Quick blip here....

Due to anonymous and spam comments being left on my blog..... I know bummer, I am now moderating comments.  Sorry!  This does not however mean I would not love you to comment!  Rarely happens, but I would love to hear from anyone!  Thanks! 
Sarah.

My Jonah is 12.

Today at 9:32 am my eldest child turned 12.  


I can't believe that I just typed that.  


Dear Jonah,


You are now 12 years old.  You are my firstborn.  A son, followed by 4 girls.  On the day that you were born, I was very nervous.  I really really wanted to be a Mom, but I was nervous.  I had no idea how my life was about to change.  The moment you were born, I knew that I was ready.  Your Dad and I held you and loved you so much!  You were the first Grandchild, and Great Grandchild, on both sides of our family.  The anticipation for you was so great.  You had so many people visit you in the hospital.   We did not think that you would be here so early, as you were due on January 9.  But you arrived safe and sound 3 weeks early.  Weighing in at 6 pounds even, and 21 inches long, you were long and skinny!  I thought that you were the best looking baby that I had ever seen, as most Mothers think.  
I must tell you that I was certain that you were a girl.  Your name was to be Natalie Rose, and I had envisioned pink on you.  I had in fact bought many pink items for you.  

You are entering a stage of life that is different.  You are nearly a teenager.  You are almost to the point that you will notice girls (heaven help me) You will encounter more responsibility, and challenges as you grow, but I pray that we have trained you well, and prayed over you, that you will be able to endure those challenges.  

I will never forget the day we brought you home from the hospital.  We brought you home in a stocking and Santa hat.  You were truly the best Christmas present we have ever received.  We love you!

Love, Mom and Dad

Unfortunately the power went out, and I cannot publish this post, or add pictures, but we are having fun!  Love you buddy!

Power back on, we are at the in-laws and unfortunately 8 people have thrown up.... I believe this may be an epidemic!

So here are some pictures of my boy, and since we are not home, I can not scan baby pics of my boy, so I will just post some more recent pics of him.  

We love you Jonah and look forward to the nest 12 years with you!

Look back at some pics!

Many of you may be aware that we went to Georgia for Thanksgiving this year.  Ben's Uncle's and families live in Atlanta area, and for the past 26 years they have gone to the Okefenokee Swamp for the holiday.  

Jonah flew down early to do the whole float canoe trip with Uncle Steve and Uncle Matt.  So, Ben and I brought the girls later, and we wanted to do some fun things with them.  We made several stops on our way down, and spent a few days in Atlanta before we went to the Swamp.  Here are some of the pics from the beginning of the trip.  We stopped at the Arch in St. Louis.  We spent the night in Kentucky, and then traveled on to Atlanta the next day.  On that second day of travel we kept seeing signs for a place called Ruby Falls.  Of course we had to stop!  Ruby loved it!  She was enthralled with the "Ruby Store" aka the Ruby Falls Gift Shop. Hehe!  Enjoy some of our pictures.  I will continue to add pictures of our trip.

Lydia Grace at the Arch.

We thought that Fiona looked much like a tourist!  She had her pencils and crayons with paper in her backpack, so that she could draw what she saw!

Ruby May was flagging down a taxi!

Ben and his girls!  So cute!

Me and my girls!

Love these jumpy shots!  The girls had fun with this!

Lillian Ivy~Sweet Baby Girl

Our Ruby May at Ruby Falls.

Lydia and Fiona in the Olympic Park fountain downtown Atlanta.

Christmas contemplations..... year 2

I have decided that in my absence of blogging this past month, that I will make it up to you with my Christmas Contemplations year 2.  If you could recall last year you will remember that this is a list of this I love/don't necessarily love about the Christmas season.  Not to be all bah-humbug, but yes there are things about the season, that I do not love.  As you read, contemplate with me what exactly is important to you this year.


1. Well, like last year, I love spending time with Family. Immediate and extended.


2. I love getting out the ornaments, and decorating the tree and such.  


3. I love that we don't go all out in decorating.... I tend to be a bit of a minimalist.  


4. I love that Santa stayed out on top of my bookshelf all year... and that my neighbors and husband make fun of me.  Hehe!  I do love it!


5. I love how my children get excited!


6. I don't love the worry and wondering of "what shall I get so and so, and oh, they need this and that and the other!"  


7. I love making Christmas goodies.


8. I don't love that apparently I am the only one who really appreciates all those goodies.  Next year will be different. (note: I say this nearly every year!) But even I tire of them, and will inevitably get rid of all chocolate and goodies of all sorts before Christmas arrives.  


9. I love the wonder in Ruby and Lillian's faces as they watched "The Polar Express" 


10. I don't love the feeling that I did not get everything accomplished.  Typically it is not cleaning the house before we depart over the river and through the woods to Granny's house that bugs me the most.  I dislike coming home to a messy house.


