What a difference a year makes!

"Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and What is my family, that you have brought me this far?" Those word are from King David, but they have really spoken to my heart in this season.
It has been nearly a year since my last blog post and it seems so surreal looking back on it as we prepare for the coming year. Oh where do I even begin to fill in the blank space between this post and my last?
We have have been blessed beyond belief with the birth of our youngest son, Isaac Lee. The babe we were told was not, very much is. The pregnancy was full of ups and downs, aches, pains, and weight gain. That time was the hardest of all my pregnancies, I won't lie, but I wouldn't trade it for an easier pregnancy for anything. I grew more during this time than ever in my life. I don't mean just physically but spiritually, as well as becoming a better wife, mother, and friend. I had to get over my pride and let go of whatever control I thought I had and cling to my God, trusting that His WORD is real and life giving truth. That He meant it when He said he would never forsake me, that He indeed works all things for the good of those that love Him and are called according to his purpose. I also had to lean on my husband more than ever in our marriage. Ted wowed me with how he really stepped up to the plate and was everything I could ask for in a husband, father, and head of our household. This was not made easy for him by me as I have the tendency to want everything done my way, and of course I am always right. I guess there was a lesson about submitting to our husbands tucked away in this past year also. I believe we both grew in our own way and closer together. Not in spite of the trials but because of them.
Isaac, was born at 2:20am on the 18th of August. The very day his daddy had been telling him to hold out for. Brand new and already he knows to listen to daddy. The birth was very fast and we are told that contributed to his breathing issues, that landed him in the NICU for a week. Boy, was that a rough time. I had never had a baby not be in the hospital room with me, let alone not leave the hospital with me. There were a lot of tears that week. I am forever thankful for my family and friends that were so supportive during that time. With out them to help out with our other children or to talk to me at all hours of the night that could have been messy. A special thanks to my friend Keely, who being a mother of four NICU herself, babies knew how much I needed to hold my son and managed to talk the night nurse into letting me hold my precious child. I had been told all that day that I couldn't hold him since it would be to much excitement for him and he needed rest most. Until that moment it didn't even seem real that my son had even been born.
We were able to bring Isaac home at 8 days old. All was going well for a home full of small children with a brand new baby thrown in the mix. At seven weeks old ,Isaac, feel ill with what amounts to a bad cold and his breathing became very labored one night which landed us in the ER and then transported to the Naval hospital. The doctors told us his right lung had collapsed due to coughing, or some such thing. After 4 days they finally had a pulmonologist take a look at his x-rays, he suspected it was not a collapsed lung but squished lung due to a diaphragm issue. After a CT scan confirmed this we were sent home since he seems to have been born with a diaphragmatic intrusion, which was allowing his lower right lobe of his lung to be flattened. They intend to fix this with surgery by age 1. I am praying and trusting for healing. After all God has done it before. His next surgery consult is in 3 weeks, he was doing better than they had expected at his last check up so we are very happy. Whew! All that to say we are absolutely in love with our little Isaac. I don't know what his future hold but I am excited because it has got to be good!
During all that time we have the older boys to keep up with and they are just amazing. We are still trucking with our homeschooling. Tweaking the curriculum to work best for our family and figuring out each child's learning style.
This is Brock's first year of "real" schooling, though I believe we are all teacher the second we bring a child home. He is so interested in learning to read, and he is on the verge of really getting it. He can manage quiet a few words on his own but not enough to read a book independently. That is his goal. He wants to do it all by himself. Very different from Hayden, who wants to do it himself but wants me right there to see him do it. No, Brock is no show monkey. He won't sing you the ABC's but he knows them, and he'll tell you he can't count or add, until you need him to help you figure out how many M&M's to give out to each child. I so love that about him. He is so real, he doesn't need to impress. I pray he never loses that.
Our dragon, I mean turtle, um..bat..Our Simon, has such an imagination. He is something new every day it seems. He insists on "doing school" too, so he gets in there with his big brothers. Luckily, we are very hands on and flexible with our homeschooling so throwing a 2 1/2 yr old in the pot doesn't shake us. Life offers us new lessons and opportunities for adventure every day.
Then there is Hayden, who has been such a joy to guide on his journey that is education. Three years ago I was wondering if we could really do this homeschooling bit. Now I have a nearly 7 yr old that is reading books like Inkheart on his own when I wasn't sure I could teach him to read. We go a his pace and he has a drive to learn anything and everything about anything and everything. We have experiments going on at out house almost daily. He is also getting into sports. He wants to be a football fan and he is playing basketball this fall. Go Hokies! Oh and the biggest news of all.....Hayden, has a loose tooth! Yes sir, that baby could fall out any day now and the boy is stoked! He has seen every one of his friend lose teeth but has himself had not so much as a wiggle until now. apparently it is quite a milestone in a young man's walk toward manhood. I had no idea.
Ted is just awesome. We recently celebrated our 7th anniversary. I can honestly say we are stronger and more in love than the day we married. I always thought it was corny when people would say that. He still doesn't pick up his socks and put them in the hamper that is so conveniently placed. bBut then I still don't turn off the DVD player or put CD's back where the go, so nobody is ever going to be perfect this side of heaven.

I think that should be good to catch everyone up. I fully intend to post regularly from this point on, so check back soon!