2016: A Pictorial Year in Review

If ever there was a year when I ought to have written a Christmas letter, this was it. In its place: a picture year-in-review.

January

Toby turned two within the cozy but getting-ever-smaller walls of our little rental house. 

Unbeknownst to everyone else, I also got pregnant in January, which we announced in . . . 

February

Also in February, we found a suitable and very reasonably-priced house and left the aformentioned rental behind. The walls are much bigger here . . . as are the cupboards:

Master bathroom closet, where at least four children could sleep comfortable.

Moving actually isn't very fun at all.

March

We escaped for a long weekend to Lake Beauty Bible Camp with two other families, old friends from Isaac's seminary days. It was incredibly refreshing to relax, play games, worship (pictured below), and stay up late chatting with people we'd known for more than four months.

We were treated by friends from church to our first official Minnesota fish fry during Lent!

My parents came to visit for Easter. Mom soldiered through a backyard Easter egg hunt in the freezing rain . . .

 . . . and Dad and Isaac built a playhouse in our basement!

April

We began traveling down to Minneapolis quarterly so Silas can see a pediatric dermatologist about an autoimmune skin condition that surfaced in 2015. We're down to visit every six months instead of three, now.

Levi often comes along to keep Silas company. The children's wing is on the 14th floor.

After starting violin lessons on a cardboard box in March, Silas got his first violin in April!

May

We traveled back to Cincinnati for the first time since November. It was a joyful reunion that included the celebration of Isaac's grandpa's 90th birthday, but the only picture I have on hand is of Silas drawing pictures in the car! Many thanks to a very special friend at church for the blank paper books she made for the older three boys.

June

I flew to Indianapolis, where my best friend from college lives AND a bunch of women from our church in Cincinnati were gathering for The Gospel Coalition Women's Conference. Hands down, the best part (besides attending the convention with Jenny and then staying up late to talk at her house every night) was experiencing the Gettys in worship every day. 

We discovered a perfectly-sized, free to the public pool just two minutes from home . . .

 . . . enjoyed picnics in the backyard . . . 

 . . . and had a visit from Uncle Jeff.

Our boy band: Uncle Jeff and the Gould boys.

And Silas turned four.

July

The middle of the summer was a lazy, pleasant time of more backyard play . . . 

. . . lots of book reading . . . 

 . . . keeping tabs on the rising Mississippi River . . . 

 . . . and celebrating Levi's seventh birthday!

August

My parents came up again for a belated celebration of Levi's birthday. For his present, they rented a cabin on a lake and took him and Owen away for two days. I love that they value "experience gifts," and the boys had a blast! We all joined them to play in the lake and eat around the campfire one night. Special memories.

Levi lost his first tooth (which was somewhat traumatic, hence the tears) . . . 

 . . . and Toby graduated from high school! Just kidding. He loves to dress up, and my high school mortar board ended up in the dress-up box.

September

Despite being 36 weeks pregnant, I flew home over Labor Day weekend to attend a family reunion on my dad's side. It's been nearly 15 years since I went to one, and I'm glad I seized the opportunity to see my grandma, now that we live so far away.

Grandma on the left, with her sister Ro.

Right after I got home, we took a day trip to the Wisconsin border to meet up with dear friends from Cincinnati who have family in Wisconsin. Levi especially was very happy to spend time with old, familiar friends!

They have six, we had four; I've since had Calvin, and they're expecting another this spring!

September was also busy with Levi's first soccer season . . . 

 . . . and my tenth year of Bible Study Fellowship. It's been a while since I only took two kids with me (they age out of the children's program at kindergarten). (Of course I'm taking three kids again now.)

Toby and Silas on the first day of BSF

I was due September 28, so on September 25 my parents came up again to help out. Despite a long walk at St. John's Abbey . . . 

 . . . and a boat ride at their rented cabin . . . 

 . . . Calvin stubbornly refused to come until . . .

October

Serious talks with Daddy at a few hours old.

Showing us his cheerful personality by ten days old.

Thanks to my mom's extended visit (all of October), we managed to fill the boys' wishes for Halloween: Jupiter, a policeman, Saturn, a giraffe, and a fireman. (And a daddy.)

November

We experienced unseasonably warm weather, great for being out with a new baby, as well as raking leaves . . . 

 . . . and exploring new parks . . . 

 . . . until the snow suddenly came in all seriousness two weeks later!

And Owen turned six.

We hosted Thanksgiving with Isaac's family, and squeezed in a visit with his aunt, uncle, and cousins who live in this part of the country (Minnesota and North Dakota).

One-half of the Thanksgiving table.

December

Silas played in his first violin concert.

We celebrated our immediate family Christmas as usual on St. Nicholas Day, and I didn't get any pictures. My parents came to visit the week before Christmas in order to see our church children's program, in which Levi had lines and a solo he didn't tell me about! 

Reading books by the tree with Grandpa.

I'll do more about Christmas in another post. What a full year! And this is just the snapshot version! Levi made huge advances in his already-advanced math ability, Owen stopped writing his letters backwards (victory!), Silas learned to read (his request) and fully conquered the potty (bigger victory!), Toby comes ever more into his own (stubborn, demanding, and very silly) personality . . . I could go on. I was challenged in a Facebook group to describe the boys in their best possible ways, which I thought I'd share here, to close:

*Levi is eagerly helpful, fights for truth (which will be a good thing, eventually . . . ), sets big goals and sticks to them.

*Owen sees the world in a way I never will. His visual-spatial skills are incredible, and he finds fascinating comparisons between the most obscure things (particularly during family devotions).

*Silas is so very sweet and inquisitive, and has an amazing ability to giggle at his own mistakes. He has made the biggest changes in the past year, maturing into a delightful little boy.

*Toby doesn't just listen to books; he lives them. He loves to dress up in ridiculous outfits and declare himself a book character. He adores his baby brother and showers him with kisses. He's the most verbal toddler we've had, and his running commentary on life has us laughing all the time (except when he's screaming at us, which is also frequent).

*Calvin has been holding his head up since birth and is the most alert, social infant I've ever seen. I suspect he will be holding his own with the other boys in no time at all!

Merry Christmas!