family time – Page 5 – everything He gives

her seventh

January 11, 2018January 11, 2018 MarthaKimballLeave a comment

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Dear sweet phoebe girl

Seven years with you has both flown by and also seemed like a lifetime. I can barely remember what our world was like without you in it. You came and you brought so much light and joy to our home, you made us a family. You were so small, wrinkly, and frail and we thought there was no way we should be entrusted to care for such a precious little bundle.

Year after year you have delighted and surprised us. You have gone through so very much in this last year, probably one of your hardest years yet. Watching you undergo your second and third endoscopy and colonoscopy, as well as doing the hardest elimination diet I’ve ever known for 3 full months–so tough that none of us even felt we could do it with you. It was painful to watch, to walk through with you, the tears, the questions you would ask, hearing your sweet prayers asking God to heal your body. And then finally, a glimmer of hope. A clear endoscopy, but still elevated antibody levels in your blood. By this year’s end, we finally got those numbers under control–so much work and so much “going without” for you, and I’m so proud of what you’ve had to endure. It’s going to be a long road ahead for you, but you are the strongest, bravest, most positive little girl I know. I think you’re going to do just fine.

In the process of all of that, we moved from our rental in with Grandpa and Rainey while we waited to find and then close on our house, then finally into our new home. Lots of change and busyness, us trying to keep up with your schooling in the midst of it. Summer came and we found out a new baby was on its way to us, and momma was pretty wiped out with sickness for the next few months. Then, in the fall you began first grade! You were so proud, telling everyone everywhere we went about it and how grown up you are now.

Its sort of ironic that you are the firstborn, and yet your birthday comes last in our string of holiday birthdays. It’s so hard for you to wait until it’s finally your turn. In the barely-there hints of morning light you came stumbling out of bed to see the house decorated for a day just for you, pink wrapping and homemade birthday banners strung up around all the christmas decorations. We gave you the option to open all your gifts right away, knowing how hard it is for you to wait, but you wanted to do what Philippa and Noah did and open a few at breakfast and save the rest for later. You opened the bonnet I knit for you, which you’ve been asking for for a long time. It just fits, but maybe after a good blocking it’ll fit a bit better. We also gave you a new dress for your Kaya doll (American girl doll) and some of her trading accessories for when she would go to trade her wares. What fun it was last year to read through all the Kaya books with you, and we need to reread them! You immediately had to dress her in her new things and you were so excited to have her with you all day long.

It was a rainy, gray day so we decided to go into town for a little walk. It was the first time we’ve walked around in our little hometown and gone into all the shops that interest us. It was really fun! You pushed Kaya around everywhere and were so careful to keep her dry in the rain. Later in the afternoon, you opened the rest of your gifts. Your dresses and new pjs from grandparents. We gave you your first real bible, now that you’re reading. What a fun time your daddy and I had picking out just the right one for you at the bookstore. I gave you the sweater I had knit for you, and you threw it on right away. I love knitting for you because you enjoy it so. I had also put together a little sewing kit for you–your own little scissors, needles, pack of floss, embroidery hoops and aida cloth. You were so excited, as I thought you might be, and wanted to get started on it right away.

You wanted pizza for dinner and of course chocolate cake with strawberries. What a sweet and joy-filled day, simple cozy and full. It never feels adequate to sum up how we feel, but we love you so very much. So very proud of you and excited to walk with you into this new year, wondering what it will hold. How I treasure our morning snuggles, our tea and knitting time, reading together, cooking together. Grow strong and true, my little girl. Let go of what you can’t hold onto anyway. Lean the full weight of who you are and your desires on your Savior. He loves you more than we can imagine, He has a good plan, He is busy working it all out for your good and for His glory. Run your race with joy, with hope, with faith, and keep those little eyes fixed on Him all the way. We’re right here, cheering you on in every step.

Love you always and forever
xo
Mama

Noey’s day (5!)

