Autumn With 4 Girls

S'mores at the Cabin

So, the calendar says it’s been awhile since I’ve connected with you all, but it feels like I just blinked and suddenly summer is gone, leaves are turning and Hobby Lobby is putting out its Christmas stuff…seriously…they’ve got to stop doing that...it about kills me every year

Our summer was full with back to back trips starting in early June and ending in mid September.  I don’t know what I was thinking…mom brain I guess!  I got it in my head that 4 (yes, 4) trips to my family’s cabin in the UP of Michigan was a great idea…no!  These mini trips were a 4 to 5 day spread each and while that looks relaxing and fun on the calendar, it was too much.  Hey, I learned my lesson and next summer we will take 5 trips, but stay 5 to 6 days instead of 4 (just kidding).

The Road Trip to Colorado

             The last trip of the summer was the highly anticipated wedding of my little sister, Jenna to Armando Martinez out in Colorado!  I was able to spend almost two weeks out there.  Jenna flew to Milwaukee the week before the wedding and Claire, Caroline and I picked her up with the car packed and ready to go. We then drove the 18 hours back to Colorado!  I had such a special time with my sister on the road.  I would also like to inform her new husband that Jen’s going to make a wonderful mommy some day because she held up beautifully during the hours of toddler drama brought on by the 18 hour car ride…though the hours and hours of 102 Influential Children’s Praise Songs might have been a factored here – the girls love them!  Is it wrong for a pastor’s wife to physically want to die after hearing “My God is so big, so strong and so mighty….” for the billionth time?  Cause, I kind of wanted to...just a little bit!   Thanks for the CD’s, Aunt Jenna!

Aunt Jenna on her big Wedding Day with Ellie and Morgan

           We arrived in CO Sunday night and Armando graciously made room for the girls and me.  I so appreciated the extra time with my sister before the big day.  We laughed a lot, cried just as much (poor Armando) and had a fun time tying up the last few wedding threads.   The few days before the wedding were full of showers, luncheons and rehearsals.  Daniel and the older girls arrived Thursday night along with most of the family.  Jen and I were so immersed in everything that it wasn’t until 8:30ish the night before the wedding that I realized we had never picked up the girl’s flower girl dresses from the seamstress!  We just stared at each other like two deers in headlights for a few seconds, but don’t worry it all worked out.  We just garbed up in all black and broke into the seamstress’s shop via skylight while humming the Mission Impossible theme song and snagged the dresses.  No worries, we left payment for them on the counter!  Ok, so we’re not that cool, but it did cross my mind!  We were able to drop by the next morning and pick them up. 

Caroline as the Flower Girl

             The rest of the wedding day was full of sweet moments with the bride.  It is hard to pull in your focus when there is so much going on and so many incredible people to see and connect with!  The wedding itself was absolutely beautiful and my husband, who officiated the wedding, did an amazing job.  Come to find out later, Daniel’s very beautiful, but honest description of the highs and lows of marriage impacted many of the guests.  I’m bias though, and think my husband always pulls a 10 in the pulpit, but God truly spoke through him that night.  To God be the glory! 

            All and all, the wedding left me joyful , but exhausted physically, emotionally and spiritually.  I saw family that I haven’t seen in 12 or more years and then there was the absent of a few vital family members that made it especially hard, BUT God was so present and He is and was able to fill even the biggest holes.

           We are back now and school and fall are in full swing!  I don’t mind it because I just love this time of year!  Ellie started 4^th grade and is doing great!  She seems to like her new teacher and has made new friends.  She and her friend Ashley even have a goodbye “hand shake” routine, well it’s more like a combination of finger wags, hip hits, hand slaps, a foot…thing and a hug to follow it all.  Friendships have gotten so complicated since I was in school!  Ellie is still swimming on the swim team and is getting antsy to move up to the next level.  She’s such a sweetheart and still so willing to help her mom out with her little sisters. 

Morgan is in 1^st grade now and getting so big!  She and Ellie still have such a sweet “sistership” and I am very grateful that they enjoy each other.  Morgan’s creativity is truly incredible.  This girl can make a pair of fake earrings that look very real from anything!  She like the MacGyver of jewelry!  She continues to ask how many days she has until she can get her ears pierced…poor girl… it like 3 years.  I feel your pain, Morgs!  I had to wait until I was 13!

The Life of 4 Girls

          Caroline...grrr…this almost three year old looks so innocent with her adorable hazel eyes as they look up at you from her impossibly cute little face, but don’t be too taken in.  This child has a serious stubborn streak…no, forget the streak, it’s more like she’s been dipped in stubborn and sprinkled with way too much “I’m gonna test you, Mom” endurance.  Lord have mercy, this child and all her crazy cuteness will be my undoing.  She has given up her naps and won’t sleep no matter how much I bribe her, but she does stay in her room now for a “rest time” and builds her train tracks and plays “chooo-choooo” singing to her favorite Jesus songs that we got from Aunt Jenna.  My Caroline, a precious child of God, who He uses to continually remind me that I can’t do this by myself!  May the Lord bless you enough, Caroline; to give you such a daughter one day and the eyes see His love for you as He uses that precious life to mold you to look more like Him.  That is my prayer for you and your sisters that you look more and more like your Savior every day.