11. I love the merry-making and festive activity that Christmas Morning is.


Oh for the love of pete.... I just looked over my list from last year, and decided that it is certainly sufficient for how I am feeling this year, and I am simply going to re-post it.  Here it is!  I can't believe I came up with so many last year!  So, add these 11 to last years list and have a Merry Christmas, filled with joy, wonder, and love, and remind yourself that Mary felt those very things.  Joy at the birth of her Son, and HIS Son, wonder, in how things would be for her and Joseph, and their baby, and love for Jesus, Joseph and her heavenly Father.  What a humbling thought.  Sweet Mary with her sweet baby Jesus.   
  

1. I love spending time with my family.  Immediate & extended.

2. I don't love worrying about the road conditions, or which one of my kids may throw up at any given moment.

3. I love giving gifts.

4. I don't love spending money.  It does however help me relate to Mary & Joseph. They were poor, & by Dec.23, we are too.

5. I love working on the Christmas puzzle.

6. I don't love wondering which of my kids will mess it up & make us have to start over again.

7. I love the Starbucks Christmas blend, & that Joy can get me a deal!

8. I love having the traditional Christmas treats.

9. I don't love making them.  This year I broke my finger so that people would pity my gimpy-ness and make treats for me.  (just kidding totally not true.)

10. I love having my kids home for over a week!

11. I love/don't love that we will likely not be at home for any of that time.

12. I love that we have neighbors (guthries) who have put up Christmas lights this year, even if we are the only ones who really see them very well. (now that the cedar trees are gone)

13. I don't love that my selfish side said that lights on the tree were enough.  The kids would love outside lights.

14. I love that we drive by neighbors house often to see the lights, & the kids ooh&ahh each time.

15. I love that the loves see to be outweighing the don't loves.

16. I love Christmas music.  

17. I love my special Christmas coffee cup.

18. I love our Christmas tree this year.  I talked Ben into a Fir tree!

19. I love that Ben has a Santa's workshop going this year.  

20. I love that we get to celebrate Jonah's Birthday in the midst of all the craziness.

21. I love that we get to see my brother Tim & his beautiful family.

22. I love my special ornaments.  Especially the ones Dad gave to me.

23. I love receiving Christmas cards

24. I love the December calendar page.

25. I love having a white (not icy) Christmas.

26. I love remembering my childhood Christmases. 

27. I love our Christmas stockings.

28. I love Ben.  (sorry... had to sneak that one in the list of my loves.  Go ahead, swallow the bit of barf in your throat)

29. I love that I have colored lights on my tree.  Everyone else has white lights.

30. I love that Fiona accepted Jesus in her heart this week.  This Christmas will be her first as a child of the King.

31. I love having clementines.  A Christmas staple for me.

32. I love seeing the looks on my kids faces on Christmas morning.

33. I love that this year seems to be so fun for Lillian!  She is full of wonder!

34. I love that we read all kinds of Christmas books.  I ordered The Gift of the Magi this year.

35. I love that Ben's Mom has something like 19 Christmas trees this year!

36. I love that Ben's family has a $5 limit, & that we all (15 adults, 17 kids) will go to Wal-Mart together, draw names, each adult will take 1 or 2 kids, and we will go on a hunt for the perfect $5 gift for our person!  This is so fun!!

37. I love helping my kids realize the true meaning of Christmas.  We like keeping it real, in a world that fights us all the way.

38. I love it when people look at us like crazy people for setting our spending limit at $30 per kid.  Pick up your jaw.  Less is best in this house.

39. I don't love that Ben & I usually don't get each other a gift.

40. I love Christmas movies.

I think I will end here.  Enjoy the season.  Don't get stressed out. Remember why we celebrate.

So, add these to last years list and have a Merry Christmas, filled with joy, wonder, and love, and remind yourself that Mary felt those very things.  Joy at the birth of her Son, and HIS Son, wonder, in how things would be for her and Joseph, and their baby, and love for Jesus, Joseph and her heavenly Father.  What a humbling thought.  Sweet Mary with her sweet baby Jesus.   

Merry Christmas 
Ben Sarah Jonah Lydia Fiona Ruby May and Lillian




And check out this legacy!  This is my Grandparents with 17 of their 20 Great-Grandchildren.  My cousin Kellie got married last evening.  What a beautiful ceremony and a wonderful time for cousins to see each other and dance the night away.  In May we will celebrate Joy's wedding, and with that every one of their Grandchildren will be married.  All of us.  We have some glorious examples in our life.  They are one.  Love you Grandma and Grandpa!  

You guessed it.... still catching up!

This is a major announcement, that I regretfully did not announce when it happened, as it was two days before the wedding.  Nonetheless.... major announcement!


I have become an Aunt once again!

Irelynn Kay entered this world on September 24 at 7:10 AM Weighing 6 Pounds 5 ounces, 18.5 inches long.