January 5, 2018 MarthaKimballLeave a comment

DSC_0003 (1) DSC_0016 (1) DSC_0020 (1) DSC_0025 (1) DSC_0030 (1) DSC_0033 (1) DSC_0039 (1) Oh my sweet son. I’m so very proud of you. Five years old feels like a big deal and seeing you reach this milestone—one whole hand—it squeezes my heart a little bit hard. I’m happy and excited to see you grow, but mostly just feel like I’m grasping at sand slipping through my busy fingers. How to really not miss a moment of these fleeting days? So often busy with necessary work, with hurdles in front of us, with decisions to be made and mundane things that preoccupy. And then here you are, my once quiet snuggly little man child, now all long and tall and losing all that baby chub. It’s so wonderful to have a boy in the home–all the pants with holes in the knees, the stinky boy breath, the noise and cars and the way that everything morphs into a weapon. Also to see the special bond and understanding you have with your daddy. The way he knows just what treats and toys will light up your world. The way you two love to run errands together and have little pockets of man time. It was a special memory for us all this past summer when he took just you for a long weekend to the beach to visit with your Baba and Nain. I don’t think you’ll ever forget all the fun you had together. This past year was the year you quietly and without fanfare asked Jesus into your heart. Your little spirit is coming to life, delighting in Jesus, asking to pray at most meals, loving to learn about God and His Word. Can I tell you, there really is no greater delight for a parent than to share my greatest delight with you? To see Him at work in you, growing and shaping you. You’re learning how to be a little gentlemen, too, with so many ladies in the house to look after and take care of. I love to see your bond with your sisters, the way you are learning to gently care for them, to use your strength not to harm or hurt but to protect. You take joy in being the one to hold open the door for us, and I see your delight in using your strength to serve. We have our hurdles at times, son, of course–but

Your favorite foods are pizza (in your daddy’s footsteps), applesauce, cereal and pancakes, chips and popcorn. You are still addicted to your dee-T (blankie) which is fine by me. Rue the day you outgrow dee-T! You are sensitive, careful, a tinkerer, loud and wiggly, bouncy and giggly, a lover of music (drums especially) and riding bikes. You can’t wait to grow up and have a “real race car with a trailer behind it.”

This was maybe the most fun birthday we’ve had with you yet because you were actually excited about opening presents and didn’t mind us singing happy birthday to you since it was just us. When you opened your playmobil “trash truck” (recycling) you said, “Yes!! Now we can go trashing all day!” You held it up at the window for the trash men to see when they went by the next day, and they honked at you and gave a thumbs up. It was a treat to see you build your lego airplane with daddy and I think you’re finally at the age where you really enjoy legos and playmobil. It always surprises me how much you love your hand knits, and you wanted to put your new birthday sweater on right away. I’m just glad it actually fit well! You reminded me all day that you wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate icing and that you wanted cereal for dinner. I made spaghetti, which is another of your favorites, hoping to entice you with it, but in the end relented and let you have cereal.

I look forward to the adventures we’ll have in the coming year! Welcoming a new baby with you as my big boy helper, spring and planting our garden, fall and your official start of school. So many new things to come! Your daddy and I adore you and thank God for you. Happy 5th birthday!

Love,
Mom

winter rose

December 28, 2017December 28, 2017 MarthaKimballLeave a comment

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Christmas morning dawned beautifully here. The light did somehow seem different–rosy pink, fresh, full of new life. The children were up not too early, mostly their usual time, while I was busy making coffee and grain-free cinnamon rolls. I had saved a little frosting from Phoebe’s cake to put on top of the cinnamon rolls and they were heavenly. We opened stockings first, giving them our usual things–socks, underwear, toothbrushes, candies and dried fruits, some purple sock yarn for phoebe, a toy car for noah, a bath toy turtle for philippa. Just little items, over which they took such joy! (As I’m typing this I just now remembered I forgot to tuck one little gift into Noah and Phoebe’s stocking! Ahh! My poor brain. Lately I really feel worn down, brain tired. It doesn’t bode well for starting school back up with phoebe next week.) After stockings, we had breakfast and read the Christmas story from the scriptures, and then commenced opening gifts under the tree.

We told the children in the fall that the play gym we were working on for them would be their big christmas gift. I had bought each of them a coloring book and a chalkboard slate (really actually need these for school), but otherwise we didn’t have presents for them to open Christmas morning. They had a couple gifts from grandparents to open, and their Hape Mine Mountain train toy was a huge hit! Brandon gifted me a Fringe Supply project bag which I love, and some sock yarn that I’ve been eyeing for awhile. I bought him a warm Carhartt coat for work. I did manage to finish knitting his beanie at midnight on Christmas Eve, just in the “nick” of time, as they say. Brandon and I had been talking about getting a family gift of a kitty for the kids, but kept going back and forth about the timing and whether or not we really could afford to take on a pet right now. It’s been years since we’ve had any pets and I admit, it’s been so nice! I kept imagining a little white kitten in a box under the tree, and a few days before Christmas Brandon visited a local shelter and adopted one. Some kind friends cat-sat her for us until Christmas Eve, and we kept her hidden in the sunroom while the kids slept. We had them each open a part of the family gift–a set of bowls, a cat bed, a cat toy–and then they opened the box she was in. Their reaction was quieter than we expected, I think they were shocked that there was a real live animal right in our living room. Slowly the giggles and glee and squeals took over! It’s been such a joy the last few days to see them interact with her, care for her, figure out how to pick her up carefully or get her to play with them. We don’t know much of her backstory, but she is 3 months old and the shelter had named her Belmont, but the kids have decided to name her Winter Rose, and mostly are just calling her Rose. I am slowly warming up to her, too, kittens are just irresistible. I am, however, holding to my position that she be an outside cat come spring.

