Summer 2018

     We were looking forward to starting the month of July off with the Canada Day Parade, a BBQ at our church and Fireworks but our littles were under the weather and so our Canada Day was very uneventful. Thankfully they had a speedy recovery and we squeezed lots of fun in the rest of the month. Here is just a few highlights...
     To start it off we spent a week at Grammy & Grandpa's house in Langley. We enjoyed plenty of time outdoors, in the pool and with the chickens! It was great to visit Bethany Baptist and have lunch with the Kerby's. They introduced us to a new game (new to me, I think Jon had played it once before) called "Dominion" which we will likely add to our own collection soon.
We also had a lovely BBQ dinner at the Schunters. It was so nice catching up!
     When we returned to the Island it was time for "Shipwrecked Kids Camp." This was a whole family event for us. It was a great week. The kids made some awesome crafts (fav's were drawing on t-shirts, a lighthouse and a parrot). My highlight was just hanging out at Blair Park one evening with the Summer Camp crew. The kids highlights were Gaga Ball and the Bouncy Castle. Jonathan braved leading the Pre-School group and everyone made some new friends along the way.
     We also managed to squeeze in some hikes, park time, lake days, dinners with friends and a visit from the cousins in Victoria.
     August was packed with so much fun that it flew by with the warm summer breeze. Rebekah turned 6 (even though I asked her kindly not to)... more on that in a separate post. Jonathan's sister and family visited from England and it was so much fun showing them our new home and some of the rest of Port Alberni too (Harbour Quay, Twin Cities, MountainView Bakery and the Hole on the Wall). We were able to return with them for a second Langley visit, take in a family reunion, catch up and soak up all the time and memories we could. Between the Lake and Grammy's Pool the kids developed amazingly in their swimming skills and water comfort levels. Another summer highlight was Joshua cannon balling down the waterslide. My littlest man never ceases to amaze me and is constantly entertaining at the least. Our littlest littlest Naomi spent the summer doing her best to keep up with her siblings and she always does a good job of that. This was true during a family outing to Parksville Mini Golf (David's Birthday Pick). The big kids and I (you have to be a certain hight) also did Bumper Boats for the first time.... but definitely not the last. Fun, fun and more fun.
     We also attended a Bullhead Derby where the kids had fun catching fish. It was probably an hour before Joshua caught the first 3. Once he hooked one he had it down! Everyone except Samara caught something but she landed the first prize so she was happy about that. Joshua also won a prize.
     Bringing all the fun around full circle we were able to end the summer with a picnic at the Harbour Quay and a spectacular oceanfront view of the Labour Day Fireworks with our good friends the Zvonars. It was cold and windy but truly magical. Thought we didn't quite check everything off our Summer Fun To Do List we did have an amazing few months and we are feeling truly blessed heading into Fall.
     We hope you all enjoyed your summers as well as our summer update and we wish you a Happy Fall.

June 2018

     I am trying something new... monthly blog updates as a response to update requests from family and friends. I do enjoy writing and keeping a record of memorable moments and milestones so I am going to attempt to do this on the last day of each month (even though this is being posted half way through July).

     June was a full month like all the months seem to be at this stage in our journey. Angeline, Samara and Rebekah wrapped up their homeschool year on June 8th so we have already been in summer mode for quite some time. They are now ready to head into grades 4, 3 and 1 and we are looking forward to another year of homeschooling beginning in September. Grade 4 may possibly be Angeline's last year Homeschooling as we are planning to apply for her to enroll in late 

Entry  French Immersion for her Grade 5 year. I will be booking Rebekah's kindergarten Grad pictures soon... a tradition we have enjoyed with her 3 older siblings. I know the day will come all too soon when each of their kindergarten grad pic adorn my wall along with their High School graduation pictures. We are too often reminded how quickly children grow into young adults. I certainly do want them to grow into adults but somewhere amongst the chaos I want to take the time to enjoy these precious years while their laughter fills the walls of our home.

     David's last day of Grade 6 was also his last day being 11. (Happy Birthday!) If you follow us on facebook you may have already read my boastings of his scholarly accomplishments... but as any proud Mama should I will gladly boast again that he is exceeding expectations in most subjects. Most of all I am proud of how well he handles such a transitionary year living in a new town, making new friends, starting public school, learning a new language and all the challenged that come along with being in grade 6.

