January 6th

 January 6, 2012 - Adia woke up a TEENAGER!

She LOVED her siblings waking her up with a donut and a beautifuly sung Happy Birthday!

  
Then a great girlfriend showed up, dressed all cute, and told her they would be going to get some breakfast... Adia felt loved!

 On the way out the door... so fun!

The back story is that we had decided to put Adia in school over the Christmas break and found out it started January 2nd... I wasn't ready to let her go that soon and really wanted to spend her birthday with her so I told the school she would be starting a week later.  The Vice Principal asked me why and when I told him he said "what a great idea."


Adia didn't know but her dad and I had planned a special day for just the 3 of us.  While she was at breakfast I dropped all her siblings off with Grandma & Grandpa.  When she got home and I told her it would be just us for the day she sounded like a tired mom "oh, maybe we should just stay home, relax and enjoy the quiet."  Made me laugh.  She was so thankful for that gift and G'pa Paul and G'ma Jenny should know it was probably one of the biggest treats of the day!


But instead we opted to go get our nails done... she got gel nails and they looked great!  She also got her eyebrows waxed for the first time and loved it!  She wasn't thrilled that they were red for hours after and wished I would have warned her.  

Adia had been asking her dad for awhile if he would take her to Sushi on her big day but he kept acting like he would have to see how his day went.  Truth is he has been way busier at the office than we are used to so it was believable that he might not be able to.  Of course, he wouldn't miss such a big occasion though and planned on meeting us for sushi then taking the rest of the day off to hang out with us.  After our lunch we walked across the street to see the new Sherlock Holmes... I was bored to death.  The two of them loved it!

After the movie we had one more surprise up our sleeves for her... my parents were waiting at the mall to take her shopping for new school clothes and get her a nice steak/lobster dinner (she's been spoiled in the food department from Papa for way too long).   But getting her to the mall was harder than we planned.  She wanted to stop at Target to spend some money she had... she was shopping and shopping and shopping and kept talking and talking and talking.  


Finally we got her to the mall where my parents were hidden inside and when she found her Papa she was over joyed!  A few minutes later she saw Grandma and was so happy!  Here is a shot of her and the boys who can't get enough of her!  I think she felt very loved!  

The next day she had her first tournament of the season and ROCKED it!

And then, 2 days later, my baby girl went to school (a public school I might add).  I had prayed so much about the decision I knew it was what God had for her.  I had been so strong and at peace about it...

But then I saw her walk out the door and LOST it!  I couldn't believe she was doing this.  I couldn't believe how old she is, how amazing she is, what a great head she has on her shoulders, what a confident little thing she is, how beautiful she is and so much more.  


Her dad called after dropping her off and said she looked so nervous... that was the longest day of my life.  I couldn't wait to pick her up and hear how it went.  My stomach hurt all day and the tears were ever flowing.  But when I saw her walk to the car at 2:04 I could see it in her eyes - she liked it.  She got in the car and with a huge smile said "I LOVE it".  


And I LOVE her - my teenage daughter who has defied the odds and turned out AMAZING!  She is a gem of a lady and I am so proud to be her mom.  This past month of having her in school we have learned so much - we learned mom is too hard on her, she is even smarter than we thought, she has no problem standing up for her beliefs, she is well liked, she is tall for a 7th grader and more.  It's been a journey for sure and she continues to make us proud for so many reasons.  I can't wait to see what else God has in store for this crazy girl of ours who seems to think she is already all grown up.  

Family Bike Ride

This year for we got the big 3 kids and ourselves new bikes! We have been wanting to do this for a while but getting good bikes for 5 people is NOT cheap so we have waited and waited. As much as we are opposed to Black Friday and the ridiculous consumerism it represents we used it to our advantage this year and got half off all the bikes - plus we got humbled a bit in the process of taking part.

So the day after Christmas we took the new Christmas bikes, Adison's new birthday bike and our little Kaden monkey (who just kind of wraps his legs around his dads bike) for our first official family bike ride! It was so fun and so tiring and all of our butts were sore for days to help us remember the wonderful family event.

Ready to ride!

Here are some pictures of the kiddos who were not only thrilled with the bikes but enjoyed the new helmets almost as much,

Best shot I could get of Kaden in the helmet... he was SO EXCITED about the shark fin.

