Christmas Miracles

Hello friends and family, we are back! Without elaborating too much, I will say that 2015 was not one of our easiest years. In fact, it was one of the most difficult in a while. There were many frustrating health issues and we often found ourselves in a less than ideal financial situation. I knew as the holidays approached that this would be a rather meager one. Our kids were made aware that there would be fewer gifts this year, but they were still excited about the approaching holiday. They are so sweet, always happy with whatever they get. 

In lieu of gifts, we decided to do more Christmasy things this year like decorating ornaments, baking Christmas cookies and a tree decorating evening that turned into an impromptu dance party!

Every year for the past few years the Woodsmen of America have come out to our home and provided a small Christmas celebration that is very enjoyable for the kids. Then Bethany Baptist took the family out to dinner and to the Atlanta Motor Speedway to see the Christmas lights. One of their mission groups even surprised us with a check to help with Christmas gifts. Things were starting to look up for our happy clan! Maybe we would be able to fill some of that space under the tree after all. Either way fun will be had, as Mia had decided to don a Santa hat and take on the role, yelling "What do you want?!" in her always lady-like fashion.

 

In November we went to Pro Studios for our annual family photo, which turned out amazing (as always) thanks to Ronnie Owings superior talent. Ronnie has been doing our family photo for many years free of charge and we couldn’t be more thankful. He has documented our family’s growth beautifully and has even gifted us with large framed prints to hang in our home. 

This year Ronnie approached his Bible study group about possibly doing something for our family this Christmas. They agreed and we set it up for them to come out to the house a few days before Christmas with pizza, sweets, treats and even Santa Clause himself! 

It was such a lovely visit. The kids took to the group immediately. After pizza and dessert, Amy excitedly brought her guitar out and strummed along while everyone sang christmas songs. 

When the festivities wound down the leader of their group, Mike Burt, asked me to come up to the front of the room and presented me with Visa gift cards loaded with enough money to get everyone what they wanted for Christmas! We were so surprised and thrilled! Because of them I was able to go online and get everyone what they wanted this year. In the days following the Postwoman was more popular than the Pope! It just goes to show that good people still exists, and God will always provide. We would have all been happy with a gift-less Christmas, but it sure is great to get to see those smiles on their faces! 

You can see the excitement in these pictures, captured because some loving and generous people stepped up. Because of you we enjoyed a Christmas like we haven't had in years! I am so thankful to God for providing for us through the love and generosity of incredibly kind hearted people. Perhaps this is the start of a much better year for our family! Wishing love and happiness to all this New Year!!

Grandad and Jimmy

Two years ago today my Dad left us to go to his heavenly home. He moved down here from Maryland five and a half years ago, deciding to move into an assisted living home. Within a week after moving in his health and disposition began quickly deteriorating and he begged to move back to our home. I asked him, "Is it better living with seventeen kids than living here?" He quickly replied yes, that he loved it here. So here he stayed until it was his time to go. 

Grandad, as we all called him, was a quiet man. All his life he felt uncomfortable around groups of people. When we had visitors over he would often retreat into his room until they left. Though he was always willing to help and offer advice to anyone in need, he was a loner who did not easily form close relationships. One person he really seemed to bond with in our home was our son Jimmy. 

Jimmy was born with Down Syndrome and a myriad of medical complications, including autistic tendencies. He could read four to five hundred flashcards, complicated names of dinosaurs and presidents, by the time he was six. As a child he was bright, somewhat outgoing, with the cutest little voice. Sadly after he hit puberty, and in the years since, Jimmy has gradually faded into himself. Today he no longer speaks and his interactions with others are few. He still smiles and laughs sometimes, he is aware of everything going on around him, but seems to be lost in his own mind. 

Introvert Grandad and autistic Jimmy formed a quiet bond. Grandad looked out for Jimmy, always asking about him if he wasn't in his usual spot across the couch. Jimmy loved just sitting in the room with Grandad. Sometimes there were places Jimmy couldn't go with us, he has limited mobility, but he was always content to stay home with his Grandad. Grandad would speak to him in muted tones and Jimmy would smile, leaning towards him slightly. You could feel in those moments that there was a very special connection between them. They were kindred spirits. 

Jimmy can't tell us how he feels about losing Grandad, but I know like the rest of us he misses his sweet and gentle nature. Grandad thanked us every day he lived here, but we were the ones thankful he was able to spend his last years with us. I know that is especially true for Jimmy. 

Halloween!

Snow White, the Seven Dwarves and the Evil Queen with her apple. 

Halloween is a holiday that has always been a big hit in our family. The kids start talking about it months before it comes around and are constantly changing their minds about who they want to dress up as. I have always enjoyed making their costumes as original and creative as possible, rather than using store bought costumes that seem to get more expensive and cheaper quality every year.

