Four months

A lot has changed in the almost two year hiatus I took from blogging.  Namely that we increased by two kiddos!  Annabell's story is one for the record books and one I will tackle in what will probably be several posts, but since Elin what just born in October, I'll tackle hers first.

It's been almost a year since I found out I was pregnant with her...a year this week.  Some things had been off, and I actually thought I had early onset menopause.  Then another option crept into my mind.  But it had been two years since we had initially started trying for another baby.  Two years without getting pregnant so you can't blame me for thinking that wasn't it.  I decided that I could at least find out one of what I thought were the two possibilities so I randomly bought a pregnancy test and took it one night while Sean was working late and the kids had gone to bed.  When I first looked at the results, I didn't see a positive.  No big deal, I thought, I've taken more tests that have been negative than positive.  Then something caused me to look again.  And that's when I saw it...not one, but two pink lines.  I fell to my knees weeping very loudly.  It's amazing I didn't wake up any kids because of how loud I was.  I couldn't believe it, but yet I could at the same time.  Because isn't that like our God, to show off how amazing He is!  "I'll not only give you one child you've been desperately praying for (Annabell), I'll give you the other one you've been desperately praying for as well." 

Sean wasn't set on four kids.  After we had Annabell, I clearly remember him standing in the kitchen saying, "I feel good, Stacie.  Our family feels complete."  I chose then to tell him that while we were in the hospital with Annabell, I had heard the Lord mention four kids to me.  I was holding Annabell, crying and thanking Him for the promises He has made to us through our kids.  His promises of faith, hope and trust.  It was then He whispered, "and your fourth baby will be the promise of My extravagant love."  My breath caught as I thought, "Did I hear You correctly, Lord?  Did you just share that we will have a fourth?"  Indeed, He had.  And indeed, we did.

We decided not to find out if we were having a girl or boy.  So we waited 9 long months until October 7 when Elin Frances born made her debut.  Sweet little girl born in the midst of a lot of boys!  She was 7 pounds 7 ounces and 20 inches...totally a gift from the Lord. 

Elin means "light" and Frances means "free".  I thought her name was very fitting and accurate for her specifically regarding her promise of the Lord.  Light free, free light...the Lord is referenced over and over in the Bible as "light" and His love is free.  She being the promise of His extravagant love bears a name that is a constant reminder of how free His love is, how free the Light is.

Now four months later, it's as if our life has always consisted of a 6 year old, 4 year old, 18 month old and 4 month old.  We've started figuring out our new normal...chaos most of the time, but peace in the midst of it.  A lot of tears, usually from me, but a lot of smiles and laughter and praise and dancing! 

And as for how the rest of the clan is adjusting, they all think she is just as wonderful as her mommy and daddy do!

Elin Frances, we are overjoyed the Lord picked us for you and you for us!  You have brought a wonderful new dimension to our family and have marked this season as one of His extravagant love for all of us.  We are excited to see you grow and become a marked woman of the most high King!  You, sweet girl, are beautiful and delightful and loved and cherished by your heavenly Father and your family and friends!

My sweet boy

Sean Edward turned 6 years old in November.  Six...I can't believe my sweet baby boy is 6.  It's been such a delight to see him grow...physically, mentally, emotionally.  I've gotten to see him take on the roll as a big brother to now 3 little sisters and nothing melts me more or makes me more proud of him then seeing him love and pursue his sisters so well.

He started basketball and from the first practice, it was so evident how much better he was than last year.  I think last season, he might have scored one or two baskets with a couple of free throws here and there.  This season, he has set goals for himself before each game.  Game 1 he wanted to score two baskets...he scored three.  Game 2 he set a goal of three shots, he scored four.  I'm not sure what game 3's goal was, but he scored four shots again.  Our sweet little team lost every game last year; this year they've won the three they have played. 

He really does make it easy to be a parent.  I love his heart for his family, his friends, our house church, the nations!  I have to stop myself of thinking too far into the future.  I have so many hopes and dreams for him, but at the same time, I want him to stay little forever.  I find my heart having to find new trust in Jesus for these kiddos daily.  And I'm so grateful I have a God who eases the tension of growing with the grace of seeing my kids achieving and learning new things.  Sean Edward, my sweet boy, of whom I am so proud and honored to mother.

