Frazier’s 7th Birthday

My first baby boy,

My how you’ve grown. I still remember the joy I had the day you were born. You were such a handsome, beautiful baby with such a kind and laid back disposition. This week I received a note from your teacher telling us this:

“Frazier is a wonderful student. He is kind hearted, fair-minded and always gives 100%. I thank you for sharing Frazier with us.”

She also shared with me while I was at your class Christmas party that at the beginning of December you pulled her to the side and whispered, “Mrs. Sherman, I know the truth about Santa, but I won’t tell anyone.” She said you were true to your word all month long, and she was so thankful. Awesome kid! 

You are incredibly thoughtful and such a protector of the weak or the sister getting scolded. You don’t like when someone is sad, bullied or treated unfairly.

Speaking of sisters...Another “skill” of yours is getting your sisters worked up. We are working on this. You are not mean or hateful or even physical. You are just trying to get their attention and haven’t figured out that negative attention is not so great. Sigh.

In general you love life and are my LEGO-living, NERF-anytime, outdoor kid! You are all boy, and I love it. At night, you still want me to scratch your back and tell you a story or sing a song. You’re still pretty good at giving me kisses, even at school. 

You are currently wrestling for a local league and have joined Mary-Michael in Junior Bible Quiz. You’re doing well for your first year! And right now, you’re being evaluated for the gifted and talented program. Whether you meet the criteria or not, your Daddy and I know we have something special in you. We love you so much.

Forever and for Always,

Momma

Merry Christmas!

From our family to yours, we hope this season of honoring Jesus’ birth was special, peaceful and hope-filled. Hope! Romans 15:13 says:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Hope is forward reaching, reminding us that God is a promise keeper and a waymaker, so even when fear and doubt creep in, we can dispel it with the hope we have in Christ. He loves you so!

These 4 children led the way in showing us where the Holy Spirit was leading us to deliver these boxes of goodies on Christmas morning. We are always equally blessed by this and people’s reactions. We even heard from a neighbor that heard about it from one of the recipients that our delivery was a true blessing.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

What a beautiful time of year it is! It is a holy, exciting season filled with anticipation as we await the celebration of the birth of Jesus and the salvation He provided for you and me and the nations. Enjoy it! The family moments may be sprinkled with awkwardness and uncomfortable moments, and maybe your dream gift is still at the store, but I pray we can each keep our eyes on the main thing, the main person! This can be hard when our culture tells us that joy is found in the best gift, the best holiday meal, the best traditions. These are all good things, but true joy is not there. I have to remind myself of this A LOT! I hope our children start to catch a little bit of that each year as they grow and mature. And I hope they also just enjoy this season. Fun is good, loving others is good and Jesus is good! Much love from our family to yours.


Black Friday shopping fun!

We couldn't resist trying on these massive earmuffs. 


Opening a package from Japan filled with fun goodies. 


These kids love decorating. They love talking about the stories behind the ornaments and creating snowflakes and paper chains and Christmas signs. So fun. 


The tree topper!


Our first snow storm resulted in 4 days of missed school and Daddy enjoying his first winter not snowplowing. Woohoo! He's plowed every winter for 20+ years, so this was such a treat. 


Snow fun=so many smiles and so many wet clothes. But hey, Daddy is now home, so I have help. 


Leila had her first basketball game for her school in early December. She was aggressive and played hard. Her coach had to tell her to stop stealing the ball!


We were blessed and honored to participate in the annual Arlington Cemetery Wreath Laying. We arrived early and were able to place a wreath on my grandfather's grave, which meant so much to me. 


Thank you to the men, women and their families that sacrificed so we can have the freedoms we do. 


After Arlington, we thoroughly enjoyed a Christmas show celebrating many nations represented at McLean Bible Church in Northern Virginia with our friends Philip and Erica. The kids learned the unique ways people from different countries celebrate, what they eat at Christmas and other interesting facts. And the music and talent was beautiful! One of my favorite Christmas events this year. 


