For my little family, 2011 has been a banner year. By only the grace of God, Danny and I have successfully maneuvered our six person team over some difficult twists, turns and bumps in the road. We made it through having four small children, in very rapid time. God has richly blessed our family and I feel we have reached a sort of golden age, a perfect time in our lives where everything seems to be clicking forward.
We survived Danny's ever changing job opportunities and challenges, his pneumonia scare, and a year with more arthritis pain for Danny than I'd ever seen him endure in our eight years of marriage. Despite all of this, Danny is expanding his business, having a great time with his new off road vehicle, and I might add, is more devastatingly handsome than ever with his new facial hair.
Our decision to homeschool has been an absolute blessing. The girls are thriving in their studies and are making new relationships and deepening old friendships. We have struck a nice balance between attending as many workshops at our Academy as we can, while still maintaining a calm home environment where work is getting done at a rigorous pace. Homeschool certainly isn't the right fit for everyone, but it is for my children at this time in their lives.
As a complete side note, I get the funniest reactions from people when I tell them that I homeschool. This one might surprise you. I was at Marshall's the other day at around 11:30 PM with Emma and Cubby. I'd just picked them up from an Academy workshop and we had run over to shop for a few minutes before heading back to pick up the twins. The check-out lady noticed that the girls were of school age and asked why they weren't in school that day. I told her that I homeschool, and then I went on to describe the Academy and the requirements, and so on. Sometimes people just give me a blank stare, but usually people are nice, but they say something like, "I could never do that. My kids would drive me crazy!" This woman, however, looked at me and said, "You are so lucky. I would have loved to have done that with my kids." Wow! That totally took me aback. I would never have guessed that this woman would have felt that way, and it made me realize how blessed I am to have the opportunity. the choice, and the financial stability to homeschool my own children.
Anyway, life is very good. Now Thanksgiving this year was particularly special because we got to do it all...twice! We were invited out to Ayron's in-laws beautiful home in the country for lunch, and then I hosted a small family dinner party that evening. The lunch out in the country was wonderful, just perfect. The day was overcast, but not too chilly. J.D. pushed trucks around in the sandbox while the girls played on the swings or pretended to be horses in the nearby corrals.
The thirty or so adults ate an outstanding dinner at a long dining table. During dinner, our adorable hostess asked us to say what we were thankful for. She gave us each a corn kernel, and we were to add it back to the the pot when we had finished sharing. This was a beautiful moment, the most memorable moment of my Thanksgiving, actually. I listened as all of this people, some I knew, and some I didn't, share about their blessings. Small things and big things were shared, but it was a moment of truth, and faith. Most everyone there said that they are the most thankful to God for their eternal salvation, and to Jesus for guiding them and sacrificing for them. Some thanked their spouses and children. Others thanked the host and hostess for the meal. A few tears were shed as every guest shared their heart, giving us all a picture of their gratitude.
Danny and I both mentioned in the thankful activity, how blessed we are to have our four healthy, beautiful children. Later on, I was able to capture a little love story between Danny and his youngest daughter, Gigi.
Danny was holding Gigi outside by the fire. She may have been a bit chilly, or just wanted some daddy time, I'm not sure, but this is how I found them. I don't think a tighter hug is possible.
And then she went on to inspect his beard. Now this just makes me laugh. Every child in our family has his or her own opinion about the beard. Emma keeps repeating, "I wish you would just shlep it off, Daddy!" (shlep meaning shave, we guess). Cubby thinks he looks like a monster. Gigi likes to rub her face on it. J.D. could care less; Daddy is Daddy.
So she likes to rub her little face against the beard. It does feel good, I'll tell you that much.
Lovey-dovey. Ahhh....these little girls have such a hold on their dad. Too sweet for words.
Then we attempted a family photo. Not too bad, right?! I think everyone is smiling, or at least not crying. That's a huge step forward, people!
And here I am with two of my favorite people on this earth. The three of us spent the following day (yep, Black Friday!) in Palm Desert to celebrate my mom's birthday. Never one for big birthday celebrations, part of mom's special day was actually holding a spot in the huge check-out line for me while I tried on clothes with Ayron as my personal stylist. She is the best mom a girl could ever ask for, that's the truth!
One of the sweetest Thanksgiving gifts for the host and hostess was the presence of their only grandson, baby Jaden. He slept throughout most of the party, but when he awoke, there were plenty of people awaiting the chance to hold him!
And here is my house , all ready for Thanksgiving dinner. Ayron thought the table looked so pretty I should take a picture, and now that I see it, I am glad I did! It did look awfully festive in there!
The five kiddos enjoyed all the traditional fixins' at the kids' table.
The girls had organized a simple program. Ellie sang "Old MacDonald." J.D. sang "Tractor, Tractor" to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. My mom read a beautiful poem. Finally, Danny and the girls led the group through "May the Lord Mighty God," which is sung to the tune of Edelweiss. It was adorable.
I love that J.D. stands right directly next to Daddy to strum his little banjo during the performance. I'm thinking that boy needs a real little instrument for Christmas so that we can truly expand this family band!
Happy Thanksgiving from a very blessed and thankful Walker family!
