Christmas

Ok, so it’s been awhile since I’ve updated this thing!!!!  Sorry about that friends, but I’m back:)  In part to my new Christmas present from my most wonderful husband….a new laptop, YIPPEEE!!!!!  Since opening my new present we have been down to celebrate Christmas day with Joe’s side of the family and then awoke the next morning to head out on a 24 hour drive to Austin, Texas to be with one of my 3 siblings and her family and my parents.  Much to my dismay, after looking at my pictures from Texas I do not have a SINGLE picture of my sister, her husband, or my parents!  Snapping pictures of kids requires so much less energy, I mean think about it.  We adults say, “wait, let me brush my hair”, “is there anything in my teeth”, “I spilled something on my shirt”, “I look thinner from this side” and so on.  Kids on the other hand have adorable smiles ready at a moment’s notice.  They don’t care how dirty they are, if their shirt’s on backwards, or what their hair looks like just as long as you let them see the picture after it’s taken.  Sooooo, I chose the easy route and photographed the kids.

The Colvin cousins at Great Mamaw and Papaw’s house…the couch picture is a tradition.  As you can see they need a bigger couch:)

Mamaw goes to great pains to prepare for this special day.  This is Joe’s mom with all the kids minus London.  She crashed and we weren’t waking her!  Thanks Mamaw for preparing the meal and planning for a special day!










This all would not be possible if it weren’t for these two special people.  These are Joe’s grandparents, affectionately known as Great Mamaw and Papaw.  We love them dearly and are so thankful for their presence in our lives!

I just love this picture.  This is my nephew Charlie.

This too is a personal favorite.  Sydney has been wanting a cowgirl hat and she got one from Mamaw and Grandad, boy is she sweet:)











The above photos were taken in the movie theater in Texas.  We all went to see the movie The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 3D.  I strongly recommend this movie in any dimension.  Kudos to Disney for doing an excellent job of getting across the message that I believe C.S. Lewis intended!  A definite must see!

75 and sunny, yeah we were outside!  It was definitely a nice break from the frigid Indiana temps. 
 
The kids insisted on racing one another.  To make it fair my dad called out names and you ran when your name was called.  I had as much fun watching as they had racing.

My sister’s daughter Peyton (second in line) insisted on starting the races.  If any of you knew my sister as a child you are not surprised by this.  We humored her and let her have a moment in the limelight, as London didn’t stand a chance against her.
 
This one was for my dad.  He worked to get all the kids on this very climbing- friendly tree.   It only took 15-20 pictures to get everyone to look at me….at the same time!  Memorable nonetheless.  A definite keeper.


Just after we arrived home from the park we heard what sounded like a freight train, the floor seemed to shake and my sister yelled, “Look outside!  Daddy’s flying over!”  Stepped outside their front door, looked up and saw my brother-in-law doing a little fly over for us.  Thanks Ellis, definitely not something we see every day.
We had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to a very busy 2011.  We’ll be heading east next week to be with the rest of my family.  Stay tuned for more on that! 

House on wheels

 

As you can see the house is moving!  If you look back at previous posts (or if you remember what our house used to look like) you’ll notice that the house is now on the opposite side of our driveway!  It was definitely strange to pull down our old driveway and see this. 

As you can see the house is literally on wheels.  It is sitting directly behind the new basement ready to be rolled onto it’s permanent home.

What’s left of the old basement. 

Should be interesting when it’s all done….stay tuned for the final move!

On the Move

 

Progress is being made at our old house even with the winter weather conditions!  Things are moving a little slower than expected, but they are moving nonetheless.  I snapped a few shots of the house as it sits about 5 ft up in the air on hydraulic jacks awaiting the perfect weather conditions to move it to it’s new “home” on the new basement about 10 feet from where it is now.

Not only will they be moving it but they also must turn it so that it faces the road.

I could have walked under it…I chose not to.

What’s left of the old basement after they busted holes in it in order to run their beams through.

The new basement, waterproofed yet full of snow:)

Well there you have it.  She needs to move from her current location to that mound of dirt on the right.  Will attempt to keep you posted as progress is made!

Sydney

 

11 years old, wow!  Where did the time go?  I am reminded of how quickly time flies when my children have a birthday.   I look at London now (age 2) and I can’t even hardly remember that Sydney was ever 2!  I look back at pictures, most of which were taken on film and are now pasted securely in a scrapbook, and I am reminded of her life.  Each stage brought new adventures for us, her parents, because she was our first child.  She got all of the attention for the first 2 1/2 years of her life, and we loved every minute of it. 

