I must mention first, that most of you know the detailed story of the birth of Nathan and Noah, but I usually wrote very little about Grace and Sam during that time. May I tell you that these are two really great kids. With all of the events that happened, they were troopers through it all. They are not usually left very often, and when things got hairy, they were so flexible, willing to go with anyone and everyone who volunteered to watch them. Their lives were pretty much chaos for a period of time, as I tried very hard to keep things "normal" for them.
Ed is still working at Burns and McDonnell in the Infrastructure Division. He pretty much has been working on projects locally and does not have to travel (we all love that). His work has been awesome at allowing him the time off that he needed to have in the beginning of the year. He amazes me at how he can juggle work, family, household chores and projects and occasionally squeezes in a round of golf. He is a great dad and much help to me.
I am still staying home with the kids and trying to keep my sanity! I gave up running the playgroup with our church but we still attend and are involved. I have given myself the title of Chief Family Organizer which includes lining up doctor visits, therapy, running kids to activities, etc. For the most part, we keep busy. I am still working on getting through the obstacles we were faced with, there are some days when I'm not sure that I want to get out of bed, but I am hopeful that with time, my heart will continue to heal.
Grace is growing up very quickly, she turned 4 in May. She participated in the Dance Ministry through our church and took ballet classes. It is so adorable to see the girls in their little leotards performing! She played soccer for the first time this fall. It was a shaky start, mostly jumping around cheering for her teammates, but she showed a lot of improvement and soon was scoring goals. She also started Preschool three days a week, which has been really good for her. It is hard to believe how much she has grown up and will soon be in shool full time.
Sam has become a real boy this year! Don't get me wrong, he still loves to put on the plastic princess high heels and push his lawn mower around! He is such an easy-going boy, but he found a very renewable source of energy in the last six months or so. He wears me out, but I wouldn't have it any other way. We worried for a while that his verbal skills seemed to be lacking, but not to worry. . .one day he woke up and began talking and hasn't stopped. For those of you who haven't seen him in a while, well, let's just say that he is Eddie Junior! He is cooperative for the most part and has learned how to manipulate his mom really well.
Nate. Where do I start? Well, let's just say that we are maching free (since August) and he has remained pretty healthy so far. He receives therapy about once a week through Missouri First Steps and visits the developmental pediatrician every so often, but other than that, he is just a regular baby. Most of his milestones are calculated according to his due date and so mostly he is considered around 8 months old. He is sitting up now and is showing signs of crawling. He is eating well and will eat about anything we throw his way. He has gained significant ground with his weight and now weighs about 15 pounds. Not bad for starting at 1! He is a great baby, sleeps well through the night, happy and never cries. He is our miracle. We know how blessed we are for his outstanding health, and realize that he could of very well had numerous complications. We are still very cautious with him as far as keeping him healthy throughout this winter season. Hopefully, by next year, we won't have to worry to much. One last thing about Nate, can you believe that he will be 1 year old in just a few weeks??
Once again, we can't say enough thanks to each and everyone of you for all the support and encouragement over this last year. It was amazing to us how God uses each one of you to touch our lives. We love you all.
Wishing you a blessed Christmas season!