Momma, can I please go home and take a nap?

Giving Thanks 2018

We are blessed to have family so close that we get to see most of them during Thanksgiving. The weekend before Thanksgiving, we were thrilled to have lots of time at Nonnie and Grandad's place by the Bay. Zach and Christina came up from Charleston, and we so enjoyed having time with them to relax, play, catch up and enjoy good food. It was a real treat. 

And a few days later, we headed to Northern Virginia to enjoy Grandma, Grandpa and all the aunts, uncles and cousins that are only together this one time a year. This is also when Geoff and I go on our annual Black Friday date early on the morning on Friday. Always a treat!

During the month of November, we really focused as a family on what we were grateful for. This is so good for the kids, but also for us adults. We can get just as caught up in the materialism, gadgets, home improvements, etc. But really, there's so little we actually need. We are truly blessed, and when we shift our focus to the things we have, our joy increases, our attitudes improve and our eyes stay fixed on the things that really matter. We are blessed to be free - still free to worship our Creator openly, free because of brave men and women that fight for our country, free to have a family of many colors through the gift of adoption, free to pursue our dreams. Here's a picture of the things our family wrote down that we are thankful for this season. 

And here's a little glimpse of our family time.

Grandad and Benaiah enjoying one another. 

Aunt Christina is always so good with her nieces and nephews. 

Too much joy wrapped in this little package. 

Such a fun weekend at the Bay. 

We had a great time at a local lights show at a botanical garden in Northern Virginia. It was so pretty and a fun way to begin anticipating Christmas. 

All the cousins together! Eight in all ranging from 9 months to age 17. 

Post-Thanksgiving pictures. It was chilly! So, this really meant everyone waiting inside until their turn and then running out for a quick shot. 

The Lawrence siblings together again. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for a great time and making sure we are all together!

The Joys of Fall

Fall is that season of transition when the summer fades and school kicks in to high gear. Schedules are back in place, mornings are full and busy and all efforts are made to ensure we have family dinner together. Fall feels so fast and before I know it, Christmas is around the corner. We enjoyed our annual apple picking in Charlottesville following a fun and memorable hike in the rain. And of course the fall means the State Fair, trick-or-treating and a football game at UVA this year!

Leila played soccer this fall with her school and thoroughly enjoyed it. Mary-Michael tried out an 8-week musical theater class at the local dance school and the 2 boys and I enjoyed some time together. 

We enjoyed an adults-only weekend in September with 4 other couples at Lake Anna. It was so refreshing and fun!

The kids all headed to Northern Virginia to stay with Grandma and Grandpa while we were at the lake. This also meant cousin time and a visit with Aunt Keesha and Uncle Brian. 

 We love our annual State Fair visit with Grandma and Grandpa. Kam and Hailey joined in the fun this year, too. 

Cotton candy dreaming.  

 So many smiles at the fair!


Woohoo!

All good things come to an end. We did a lot of walking, riding and feasting.  

I enjoyed meeting Frazier and other 1st grade classes at Maymont for their fall field trip. These boys kept me moving!

Look at this cuteness!

Best gift in 2018 is right here. 

Leila enjoyed her first youth retreat this year. Over 90 kids from her youth group joined in the weekend fun at Camp Piankatank. Out of this trip she decided to be baptized. We are so proud of her decision. 


 My monarch, Ninjago, snow queen and pineapple enjoyed visiting with my Mimi and sharing pizza before we collected more candy than any human should consume.

Who doesn't love a pineapple?

Here we are with the Kell's, our friends that joined us for trick-or-treating. 


What a treat to enjoy a UVA football game with some friends. We didn't win, but we've had a much better season than past years!

 Love this beautiful lady, and am so thankful for our 15+ years of friendship. We met in our first class as first years (freshman).

Our church knows how to love others and have fun! Glow stick fun at FX (Family Experience)!

Look at these sweet brothers. For this baby brother, Frazier prayed! And that prayer has been answered!