A Glimpse of 2016

I haven't been blogging much lately. We have been keeping busy and since I'm on Facebook and Instagram often I just haven't felt like I had that much to say here on the blog. But I figured it was about time for a little update. 

In truth I struggle every year when it comes to Christmas cards/letters. My mom was pretty good about sending family update letters every Christmas when I was a kid. Everyone likes getting those, right? A little blurb catching you up on whats going on with far away family, etc. Its sweet, right?

Well, for us, not much changes from year to year. And that itself is hard to say sometimes. Progress with Joe and Christine is painfully slow. Joe often exhibits behaviors that make us concerned about the future. Both J&C are getting bigger, and we worry about the difficulty of caring for them long-term as they grow up. Sometimes we go about life as usual and don't think about how different our life is from the rest of the world. And other times the thought of it is crippling. 

My big struggle is how transparent to be in our Christmas letter/card. I don't want to be one of those people that holds everything in and puts on a front instead of allowing myself to be vulnerable with my friends and family. But is our Christmas card really the right venue for sharing my deepest pain as a special needs mom? Not the ideal place to spill all.

So, my Christmas cards are on the cheery and surface-y side. Everything in them is true, I just leave out the hard stuff. But, I do allow myself to open up to my close friends and family about our life and the challenges that come with it. 

If you are interested in a more in-depth conversation about whats going on with us just give me a call and we can get coffee or something and I'd be happy to share more in person. But as for now, expect my Christmas cards to stay light and fluffy. As Christmas cards should be. 

Mark 10:14-15

But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

Wanderling!!

Amazon is being dumb and won't let me post a review of my sister's new novel. Its like Amazon thinks I am bias or something...  which I might be, a little.  ;-)

My youngest sister was the winner of a writing contest and became a published author at the age of 16 years old. She ended up with a trilogy of books: The Journey to the Homeland series.

College life, married life, and her master program all kept her busy but she never completely stopped writing. She still had stories left that she wanted to tell and now we are getting to read them.

I had the pleasure of being a beta-reader of her new novel and I am excited to share it with you all! Here is the review I posted to Goodreads:

Wanderling by Hannah Stahlhut - My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I really really enjoyed this clever adventure story. The characters drew me in and I loved watching each character grow and deepen throughout their journey. And the fantasy world that Hannah has created is magical! The landscape and the people who live there are so engaging.
I think this is a great YA book for anyone who loved Hunger Games or Game of Thrones. I am so looking forward to seeing what else is in store for these characters that I have come to love! And I am going to say right now that I am "Team Tobin"!! ;-)  View all my reviews


If you are interested in purchasing Wanderling you can find it on Amazon for Kindle or in paperback. Also, feel free to follow Hannah through her writing journey on Twitter, Facebook, and her website. Stay tuned! Wanderling is just the first in a series! There will be more adventures to come!

Grease Birthday Bash!

This past week I celebrated my birthday. Thanks to facebook I saw that the Booth Tarkington Theatre in Carmel was hosting a Grease Sing-a-long event. Check out the trailer below:

 Well, I had never heard of anyone doing an event like that and it seemed like such a fun idea. So, we rounded up a few gals and busted out our poodle skirts and saddle shoes!

What a fun night!!  SO thankful that I have such wonderful ladies to celebrate with!!  Love ya!

Christmas Letter 2015

I took the lazy route and combined our family photo & Christmas letting into one. ;-) Best idea ever!

Waterman's Family Farm

If you didn't already know, my parents are a little bit carnie. When I was a teenager we started doing pony rides at company picnics and birthday parties, then we bought a couple of bounce houses, and it grew into something way bigger than we ever imagined. Eventually they sold off the pony part of the business to another homeschool family. Then the bulk of the inflatables they sold to a business owner from Chicago. Now in semi-retirement, my dad still has a few pieces of carnival equipment that he takes to festivals, including Waterman's Family Farm. We love to take the kids there in the fall and frankly, the best part is we get to do all my dad's stuff for free.  ;-)

Its been a great year!

 I often feel like we have more than our fair share of challenges. And maybe its true. But we all have our challenges. I try not to let people say that mine are bigger than theirs, because we each have our own mountains to climb. What is the use in comparing?

This past year had its fill of challenges. Lots of medical paperwork. Countless phone calls with insurance, doctor's offices, therapists and medicaid personnel. Tantrums and tumbles. Dirty diapers and tear streaked cheeks.