             Claire or Clary as we all call her now.  Oh my goodness, my baby turned one year old in July!  I can hardly believe it and yet it is just so exciting to see her grow, change and relate to her sisters and to us.  She looks like she might be a blond too!  I have to say…I had given up hope, not that it’s that big of a deal anyway.  She’s such a sweetie.  She’s play shy, but then will beam this heart melting grin at anyone she sees!  She loves being picked up and will swing her legs with such excitement on the way up to your arms that her whole body shakes!  Then, while you’re feeling all warm and fuzzy inside thinking that this cuddly cutie picked you to snuggle with, she starts pointing at everything and making a “I want that noise” and you realize you are just being used.  Clary and Caroline have a love/hate thing going on.  Caroline isn’t that patient with “baby” and will come tattle on “baby” because “baby” is being too loud!  So, I look over at “baby” who is sitting quietly on the couch drinking her bottle. Yeah…ok, Caroline.  Clary is fighting back now…is that a good thing?  I don’t know. 

Some Mommy Alone Time with God

            Ok folks, I’m tired.  I need to go to bed, now so I can get up early and be molded to look like Jesus a bit more.   I know I didn’t say anything about the church, but it’s going great.  I love, love, love the incredible people God has brought and continues to bring to Emmaus Road Church!  Please continue to pray for our family as we battle the continue fight to put God first, family second and the church third.  Those lines and boundaries are easily blurred.  

Love to you all,

Erin

Star Date May 2013

I am literally lying on the floor in the dark in Caroline and Claire’s room as I write this.  I have been trying to get these two goof balls to sleep in the same room together at night for a while now…let’s just say, for nicety sake, that it isn’t working out as easily as I had hoped. I feel if I were the captain of the USS Enterprise I would log this day something like this,

Claire Mohawk

“Captain’s log stardate 572013.  I have taken a more dramatic approach in my attempt to bond these two very different species together for cohabitation.  My assignment here on planet Claroline was thought to be a simple and basic kind of mission.  I had planned to have my ship home and docked by now.  I believe my success in the past has hindered this current mission rather than help it.  Planet Ellorgan was very easy to integrate.  The two different species there though more different than the ones here had more of a gentle nature.  These two, though quite appealing to the eyes, can do much damage to the ears.  As I take this log the Claireisess are doing their evening ceremony of howling at the stars above.  I believe the Carolinights find this most aggravating for they keep trying to communicate with loud whispers that still make no sense to this captain. My endeavor to teach the Carolinights our home planet’s language has proved to be very difficult.  They prefer to communicate with repeated hand gestures and one syllable sounds. … I am growing weaker now....  I do not think this night will hold the results I or my co-captain were hoping.  It is time to call in the troops and remove the Claireisess before the Carolinights do serious damage to this carefully planned mission. Perhaps Log 582013 will yield more promising results.”

I gave up and put Claire back in her pack-n-play in the downstairs room.  She immediately stopped crying and snuggled up to her blanket and closed her eyes…seriously?  At least I am off duty now and can have a glass of wine! 

The Breed family is finally enjoying some beautiful springish days!  It seems that there is at least half of our family outside at all times during the afternoons.  I went from wiping snow and water off my floors to wiping up mud and mud and a little more mud!  My precious little girls get dirtier than all the little boys that live around us put together! Morgan’s favorite pass time right now is digging for worms!  She even brought one to church in a coffee cup!  I guess the worm needed Jesus or something.  All to say, we love the turn of season here!

Emmaus Road Church has been an up and running “officially” for four to five weeks now!! It feels very natural and I find myself treating this church like any other one I’ve ever attended; you know, arriving late, my kids crying during the service, letting Morgan run up to the front during the announcements to ask the pastor for a pen (ok, that did happen but it wasn’t ok with me), giving Claire my finished communion cup to keep her quiet and leaving at least one item a week there, usually a headband or something. Yes, I would say we are feeling quite at home at our new church.  There is one very different thing however, I totally have the hots for the head pastor of this church...hehehe!

Ava before moving to Missouri

Ellie has had an especially sad couple of days.  She had to say goodbye to her best friend who moved to Missouri yesterday. Ava and Ellie were so cute together.  They had the same interests and love of imagination fueled activities.  This usually resulted in many a mess, but their excitement made it all worth it…sort-of. We will miss Ava and her family very much.  On another note, Ellie will be heading off to Kanakuk next month with her cousin Sara! They will be traveling with Daniel’s parents who are volunteering at Kids Across American.  Ellie will be following in her daddy’s footsteps!  Daniel was a camper at Kanakuk for eight years and worked there for four.