     Mid month Naomi hit her 1/2 Birthday and is now 18 months. I may post official 18 month pictures at a later date or in my July update but for now I will include a more candid shot. Naomi LOVES her soother and so we are not surprised that her vocabulary seems a bit slow to start. She can say a handful of words and names several of her siblings but as the month progressed she has started to use words more frequently and gets praised for using words rather than grunts and pointing... however cute it may be. Some words include "Dad, Mom, Wow, Mara, Apple, Up, Uh-Huh, Oh-Oh."

     Joshua continues to astound us with his vocabulary. We love the new words he adds weekly and uses in context. He adores his siblings and his special role as big brother to "Nomi." He enjoys our family hikes and playing outdoors. He longs for the day he can ride a petal bike but in the mean time does his best to keep up on his run bike. 

      Our family pet, Onyx is now 10 months old. She is a Blue Healer Cross and weighs about 145 lbs. Just this last month she became even more vocal. She sounds like a big dog when she barks. She likes to while and growl to communicate her wants, likes and dislikes. She has recently begun to realize that she needs to "ask" for people food if it has been left within her grasp by one of the littles. She will sit starring at it until Jon or I notice... and if we don't notice she will likely whine a "please." She is smart, affectionate, obedient (for the most part) and great with the kids. We love her to bits.

      We squeezed a lot of fun... some of the extra special highlights include our 3rd annual camping trip to Rathtrevor with Nana and Papa... this time my cousin Rene joined us with his 2 youngest, Pearl and William. 1st time Mini Golfing ever for our middle 4 in Parksville. A visit from our Sunshine Coast friends, the Poons. Camp Bob Open House (near Campbell River)... and Water Park time at Roger Creek.

   We tried a few new recipes this month that are worth noting. I was able to use the mini cheesecake pans I got for my birthday and made oreo cheesecakes... the best part was the chocolate whipping cream on top! I can't believe I have lived 35 years and never thought to add cocoa powder to my whipping cream. We also made Nanaimo Bar cupcakes which were really tasty!
     Now that it's mid July I need to start working on my July update that I am hoping to Post August first. I hope that your summers are just as filled with adventure and time spent with loved ones.

10 years ago...

I don't write as often as I used to but today I wanted to take a few moments and write down some of my thoughts and reflections. It has been 10 years since the single most difficult day of my life, the day my son died in my arms. The day I handed his small, lifeless body over to a stranger, knowing I would never hold him again.
It's not a day for cake. It's a day for tears. It's a day that I feel very alone no mater how many people surround me.
A lot has changed in the last decade. When Noah died I was almost 25 years old. I had been married for 2 years. I was really just figuring out being a grown up, a wife and a mom. I was trying so hard to get it right. To handle it well. Sometimes it all felt like a bad dream... like it wasn't really happening.
Ten years later I can tell you it really happened. I don't need to be pinched. His pictures hang on my wall and on a day like today I can almost feel his softness, smell his baby smell and hear his little sounds. But more than that I can almost see him standing next to his big brother David. As much as I want my son back for me, sometimes I wish David could have his brother back more.
Even though no good comes from the what if's and if only's, a lot of good has come from the time we shared together and from the ten years that have passed. A lot of grieving, crying, sadness and a lot more love, perspective, and thankfulness.
So even though it goes without saying, I miss my son. I wish he was here. I still grieve my loss and I always will.
And when Naomi is teething and wakes up more times than I can count Noah is here reminding me to be thankful for the middle of the night moments to comfort her. And when Joshua gets away with something in his cute 3 year old way it's because I waited years wondering if I would have another son to love. And it's why as a family when we can chose TIME  with each other over anything else in this world and we MAKE MEMORIES.
So thank you Noah for the memories. The movements and kicks when I was growing you in my tummy. Your first cry, loud and strong as you were born into this world. And the 28 days we held you, fed you and loved you on this earth. And thank you for the last 10 years that even when you couldn't be physically present in our family you are still so much a part of the way we live and the way we love.

Naomi is 9 months!

Naomi is 9 months old! She weighs 15 lbs. She  has started standing on her own. She cruises. She eats solid foods. She drinks from a straw. She waves hello and bye-bye. She crawls up stairs.
She LOVES and is LOVED by her family.

The last 3 months have been a little bit busier than normal with our move to Vancouver Island but it has been good. I'm thankful to have taken a few moments to capture these "official" 9 month pictures. I know that next time I blink we are going to be celebrating 1 year.

