2013 has come to a close...

I hate closing chapters. Nothing brings on the tears faster than the thought that something is done, all over, never to be again.  Though I know that many more fun chapters lay ahead, just waiting to happen, I can't help but savor the moments of melancholy that wash over me as I turn around to see where we've been.  Last year was filled with treasure.  Our biggest was--and is--the littlest face in the picture above.  Micah Gregory has come to complete our little family of five, and we could not be more thankful!  This was a year of expectation.  After miscarrying the previous November, we bravely started over, and thanks to God and his grace, we had nine months to prepare for another little boy to join our family.  This November was filled with joy as we celebrated Micah's arrival!

This was also the year that Gracie started kindergarten and Joshy started preschool.  Grace lost her first two teeth; Josh perfected the word "penis" (and used it in public as often as he could, much to his mother's dismay).  The kids started sharing a room; Gracie didn't have to finish her nights of slumber in a sleeping bag by our bed anymore.  Gracie started soccer; Joshy started slamming wiffle balls off of the tee.  Gracie started playing school during her rest time; Joshy continued his love of movies and collection of all things Toy Story (and continued the search for Bo Peep in every store we entered throughout the year).  Gracie decided she didn't like her milk in the morning, but downed it in the afternoon; Joshy transitioned to Phenyl-2, just like his sister.

This was also the year that we started going to a Bible Study group with the Templin/Huggins/Harper/Morgan families and the year our van turned over 100,000 miles.  It's the year we said goodbye to my Uncle Tom and celebrated Jeff's Great-Uncle Bob at his birthday in the fall before he passed away early in this new year.  We saw the family come together to help Pappy recover from a scary few days in the hospital, following a heart attack, and the kids started going over to Granny's to have special time with her, one-on-one.  Dad had another back surgery and bought his mid-life crisis: his 1962 Chevy Impala SuperSport.  Jeff resigned from coaching, bittersweetly, as he saw family time and National Boards in his future days.

We are so blessed.  Help us never to forget it.  Good-bye 2013…now off to print the blog-book, the year recorded for all of posterity! (In our family, "posterity" means the moments when kids with icky fingers leaf through the pages of our blog-books, looking for pictures of themselves "when they were little."  So sweet.)  :)

Lochhead's Merry New Year

This was our year to have Lochhead Christmas on New Year's Day. So we drove straight from the condo to the festive hangout of Drew and Annie.  Kevin prepared the meat this year and we all brought a dish to share.  My highlight was seeing ALL the cousins want to sit with each other at the bar.  This was hilarious!

And then seeing the picture-takers is almost as good…  :)

What chaos.  :)

Some gift highlights: G.G. gave the great-grandkids piggy banks and sat down with them to have them fill them with coins.  Jen's family gifted our family with pool noodles and matching owl caps (see the next post!)  We had Drew and Annie's family and gave them a toddler basketball hoop for Oden.  We all gave S & C a basket full of goodies and a Netflix gift subscription.  Joshy got his Jake and the Neverland Pirate Ship (score!!!) and Gracie got her Innotab (another score!!!). 

It was a really great afternoon.  We were all tired, so we didn't stay super late, but we enjoyed each other's company until early evening.  We even watched some Gonzaga ball.  A very nice day.

G.G. wanted pictures with all of the families, so I was pleased to oblige.  Some great pics...

New Years with Auntie Julz

Julie and her family invited us (again!) to spend New Year's Eve with them at the condo in Harrison.  We were so excited to be back to this tradition--last year they were in Hawaii and we had to find other fun to have.  But this year we were back in full swing.  We left the farm for CDA on Monday the 30th and stayed two nights with the McInturffs.

Silly pool kids.  This year they went with Daddy while Julz and I ventured into town with Micah.  We shopped aimlessly downtown for a bit before we drove to find a sandwich place (by Qdoba) and then the liquor store.  :)  That night was the 31st and we went up to the penthouse suite with the McInturffs and Michael & Melinda and their friends.  We played some fun games--I remember one that was a phone app that had us giving clues and playing charades.  At one point the boys were trying to act out being plumbers and I thought I'd pee my pants laughing.

The kids watched Arthur's Christmas during part of the night, and we ended up taking all three back down to our room around 10, I think.  We were tired and had to pack up to go back early the next day for Lochhead Christmas, so our kids didn't see the new year until the next morning.  Jeff and I were able to see the fireworks across the lake before we went to bed.  Good-bye, 2013!  We had so much fun "at the condo"--thanks, Julz!  We are already ready for next year!

Those Crazy Mosers at Christmas Time...

This was the first year that we celebrated the Sunday after Christmas.  It was a hard transition--we all are so used to celebrating on the 25th--but Mom said it was time that we all had our own days with our kids at home on the actual day of Christmas.  She didn't like it, either, but she did it.  :)

We went down the day after Christmas, and on Saturday night, the Morrows and Ben's clan came over for "pre-func"--dinner and Up and Down the River.

Micah the card shark...

The two most competitive players razzing each other…

Aunt Katie pointed out that this was the first pic of her with Micah.  She'd been sick during previous meet-and-greets.

Abby found my phone.

The next day was present time!

Naps.  Puzzling with Kelly.  Crab dinner.  More nativities for Mom.  Dad's car cover.  Our new microwave!  :)  Dad's sore back.  Brooke's basketball tournament.  A new time to celebrate.

Christmas Morning at the Lochhead House

Gracie: Excited.     Joshy: VERY excited.     Micah: He was there. :)

Gracie's gifts:  Her soft-soft purple monkey, Candy Land, and snow gloves.

Joshy's gifts:  His RC wind up car from Toy Story, Sorry, and snow gloves.

Micah's gifts:  Diapers and binkies!

And of course Daddy made pancakes--snowmen this year!

Lots of snuggling this Christmas…

I really wanted to get a pic of Micah in his stocking, but by the time I got around to it, he was too big!!!

Naptime!  We were wiped!  (And a little naughty.  It was so hard to be good all Christmas season!)

This was the first year we didn't rush down to the farm in the afternoon.  Instead, we crashed the VanSickle's for their Christmas dinner!  It was so fun seeing their gifts and watching the kids put on plays.  They had Swedish meatballs and rice pudding.  Deeeeeeeee-licious!  And fun to celebrate with friends.

Weber Christmas, 2013

Baby holding.  Seahawk game.  Auntie Camp.  Missing Tom.  Papa's recipe boxes.  Ben had Papa's name.  Up and Down the River.  Those delicious green tree press cookies.  I think I ate twenty.

Happy Birthday Daddy and G'ma Colleen!

Their birthday party, photographed by Gracie

It's My Mommy and I'll Cry...

…if she holds another baby!!!

One-and-a-half is a ROUGH AGE to share your mommy.  Both Oden and Millie were brought to tears when they saw Micah being held by THEIR mommy.  And mean old Aunt Ellie captured it on film.

Family of Five Photo Shoot

Thanks to our friend, Linnea, for taking these pics at the art building at Whitworth for our Christmas card.  I will always remember her saying as she giggled and clicked pictures, "This is TOTALLY capturing your family right now."  At the time I was wishing she had captured a more well-behaved, smiley family.  But these pictures make me realize that I treasure the spot we are in in this life.  Just relax--nothing is under control.  :)