I thank God for Sydney’s spirit.  Her confidence in herself.  Her compassionate nature.  Her strength to lead.  Her servant’s heart.  I pray that as she continues to grow into a woman that she would hold fast to the gifts that God has given her.  That she would always seek His will and not her own.  That she would put others before herself.  That all she does would be to the glory of God!!!!

We love you Sydney, Happy Birthday!

Enjoy some reflections over Sydney’s last 11 years.  Most of my pictures start at age 1 as that is when I got my first digital camera.  Enjoy!

Sydney and her two best pals, prior to the birth of any siblings that is.

Moving Dirt

 

Well the time has finally come to move our “old” house, as it’s come to be called.  For 8 years we lived in this wonderful house on 20 acres.  Not too many years after moving in we were told that a highway was going to be built and much to our dismay it was running right down the center of our property! 

Our options were few…basically find a new house and move because the state of Indiana was knocking the house down whether we liked it or not.  So we found a home, fixed it up and moved in.  Shortly after we found out that in fact the contractor would GIVE us our house back as long as we moved it out of his way.  We still own 10 acres to the west, so we decided to add more craziness to our life and move the house.  Now mind you, this is no small task.  This is a 3 story, 4,000 sq. ft. house with a very large stone fireplace that we’d prefer to have stay in one piece. 

For those of you who have been following the latest house drama, this may not be news to you, but I’m sure you will appreciate the pictures.

The “new” road running right by our “old” house

Digging out the garage to prepare for the steel beams.

Front porch gone.

Pool and pool shed, gone.

Deck, gone.

New basement being dug to the west of our old driveway.

The view from my old bedroom window

As you can see the move is well under way.  We expect the entire project to be complete within the next couple of weeks.  Stay tuned for more moving pics!

War of 1812

 

A couple of weeks ago we had he privilege of spending the weekend at my in-laws and attending the War of 1812 re-enactment.  This is an event that our family looks forward to in the fall.  A day full of candle makers, canons, hot kettles, soap makers, spinners, weavers, blacksmiths, potters, magicians, clowns, and good food.  This year was unseasonably warm (pushing 80) unlike most years where you are looking for a hot fire to warm your hands by.  It was a great day overall, an event that is fun for all ages.

Most of the vendors and participants set up tents and the like in which they actually spend the entire weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watching a spinning demonstration and learning new games, all a part of the day.

 

I think every public school within a 20 mile radius was joining us, not sure, but it was definitely a full house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The day was brought to an end by the taking down of the American flag, a great ending to a beautiful day.  It’s days like these that we seem to learn the most and to really appreciate what we are learning. 

I hope this gives you a glimpse of what our day was like:)

Thirteen

 

She would have been 13 today.  Dakota Elizabeth, our 1st daughter.  Born and died thirteen years ago today.  We were so young.  It’s hard to believe it ever happened.  It seems like a memory of someone else’s story.  Yet it wasn’t.  It was a time in my life that I would definitely define as the hardest thing I’ve ever been through. 

A few weeks ago a song came to my mind.  A song that must have been very popular on our local Christian radio in the fall of 1997.  I had a little trouble finding it because I could only remember a few words and I couldn’t even remember who sings it.  Well I found it.  It’s a song by Wes King called Thought You'd Be Here (click on the song title to listen).  When I played the song again I remembered every word!  As the words flooded back into my memory so did the events of that time.  I remembered lying in my bed when the alarm would go off to this song.  It brought tears every time…still does actually.  I could remember the doctor telling Joe and I “the death of our baby will be caused by blah, blah, blah” I never heard what he said next.  I couldn’t get past the first part about my baby dying.  I wasn’t ready for that…but then again are you ever?  I remembered the flower they put on my hospital door so that the staff was aware that my baby had died.  I remember all the people that prayed for us, brought us meals, sent us books and letters of encouragement.  I remembered my nursing class coming to the funeral.  I remembered the tiny casket which at the time I thought “this isn’t right, they shouldn’t even have to make caskets this small.” I remember the strength of my husband when all I could do was cry.

And I remember that God held us through it.  The hope in knowing that God has a plan for me and my family.  He wrote the book, he knows the ending, and he’s taking care of sweet little Dakota better than I ever could have.  Don’t get me wrong, I had a hard time accepting that at first.  Now, 13 years later, I know that God was holding us tight through all of it. 

They say time heals.  I believe it does to some degree.  It softens the pain of the wounds anyway.  I can look at each of my children and see the mighty hand of God in a magnificent way knowing that he created each of them and put them in my care…for now.  I am reminded through Dakota’s death how short life is and how easily I take the everyday for granted.  Give each of your kids an extra hug today…for me.

Happy Birthday baby!