Naomi's 3 month pictures

flickr.com

flickr.com

I am late posting Naomi's 3 month pictures and I was a little late taking them too. I did manage to squeeze in a photo shoot before her third month turned into her fourth. Soon enough she will be 5 months old. You can see from these pictures that she was happily smiling.

1 Month

Naomi is 1 month old! In some ways I can't believe the time is going so quickly and at the same time it feels like she has always been a part of our family. She is growing and weighed 8 lbs 2 oz at her 4 week check up. But she is still wearing all her new born clothes. I am happy that she is taking her time, treasuring all the little baby things. She still had her newborn sounding cry.

We are often asked who she looks like so I did a little digging and found some pictures of Samara, Angeline and Rebekah when they were about a month old. Conclusion... Neufeld girls all have their own look. See for yourself...



Rebekah


Angeline


Samara

Home Alone DAY 4

Yay for kids sleeping until 6:30 AM. Still turned cartoons on for a bit and got some more cuddles in with Naomi. She still seems the same size as when she was born but I am having a hard time with the fact that the first week has gone so quickly.

Cereal for breakfast and left overs for lunch.

I was hoping to get our bedding washed today and Naomi made sure to make that happen. She decided to squirt poop all over our sheets and my pajamas while I was changing her. Thanks Babe! Anyway, it forced me to get one more thing checked off my list today that probably otherwise would not have got done. Probably the only thing checked off my list

Jonathan and David actually made it to Karate today.

The midwife came this evening and weighted her again. She is 2 ounces shy of her birth weight. Her umbilical cord came off too. It looks a bit strange because of her hernia. She is continuing to do well.

The older 4 had a bit of a harder go today. At breakfast I had given them a nice speach about how they were all being so helpful... so I guess they decided they could take a day off. I think it was good for David to work some energy off at Karate. He won 2 belt matches against an equal belt and one belt higher then him.

Home Alone DAY 3

Today was an early start. Mr. Josh woke up at 5:30a.m. I have to say I much prefer being woke up by Naomi at that time. I can change and feed her and get some more cuddles and sleep. Josh is cranky today and though he is walking his leg still seems to be bothering him, even after the advil.

In short we started with ipad and cartoons and I managed to rest a bit longer. Will have to make another early night of it tonight.

The kids had cereal for breakfast and I made more muffins. I have made more muffins in the last 2 months then I ever have in a whole year. That was lunch along with some yogurt and fruit. Also made up some Rice Krispie Squares. Dinner was another easy one as I had frozen some chilli before Naomi was born.

Had some friends over in the afternoon which helped make a good day great!

Joshua's foot improved through out the day and he now seems fine again. He missed his nap but went to bed good. I realized after dinner that Naomi is now 1 week old. I can't believe it! The kids have made the transition much smoother then I imagined.

Sweezed in a movie night with Jonathan and David and watched "Kubo and the Two Strings."

Home Alone DAY 2

Naomi is now 6 days old and today we weren't quite as Home Alone. Grammy and Great-Grandma came for a visit and brought us lunch (thank you)! Breakfast was easy... shakes (love our new Blentex). Dinner was easy too because we had some left overs stacking up in the fridge.

Our visit made the day go by more quickly and nap time and bed time ran as usual... just a little later on the bed time. Jonathan took Joshua to the ER when he got home from work to solve the mystery of his sore foot. He has had 4 days since October where he just won't walk on it. Turns out its not his foot but his hip. Inflammation in the hip caused by a previous virus. It's common... and more common in boys. It should resolve itself in 6 months. He was walking again by the time they got home.

Naomi is continuing to do well. She is just getting a bit too much milk at the moment but I suppose it is better then the opposite. Hoping that department will have normalized by the weekend. I am doing well also. Beside the discomfort of too much milk I am still retaining a lot of water but otherwise my recovery is going smoothly.

We did manage to cross off the two things I wanted to get done yesterday. 1- A bath for Naomi. 2- Naomi's Laundry. I had wanted to do her first bath in her tub and take pictures and it ended up being a quick bath with Daddy because that is what worked but the important thing is she got clean. So all in all it was a good day. I think my conclusion after day 2 is that 6 isn't much more than 5 and having a newborn is easier with the extra little hands. Angeline and Samara especially do a great job holding their sister for long periods. I was even able to grab a shower this morning!

Home Alone (with 6 kids) DAY 1

Five nights ago we welcomed our final addition into the world and brought the total of children under our roof to 6 kids, age 10 and under. Today was my first day "Home Alone" and so I decided to blog about it. Leading up to Naomi's birth I have had some anxiety regarding the logistics of how these first weeks home alone would actually work. Jonathan will be off for the months of January and February so once these initial weeks are under foot we will have more time and help as we adjust to being a family of eight. By March we should have a workable routine and Naomi will have developed a pattern for sleeping and eating (in theory).

