Life Lately

January came and went so fast I don't know how 31 days really happened. We were met with a flurry of doctor visits and testing that left us exhausted and ready for a fresh new month! So how about a Life Lately to catch you up.

Call me a hermit but my favorite way to spend a Friday night is at the dining room table with my little family. Coffee, maybe a giant bowl of fresh popped popcorn, and my rowdy crew playing a board game. I call that the perfect evening. I feel like we've finally "arrived" - even Daniel can join in on the big people games now. Catan, Castle Panic, and Forbidden Island have been the favorites this month.

I may or may not have loudly yelled and made Peter go back around the block to the consignment store after I saw this beautifully bright red play kitchen in the window as we drove by. You see, I have been wanting to get Zachary a kitchen for the longest time. His speech therapist uses one at therapy regularly. They open and close the microwave, work on words like hot, stir, bowl, etc. He thinks it's fun, especially throwing the play dishes. I think it's the cutest play kitchen I've ever seen. And the price was extremely affordable.

Of course Zachary is truly a BOY and prefers to knock over the kitchen and crawl on top of it. Sigh...

Some days, most days, it feels like Zachary will never get this walking thing. Then there are days like this when he gets brave and lets go of his therapist and it seems like we're so close. It'll be on his terms and in his timing when those first steps eventually come. But we're doing all we can to get him ready. And we wait. And trust.

While there is a certain 5 year old in our family who seems to take up so much of my time and energy and is ever present on my social media pages, there's this big kid who's growing up faster than I would like to admit. Our favorite first born who is quite tremendous turned 17 in January. SEVENTEEN. I don't quite get it.

Travis is smart, kind, crazy, and somedays too much like his mother. He keeps us awake at night with his guitar and ukulele playing, loud video gaming, and midnight dinner making. But I wouldn't trade that for anything. He's pretty great!

As we checked on Zachary before we headed to bed one evening mid-January, Peter and I witnessed what was most likely Zachary's first seizure. That moment led to many many phone calls, a trip to the hospital for a doctor appointment, and an EEG just 2 weeks later. The EEG process is enough to make any parent want to pull their hair out followed by a week of said parents desperately needing rest and extra sleep. We are so grateful for the top notch medical facilities near us. We feel so blessed. 

And Zachary is doing great, thanks to the prayers of so many loving people and a faithful God.

Sometimes a mama needs to rest. This mama doesn't rest very well at all. I'm pretty good and keeping up with the busyness and stress that comes with the journey and trials we walk. But this month my body decided it was time to catch the cold that was going around and it knocked me down hard. I don't quite ever remember having a cold as bad as I had a week ago. I laid in our big brown recliner for days, slept, and watched lots of When Calls the Heart. Peter is quite the "Fommy" as we all like to call him (father/mommy) and kept our kids fed and the kitchen cleaned for the week. I rested more than I have in years. Definitely not the way I wanted to be forced to rest, but looking back I think it's just what I needed.

So here's to NyQuil, Kleenex, and Airborne - either one of you fabulous companies want me to be your sponsor?!

One last picture. It's fun to watch the Harry Potter stage re-start as our next round of kids get older. Kaylee has had numerous mornings lately where I can barely get her out of bed - thanks to late night Harry Potter reading sessions.

Just a few days ago this almost 9 year old dove into book #1 while Peter and I were nearby doing our workout. I heard a loud snicker and then my silly boy sounding out the word "Dum-ble-dore" as he laughed again. "That's such a funny name" he said. The magic of book reading is just starting for that little guy.

Don't forget you can always keep up with our family on our YouTube channel to follow us throughout the month.

Happy February!

-Jessica