Surprise!

By Sunday we will be 12 weeks for the 7th time! I named this post "Surprise" because we were very surprised to learn our family was continuing to grow... though most people weren't as surprised as we were. It is seeming to take us forever to reach 12 weeks... probably because our due date got moved back 6 days after our first ultrasound in early May.

For our last 2 children we found out their genders at our 20 week scans. This time around we thought it would be fun to keep it a surprise until he or she arrives in December. We are DUE Christmas Day and we are typically 2 weeks early so unless this Baby is truly meant as a Christmas gift we are expecting to deliver sometime around December 8th. Since we already have Birthday's on the 8th and the 9th I am sort of hoping for the 7th or the 10th... though either of our December Birthdays would be happy to share their day with our new arrival.

I am still in the lovely state of nausea though I keep counting my blessings that it's not as bad as my last two and I keep counting down the weeks until I am likely to enjoy my food again. Hormones are in full swing in other ways too and I found myself teary the other day listening to the American National anthem before a hockey game on t.v. (weird, right?)

On Tuesday we had a prenatal check up and were able to hear Baby's heart beating... such a lovely sound. Soon we will have the reassurance of each little kick and turn but for now it was nice to hear such a reassuring sound.

Angeline's Birthday

I just realized that I am late posting Angeline's Birthday again. She has been 7 (going on 8) for almost 3 months now. We did enjoy celebrating our beautiful first born girl with a friend party and a family March Birthday party.

Angeline is a big help to us with her younger siblings... she especially loves mothering Joshua and can't wait for her new sibling to be ready to join our family in December (she is hoping for a girl). She gets along well in class (2 days/week) and doesn't seem to have any problem fitting in or making friends. Angeline's character has been evident since she was very small. She feels each emotion to the extreme and we get a lot of excited smiles and giggles and also lots of eye rolling and cheeky grins. She makes me think of a country song by Garth Brooks that has been used to describe me...

"She's Every Women"

She's sun and rain, she's fire and ice

A little crazy but it's nice

And when she gets mad, you best leave her alone

'Cause she'll rage just like a river

Then she'll beg you to forgive her

She's every women that I've ever known

...

She's anything but typical

She's so unpredictable

Oh but even at her worst it ain't that bad

She's as real as real can be

And she's every fantasy

We love you Angeline... every part of you... and we are so thankful for the opportunity to watch you grow and to be your family. We are very blessed to have you for a daughter.

Joshua 18 months

Here are a few 18 month pictures of Joshua who is now 19 months! He had his immunizations today and is weighing the same as he was in April... about 23 lbs.
I wanted to get a bit more formal of an 18 month picture but this is it! He now sports his new hair cut which gives him quite a different look. He is certainly growing up.
One 18 month highlight was having him sing "ba ba black sheep."

Happy Spring!

Joshua, 16 Months

I have definitely not taken enough pictures of this little man lately. He is growing and changing so quickly! I love his train sounds, that his favourite food is broccoli, his sleepy time cuddles, and the honest trouble that he gets into ALL THE TIME. Yesterday we spent the morning outside so these pics were all captured then. Other than the diapers, naps, nursing and snuggies (his must have blanket) there is not much BABY left in my baby boy!

Beautiful Bekah is 3 1/2

Last month Rebekah celebrated her 1/2 Birthday. After Christmas we seem to have gone on a bit of a picture taking purge but I did take some of her trying on these outfits that used to be mine. My custom made gymnastic suit (because who doesn't dream of wearing suspender underwear overtop of their pants) and a fancy dress hand made by Mom.
About the same time she hit the half way mark everyone started commenting about how much more she is talking (though you still might have a bit of a hard time understanding what she says). She is also much more comfortable being without me and enjoys attending her Sunday School class.
Loving our littlest girl.

Picture (not so) Perfect!

 

Getting a great picture of our five kids together is not an easy task. We did manage one such shot on Sunday but I thought it would be fun to share the flops. Hope they make you smile!