My morning started at 5:30am with a happy, awake baby girl who was ready for a diaper change and a little one on one Mommy time. We were joined by my second youngest, Joshua at 6:30am. By then we were ready to get out of bed and start our day. We headed to the kitchen and made 2 dozen blueberry oat muffins. The older children slowly trickled in and soon the muffins were ready to eat along with some fruit and yogurt. That was breakfast.

After breakfast we started our search for a missing library book and since David (my oldest) found it I promised him some extra video game time. This also kept the other children amused while Angeline and Samara took turns holding our hiccuping baby. In between there were chores with many interruptions, nursing and more diaper changes.

We kept lunch simple... frozen pizza.

Nap time didn't go so well but it was the only "hard" part of the day. The older kids were having trouble staying quiet for quiet time and were not getting along well. Thankfully Joshua and Naomi managed to sleep and Mommy even got a wink or two.

Once Daddy got home I quickly made some meatballs and mashed potatoes... that was dinner. We read our advent devotional and watched "The Secret Life of Pets." Bed time went well with the exception of Joshua who needed to be cuddled extra long. All in all a great first day home alone.

Naomi Gloria

Naomi Gloria

December 14, 2016

6 pounds 14 ounces

19 inches

8:05 PM

Born at Home, Water Birth

Christmas Pictures

This might be as far as I get to sending out Christmas pictures this year! We do wish everyone a special Christmas... it certainly is for us!
Much Love,
Melissa, Jonathan, David, Angeline, Samara, Rebekah, Joshua & Naomi

Christmas Letter 2016, December 1

Happy December 1st!

With the arrival of December come the start of the official Christmas Season. We hope you enjoy our Christmas Letter with updates on all 8 of us! Besides adding another paragraph to our Christmas Letter we also updated our vehicle to a 12 passenger Nissan NV. I had the same reservations about driving a big van as anyone might but I LOVE IT!

2016 has been a year of interviews for Jonathan, 5 in total.  We started the year with thoughts of moving to a smaller town. For now we are continuing to enjoy our home in Delta but we are not sure what 2017 will bring. In June Jonathan scored the winning goal at the final soccer game of the season and we were actually there to see it. He has also been making a real kick in Karate completing his first grading in August and receiving his yellow belt in September. We recently enjoyed having him home for 2 weeks and are looking forward to him taking some parental leave in the New Year.

David completed his first Karate grading and earned his White Stripe Belt in May (the kids move up with stripes in between colours). He completed Grade 4 with all A's and B's and at his portfolio meeting his teacher was especially impressed with his Minecraft Biome Project which he came up with entirely on his own. Another highlight from Grade 4 was attending Nature School, spending 1 day a month in the woods. Once Grade 4 was complete he somehow turned 10, which I am still trying to figure out. He made an early start to Grade 5 at the beginning of August and has done really well learning French with the Duolingo App. It seems he would be a good candidate for late entry French Immersion so that is something to explore in the next few months. He also recently graded for his Yellow Belt in Karate and we are waiting for his results.

Angeline turned 7 in March and soon after lost her first tooth. She is continuing to do well with school and enjoys attending class 2 days a week at HomeQuest's new location, Annieville which is just a few short blocks from our house. She continues to enjoy Ballet and Swimming Lessons. She also enjoys mothering Joshua and will often read him bed time stories and has even been known to change a diaper or two. She is looking forward to having a baby to help out with soon.

Samara graduated from Kindergarten and is in full swing in Grade 1. She is very clever in Math and enjoys English as well. She is progressing in her reading and also learned to ride her 2 wheel bike while we were camping this June at Rathtrevor Beach. She recently joined her sisters in the "stitches" club, having fell and split her chin. In a weeks time she turns 6!

Rebekah turned 4 in August and really wishes she could have started Kindergarten this year. All the same we give her "school work" to do and have been working with her speech. She loves going swimming and we are talking about starting her in swimming lessons next month. She is really looking forward to her Ballet Class in January. She loves to colour and makes us lots of sweet pictures.

Joshua turned 2 in November and has been busy developing into a little boy. At the beginning of the year we were pulling our hair out a bit, forgetting just how busy little boys can be but he has really come around and is able to be curious without causing so much trouble. He loves to listen to stories, play trucks, cars and trains, sing and play the drums (he is actually surprisingly good for a 2 year old!)

