November-December 2014

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Another year has come and gone.

If you have not heard, our little family has moved out of the Dallas area and are now in a temporary location close to Oklahoma. This is only until we can find a house that is a good fit for us. In the mean time, we have been very blessed by the Tuttle’s generosity as they have opened up their home to our little family as we are in transition……aka….squatting!

We enjoyed a great Thanksgiving at the ranch as we were able to hang out with friends and family. The weather was great and we all enjoyed being outside riding horses, going on hikes, jumping hay bales and just hanging out.

December saw little man Reed turn 3 and he is officially a big dog now. He is quite the cutie still. He is very affectionate little guy but can be easily frustrated, especially if there is a lack of sleep. He is a great independent player and loves to be silly. Reed enjoys dancing and singing, especially in the car. The boy really loves his bass and tiny, slow motion dances. As a family, we went to Chuckee and all the kids had fun. We also had some ice cream with friends for a little faux party as we were in the process of moving.

Beck is growing and doing well in school. He seems to have a good mind for Math and is also starting to put more and more sounds together as he figures out the reading thing. He is also a silly guy but loves to be read to still. He is constantly working on self-control but is really a sweet tender hearted guy. You will often find him loving on babies or dogs and has a good sense of humor.

Ms. Grace continues to love reading. You will often find her in her PJ’s curled up with a good book. She loves to play board games as does Beck. Some of her current favorites include: Gubs, Zeus on the Loose, Skip bo, Uno, Rat A Tat cat, Monopoly, Legos and puzzles of all kinds. They also all enjoy Playmobil stuff where they act and talk for the characters. It seems to be even more fun and engaging when Mom or Dad plays with them. Go figure!

This has been a great year for our family and we have felt the hand of the Lord at work in our lives. We have always had enough to eat, a place to sleep, friends to do life with, a church to grow in, jobs that provide as well as many other blessings. Thanks for the many prayers on behalf of our family. They have been felt and appreciated!

October 2014

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Since November was such a blur, we didn’t even squeeze a blog out. Can’t really remember what we did but I know it involved some moving, home renovations and putting our place on the market.

We have a little amount of time to get our place sold, find a place and MOVE. Oh boy, it sure is exciting to see where, when and how God will move this mountain. It has been a good lesson to walk through with our kids telling them just home we are relying on God to provide. It is faith in action. We know that our plans and His don’t always line up so we will just see how this plays out.

October saw us with connect with family in Mississippi. We got to visit Uncle John and Aunt Barbara. Grammers and Grampers, Chance, Kelly and Briley were all there too which made it super fun. The kids had a blast being out in the country and seeing all the family.

After MS, Jami went on to Branson to spend some quality time with the Shacklet crew. Our kids had an amazing time seeing the Whites and Shacklets. We always learn so much when around these families. They have such a love for life and do community so well.

Of course,Halloween is also a fun time for all the kids. They had a good ol’ time doing the trick or treat thing like always. Eisley was a scarecrow, Beck a boxtroll and Reed a penguin. We did some fierce trick or treating with the Kucera’s and the kids have picked out their 25 pieces to have for their candy of the day.

August 2014

August saw the winding down of summer for our family. The kids got one last hurrah in with the Tuttles down in San Antonio. They really enjoyed going to Sea World to see all the amazing creatures God has made. There were lots of rides to enjoy as well as delicious food and a lazy river at the hotel. But, most of all, they enjoyed hanging out with family. Beck gave us a good scare while Jami and the kids were down there. He woke in the middle of the night and couldn’t breathe. After the ambulance came and took him to hospital, he has back to normal quickly. I know it had Momma and Papa both praying right away. It was a huge blessing to have family there to help with that situation. It could have been so much worse in so many different ways.

Jami started year 3 of homeschool. This year she has the added challenge of a new student and one little friend that needs something fairly often as most 2.5 yr. olds do. The kids are excited about the start of a new year. Beck especially is anxious to read like his sister. It is a ways off but he is doing real well on some sight words already. Mama has noticed he needs a few more breaks than his sister did. 🙂 Boys! They are also doing some home school days out at LELA which they all really enjoy.

In case things were not complicated enough……..we have decided to finally move. It has been a long time coming as our family #’s keep growing but our space never has. We looked at other options from keeping our place for renting, refinancing, renting somewhere ourselves or just out right selling. We are going for the latter and have been working tirelessly to get the property ready. The kids have been very patient and have even helped out here and there.

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July 2014

 

July started off with a bang as we were at the Tuttle Ranch.  We got to help celebrate a surprise birthday party for Aunt Steph and see lot’s of relatives from near and far.  The kids were all wrinkly from being in the water so much each day.  There was lots of horse riding, jet skiing, fishing, paddle boarding and just swimming.  It is always such joy to see family and have time to hang out.  