Christian the tree!

Old Couple, Cody and Callie. 

Angela might be hiding behind this pirate costume!

Tiny Amy and Jon Boy

Bethany began helping with the costumes early in her life. Being a creative individual, she has been able to help figure out ways to make their costumes more and more creative every year. 

Nikki the elf shows off her candy cane. 

Old lady Emily

Noah Boone

"Elementary, my dear Watson" (Jimmy)

A few years ago we came up with the idea of dressing the kids up as storybook or movie characters. Why not, when you have a group as big as ours? This year it was The Wizard of Oz. It was a challenge coming up with all of the outfits. I spent many hours browsing Ebay and thrift stores for the perfect pieces, and the kids spent many hours watching the movie for what I can only assume was character research! Amy's flying monkey costume was especially challenging, but with a few pins, felt and Styrofoam, Bethany and her fiance were able to turn a wolf costume I had found into the perfect wicked sidekick!

We had originally planned to have Amy be our Dorothy, but she has always loved monkeys and when the idea of this costume was flying around she insisted it was the one for her!

Lindsey the not-so-wicked Witch. 

Kristina as Glinda the Good

Emily, Julia and Callie represent the Lollipop Guild!

They were a big hit this year, because of the costumes and because of their wonderful personalities that shone through! We took them to a local Farmers Market party where they entered a costume contest and won "best over all costume". They were so excited and proud! Afterwards we walked to a local pizza place and put the prize money towards our own little pizza party. And finally we closed out the evening with the best part..Trick or Treat!!

Fun in the Sun

I want to thank everyone who prayed for us since our last blog. Sorry it has been a while. All the kids are doing very well and my health has improved greatly. My opthamologist has helped me a lot at a very reasonable cost. My vision has improved to the point that I can see fairly well with my glasses now. My next vision checkup is Thursday and I'm very thankful for the progress and my kind doctor.

   Before our September vacation, I went ahead and paid to see a doctor because I didn't want my leg pain to ruin another vacation. The doctor didn't run tests or do x-rays, but concluded that the symptoms sound like sciatica. He prescribed me some pain medication, but I am very happy to say that I only needed to take two halves the entire vacation. It has been a long unpredictable several months to see which way it would go, but i'm happy to report that I am in much less pain now. I experience regressions at times, but haven't had severe pain for at least a month or so. 

    Again, thank you all for your prayers and please keep them coming! Prayer works!

Nicholas waits for the next big wave. 

Our annual beach trip tradition began in 1988, a year after moving from Virginia to Georgia, we set out with our troupe of thirteen to spend a week in Myrtle Beach, SC. A vacation that would become a yearly tradition for over fifteen years. We chose the month of September, when the prices and crowds are down but the weather is perfect and the ocean is warm. My parents often came along back then, even Grammy Skippy, my mom's mom, flew down for a few days and thoroughly enjoyed it.

 Every year was perfect. We never had bad weather, even when Hurricane Hugo was threatening to ruin our week we chose to wait it out and the weather was beautiful up until the last day of our vacation, coincidentally, the day the city was evacuated. Just before we left we went out to the beach for one last look. It felt like a ghost town, nothing but empty beach and crashing waves. Another year an approaching Hurricane threatened to hit in the middle of our vacation, but ended up delaying for three days at sea, long enough for us to finish up our week and head home!

In 2005 there was an article published in People Magazine about our family. A sweet couple in Chicago read it and contacted with an amazing offer. They own a beautiful beach house in Gulf Shores, AL and offered our family annual visits, completely free of charge.  We really enjoyed the change, the house is large enough to accommodate everyone comfortably (we don't even have to use sleeping bags!) and the beach is always open and uncrowded. All this from a couple who had never met us, or our children, but trusted us with their vacation home for one, two, even three weeks at a time. We are so thankful for their amazing kindness and generosity.

Unfortunately, about five years later our good weather luck ran out. We missed our annual Gulf Shores vacation two years in a row due to hurricanes. This year we moved the trip to April, in hopes of avoiding a third disappointment. It was a nice trip, the sun shone bright but the wind and water were a bit chillier than expected and I was in a lot of pain due to sciatica. It made it difficult for any of us to fully enjoy the vacation. Because of this, we decided to splurge this year and return to our old friend Myrtle Beach this September. We chose a nice, very kid-friendly condo with two lazy rivers for us adults and and indoor water park for the kids! We figured even if bad weather struck again, the kids would still have a blast with all the slides, pools and fountains. We had the best of both worlds though, the weather was perfect, the ocean was warm and the beach was a huge hit!

Octatina

Cody had so much fun, he fell asleep!

"But I want to go back."