January...a/k/a the flu month

Oh man, I am so thankful for January!  I love that a long full 31 day month comes after the fast pace of the holidays.  There is Christmas Eve, Christmas, big family Christmas, a birthday, New Years Eve then New Years Day.  And as good as ours was, I was very glad that January, which could have a tendency to go very quickly with a new year underway, school starting back up after a break, kids' activities going on the calendar, two birthdays being celebrated in our family, etcetera, etcetera, was long and slow.  A very good possibility of why our month was long and slow could have been because 50% of us got the flu.  Sweet SE started with it, then it went to Fin and lastly Annabell. 

This was our first in tackling multiple sicknesses in our family.  For the most part, we are a pretty healthy family with ear infections being the most with which we've had to deal.  Ear infections are not contagious.  Ear infections don't threaten an 18 month old or a 3 month old.  The flu does.  So I donned a bandana that I wore any time I interacted with SE and Fin the first couple of days and a suit of Lysol, which I was constantly spraying on me, in the air, on anything they touched.  Sweet Elin went into isolated quarantine, which she absolutely hated because she's the fourth and being the fourth she's around someone at all times.  And the stream of fluids, medicine, and "whatever you want because you are sick and I need you to stay in the hatch so no one else gets infected" began.  SE, of course, was a champ...the rule follower, enough of a people pleaser, drink as much as you can so you will get better, was only down one day with symptoms, but stayed in the hatch two just to make sure.  Annabell was pretty much the same way.  Finley, on the other hand, was the wild card. 

She followed SE's pattern of two days of symptoms then fever subsided so I let her out after three days in the hatch.  Day 4 she seemed great!  Then, on day 5, after a morning spent playing with Annabell and breathing in and on Elin's face, I realized Fin's fever had gone back up.  Ahhh!  So back into isolation went Fin and two days later, Annabell was diagnosed.  Now, what I will say about poor Fin is that we didn't give her TamiFlu.  I honestly thought she would shake the flu pretty quickly since she was barely having any symptoms.  We conducted our own little experiment if you will, and I will break the budget if in the future we have to deal with the flu again.  Here's our conclusion:  SE and Annabell both got TamiFlu and had one day of "high" fever, the highest SE's went was maybe 102.7 and AB's was maybe 102.  They had one of day of mild fever with both hovering around 100/101.  Then by day 3 they were both fever free without the aid of Tylenol or Ibuprofen.  Sweet Fin had 2 days of high fever, one of mild, then no fever, then high fever again, then mild, then finally on day 7 cleared of the flu!  And what about this one you ask...

I'm happy to report that she was spared of the flu although her pediatrician said if she got it, she too could have TamiFlu.  But praise the Lord, we didn't have to make that call!

It's still here!

It's still here...the Boyd Adventures blog.  A blog I started years ago and quite honestly never really felt like I did a good job until disaster struck a week ago.  Over the summer we had moved 4 years worth of pictures to an external hard drive.  Four years that included the birth of both SE and Finley and subsequent years.  I had accessed the pictures on the hard drive a couple times as I was finally motivated to sit down and do baby books for the kiddos.  One afternoon, I sat down determined to get SE's finished and as I went to click on the hard drive, I noticed it wasn't there in the place where it had been times prior.  I got frustrated, then panicked.  Sean assured me my pictures were there.  He was wrong.  We sent the hard drive to it's manufacturer who took it apart and salvaged barely a year's worth of pictures...SE's first year of life.  I was devastated.  I had nothing from 2010, 2011, 2012 and part of 2013....or so I thought.  After a brief 10 minutes of wailing (and making my kids wail because they were so scared by my wailing), Jesus started whispering..."Look in this spot, Stacie.  There are pictures here.".  My word for the year 2015 is "believe".  He had already started proving that His power is worth believing in.  My prayer immediately became "Lord, I believe You can restore that which was lost to me".  And He has!  It's not neatly organized in folders by month and year as I had organized it.  But they're there...SE's hospital pictures, his first birthday, Finley's hospital pictures, their first months of life, family vacations, SE's first skiing, and other milestones I had thought were lost forever.  And as I reach out to family and friends to find more, He is present and answering my heart's desire of certain pictures I remember and thought were to never be found.  