He seriously just holds onto Kyle's bike like this the whole time... it looks so funny!

Princess Adison!

Who is a TROOPER and can handle her own out there!

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Crazy Kenyon!

Beautiful Avery!

Annoying Adia who tries to ruin all of my pictures!

We took a ride around Lake Natomas in Folsom and it was SO BEAUTIFUL! I think we stopped and played by the water more than we actually rode bikes but hey - it's still considered a bike ride! And I LOVED the chance to snap some shots on my new camera! That was my Christmas present from Kyle and I am so thankful he is giving me another chance to take care of a camera! I have such good models that love to pose and make the me feel so talented!

My silly son

I have about 1000 just like this!

This little guy wanted to stop and have a snack every 2 minutes... it's amazing how excited oranges can be!

This is where little boys belong!

Gosh I love these girls!

Bit I don't love how old they are looking... Adia needs to just stop!

Kenyon doing his norm - showing off!

Avery planned this shot and although it isn't all that great it makes me smile since I remember how much Adison and her wanted to take it and how not cool Adia thought it was.

Plus it shows off my Adia's super oober strong arms! The girl really is SO STRONG!

Since this trip the kids have gone on a few more with Kyle while I have been at classes and things. I think our family might just make a lot of GREAT memories on these bikes! So glad we finally gave in and bought them.

Christmas 2011

This Advent season our family enjoyed a trip through the Bible and it's key events that led up to our promised Messiah! Each morning (that we could) a child would open in prayer, we would read a part of God's Big Story (as we like to call it around here) and the kids would all color a little image to remind us of that days reading, we would sing O Come O Come Emmanuel and then usually the dad or I would close us in prayer. My mom is in the process of making me a cute Jesse Tree but even when I have it we might keep up the coloring.

It was a precious time!.

Christmas Eve we did our usual church service at Oak Hills and then came home for a Birthday party for Jesus. Because I had a fussing baby on me I was not able to get as many pictures as I would have liked. We had a great time playing birthday party games, singing happy birthday and ending the evening by sharing about why we have chosen to give the best gift ever - the gift of our heart to our King.

Here are just a couple from Christmas Eve

The party table

Party games

In case you are wondering - Kyle won!

Party Food

Party pooper -

Kaden was so tired he couldn't make it around to hear why and how everyone is giving their hearts to Jesus.

And then it was Christmas morning and we tried our best to keep it slow and fun. The kids have such a good attitude about waiting patiently for gifts. This sis Avery waiting for everyone to get up so we can finish off the Advent book (that same one we have been doing since Adia was 2).

Still waiting for probably Adia!

Usually I make omelets on Christmas morning but in an effort to simplify I tried this egg dish I was able to prep the night before and then just add a few things and throw in the oven on Christmas - so yummy!

And finally we dug into the stockings. For our sibling exchange each of the kids draws one sibling they will buy a gift for and one sibling they will get to fill the stocking for. We really like how this has turned out!

After breakfast, Advent and stockings we headed out to church. It was nice that we were able to wear our Christmas Pajamas - made the whole getting ready part much nicer! You will notice the boys who end up always being dirty wore junky pajamas to bed and I laid the cuter ones out for church... I felt like I was cheating.

Group shot before church

I LOVED being with my church family on Christmas! It was so fun and felt so intimate. Half the people came in pajamas, the kids sat on the floor in front, making messes and drinking hot chocolate and yet we still felt a real sense of worship as we gathered together to celebrate the birth of our Savior!

When we got home from church we each opened one gift before Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle Ty and Aunt Christie came over. We had got the older 3 kids new bikes and wanted them to get to enjoy them while the sun was still out. I have more bike pictures to come when I show our first family bike ride!

And of course we found time to practice a little volleyball - yes this weird contraption was build by my wonderful hubby who LOVES having a little volleyball star!

Then finally everyone showed up and we were able to show off our new bikes and open the rest of the presents. We love being local and getting to have the grandparents join us for Christmas most years. The kids really love an audience while they open the gifts and friends to play with them right away. Here are some random pics of the rest of the evening

Adia and Avery playing with a new toy!

Grandma and Grandpa playing our new Just Dance game - Grandma WORKED IT!

and so did Uncle Ty I might add!