Morgan took up dancing a month ago and LOVES IT! She is so cute and I must say a natural!  She is doing ballet now, but wants to try out “fast dancing” next time she says!  She continues to hone her artistic abilities during her scheduled art center time at school each day, so much so that I pull out five to ten pieces of “art work” from her backpack every day! Clearly, watching The Lorax didn’t have any impression on her.

Speaking of The Lorax, this slightly annoying movie continues to be Caroline’s favorite daily TV time pick of choice.  She gets time in the morning after the girls have gone to school to watch a show.  For the last month she has been picking this movie every day!  She doesn’t get to actually finish it…ever, but still points to it with GREAT enthusiasm.  Her favorite scene is the marshmallow scene.  She calls me in from where ever I am to watch it with her and makes her famous “Oh my!” face!  She has just discovered the power of the word “No!” a few weeks ago…all I have to say is, “Oh no…wait….no, don’t say “no” to Mommy…” ahhhh! How do you correct this!  I know you’re going to hate me for this, but El and Morg never said “no” to us…I know…I am so overdue! She has been getting a time out for every first offense and a flick on the cheek for the 2^nd to 100^th offense that follows.  The other day she said “no” to Claire and actually groaned, “Awww” in a very defeated voice, hung her head and walked slowly to the stairs where she put herself in a timeout! I was laughing so hard I had to get it together before I went to talk to her.

Caroline Having Some Fun

Claire will be 10 months is two days! I can hardly believe it!  She is so cute it kills me!  We have finally figured out what has been wrong with her for the last six months!  She has a severe dairy allergy!  I had switched to sow formula when I suspected this, but that made no difference.  Out of desperation I had switched to coconut milk.  This seemed to help a little, but she was still very fussy and would only eat one or two bites of her baby food before pushing it away and crying.  It seemed her tummy was always hurting. We switched pediatricians for insurance reasons the girls new doctor, Dr. Meyer, is amazing! She listened to me and suggested a new formula that is for babies struggling with milk and sow based formula.  The big downside is that it is $30 for a 12.9 oz can…yikes!  Dr. Meyer was able to get us a free case of it!  God blessed us with this amazing new doctor!  Little Claire has been a new women since the switch! We dropped off some chocolate sauce for Dr. Meyer today as a thank you.

Daniel and I are holding strong…or trying to. We knew the change of Daniel preaching every week would be an adjustment for us.  It certainly has been and is continuing to be. I am trying to be patient knowing his is basically running this thing on his own, but on Saturday afternoon when all the kids are home and I am the only adult available because he is hard at work on Sunday’s sermon…well, it is hard for me to think sweet thoughts. You can tell yourself over and over that there will be an adjustment time, but when you are both drained and empty those kind of pep talks don’t help at all.  Monday is turning out to be our “refuel” day, but this is not natural for me because it’s a start of a new week for me.  Please pray for us on these huge kind of adjustments and pray for your own pastors and their families.  The weekends are not times of rest for us. 

Well, I must close out I am getting rather weary, but I have to tell you one more thing…no, we aren’t having any more babies.  I started a rowing class at the Fox Valley Rowing Club!  I am SO EXCITED!!! I get to do something for just me that I have wanted to do for years, but there just wasn’t enough water in CO!  I will keep you updated on how awesome it is! 

May the Lord bless you this spring time with renewed growth in body and spirit!

Erin 

Let Worship Begin!

Dear Family and Friends,

The 4 Ladies

                I have been meaning to write this blog all weekend, but alas…who has the time to sit down and write with four girls always under toe!  Right now, in fact, I am doing my best to ignore the crying and whimpering coming from the downstairs bedroom (Claire, you’re tired…go to sleep), the little voice floating down the stairs saying, “Mom? Mom? I stinky! I stinky!”…wait…I might actually want to pay attention to that one or I might find poo smeared all over the wall again…but maybe Daniel will take care of it…I’ll just wait a few more minutes. Oh, and there is also a kitty named “Morgan” asking if she can just lay on top of the desk I am working at like real cats do…um..no.  J So with all the adorable “things” pulling and begging for my attention I am still taking time to write you, don’t you feel special! 

                I give greetings from a snow and ice covered winter wonderland that is the Midwest!  To be honest, I still love it…though my toes for the most part stay cold as ice around the clock, I am loving all the beautiful opportunities to enjoy the white beauty and even snag a few pictures here and there!

