Our 2008

As I sat down last night to write our Christmas/New Year's letter, I was a little overwhelmed by this last year.  Not overwhelmed in a bad or scary way, but in a grateful way.  

I've been blessed beyond my wildest imagination and quite honestly looking back there isn't one thing that I would change.  I'd like to remind myself of this when things start to get hairy next year and I start wondering, "Ok Lord- how in the world are you gonna deal with this?"  As doubt starts to creep into my mind, I'm going to remind myself of this past 2008.

Michael:

It was a big year for Michael, he grew from a toddler to a little boy right before my eyes. I'm amazed each day how his little mind is working. From the funny things he says, to loving his brother, to knowing who Baby Jesus is.  I'm thankful that he's healthy and growing as he should be.  I pray that he continues to grow and that we can continue to share the Love of Jesus with him.  I also pray that he sees the joy in serving others, we sort of started showing him this but it's something I really want to work on with him this year. 

Samuel:

I'm very concerned about him being the middle child. :) I told a friend of mine this the other day, that I feel like I haven't gotten a chance to really get to know him yet. Michael was a bit older when Samuel came along. I guess in a way I feel like Samuel's going to get lost in the mix. My prayer is that I recognize this and make that extra effort to love on him.  He'll only be a year when his new sibling arrives, but I pray they are the best of friends and that he's the best of friends with his big brother. 

Phillip:

This has been the greatest area of growth in my opinion.  I think I've seen my husband turn into a man right before my eyes. There was a time when things were rough between the two of us. He had issues he needed to deal with, and I had issues I needed to deal with. I started reading the book, "The Power of a Praying Wife" and realized that I couldn't change him. That was the Lord's responsibility, but I could change myself, my attitudes and my actions.  Ironically that book turned out to be more for me than him! 

What a work the Lord has done, to my dear friends who are struggling in their marriages:My one piece of advice,  would be to stop focusing on what your husband is (or isn't) doing and take it to the throne of grace!  If we spent as much time in prayer over our husbands as we did being resentful and pointing out their wrong doings- oh what a work the Lord would do! Pray daily for your marriages, pray daily for your husband who has to be in the world and deal with the filth that is in it.  Remember that it doesn't happen overnight- it's a process that you HAVE to be faithful to pray them thru.

I've been blessed to see him grow and blessed to see the prayers the Lord has answered. 

Myself:

In my own mind I think I've finally went from being a college student to being a woman. Man, I'm getting old :) But really, the Lord has really shown Himself to me this past year.  He's shown me the innermost parts of my heart, what a yucky thing! But praise Him that He's cleansed me and walks with me each day.  My verse for this past year has been,

Jeremiah 29: 12-13, "Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."

The Lord doesn't say, I'll listen to you and give you everything you want, but that He will listen and be found when we've searched with all our hearts.  This walk with Him isn't about what He can fix, who He can fix, but that we daily surrender ourselves to Him.  That we choose to take His outstretched hand and walk with Him: thru the pain, thru the suffering, thru the daily mundane and thru the sunshine. That we know and understand His ways are higher than ours.

Beth Moore said, "The giant step in the walk of faith is the one we take when we decide God no longer is a part of our lives, He IS our life."

Amen and Amen

Michael's 1st snow trip!

Who would have guessed that a short trip up the mountain to Pine Cove would have turned out to be such a great time?  We took off with Uncle Shauny and Auntie Linney Saturday morning for Michael's first trip to the snow.  I was a little worried driving up because it was really icy and we don't have snow chains, but my husband turned out to be quite the driver and got us there safe and sound. 

It took Michael about 2 minutes to realize he was in for a fun day.  I thought it would take a lot of convincing for him to get on the inner-tube with Uncle Shauny- but no. He got on and off they went:

Here's Mikey and Daddy- you can't hear Mikey getting impatient telling Phillip- "Let's Go Dad!"