6 More Joys (12 Joys of Chrismtas continued)

7. We put a lot of TIME into preparing for Christmas. TIME is the 7th Joy I want to highlight but not in that sense. After countless hours of cleaning, baking, cooking, searching, decorating TIME stops as we celebrate Christmas with Family and Friends. We take TIME to visit, nap, entertain each other, listen, share, reminisce. There is a quality TIME in the holidays that brings a true joy to my heart.
8. GIVING
9. Each year the kids prepare for their church preschool pageants and kids choir performances. Some of them love it while others loath it but it is part of the Christmas experience. This year we set some time aside to prepare for our own Christmas performance. It was a chance for each child to highlight something they have been learning. It was their way of giving a gift to others. It is a new tradition that I hope to continue with as they grow.
10. I love the different favourite foods of Christmas that have become a tradition each year. My Mom always makes a breakfast bake on Christmas Eve to put in the oven Christmas morning with egg, sausage, bread cubes and cheese. It's just not Christmas without it. Jonathan's family makes "Bubbat" a raisin cake that you can dip in your gravy when having turkey dinner. Then there are all the various cookies. Food=Comfort. Christmas=5 extra pounds.
11. FAMILY
12. Last but certainly not least, FAITH.

12 JOYS of Christmas, 2015 (PART 1)

This Christmas I have my work cut out for me and lately I catch myself feeling like Mrs. Grinch instead of enjoying, and helping my family to enjoy such a very special time of the year. So this morning, as I was scrubbing my bathtub I was struck with the inspiration to write this post. Maybe it will be a one time thing or it might just become an annual tradition. Its amazing how much more joy we experience when we stop to focus on the good.

1. Rebekah is 3 this Christmas and besides her growing anticipation of opening presents she has noticed Christmas Music on a new level this year. Her favourite song is "Little Drummer Boy" and she will boldly announce that "Rubber Bum Bum" is playing whenever she hears the tune. SO CUTE! She also does an absolutely adorable rendition of "Go tell it on the Mountain."

2. Joshua opening presents. I had a preview of this while I was wrapping gifts. He got hold of one and I was happy to have him play with it while I finished up but I didn't anticipate how quickly he would figure out how to rip the paper off. There is something so joyful about kids ripping into their gifts. I remember how exciting it was (and sometimes still is) to unwrap a surprise.

3. Samara memorizing her lines for the church preschool pageant. She STILL likes to rehearse them for us even though the pageant performance was on the 13th. We are planning a bit of an encore on Christmas day. This was a huge accomplishment for her and rightfully so she is proud of herself.

4. The joy of lights. David mentioned this year that one of his favourite parts of Christmas time is when the lights are off and the Christmas tree is lit up. He even made furniture rearranging suggestions for maximum viewing. Driving around to see Christmas lights is always a highlight.

5. C A N D Y. Tomorrow we are decorating our homemade Sugar Cookie Ginger Bread Houses. We assembled them today and the kids can't wait to get their hands on the candies to decorate. Angeline made one already at a friends birthday party and was so proud of her candy covered mound. She also took the liberty if decorating the plate and concluded that next time the roof should go on afterwards so that you could fill the entire house with candy.

6. Family Portraits. This is definitely one of MY favourites. If it wasn't for me the rest of my family would be happy never to pose for a group picture. It means a lot to me to have us all together in one picture. It's a lot of work to get everyone looking at the camera let alone smiling but it's worth it.

I plan on posting a part 2 with an additional 6 Joys after Christmas.
Wishing You much Joy as you reflect on the many blessings this season brings.

Samara is 5!

Christmas Letter 2015

Dear Friends and Family,

I thought I would be smart this year and start my Christmas letter in August. I know what you are thinking... brilliant, right? Brilliant might have been saving it to the desktop. Not so brilliant was not being able to find it and starting over again.

Oh well... think merry thoughts!

Having 5 kids is CRAZY! Most of the time it is CRAZY fun and we are CRAZY in love but it is always CRAZY busy. Sometimes things get out of hand and crazy fun turns into insane crazy and occasional insane crazy becomes senile (which is NOT fun). Balancing homeschooling 3 kids with my regular mother and housewife duties is challenging and I have had to make some adjustments to our schedule. I am still fine tuning it but I think we are figuring it out. The trick is how to get everything done, squeeze in some fun and have a little room left over for sanity. 

I don't get a lot in the way of personal time but I do enjoy the occasional cup of loose leaf tea. In June I took (and passed) my driving test so that I no longer have to drive around with a “N” sign in my glovebox (I mean on the back of the van). I had my “N” for over 15 years, some sort of a record I am sure. I started a new devotional app in July called First5 which has been really good. This fall I had a lot of fun attending Zumba classes.

     A Major Milestone for us this year was celebrating our 10 Year Wedding Anniversary. After 10 Years, we still do! In celebration we had a family ring made so that is certainly a highlight for me as well.