After Christmas morning we had a small lunch and then headed out for a hike instead of putting kids down for naps. It was absolutely freezing here, but I was especially craving some time out on the quiet parkway nearby, so we drove a short way up and hopped on the Mountain to Sea trail for a bit of a hike. Despite my bad back pain (which has been the worst this pregnancy) it was still so nice to be out breathing fresh cold mountain air for a bit. We came home and Brandon helped me make a simple Christmas dinner just for us–baked ham, scalloped potatoes, and a salad of mixed greens, citrus + pomegranate. I had hoped to make a cherry pie for Brandon, but just didn’t have the energy to pull it off. I will surprise him with one soon, he’s been waiting for one since Thanksgiving. I’m feeling really weary after all the kid’s birthdays, holiday celebrations, and I’m looking forward to the next couple months which will hopefully be more quiet until baby comes in February.

It was a simple day spent together, and there was some quiet ache in the midst of all the beauty–the longing for things we can’t quite name that always seems to be stirred up on Christmas day. The children were happy and we were tired and happy with them. I think our Advent season this year was one of my favorites–as they get older, it is so rewarding to see them learn and understand and process. It’s sad to let it go, and today I think I’ll begin packing away some of the decorations. But our hearts are full from the time together and our minds are turning now to the new year and whatever hopeful things may be in store for us in it.

I hope you had a lovely Christmas and are enjoying these last few days of 2017, and that the year to come is full of hope and promise and joy for you! I’ll be back to share pictures from Noah and Phoebe’s birthday soon.

first snow

December 22, 2017 MarthaKimballLeave a comment

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The “first” everything in this home is special, as we are still finding our way in these four walls. Decorating the house for the Christmas season is new, finding new homes for old favorite decorations.

I’ve been looking forward to our first snow in this home for a long time, really since before we bought the home. Last February we were out of our rental, living temporarily with my parents while waiting to close on this home, and we drove over one day to drive by the house on a snowy day. The neighborhood was transformed, so quiet and pretty and white, and we couldn’t wait for the day when we’d be building snowmen in the yard and tracking footprints all over the yard in our own fresh snow.

The snow began early in the morning before the kids were up, and it just kept coming and coming, all day long. We had a playdate at a friend’s house and had a blast playing in the snow together with them, stayed through lunch and then realized the roads were quite covered and we had better hurry home. We slid around all the way, but made it safely. I had the kids rest briefly but then we couldn’t bear to not be out playing in it all. Daddy came home from work early with milk and a couple other provisions and we prepared to hunker down for the weekend. We were prepared to lose power, as some other folks around us had, but miraculously we didn’t. Church was canceled on Sunday but our roads were relatively clear by then, so we headed instead to our very favorite pottery place in a nearby town, where we have gone every Christmas season since before Phoebe was born. They have an open house the second weekend of December usually, and you can get a free small pottery mug (per person) and they have hot cider, snacks and treats, live folksy music, and crafts for kids. We often buy a little christmas ornament or something there to support them and it’s just one of the most Christmasy feeling things we look forward to doing during the season. So festive and fun. We try to get a picture every year in front of their cheery red door.

Otherwise, I’ve attempted to keep our December still and quiet. Advent readings and Christmas hymns begin and end our days. We’ve made yummy grain-free Christmas cookies (though I never got around to making icing for them) similar to these. We decorated the tree one evening and remembered all our favorite ornaments. I treasure the junky kid-made ornaments, especially the ones from last year that Phoebe made while in the hospital in Winston Salem waiting for her endoscopy procedure. My, what can change in a year’s time. Phoebe has been practicing for weeks at church to sing in the Christmas children’s choir, and she requested a solo. They sang last Sunday and what a joy it was to see her do so well, and to see her making new friends at our new church home.