Baby #7 is due to arrive on Christmas Day! We are expecting him/her to arrive in 1-2 more weeks seeing as all of our kids have been about 2 weeks early. When I first started the draft for this years Christmas Letter I had planned to delay posting it until after Baby arrived so that I could include our news in the letter. I have since decided to keep with tradition and post on December 1st. We will post a separate announcement after Baby arrives later this month.

I started the year continuing with Zumba and then being introduced to "Refit" which is a Christian dance workout. I loved Refit so much that I even looked into becoming an instructor. In April I was finding myself all of a sudden exhausted and then discovered we were pregnant with our newest bundle of joy. In April I also attended a Women's Retreat at RockRidge Canyon and was happy that I could finally try zip-lining (usually I am pregnant when the opportunity presents itself). It was lots of fun and as it turns out I was pregnant (but just barely). That leaves me almost 37 weeks along and planning for our first (and last) home birth.

As far as an actual Christmas Photo goes we are waiting to include Baby. If Baby arrives too close to Christmas we will just make it a Happy New Year Photo.

As much as this can be one of the busiest times of year we have worked hard to simplify life as much as possible so that we can enjoy this season of Advent. The kids are enjoying a break from school work and I am enjoying a bit of calm as we continue to anticipate the arrival of our youngest child.

We want to wish you all a Happy Christmas.

Love,
Melissa & Jonathan
David, Angeline, Samara, Rebakah, Joshua & Baby

Happy 2nd Birthday Joshua!

Whether it's "Terrible" or "Terrific" Joshua is officially 2! We had a great time celebrating with family last week and again with a few friends last night. We are planning to take some official 2 year pictures this week and I have some good ones on my phone as well but I wanted to post now, knowing that if  I put it off it might not happen until the new year.

Joshua is doing really well. He is advanced in his speaking and will copy any word. He talks  a lot including making small sentences. Some of my favourite things he says are: "thank you Mommy!", "sorry Mommy!", "pokemons," "can I try? (whenever he hears me turn on the mixer or sees me fixing up something in the kitchen)."

Another area he is particularly accomplishes is drumming! He seems to have a natural interest and beat. It will be interesting to see if it is something he pursues as he gets older. For now it is just adorable.

He LOVES books, Paw Patrol, trains, cars, animals, music, going for walks and being outside. And we LOVE our Joshua!

20 Week Ultrasound, 21 weeks Pregnant

August 8th we had our 20 week ultrasound. It has taken me a while to post the pictures because I needed to scan them into the computer. The ultrasound went well and everything looks good except that Baby's head is measuring on the smaller side. We have a followup ultrasound on August 30th to make sure that all is well. In all likelihood Baby is measuring on the smaller side similar to Angeline who was 10th percentile or less her entire first year. Another possibility would be that the techs measurements were not accurate. We are hopeful that we will have good news at our next scan. I will update (probably with more pictures) then. Also, Baby's profile pic reminded me of one of our others. As I looked through our previous babies scan's I would say that this Baby has a profile most similar to Rebekah. We hope you enjoy these sneak peaks of Baby's profile, front face skeleton view and foot print.

Sunshine Coast

This weekend we had the pleasure of visiting our friends Dave, Sarah, Edgar and Duncan on the Sunshine Coast. We had a lovely weekend. Here are some pictures from Porpoise Bay (the kids all enjoyed being buried in the sand) and Hackett Park.

















Sarah is expecting 10 weeks before us so the next time we get together we will likely be 13!

Rebekah is 4!

Our Baby Girl is 4 years old. In some ways it seems a long time coming because I'm used to her doing everything her big sisters do but when I think that she will be starting Kindergarten next year then it hits that the time is going too fast. I love when she uses "big" vocabulary in her still small baby voice. I love her sense of humour. I love that she is almost always in a dress. I even love her temper because it is still adorable at this age. I love watching her personality grow and change. Happy Birthday Bekah!

David's 1st decade

David is 10 years old. As I looked at pictures to post for this timeline I kept thinking "that wasn't that long ago... that wasn't that long ago... that wasn't that long ago..." Where does the time go? It makes me sad that the time goes so fast but what brings me tears is how proud I am of our first born son. Thank you David for 10 years of smiles, laughter and all around joy. We look forward to many many many more. Love you!
(PS- This Blog update has been backdated because I am behind).

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.