The kids also did some blue berry picking with friends in July.  They did a good job picking blueberries and even brought home some in their bucket and not just their belly.  They were good sports on a hot day and had lots of fun.

Another exciting thing from July was our trip to Dinosaur Valley State Park.  We had the pleasure of going with the Tiggeman crew and Schlaht too.  We all made some pretty good water damns and did some great rock hopping.  I think the kids could have stayed there for hours just tooling around in the cool water.  There were creatures to catch and nice hikes to explore.  

The kids have been doing lots of reading this summer too.  Eisley is almost done with her 100 summer book challenge.  She has been a reading machine and is often found on her bunk bed, breakfast table, car, sofa and just about everywhere with a book in hand.  She has also been doing indoor soccer for the summer and has had a fun season there.  Beck continues to be full of energy and humor.  He is a good big and little brother.  Not easy being that middle kid sometimes.  Reed is talking more and more and it is fun to watch his imagination in action.  He makes all kinds of characters talk in different voices and loves to be silly to the point of no return.  Momma and Papa are doing well and enjoying being able to tag team the kids during the summer months.  

June 2014

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So I guess June has been a bit of a lame month based on our picture count. My wife and kids have accused me of becoming Zombie Soccer Dad. Guilty as charged. Luckily they have shown lots of patience as World Cup only comes every 4 years. I haven’t watched all the matches………….but quite a […]

May 2014

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So we are a little late this month due to some technical difficulties. Oh well.

May is over and June is half way through. May saw us celebrate Beck’s 5th year of life. He is growing into a fun little guy. Beck has a good sense of humor and a very gentle heart. He is our affectionate guy and loves little babies. He is still super silly but also knows when to be serious and enjoys being read to, playing legos, Batman, Star Wars, Prison Break, biking, soccer and lots of board games.

We also were blessed with a little trip to the ranch. We all enjoyed hanging with family and friends. It is a blast playing in the water and fishing in a well stocked lake. The kids all had fun doing the jet ski and some long paddle boarding too. I even got to have Simon snuggle on the shoulder for a power nap. Makes me miss those days…………just a little. Not enough for another little one though! 🙂

Reed is growing and has almost reached the 3 foot mark. He is very determined aka headstrong. Our little parrot says more and more things and is constantly amazing us with his verbal skills. He knows everyone by their first and middle names and often calls them that way. If you say “You are silly or a goofball”, he will reply with “I’m not silly, I’m Simon Reed Schweers.” We have daily battles with him wanting to wear his soccer clothes. The kids have let us know that it has become an idol for him. That sin nature is always so easy to identify in others.

Eisley has started another season of indoor soccer as her outdoor season has stopped. She and mother cooked up a summer reading challenge that I thought was a bit of a stretch. She was to read 100 books this summer. She has wasted no time and has finished her first 50 half way through the month of June. She receives prizes and a little cash incentive for each 25 that she has read. Some of her favorites include the Junie B Jones, Geronimo Stilton, Horrible Harry, Hank the Cowdog and many others. They have to be over 50 pages and she has been reading about 2 a day and enjoying them in the process. God has definitely blessed with her with an ability to enjoy reading.

Mama and Papa are doing pretty well. Papa has finished another year of school and I have thoroughly enjoyed the PE position and the extra time that it has allowed me to spend with family. We have had more doors close than open when it comes to the condo flipping process during the year, but we will see if any doors are opened this summer. Mama has joined the rec. center for the summer and is looking forward to adding some fitness to the schedule. We look forward to time together this summer.

April 2014

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April saw some fun times with the Schweers clan. There were some birthday celebrations, Easter, April Fools and much more. Eisley had a fun pre sleepover birthday party and the girls seemed to have lots of fun. There were crafts to make, food to eat, movies to watch and of course games to play. The […]

March 2014

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March is always a whirlwind of a month since we have some birthday action and of course Spring Break. We went to Martin Creek State Park this year and did a little camping. It was fun to be out in nature even if it was a little cooler than we would have liked. We were […]

February 2014

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February has been a bit more exciting than last month. The weather has been a little crazy with some more arctic weather which made for another snow day for papa. Overall, we have been healthy this season and very thankful for what God continues to do in the life of our family. Eisley has had […]

January 2014

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Happy New Year! So apparently we have had a pretty tame January based on our small amount of pictures. We have all gotten back into the schedules of school and soccer and all that good stuff. We kicked off the year in our passed down tradition with fondue. The kids all enjoyed frying up their […]