This week is busy with birthday celebrations and today will probably be our quietest day until after Christmas. Phoebe turns 7 tomorrow and I still have a few things to do to prepare. Mostly, I just can’t believe that teeny tiny baby girl has gotten so big, grown-up, sophisticated and smart. Sob. With little ones, our lives are filled with change even as we try to nail a few things down around us.

I hope your December has been cheerful and meaningful thus far, and that you are enjoying these last few days before Christmas. If I don’t pop in here before then, Merry Christmas to you and yours! May you find Jesus to be enough for you, the very fulness of joy, and every other good merely the overflow of His grace.

one special thing

December 13, 2017 MarthaKimballLeave a comment

Photos from the first week of Advent. A tree hunt at several local roadside stands ended with a car full of disappointed children and no tree–they were twice as expensive as our little favorite tree farm! So the next day we made a special trip back out to “our” farm, even though it was a bit of a drive, and cut our own tree as we’ve done for many years now. It’s way more fun, anyway. I guess I stupidly assumed roadside tree stands would be cheaper. Anyway, the children were so happy to bring that tree in the house and make room for it.

We’re trying to do one special thing each day of Advent, whether it’s something as small as pulling out one more Christmas decoration, or something a little more time-consuming like dehydrating orange slices to sew into a little garland, or an act of charity/kindness to a neighbor. On December 6th, St. Nicholas Feast day, we watched a little educational movie about St. Nicholas and colored pictures, and the children had set out their boots by the door the night before and woke up to find their new pair of knitted mittens. Phoebe and I worked on finishing up her first semester of school, both of us feeling weary and needing a winter break.

a big girl

December 4, 2017December 4, 2017 MarthaKimballLeave a comment

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The day before Thanksgiving was Philippa’s third birthday. Being that all of our children thus far have birthdays around the holidays, we often struggle with how to celebrate both Christmas and birthdays reasonably, simply, and economically. We’ve tried different things each year, it seems. This year, we’re making a bit more of birthdays and planning a lower-key, less-gifts sort of Christmas.

Philippa woke on her day early, and it’s the first birthday where she has really talked about it for weeks before her big day, and both girls woke up eager for birthday fun (Phoebe enjoys other people’s birthdays just as much as her own). Phippa really can’t wait to be “a big girl.” We had to wake sleepy Noah up a bit early that morning so birthday girl could open a few gifts before daddy headed off to work. Usually we let the birthday child decide the meal plan and activities for the day, but her only real request was for chocolate cake with blueberries. A girl who knows what she wants. 🙂 We gave her a few gifts in the morning–a hand-dyed play silk from my favorite blogger, Ginny, and her lovely little handmade shop. It smells heavenly and is simply gorgeous. Ginny generously sent along some stickers (made from her own nature photography) as well for Philippa, which was such a treat (though I was tempted to keep them for myself). She also sweetly worked hard to get Philippa’s gift to her on time, which meant a lot to me! We let Philippa open her birthday dress and her toy, which was a wooden stable with horses. That was a huge hit with each of the kids and they all played with it all day.

I made a grain-free, dairy-free and refined sugar-free chocolate cake from the Celebrations cookbook (sidenote: amazing cookbook!) for Philippa, topped with the vanilla buttercream from the same cookbook. I did something funny/wrong with the frosting so I had to play a bit with it to get it to spread on the cake, but it ended up being delicious.

We had a fairly regular sort of day otherwise, school and cleaning and playing outside. Daddy came home with a balloon for her, which she loved. After dinner my parents stopped by with their gift for Philippa and we let her open the rest of the gifts before cake. We gave her her own “journal” (from Michaels) and her first real set of colored pencils. I found a really cute handmade pencil roll-up case at this etsy shop, and it happened to have foxes on it, which Philippa loves. I wasn’t sure if she’d be too young to appreciate it, but she has treasured this little gift every day since, and has used many of her stickers from Ginny to decorate her journal, too. She seems to feel quite grown up with own little set of pencils. My parents gifted her a sweet new dress and pair of pajamas, and a tiny little mini mug. She opened my hand knit sweater for her and promptly tossed it aside, as she did with the rest of the clothes, but the next day she was eager to try everything on and wear it. We also gave her a ukulele, and it has been okay, but I didn’t realize it wasn’t real wood and sort of wish we had gotten this one for her. Still, for our music-loving kids, it has been fun for each of them to have something to play together (Phoebe, her violin; Noah his drums, and now Philippa her little uke).

A couple days later Philippa agreed to let me snap some pictures of her in her sweater that I made (ravelry notes here), and I’m super proud of it. I feel like it’s the first one I’ve made that has fit how I wanted it to. It’s a cropped sweater, so the body is supposed to be short on it, and it looks darling over dresses. She seems to really like it, too.