                We have had a lot going on since my last blog.  We went to CO for a week at the beginning of January.  We spent lots of time driving from Arvada to Denver to Westminster and back again seeing and connecting with friends and supporters. Daniel preached at Rocky Mountain Presbyterian Church and it was nice to be a part of their service again.  All and all, it was so good to get back to CO, but boy were we drained when we stumbled off the plane a week later WI.  I realized as the girls and I waited, surrounded with luggage, for Daniel to get the car that I felt like I had come home – again, confirming God’s plan for us here. 

We were also blessed to spend a few days with my uncle and his family up in the Wisconsin Dells.  There was an indoor water park there!  The girls had a blast with their cousins and Daniel and I enjoyed hanging out and talking with my Uncle Doug and Alicia.

Caroline and Claire Laughing

              I am finding as the date approaches for our church services to start that I am excited and nervous.  I know I have a role in all this, yet I feel so immersed and to be honest drowning in my role as “mom” that I’m not sure if I can take on much more.  I feel no pressure from anyone including my husband to “do” anything or “be” something I’m not, but it is hard to be constantly bouncing off the walls of my own limits as a person.  This is probably the first time in my life that every aspect of “my life” has felt this out of control.  Here is how I process each start of a new day. I wake up usually recharged (now that Claire is sleeping through the night) and positive – I am one of those annoying morning people.  After I have gotten the first round of girls off to school the second round wakes up.  As I am getting their breakfast I think to myself, “What will I get done today?”  The key word being done.  I think out my “dream to do list” in my head, the list I could have managed just fine three years ago. Then I shave it down to only two things…yes, two.  These are usually on top of working out such as folding the laundry or making Gluten Free bread.  Then I give myself a pep talk, “Erin, it will be ok if you don’t get either done.  You are just in that stage of life right now.” Then I pray for peace as my day slips away and I maybe get half the laundry done, but not the bread.  I pray that I know my value is found in Christ and not what I have accomplished.  I know that might sound strange, but I like to have control over my life…don’t we all? So, as I think about our church starting and all the plans and expectations, which most are fine and totally reasonable, but in the end Daniel and I cannot hang our value on whether we get this off the ground without a hitch or if we get enough people or if the communion cups are to everyone’s liking.   It is so easy to get sucked up into it all. So please, please pray for us.  Pray that we can see clearly during the next few weeks and that our expectations and those of other’s don’t blind us to the excitement and joy of what God is doing here…and if pray isn’t working I’ll just go down to the basement and go a few rounds on my new punching bad…no, seriously!  After a particularly stressful few weeks I decided to stop wishing I could punch something and actually went out and got a punching bag!  I think every pastor’s wife should get one…it’s quite therapeutic next to praying of course! J

Beautiful foggy day at park near our house

Ahh, my girls!  Always so many stories I could tell!

                Ellie is busy planning her 9^th birthday party next month.  We have had many discussions on whether to invite all the girls in her class which would include the one “mean girl” that all the girls try to avoid or just invite two of the girls. This is a rule we have put in place, too invite all or we invite only a few, but we don’t exclude just one or two girls. Ellie has decided to invite all the girls. I am curious to see if the “mean girl” is the same as I remember when I was young.  I will let you know how it all goes! 

               Morgan still likes to pretend to be a kitty.  Her costume has gotten more elaborate now and she has special “eye lashes” she wears (purple stickers) on top of the stocking tail that hangs out the back of her pants.  Morgan is very proud of her perfect “smile” chart at school (good behavior = smile sticker, bad behavior = loss of a smile sticker).  Every night at dinner she tells us very seriously who lost smiles today and why.  Morgan mentioned a few times how scared she is of losing a smile and that she just wouldn’t know what to do.  Daniel and I are debating talking to her teacher and basically making her loss a smile so she can see that it’s ok and she’s still loved…it might backfire though…we’ll see.

Caroline showed a little interest in potty training a few weeks ago so we gave it a shot…yeah…too early still.  After several accidents I decided maybe I wasn’t ready yet.  I think I’ll give it till the summer then try again. Caroline really loves her “baby” as she calls Claire, BUT doesn’t want to share her toys with her.  We have had many tearful moments and lots of time outs already…sigh.

Working on my new punching bag!

                   Claire is 7 months old!  She is super cute and pushing 18 pounds already (Caroline is 23 pounds even though she is super small for her age it still shocks me a little)!  After her 6 month visit to the doctor I was told that she was big enough now that she didn’t need that 3am feeding anymore.  I was so relieved, because the lack of sleep for the last 6 plus months was really getting to me.  So, we set up the pack-n-play in the downstairs bedroom and let her cry it out.  After a few nights and many tears on both of our parts she now sleeps through the night and we are both so much more happy.

                   Well, I need to go!  Caroline is climbing on my back and Morgan is coming in asking, “Are you done yet? When are you going to be done?  I want to see turtles on the internet!”  I hope this has been informative…I will have to read this over because I have forgot already what I wrote ! J

Love to all!