This about gave me a heart attack! A 30 foot high embankment of snow- Mikey must have went down this "slide" at least 20 times- he couldn't get enough of it.  His face is so funny- click the picture to make it bigger:
What a sweet daddy- trucking Mikey up another hill to go sledding down.
After he came down on his bottom- he's yelling to Uncle Shauny- "That was funny!"
Uncle Shauny, Daddy and Mikey trying to figure out other "fun" ways to come down the hill.

Someone forgot to tell Daddy we were at the snow- not the beach ;)

It's always better with Uncle Shauny!

Ready to go home- do we have to leave???
Now I'm on the look out for some snow pants (for mommy- jeans are no fun in the snow).  And we have to find a new snow-sled- Daddy broke it :(  

My new years resolution

Lately I've been very frustrated with myself because I'm tired, my house is a constant wreck, I haven't been spending time in the word and I'm tired.  Granted, I do sort of have a good excuse for being tired, but we all know what excuses are. Anyway, I was reading one of my favorite blogs: Simple Mom and I became very inspired by this post: Starting your morning off right. 

So I decided this afternoon that for 1 week I'm going to try to go to bed right between 9:30-10pm and waking up at 6:30am.  Which isn't really that far of a stretch since I usually have to pee around 6am anyway.  I'm going to take my prenatals, (which my Dr. will love), read my bible and spend time in prayer and have a cup of coffee.  I've tried doing this at night, but we all know how that goes. 

I am really encouraged by this because like she says in her post, "your morning routine is not your taskmaster, while the point is to establish routine to your day, life happens. When your husband or kids need something urgent, we moms just need to set our list aside for the benefit of those we love...It's important, but it's not THAT important."  

This is key for me- to remember that life happens.  I know the Lord will minister to me greatly in the time that I spend in His word.  So it really boils down to my willingness to roll out of bed 30 minutes earlier.  :)  Pray for me my friends- this could go very well or very bad!

Christmas with Nana and Papa

The finale of the CHRISTmas season- all day at Nana and Papa's.  We start the morning with cinnamon rolls, fruit and dip, coffee and hot chocolate.  This year we finally figured out how to navigate thru the opening of presents.  With 3 children that know how and 2 that don't this could have gotten a little hairy (the newly remodeled family room helps too!).  We decided to spread them all out and pile their gifts around them. They were actually very civilized and took their time opening each gift.  We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, eating, relaxing and eating.

Christmas doesn't get much better than that.

Benjamin (3), Bailey (1), Michael (3), Samuel (5mos.), Allyson (6)

The beloved skateboard and baseball glove...

Wow Mikey- you got some cars here?

The cursed kazoo- Nana's idea of a "funny" gift.
Samuel Phillip and Papa

Christmas Morning

Christmas Morning we were awakened to Michael whispering- "Is it Christmas guys?"  Yep- it's Christmas and it was also 7am!  It took us about 10 minutes to get situated downstairs and the gift giving to began.  This year was a lot of fun because Michael was really excited about his gifts.  Phillip took him shopping for my stocking stuffers so Mikey was extra excited to give me all the stuff in there.  Samuel sat and smiled on the couch the whole time, like he normally does :)  

After we did our family Christmas we were off to pick up Granny and then off to Nana and Papa's for cinnamon rolls, coffee, hot chocolate and all the other goodies that she makes... more on that later-

Michael showing Samuel the candy he got in his stocking- Mikey didn't really care about the books or the whoopy cushion, just the candy.
"I see pictures mom!"

Daddy with his coffee- I think this is the 2nd time of the year the man's out of bed before 7:30am. Actually- it might be the 1st being that now he can record the British Open!

Yes- another boogie board. I told him if this one breaks he's out of luck!  Quick funny story about this:

The boogie board arrived earlier than expected so Phillip was home to receive the package. Obviously- he knew right away what it was.  So as more packages started arriving I had to explain to Mikey that the presents were surprises and we don't tell daddy because they're surprises. 

So we're sitting at the dinner table one night and I'm explaining to Phillip that we worked on keeping presents as surprises. Michael looks right at me and says, "Mommy- I'm not gonna tell Daddy there's a boogie board under the tree for him right?  It's a surprise and I'm not gonna tell him"  :)  Meanwhile daddy's laughing hysterically, good job Mikey.
Probably the most enjoyable part, playing with all the new toys.  