It was a fun day, even though there were some usual hiccups and challenges along the way. Her hair did briefly catch on fire while blowing out candles. 🙂 I remember Philippa’s second birthday being hard, her being out of sorts and unusually grumpy and strung out, and she was a bit like this on this birthday, too. All the attention is a bit much, even though she loves it at the same time. Although in reality, their birthdays make me feel a bit strung out, too, trying to make it a special day. Simple is always best, right?

We are pretty thankful to get to know this precocious, funny and darling little girl. Lately she keeps coming up to Brandon and I and rubbing our arms and saying, “I lus you daddy” or “I lus you momma.” We live for those sweet little unexpected moments.

Philippa’s first birthday here, second birthday here.

(Affiliate links included in this post.)

we took to the woods

November 11, 2017 MarthaKimballLeave a comment

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

-Wendell Berry

family time away

October 11, 2017 MarthaKimballLeave a comment

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A couple of weeks ago we took a few days to visit Brandon’s parents in North Myrtle Beach. It was really our only family getaway for the year, and I was especially grateful for some time to be all together, for the kids to have some extended time with their daddy and for us all to have a chance to change pace and relax. Brandon’s parents are so kind and generous to host a family of five (with some challenging dietary needs, as well), and we are thankful to them!

As you can see, we soaked up the beach most of the time we were there. Both B and I feel a bit like we’re coming home when we spend time at the ocean. We will alway love living in the mountains, but need regular doses of the sunny warm ocean, too. We love a little bit of wilderness, wherever we can find it. It was especially fun to watch Philippa on this trip, as it was her first real experience with it all, and she was so enamored. Fearless, too. She loved jumping in the waves and digging in the sand. Until she didn’t, and then she just “wanted to go home.” 🙂 Mostly, she loved it. We enjoyed exploring the tidal pools and hunting for treasures, finding lots of crabs, seeing little fish, and the usual sea shells. Phoebe discovered the joy of riding waves on the boogie board, and she spent lots of time with daddy catching waves. She very rarely stops moving, that one. Noah enjoyed watching the boats from the marina. Unfortunately all of the kids were battling a bad head cold, so there was more fussiness than usual, but we all still had fun. B’s parents treated us to a trip to the aquarium and also took the kids out for put-put one night while B and I had a dinner date. It was a fun five days away, but it’s always wonderful to come back home again.

apples and things

October 4, 2017 MarthaKimball2 Comments

DSC_0008 (1) DSC_0010 (1) We live in the vicinity of many, many apple orchards. It’s become a fall tradition of ours to go apple picking, which is always a really sweet time. I mean, don’t get me wrong–there are plenty of whiney moments, too, from all of us. This particular Saturday a few weeks ago was a scorcher, so we were all pretty hot and tired by the end of our venture. This particular orchard had an apple gun, so we treated the kids to a round of shooting apples, but only philippa, our fearless one, really wanted to give it a shot. We let the kids each fill a basket and B and I filled one, too. We ended up with more apples than we really needed. It’s good and important for the children to connect with our food in this way, to see how it’s grown, to pick it and wash it and then eat it. To understand it comes from seed and soil and sun, to smell the squashed apples around the orchard. It really does seem to make a difference in how they/we consume food. I wish there was a good organic orchard nearby, but there isn’t. I made a large batch of applesauce which the kids all love and have been enjoying, as well as an apple pie recipe that a friend shared with me (a family recipe), which I adapted to be GF. I still have a large amount of apples in my fridge waiting to be processed and enjoyed. The children and I have so enjoyed leaning into the change of seasons here, dancing a bit on the edge of the last heat of summer and the cool crisp mornings of autumn. My roses and hydrangea are still blooming, most trees are still green, but summer is on its way out, and I am so glad.

weekending

November 4, 2016 MarthaKimballLeave a comment

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Weekends are for making memories. Slow mornings, second cups of coffee, extra snuggling, knitting, adventures and spontaneity, gathering with church family to worship, taking long naps, then throwing everything in the car and driving up into the mountains for an impromptu cookout and campfire with friends. Watching children running through the long grass, because kids need wide open spaces, and turns out, so do I. Sharing a burger with the littlest, eating french fries cooked right in the fire. Watching the sunset bathe the landscape in rose gold, fade to gray, then seeing the stars come out. Pointing out Venus, Mars, and the milky way to the children. These are the things weekends are made of (sometimes) and I hope you have a good one!

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