     Jonathan was officially promoted at the start of the year to head store manager. He played soccer in the Spring on our Church team and this year they made it to the playoffs. He joined Karate this fall and has been attending classes with David. He is continuing to enjoy board game nights monthly.

     David took art classes in the Spring and we were really impressed with his work. He is training to grade for his white stripe belt in Karate. He started Grade 4 this fall which means he now gets letter grades. He is attending Soaring Eagle Nature School once a month where he spends an entire day in the woods. He joined DIY for kids and now has an online portfolio and is earning badges for projects. It's like a modern day boy scouts. Check out his page at: https://diy.org/misterd9

     Angeline is now in Grade 1 and is continuing to do well. She attends class 2 days a week for about 8 weeks each term. She thrives at school and at home. Earlier in the year she attended a mixed dance class and she will be participating in Dance Week later this month. She is currently in swimming lessons. What we are most proud of is her gift of welcoming others. She has a natural ability to find a friend who is new, shy or struggling and taking them under her wing.

     Samara is just about to celebrate her 5^th Birthday and is now in Kindergarten. A lot of change has come her way this year and she is now on her own for some of her activities where she is used to having her big sister. She has also had the opportunity to be the big sister as her and Rebekah took a Ballet class together this fall. She is in a K/1 split with Angeline at School and will also be participating in Dance Week. I really feel like she is coming out of her cocoon and we are enjoying her now as a butterfly.

     Rebekah is now 3 and enjoyed her first Ballet (or as she says "Balleray") class this fall. She has been waiting patiently for her turn and loves having a dance class to attend. She quite enjoys her time with Mommy and Joshua when her sisters and brother are at school. She will often ask me not to pick them up. :) We thought she had coasted safely through the accident prone 2's (Angeline broke her arm and Samara broker her collar bone when she was 2) but shortly after turning 3 she landed herself with 10 stitches above her eyebrow. Her bangs hide it, if I have time to blow dry them to the right.

Joshua is now 1 and has been walking about for the last month and a half. He is certainly in a very busy but also a very fun stage. Our Baby Boy is growing up too fast. We love his kisses, his car sounds and his growing vocabulary. He loves his bath time, the naked time that follows, cars, trains and going outside.

I am continuing to update our family blog if you are interested in updates throughout the year. Visit neufeldfamily.blogspot.ca

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Love, Melissa, Jonathan, David, Angeline, Samara, Rebekah and Joshua Neufeld

PS- Our family Christmas Picture will come in a later post. I still have to pick up the boys shirts. For now here is a sneak peak of the girls in their Christmas dresses.

Joshua is 1!

Joshua is now 12 1/2 months so I thought it was time for his 1 year update. He had his check up today and is continuing to do well. He now weighs 21 lbs. He is near the 50th percentile weighing slightly less than average and measuring slightly taller then the average 1 year old boy.
He is talking A LOT more then the average 1 year old. I guess we have his 4 older siblings to thank for that? His newest word (yesterday) is "chair".
He has also been walking for the last 5 weeks. He walks as his preferred method of transportation. He only crawls when he is playing or if I put hard shoes on him (still has to figure out shoes).
Having a 1 year old has more challenges then I remember but we are soaking up his adorableness and enjoying each new stage as it comes.

Rebekah Ballerina

Rebekah has been waiting a long time for her first ballet class and today was the day! It is nice to have her and Samara in the same class. Last year Angeline and Samara were in the same class together. I think it is nice for Samara to have a chance playing the roll of big sister and showing her little sister the ropes. This will be Samara's last "Tot's Ballet" since she will be 5 soon.

Some of you may be wondering about the bandaid. Rebekah fell of her chair 2 1/2 weeks ago. She landed on an upside down plastic container lid which one would assume is harmless. Somehow that harmless lid landed her in emergency. Two hours and TEN stitches later we were on our way home. There was no head injury other then the cut. Most of the scab is gone but she still has some stitches that haven't dissolved. She is doing well but it is definitely going to leave a mark.

11 Month Pumpkin

Joshua is 11 months old. His first birthday is just around the corner. He can stand up without holing onto anything. He has taken a few steps independently and is really good with a walker, or a laundry basket, or the kitchen bench turned upside down. He is fast! He has learned to go down stairs properly (with supervision of corse)!
He is a had full, but so much fun! Love him!

Pumpkin Patch

 



The kids had a field trip at Hazelmere Pumpkin Patch today. It was lots of fun! Got some cute pictures of Joshua too which I will share next in an 11 month post.