Christmas Eve

This year we spent Christmas Eve at our house with my family.  April and the kids came early so that Mikey and Zeke could play before lunch/dinner and opening presents. We were even lucky enough to get a nap in for the two of them, granted it lasted about an hour and a half, but it was something!  By the time they were up from their naps, they were more than ready to open up their presents.  

After presents it was off to Christmas Eve service at church, then off to Ivan's dads.  We've been going to the Martinez' for 6 years now for tamales, rice and beans and good memories.  This year was nothing different- good food, good company and good laughs.  

By the time we got home, we were ALL ready for bed. 

Ezekiel (3), Samuel (5 mos), Michael (3) and Samantha (1 yr)

So funny- Samuel looking to see what his big brother got :)

Christmas Jammies!

For some reason I woke up this morning around 6:30am, probably because I still have things to do today.  There's a roast to bake, appetizers to create, grocery shopping to be done, laundry STILL coming out my ears, etc etc.  I'm finding more and more that my tasks as a mommy and housewife are never EVER complete.  So I roll out of bed around 7am to discover Michael's bedroom door open.  I walk downstairs to find him laying next to the Christmas tree. Not sure how long he's been there.  Of course the first thing he asks me,

"Mommy is today Jesus' birthday?" half yawning

"One more day Mikey, but today IS Christmas Eve" 

I run through today's events with him- he likes to know the plans for the day (such the oldest child!).  And he tells me he's going to lay in bed- he's still a little sleepy :)

I treasure so many things about Christmas- being with family, giving gifts, seeing the excitement in my child's eyes (Samuel's not there just yet-he's excited every morning!)  I especially love the Christmas jammies- I started buying them from Disney (are there really any cuter ones?) when Michael was a baby. Since then it's sort of a family tradition to get all the cousins matching jammies they wear to my in-laws Christmas morning.  They are so cute!  I'd have pictures of Samuel- but being the good baby he is- he won't be awake for about another 1/2 hour or so.  

So here are this year's Christmas jammies- here's Mikey after he laid back down for all of 20 minutes. :)  Merry almost Christmas everyone!

Making a Blog Private

Up until 4 days ago I didn't care who could read our blog. I figured who in the world would find it without knowing who we are right? And I didn't mind if people found our blog thru mutual friends, people at church, old college friends.  Until I got a comment in my e-mail box from some lady that I don't know, telling me that she loved my pictures.

Fast forward to today- CREEPY.  I still get creeped out when I think about it. I have pictures of my children- and I've never really been the paranoid type.  But thanks to my friend Danelle (cold case files) and I'm sure watching too much "CSI" and "The first 48"- I'm officially paranoid. 

So- our family blog is now private. Pictures of my children and my family won't be viewed by random people who I don't know. And believe it or not, I feel a little bit safer.

Oh the innocence of it all

So Thursday we were driving home from my friend Karlee's house. I decided to take side streets, which takes us around park hill so that Mikey could look at all the Christmas lights.  We get to the animal park and have this conversation:

"MOMMY- I see baby Jesus in his manger- look over there- He's RIGHT THERE..." mind you he's yelling

"Yep Mikey, there's baby Jesus" I'm trying so hard to giggle quietly

"And those guys mommy and the animals. And baby Jesus is right there" with the biggest smile on his face.

Oh if we, adults, only took God's word as literal like a child does. I mean think about it- God says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to give you a hope and a future." I mean- He said it so why do we ever worry about anything at all? He already has it perfectly planned for us. 

Samuel's Dedication

Last Sunday we had Samuel dedicated, which was extra special because Uncle Ivan got to do it. It wasn't anything very elaborate, but it has a huge significance for us.  Our prayer for Samuel is that he grows to love the Lord with all of his heart and desires to serve Him.  We pray that he is like the prophet Samuel in that he listens to the Lord when He calls him.  What a blessing it is to have babies that we can dedicate back to the Lord.

