey to North Dakota to see my Great Grandma. She's not been doing well and we wanted to see her "one last time". However, it's now December and she's still the same... who knew. Anyway, it was sure nice to spend time with my aunts and cousins that we don't see very often. The drive was less than fun with a 2 month old - I did take him out of his carseat to feed, change and get him to sleep (and to get him to stop crying periodically)... please don't shoot me!
The spring was also filled with lots of baseball. Davon played on a new team (Heat) and I enjoyed going to the games whenever possible. Grandpa and Grandma didn't miss even one, of course!
I figured Jaden (5) and Dathan (3) were ready to start playing sports as well. So I signed Jaden up for soccer and Dathan for t-ball.
Um ya, that didn't work out too well. They each made it through about 2.5 practices - the .5 is for the time during practice that I spent trying to get them back to where they were suppose to be!
June was spent hanging out at home, a few days at the pool, the annual family picnic at my mother-in law's home and Davon went to the state baseball tournament in Des Moines. Jerell got to experience flying in a small plane through the Junior Eagles in Iowa City. He thought that was awesome!
In July it was more of the same, except for Davon (again) who was able to go on a week-long camping trip in Minnesota with his friend. He had a blast and we're thankful for the friends who took him along!
Unfortunately we couldn't spend as much time at the pool as I would've liked since we had one of the hottest summers on record :/ Too dangerous (and unbearable) for small kids, especially a baby. This also kept us from taking the kids to a theme park (or anywhere really) where we'd be stuck outside for the whole day. But we still enjoyed our summer with eachother.
In August Rob took the older boys and my dad to "Fish O Rama" which they've done the last few years. Jaden even got to go out for a few hours. They always enjoy that time together, even if they come home bummed that they didn't win any prizes. Later on, my mom and I took Jerell, Jaden and Isaiah to the Sweet Corn Festival (small, local fair/carnival) - I went on one crazy ride with Jaden and then remembered I can't handle that anymore! But we had fun.
Time flew by and before we knew it school was starting back up! Yes, that's an exclamation point because mama is very ready for that day by the middle of August :) And this was a big year as Jaden was starting Kindergarten and Jerell was starting middle school!
About a week into school is a time we'll never forget - Davon was in a "fight", not a fair fight, but that's what we'll call it. That left his nose and wrist broken which led to a long night at the ER, surgery on the arm a week later and far too many doctor appointments. Hopefully this was a big lesson learned!
September is another big birthday month - it's my dad's birthday on the 10th (I usually bake him a cake or some other treat). My stepdad's and my birthday is on the same day! I did have a cake but that's as much of a celebration as you get at this age with this many kids :) And then 5 days later it's Dathan's birthday and he turned 4 this year!
Nothing too exciting happened in October. But in November we decided to start Dathan in preschool.
He's ornery, so this was the picture I got - I take what I can get from that boy :)
We had Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' and then again at my mother in law's a few days later. We finally got to take a little trip at the end of the month - an overnighter at a hotel with an indoor waterpark. The kids all enjoyed it and I'm glad we were able to do that, even if it was only one night.
And.... December. This month has been filled with the normal busy-ness - school break, shopping, baking, playing in the snow, a power outage, multiple illnesses and Christmas celebrations.
We have had a wonderful few weeks (minus the sickness) but it's nice to be unwinding from all of that and getting back to a normal schedule. And yes, I look forward to school starting back up in a few days!
It's been a crazy year, mostly due to the addition of my sweet boy Isaiah, but I'm thankful for yet another year here on Earth, happy and healthy. God has truly blessed my family and I'm so amazed by his love and provision. We may not understand why certain things happen, why other things don't happen or what tomorrow might bring. But I do know that He has a plan for my life and looking back on this year was a great way to see how far He's brought me. I may not have a big, fancy house, a high-paying career or a ton of fascinating, exciting things I've done to write about - but I DO have a wonderful, beautiful family who shared a great year together and a God who loves me no matter how underserving I am! I am more excited for 2013 than before I started writing this (4 days ago, btw! lol) to see what God has in store for us! I hope you all have a wonderful year as well :)
