The biggest news of 2008 was the birth of our fourth child and only son, Micah Lewis. In keeping with our holiday-themed births (Bethany the day before Thanksgiving, Anna and Katherine on Halloween), little Micah was born after a fast delivery on February 13th. Sadly, being the 4th child he got only an email announcement. Nevertheless, he has been and continues to be one laid-back little dude. He loves to watch his sisters run around the house and giggles every time Mommy or Daddy helps him walk across the room (his most recent accomplishment!). It's hard to believe he's almost a year old. So life with four has been a busy, fun adjustment that we are thoroughly enjoying.
In April, my sister-in-law Michelle came up with their kids, Preston and Madison, to surprise the girls and stay with us while Joel and Kent were on their annual men's weekend. It was wild with 6 children 6 and under in the house but tons of fun. We even decided somewhere in our twisted brains that it was a good idea to pile everyone in the car and go to the Mall of America.
In June, we had our yearly trip to Cragun's, a lake resort about 3 hours north of the Twin Cities. We always have a great time with my mom and step-dad and this year we were joined by our niece Caitlin and later in the week by her sister Lauren and mom Melanie. Our girls absolutely LOVE having the big girls around (and so do we - READ: built-in babysitters!). We always spend the week playing in the sand, swimming in the pool and eating ice cream at The Chocolate Ox.
In late July we made the trek back to Texas to not just attend but be IN my cousin Monica's wedding. The girls were flower girls and I was a matron of honor. We had a great time celebrating with Monica as she married her high school sweetheart, Zach Glenn. The girls danced the night away and had an amazing time. And, I mean, what's cuter than little girls in poofy dresses and flowers in their hair?
While in Texas, we had a great time swimming in Grandma and Granddad Lawrence's pool (I think we literally swam every day for a week and a half!) and hanging out with the cousins, Preston and Madison. We also enjoyed some more time with my brother and sister-in-law, my dear Aunt Jan and Uncle Turtle, my cousin Lisa and her family, Joel's adopted sister Sonya and her family and, of course, my dear friend Rosa. It was a whirlwind but we had a great time (in spite of the insufferable heat!).
Following the resignation of our campus pastor to take another position in the Twin Cities, Joel was asked to become the interim teaching pastor of the White Bear Campus of Calvary Church. Calvary is a one-church-two-campus model, with a senior pastor who teaches primarily at the South Campus in Roseville and is in overall leadership of the church, along with the board of elders, of course. Joel began his stint as interim in September under the plan that the church would evaluate our future -which church model we plan to adopt, where we are heading, etc. - in early 2009. That evaluation is currently going on and Joel continues to happily fulfill his role as interim teaching pastor. He is enjoying the opportunity to be so involved in the local church and feels that it augments his job as a professor. Apart from needing to be a bit more organized around the house and me being the only one around on Sunday mornings to get us all to church, it has not been a difficult transition at all. It's exciting to be a part of this vibrant and growing church and we are blessed as a family to be invited to participate in this way.
In the fall, we had fun at our usual haunts like the apple orchard and the pumpkin patch and even took a quick trip up to the North Shore of Lake Superior. Let me tell you, Minnesota is quite a place! It was breathtaking to drive into Duluth and see mighty Lake Superior stretching out before us. I really found it hard to grasp that a lake could be that big! Of course, all the children were asleep at that particular moment, but they enjoyed the waterfall and the lighthouse we visited just north of there. We stayed in a lovely little cabin right on the lake at Beaver Bay and the girls (especially) enjoyed hiking out to a rocky point just out our back door. (There was a lot of, "Ok, girls, when you are hiking, you MUST look where you are walking.") And while we were kicking around the North Shore, our kitchen was being painted! So it was exciting to come home to a "new" kitchen. And the fall also meant the starting up of "official" school with Bethany. Since she just turned 5 in November, she is not scheduled to start kindergarten until this year but I tried to keep to a decent schedule anyway. Right about the time of her birthday, reading clicked for her and it was so fun to watch her read one of her Bob books to her little sisters. She loves learning and actually has to fight her little sisters for school time since they want to have Little Girl School too! We have a lot of fun together and I am thoroughly enjoying thinking up lesson plans and just watching their little minds work.
We celebrated Thanksgiving with some friends from church and hosted my mom and Sim and Joel's parents here during the Christmas holidays. Nanny and Simbo, as they are affectionately known, were here in early December. There was, of course, the making of the Ba-Nanny Split Cake and some rather strange winter sports with Simbo, including shovel-sledding and wheelbarrow riding.
And of course, there was the obligatory trip to the Dora Mall (aka, The Mall of America, home of Nickelodeon Universe, an indoor theme park) and the mandatory consumption of ice cream. Yeah, you can bet our kids just HATE it when Nanny and Simbo come to visit! Oh, and did I mention they get to drink coffee every morning with them? As usual, it was a very fun time and went entirely too fast.
Then Bill and Lynna came up about a week before Christmas and stayed until just before the New Year. It was a very laid-back time with Bill enjoying brisk walks in the snow up to the local Caribou Coffee and Lynna helping the girls with their new puzzles at the kitchen table. We also continued an annual tradition of going to see Macy's 8th floor display. It's different every year but this year's was A Day in the Life of Santa's Elves. It's a fun little thing we've done the past two years. The girls enjoy wearing their Christmas dresses one more time and seeing all the mechanical elves and animals and eating a Christmas cookie. We really enjoyed all the time with Grandma and Granddad (did I mention the hot chocolate every morning?).
So, 2008 was a wonderful year for us, full of exciting beginnings. We feel so blessed and are so thankful for the Lord's kindnesses to us during 2008. We are looking forward to being a part of what He's doing in 2009. And we're thankful for all our friends and family who love us and pray for us. Come back again for more Minnesota Chaos!
Well, today was a super exciting day in two Lawrence households. Preston and Madison were awakened at about 5.30 am (Preston says it was exactly 5.37 am) to the news that they were flying to Minnesota to spend Spring Break with their cousins! And our girls, who were privy to the plan since its inception, have been gearing up for a week for their arrival. (We discovered that for our girls, building up the big day is more fun than being surprised. The last time Preston and Madison came up, I surprised the girls and when we walked in from the airport, they stood there dumbfounded so it was kind of anticlimactic!) And it was a super special day because Madison turned 4 today - YAY, MADISON! So the girls and I had fun decorating - Madison had requested a Hello Kitty theme - and making a special Hello Kitty cake. So, here are a few pictures from our first fun day together. I hope to put up a slideshow soon of the rest of the festivities. (And, yes, little Micah was in the van too; you can just make out his little foot right beside Bethany, poor thing!)
