August 13th, 2015

Joseph: Lincoln, no more oranges, please.

Lincoln: Come on, Dad!

Everyone at the table: LOL!

 4th of July 2011

We had a family reunion in Nebraska with Joseph's family. They would always go to a friend's property for a BBQ and fireworks. Joseph and his brothers, I especially remember Andrew, would put a lot of thought, effort and money into the show. They would make fuses to connect things. They would try to have small, medium and large fireworks go off. It was pretty impressive. I also remember one year that that someone set up a little canopy and let kids shoot a prize with a nerf gun. My kids were so excited to get bow/arrow toys and pogo sticks as well as many other little prizes. 

Boy Titus sure had a big, bald head...still cute though!

 Happy New Year's

I've always kind of liked some of the party aspects of New Year's. But, it's only been certain periods of my life where I have really liked staying up until midnight and then it was another level wanting to party that late. With little kids who I wanted to celebrate with, we started doing parties and count downs at noon instead of midnight. Some of my favorite things were doing a balloon drop and having sparkling cider in fancy glasses.

 UnoGo!

I found this travel UnoGo game and I love it! The cards are small and cute and you don't have to draw as much as regular Uno. It makes the game go faster. I feel like all my kids outgrow playing games with me. Titus is about there. But, we will still sometimes play with Joseph, Mira, Titus and I. Ansel and Lincoln will be gathered around, listening to music and watching. We all yell and cheer and sing. It's a good time.

Sunday, May 11th 2014

My sweet mother comes out to visit and help me whenever I have a baby. It is wonderful to have her around. She is so supportive and just does anything I need done. Well, she came out to visit before our fifth child, Mira Hart Ashby, was born. She planned a two week trip. Well, it was Mother's Day and we had no baby and she was heading home the next day. We kind of laughed that her baby visit would not include meeting the new baby, but that it was still wonderful to see her and have her help prepare for Mira's arrival.

I remember sitting on the couch Sunday evening and feeling my water leak. This is not usually the first sign of labor for me. I remember Mira's birth being so peaceful. I got in our big, jetted tub and just worked through contractions with Joseph supporting me. My midwife arrived and checked to make sure the baby and I were doing well. Then she exited until soon I felt ready to push. We got Isabel to cut the umbilical cord.  And my mom was able to meet Mira before she had to leave! 

Mira's middle name "Hart" is after my sweet Grandma Hart, who I loved so much. She lived in my town in California growing up and I would often spend the night at her house Friday nights. She would read to me when I had trouble falling asleep and would take me to McDonald's for lunch the next day. We would always have Sunday diner with my Gramma and would play card games after. I have such fond memories of that. Also, she would spill food on her glasses that would hang on her like a necklace and she would always steal the serving fork. Whenever we realized it was missing, we knew who to ask! lol.

Blogger??

I got a new computer and it had some weird old browser pages saved and it had my blog. I had completely forgotten that I ever did a blog. My kids all thought it was hilarious that I was a "blogger." I'm like, I wasn't really....about 5 people read my blog. We've had some fun times reading through old posts about my kids when they were little. 

So, we'll see if I can try to hit some highlights from the past 12 years....mainly for the sake of posterity.

Christmas Letter

Dear Family and Friends,

I cannot believe how fast this year has gone by! It's been a good one, full of change as usual. Joseph started last year off with a new job. He works for Bombardier LearJet and has enjoyed his assignments and responsibilities. In May he unexpectedly landed another job as a radio host. The Joseph Ashby Show is a conservative talk radio show focusing on local and national issues. It runs Mon-Fri from 6-8am and they are hoping to have podcasts available on the website soon: http://kqamradio.com/ He loves it.

Isabel (8) is in third grade this year and just becoming more and more capable. She loves putting Titus to bed and singing Christmas songs to calm him when he is upset. She is my awesome second mom and I couldn't run the house without her. August was a special month because she turned 8 and was baptized. Isabel loves sewing (glad someone in the house does), reading, telling stories and making up jokes. My favorite one is: What kind of straw doesn't work for drinking? A strawberry! 

 

Ansel (6) is in first grade this year and is such a little math wiz. He does extra assignments early in the week so he can have math days off later in the week. Ansel's cheerful attitude brightens my days. I love it when he gets into laughing fits. He enjoys building with legos and k'nex, riding bikes and playing sports. He is very excited to start a basketball class this month.

Lincoln (4) has grown so much recently and is finally beginning to mature (a tiny bit). Our little goofball has surprised me with how well he does with his reading lessons. I worried that he would be the hardest to teach, but he has been the easiest so far!! (knock on wood...) He is cute and gets so excited when it's his turn to do school with me. He just learned how to ride a bike on Thanksgiving and feels so happy with the freedom that brings.

Titus (2 in Jan) is huge. I've already been switching out his size 2 clothes for size 3. He loves to be the center of attention and will just ham anything up. He is so cute and funny and has started saying lots of words. Titus' favorite family tradition is running to the garage when he hears it open. He greets his dad by screaming his name with delight, goes straight for his lunch bag which he then dunks in his little basketball hoop. He LOVES balls and playing basketball and recently has started to play football. I love watching Titus run with the ball until Lincoln tackles him. (He likes it too.)

I am doing well, just trying to enjoy the wonderful moments of life. Homeschooling can sometimes take up so much time, but I'm glad to be working with and spending so much time with my kids. At church I got called to work with the Primary, so I've been getting involved in Cub Scouts, working with teachers and the kids. It's been a lot of work, but I really do love the chance to serve others and especially the children.

I know that Jesus Christ really was born to Mary. He lived a perfect life to set an example for us. It is only through following Him and living His teachings that we can experience true peace and happiness in this life [even while dealing with the hard things in life] and return home to our Heavenly Father.

The Ashby Family wishes you all a very Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!