Since Ty and Christie were going to be in our home we got them a little gift too.

Not sure why Christie wouldn't open it and looked so nervous... it's not like I would give her lingerie in front of her in-laws and all my kids - oh wait... maybe i would! :)

Kenyon playing tag with Grandpa Paul - thank you cousin Holyoak for the fun game!

Adison with her gold gift... she had just gotten a new bike for her birthday a few months before.

I feel like this didn't close off well but oh well! The celebrations were full of JOY and awe over what an awesome God we have to send his only son for us! I guess I like that this doesn't end well since Christmas isn't something that really ends...

Introducing Maddie

Safe Families is a program Kyle and I, and several friends from church, fell in love with over a year ago at a Home For Good Conference. After hearing about how this ministry provides Safe Homes for children while mom or dad deal with crisis situations our hearts were pulled and we were ready to go out of our comfort zone.

After the initial work of getting the ministry going at our church and doing the paper work, in late November we got the e-mail saying a little 1 year old girl would need to be cared for for a 6 month period of time - without even talking to Kyle I said YES! In fact I texted my friend who heads the ministry "we want her" immediately. Thankfully I was able to get to know mom a bit and spend some time with her and baby Maddie before the move in date which was December 9th. It was a VERY hard transition for her but I am happy to report that just under 2 months later Maddie is happy and doing so well! An added bonus is that mom is going to be able to be reunited with her little girl early and they will be back together February 21st!

Here she is the day after she took 20 steps... she waited so long to finally walk she was a pro on day 2. When she just crawled around all the time it wasn't as obvious how long the pants were. But she's a chunk of baby and needs size 2 to fit those thighs. Now we have to wear shoes with those ones or wear the tighter legging type of pant so she doesn't get her feet caught in them.

This experience has been difficult for a couple reasons and wonderful for many! My kids are doing SO WELL with her and watching their hearts make room for her and feel compassion for Maddie has been so beautiful. It's also been fun to start building relationships with other members of her family and we are excited to see where God takes us with this.

OCTOBER & NOVEMBER

Due to being SUPER disappointed with the quality of EVERY single picture I had taken with my Nikon Coolpix I fell out of love with taking pictures. Unfortunately I don't have many pictures to show for October 2011 & November 2011. But that doesn't mean we weren't busy and having fun (and having bad days) as usual.

So I will post my HAPS (Middleton family REQUIRED tri-monthly update)

October – This is the month that began in Vegas where we were forced to be by State Farm. Since setting up child care for something like that isn’t easy to come by we took advantage of it and extended our trip – just me and Kyle! Well, just us until P&J and B&R showed up. We had a great time! I somehow decided while on vacation that I could handle a few field trips and signed up for everyone that came my way – organic farms, pumpkin patches, corn mazes, plays and more. I quickly realized we don’t have room for that and we haven’t been on one since. Soccer season was still in full swing at this point and Kyle and I were very ready for that to end… 3 kids practicing at 3 different fields + Adia doing agility training and speed training every week can take a toll on a family. It was also during October that we accepted our first full time placement with for a little one year old named Maddie. I was able to meet with the mom and start spending time with them in order to better prepare Maddie for her December move in. We also began working with a 4&5 year old who needed to be watched and Tuesdays and began spending time with them as well as they adjusted to some BIG life changes at home. Thinking back on October I am a bit exhausted.

November – As soccer came to an end Avery convinced us she is truly in love with the sport and ready to take it to the next level – we being weak parents couldn’t say no and signed her up for more soccer and by more I mean she lived and breathed it from mid –Nov. – Dec. training to hopefully make it on a more competitive team in January. Kenyon started wrestling and we really think it might be the PERFECT sport for him! He loves it, it works him out hard and brings him home very tired! Love. Oh and about the field trips I backed out of all future ones except the HUGE one I was co-hosting with your parents at their house. We had a million or so people at the River House for a great lesson on the gold rush then walked to Marshall Gold Discovery Park for a tour led by Paul and some fun activities. The weather was perfect and it was a GREAT day for all! THANK YOU Paul and Jenny! Thanksgiving was also at their house and was nice and small which left a lot of space to catch up with those that were there… we really enjoyed it!