Awhile back I read an article online that really captured how amazed I often am with Nate. Dear Sibling to a Child With Special Needs could have been written about Nate himself. In a way it is.

 Throughout the early part of the year Nate was getting frustrated to the point of tears almost daily. The tantrums from his brother and seeing me frequently frazzled really got to him. Can't blame him for being shaken up sometimes.

We had a lot of talks about finding the good in each day. Not letting a bad situation or frustrating circumstance get us down. We had this conversation a LOT. Frankly, I think I was talking to myself as much as I was talking to him.

At first I didn't really notice that these talks were starting to make a difference. But after awhile Nate started saying "its been a great day". Sometimes it was in response to something good that had happened (going to a playdate or out to lunch) but other times, it was just because he knew that even though we sometimes have to deal with hard things, we are still blessed. Even Nate's friends and their parents have taken notice of his new "outlook on life".

I have told him how remarkable that it is for him to have purposefully changed the way he thought about life, his life. There are plenty of adults who have not been able to grasp this concept of recognizing the good in our life even while going through hard times. This wonderful outlook that he has taken on gives me hope for the man he is on his way to becoming. 

Our Fall Family Pictures

In preparation for our mini-session I scoured Pinterest for pose ideas. Because two of my kiddos cannot walk (or really stand) unassisted I had to keep that in mind while choosing inspiration pictures. Here are a few of the ones that I liked.

Then came the whole ordeal of figuring out what to have our family wear! I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to What To Wear pins. Thank goodness for Pinterest! Am I right?? ;-)

Capturing Joy had a whole series on different color schemes for family photo outfits and the post on "yellow" caught my eye. I was also inspired by this post and the rule of thumb that they suggest which is {the “three colors + POP” rule}.  The last couple of times we have had pictures done I worked everyone's outfits around something cute I found for Christine. This year I took a different approach. I haven't been feeling great about my body this year (put on a few lbs) so I picked an outfit for me that I really like and feel confident in. It was a gray dress which was neutral so it was easy to build a color palette around it. I looked in everyone's closets and found bits and pieces until it came together. I ended up buying a shirt for Joe at Goodwill to round everything out. I ended up choosing the same color scheme as the pictures above - navy, gray & yellow with a POP of pink.

In case you can't tell, my kids are incredibly hard to pose. The younger two are on the move so much and the oldest wants to do bunny ears the whole entire time! But despite my crazy kids, my lovely friend Lehi was able to get a few great shots of our little family. I love them!! 

Hearts at Home Mom's Weekend!!

Another March... another Hearts at Home conference for this gal! This marks my third Hearts at Home conference and I have loved each and every one. I mean, what is not to like about a weekend away from home with your girlfriends where you basically go to "mommy-classes"?

The theme this year is "Love Your Life". Whew... frankly, not always an easy task around here! But it was refreshing hearing stories from other moms and being reminded that its not always easy for anyone to love their life. But with His help we can love the phase of life we are in no matter what phase that is.

We made goodie bags for the weekend with special treats including shirts that I'd freezer paper stenciled to go with the conference's theme.

 

Hearts at Home is promoting the soon to be released Mom's Night Out movie. Sarah Drew (the lead actress in that movie, and of Grey's Anatomy) shared about her mom's powerful reaction to the movie. I saw a screening a couple of weeks ago.  SO good!!

 

The featured comedian and mc for the weekend was Sally Bauke (pronounced bow-key) was a delight! She was so thoroughly entertaining she kept us laughing the whole time. I thought I might actually need one of the piddle pads she kept referencing.  ;-) 

 

The keynote speakers were Dr. Kathy Koch of Celebrate Kids and Angela Thomas. Each of them has a unique testimony that reached our hearts. God is seriously using these ladies for His glory. What a blessing it was to hear them share this weekend! Such wisdom and heart!

 My girl Lehi and I were pretty excited to meet MoneySavingMom! Her workshops were so great.  She has such practical tips for organizing your life and saving your family money. We're going through her new book Saying Goodbye to Survival Mode together.

 

Once again, this was a weekend to remember that I am thankful to have shared with these lovely ladies! Its a time of learning and fellowship. Its a time of tears and laughter.

 

 Personally... I think Hearts at Home should be quarterly.  ;-)  Waiting a whole year for another Hearts at Home conference is too long!