One of the places I've discovered a lot of memories is here on this blog and my prior one.  As I look back through the years of pictures and writing, I'm struck by how, even though I thought it was at times silly and that I wasn't good at it, I'm so grateful I took the time to do it.  And so I made a New Year's resolution to take blogging back up.  Not to show others what we are doing or not doing, but to record my family and certain moments throughout our years that I know will be valued and looked fondly upon down the road.  You are invited to join along!

Welcome 2015!  The Boyds are excited to believe it will be our best year yet!

XOXO,

Stacie

Iron Sharpeners

Of all the roles I've played, being a mother is definitely by far the most challenging.  It is a demanding, often grueling 24 hours a day, 7 days a week job.  My kids love throwing me into situations where I have to act quickly and think even more quickly.  These beautiful little beings who have been entrusted to me by the Most High are thoroughly equipped with strength, wit, strategery (think SNL), persistence and the list goes on and on. 

But man, am I grateful for being placed in this role.  Because these little beings maybe demanding and challenging, but they are also some of the best disciples I've had in my life.  Daily they teach me self-control, how to respond in peace and kindness, and how to choose joy even when said little beings are not making the same choice.  In them, I get a glimpse into the Father's heart as they pursue me, their momma, with their hearts and their love. 

I thought of Proverbs 27:17 "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."  I'm so blessed to have a number of people who sharpen me, but when I think about the ones who have the most influence, the ones who make me want to look more like Jesus, it is SE and Fin.  I want them to grow up knowing that regardless of their status or the situation they have proposed to me, they matter, they have value, and they are owed respect and honor.  I want them to see the love of Jesus in me and feel His pursuit of them through my pursuit of them.  I want to plant seeds of His Kingdom values, not seeds of the world. 

As I think about being celebrated on Mother's Day, I kind of laugh to myself because yes, being a mom is an amazing role, one that I can't even begin to express gratitude for and never want to take for granted.  But to me, it's as much about my kids as it is about being a mother.  Without them, I don't get the title "mom".  Without them, I miss out on so much of what God has for me.  Without them, I miss out on so many experiences.  And let's face it, who doesn't want to experience their 2-year-old hockey checking another toddler in the middle of a youth basketball practice and trying to respond with the heart of the God. 

Being a mom...it's kind of the best thing ever...

New beginnings

I'm not really sure how to begin this post...it's a new year, a new season, and while I've never been one to really shy away from change, a big change happened today.  After a Christmas full of joy and gratefulness and a new year ushered in with friends and adventures, we had to say good-bye to some of our dearest friends.  And while I am so excited to see the Lord reward and bless their faithful hearts, I am also so very sad to see them go.

To say they are great friends is an understatement.  We've done life so very closely with them for over two and half years seeing them usually more than once a week unless someone was out of town.  We've celebrated the births of babies, A WEDDING, birthdays, and holidays.

We've gone on vacations and double dates and retreats together.  We've just been ourselves and hung out many a nights together doing absolutely nothing (or having Nertz battles!).

We have shared much laughter and tears and celebrations, but mostly, there has been a realness to our relationship for which I am so very grateful.

To say they've loved us and loved our kids well doesn't even come close to the joy they've brought to me, Sean, Sean Edward and Finley.  All of us are forever changed because of the love they have poured into us.

To say we love them wouldn't even begin to fully describe how we feel about them.  It's been an honor to do life beside them.  Chicago is one lucky city because it is getting some of the BEST people I know.  And I know as amazing as they were here, they are going to be even more amazing there.  Because what the Lord ordains is so much greater than we can ever imagine.

And thankfully, new beginnings are God breathed that have the assurance of His presence and Him.  So friends we send you off with the power of the Holy Spirit going before you and covering you along the way.  Only greatness awaits you in Chicago...new adventures, new relationships, new things.  And we'll be here living it with you although in a different way, but still laughing, crying and celebrating because:

"The faithful love of the Lord never ends; His mercies never cease.  Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning."  Lamentations 3:22-23