Uncle Ivan and Samuel Phillip, 5 months old
Our family of 4, soon to be 5 :)  Looks like we'll be back next year doing the same thing!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

This year it literally took me ALL day to decorate.  Gone are the days of coming home early from work and decorating interrupted for 3 straight hours.  Here's how the day went:

The house is completely clean, which is huge for me right now because I'm so stinkin' out of it. Anyway- the formal living room before, 

My stair case always looks so boring before the decorations are all up:
This is mid-way through.  We stopped for lunch, Michael helped me by pulling EVERYTHING out of the box. Which really drives me nuts because I have a system, oh well, guess I have to be flexible right?  
The funny thing about this is that if Phillip were here- he'd be going CRAZY.  He can't stand messes, and this is quite the mess!  I'm at about the half-way point here so I decided since both the boys were fed and fast asleep, I should catch a little nap :)
I finally finished at about 5pm- just in time for Phillip to walk through the door and enjoy the fruits of my labor.  I just thought this picture was cute so I included it.

See what I mean about the stair case being boring!
Ahh...I love Christmas lights. My favorite thing to do is to sit in front of the Christmas tree with all the main lights off and enjoy the glow of the Christmas lights.
See- much better right?
I have a funny story about the stockings.  So last year I bought us matching stockings, I originally purchased 4. Phillip was VERY adamant that we were done after baby #2.  As I was standing in the check-out line I started thinking.  What if in like 4 years I accidentally get pregnant? Then I'll have to buy all new Christmas stockings- because these won't match!  So I went back, purchased one more just in case :)  Good thing I purchased one more just in case! One more thought I had at 3am the other morning- my stocking holders came in packages of 2, naturally I bought 3 packs.... hmmm.... no, we're done ;)

Christmas Traditions

One tradition we do each year is go to Nana and Papa's to decorate the Christmas tree, eat cinnamon rolls and listen to Phillip recite scenes from Home Alone :) The original Loya 5 have obviously been doing this their entire lives.  The added Loya clan members have been doing this for 8+ years.  What a fun tradition it is.  

This year was Samuel's 1st tree decorating experience, Bailey's 2nd, Michael & Benjamin's 3rd and Allyson's 6th!  Now here's a fun thought to wrap your brain around.  This time next year, Lord willing, this will be the age breakdown of all 7, yes 7 grandchildren:

Ally- 7 yrs

Benjamin- 4 yrs

Michael- 4 yrs 

Bailey- 2 yrs

Samuel- 1 yr

Baby Wagner- 6 months

Baby Sophia :)- 5 months

That's right folks- 6 children under the age of 4, and 4 children under the age of 2! If that doesn't make your head hurt I don't know what will.  But I have a secret to share- I get SO excited at the thought of adding babies to our growing family, both immediate and extended.  If Phil would let me, I'd have at least 2 more (not so close together OBVIOUSLY), but none the less, I love it :) There's just something about big families that make me smile.  Anyways- I digress...

Lindsay usually gets stuck decorating the tree because we're all headed in different directions after the children. But this year was a little different, Ally and Benny were very excited to decorate. Michael was too, until Papa spoke those magical words (you'll see these in a minute)... isn't Lindsay's baby bump SO stinkin' cute :)  She finds out in a week whether it's a boy or a girl (we're hoping for a girl!)

Ivan and Benny wrestling like they usually do.

So Michael started to decorate the tree until Papa mentioned trains.  Of course Mikey tore after him towards the back bedroom and there they stayed until the cinnamon rolls were done!

Cinnamon rolls- can't you smell the yummyness :)  Phillip told Mikey that Nana makes them JUST for him!
Michael's new favorite saying, "These are my favorites" so of course, he repeated that phrase over and over as he was eating his cinnamon rolls.  The next morning we had this conversation:

Mikey, "Mommy can you make my favorites again?"

Me, "Your favorite what Michael?"

Mikey, "Dhose favorites that Nana made me and Daddy."

Me, "You mean cinnamon rolls?"

Mikey, "Yeah, I like dhose"

Me, "Mommy doesn't make those Mikey, only Nana can"

Mikey, "Call her mom"

Ummmm... yeah probably not.