The Best of 2012

A few days ago I saw a post on Facebook that made me kind of sad.  It was something like "The top 15 things I want to forget about 2012".  I don't know if that was exactly the title, but that was the idea.

Why does that make me sad?  Well, I guess I am an optimist.  I like to focus on the positive things in life and wonder why I want to spend time thinking about the things I want to forget.  Now, I can think of some things that have happened this year that I would like to forget (some will be etched in my mind until I die).

I decided I wanted to spend some time today thinking about the best things of 2012.  I hope you'll join me and leave a comment with some of your best things.

My scraggly haired boys in spring 2012

• Manasseh graduated from speech therapy after 3 long years!
• Cassius continues to overcome the brain troubles that the doctors said would cause difficulty for him.  Also, he got glasses and he looks incredibly cute in them.
• Azariah started walking (finally).
• We spent our first fantastic summer at Yellow Creek Lake Camp/Ministries together as a family.
• I have made some huge health leaps with the addition of insulin and a gym membership.
• The Hoosier Outdoor Experience was a great family learning time with the boys.  Next year it will be on our plans ahead of time.
• As of (about) August 1, I have 2 boys in underwear!
• We worked hard and tore down the garage!  Now we have a nice sized patio for parties, and snuggling by the fire pit.
• So many fun afternoons exploring various woods and hiking trails with my curious boys, they know so many trees and flowers already - just amazing.
• The season of Advent has been a beautiful time of learning and anticipation with the boys. 

There are so many fantastic things to be thankful for.  We have been blessed again and again.   

What are your greatest memories of 2012?

Our Heartbreaking Week

Thanksgiving is a time when we celebrate blessings.  We were so glad to be able to share the holiday with both of our families.  It was a fantastic time of fellowship, eating, catching up, shopping (yes, some of us participate in the ridiculous black Friday event), and playing together.

I love the holidays, I always have.  This one, however, was particularly difficult for me.  You see, we found out Wednesday night that our suspicion earlier in the week had been accurate.  We had a miscarriage.  Crum Baby #4 will not be joining our family in July.

For those of you that have had a miscarriage, you know that it is both physically and emotionally challenging.  With 3 little boys, I felt extremely blessed that Mr. Crum was able to be home with me most of the week.  He took excellent care of our boys.  Friends rallied around in support of us.  Still, it was tough.

From the start of this pregnancy, the word God put on my mind for the baby was "peace."  We had decided that somehow "Shalom" would be part of the baby's name. Shalom is more then just simply peace; it is a complete peace. It is a feeling of contentment, completeness, wholeness, well being and harmony.

Again and again over the last week and a half, I have had to remember the peace of God.  Because the Spirit is in me, I HAVE his peace.  It does not come from me, or from the world around me.  The peace that I have in this heartbreaking time is from Him alone.

 Tonight I spoke with a friend who had heartbreaking news of her own.  My heart aches for her and her husband.  They seem to meet adversity everywhere they turn.  My friend, I wish I had answers about why a good God lets babies die before they are born.  I wish I could tell you why things are happening the way they are in your life.  The only thing I can tell you is that I find my peace in Him.  I know he is good even when the world doesn't make any sense.  Even when the justice system is unjust - he is fair.

Have you had a hard week?  How are you holding it together?  What do you rely on when times are tough?

The Learning Tree

It started out as a tree of blessing and thanksgiving.  I painted it on the wall with the intention of writing scriptures of thanks and encouragement on it.  I have been attaching leaves with names pf blessings to it.  We like the tree.

Now it is a learning tree as well.  Currently it bears apples with numbers 1-10 (we have up to 100).  It holds apples with each letters of the boy's names (although mysteriously A and S have become missing).  It holds the boy's papers from church and Awana.  We are going over these pages regularly, and the numbers.  Mama mixes up the letters in their names and they are learning to spell them in order, left to right.  Manasseh's speed has really improved at spelling his name, both with paper and out loud, over the last couple of weeks.  The learning tree is a GREAT thing in our house right now!

How do you promote education in your house?  Do you have special centers, workbooks, activities that you use?