She is the sweet daughter of Andrew and Samantha, little sister of Killian and Angel Shaelynn Sue.   She has a full head of dark hair, and very full lips.  She bears a resemblance to her Grandma Carol.  Which is just perfect.  


She is adjusting well, and is well loved by her sometimes too-loving (hehe) big brother, and doted on by many Uncles, Aunts, Cousins, Grandma's and Grandpa's.  


I promise to have more pictures of her after this weekend.  I will get to see her for the first time!  Jess and Celsey are getting married this weekend.  I am hoping to hold Irelynn much, and give her some gifts, and hopefully let her know that her Auntie Sarah loves her!








Yes another wedding!  Wedding # 2 if you will, (out of the 4 packed into this year) is this weekend!  Ben and I are Host and Hostess of this one, Ruby is a flower girl, and Jonah is in charge of the aisle runner.  We are thrilled and excited to be a part of it!  Stay tuned for pictures of the wedding!


Sarah

More Catching Up!

Fiona celebrated a birthday on September 29.  It was right after the wedding, so things were a bit crazy, but we managed to have a wonderful day.  

Good morning Birthday Girl!

Here are a few thoughts of Fiona:

Our dearest Fiona~~

You have just turned 7.  There is something special about 7 that most people don't realize.... 7 is the age where you you are no longer a little girl, but not quite a big girl yet either!  You are between a tot and a tween, but now are getting closer to tween than tot!  You are at an age where you begin to grow up a bit.  Gone are the days with nap, or quiet time, gone are the tiny shoes, and the booster seat.  But now, you are old enough to have earrings, drive the golf cart (heaven help us!) and help with the little girls.  You are at an exciting age!  I would like you to stay little forever.... but the fact is that you won't!  You will continue to grow up.  What I love about you being 7 though, is that you still enjoy playing dress-up.  You are a pro at make-believe.  You still spin in your "poofy" dresses, in fact you are an expert at spinning.  You still have plenty of little girl left in you, and that thrills me to no end!  There are many things that you do that I love about you.

You will go for a walk with me and listen to me tell you things that are special to me.  You talk endlessly about Grandpa Mike and Shaelynn.  You ask me about so many different things, everything from God, to Heaven, from ice cubes to baking, from insects to dinosaurs.  You soak up information like a sponge.  You enjoy (like your brother) talking to people, even though you may not know them well.  You actually talk a lot.  It tickles me.  When you walk in the door, the noise level jumps several notches.  You have a tremendous giggle.  Your smile lights up several rooms!  You have a dimple, origin unknown, and your Dad and I noticed it right after you were born.  You give gigantic hugs to Grandma's and like to snuggle on laps like you were 2.  

You are a joy to Daddy and I, Fiona, and we see through you the joy that we should have in Christ.  That overflowing, mountainous, exciting, JOY!  You exude it and we are so grateful that God graced you into our family.  We sure love you, and all of your ways.  You make Daddy and I proud to call you our Fiona.

Love you Sweetie

Daddy and Mommy

Now some Pictures of then and now!

 

Daddy introducing you to Jonah and Lydia when you came home from the hospital.  Such a precious time.

You have always had this smile!  I love it!

And that dimple!

Grandpa Mike loved holding you

You put him to sleep as much as 

he put you to sleep!

Miss personality.

Momma's little helper.  You helped 

me make cookies this day!

You and Lydia~best of friends.

If I could describe you in one picture.... 

this would be it!

Oh how you love flowers!

Big 3 year old!  Princess Fiona!

Such a big 3 year old!  The look

on your face is priceless here!

Tyson and Sarah celebrating with you.

Your 7 year old cake, as requested.

Your butterfly scarf.  Getting so grown up!

Joy filled smile.

Your glare... not that bad!

Oh the spinning!  

Still working on catching up!

So, the girls did a whole Raider Cheerleading Camp on September 18.  They were able to cheer at the opening of the varsity game that night.  Talk about excited!  Rachel D. our summer Lifeguard here at Camp is a cheerleader.  This thrilled the girls to no end to be able to "cheer" with Rachel for the night!

They did a great job, and we even stayed until halftime!  Ben had a retreat, so it was just me with the kids.  Thankfully I had some friends there too.  The Williamsburg Raiders play Washington that evening, and when we left, the Raiders were ahead 55-0.  I am not sure of the final score, but am certain that Ruby believes that "they did so good cuz they had new cheerweaders!"  Yes she said cheerweaders.:)  So fun!

Ruby and Fiona with our favorite Raider Cheerleader!

That next week was also exciting as we discovered something "new" about Ruby.

She is seriously allergic to bee stings!

This is the afternoon after it happened.  She was stung around 7:40, while on a hayride with Ben.  By 8, she was completely swollen in the face, (she was stung on the eyebrow)  and we decided to take her to the ER.  By the time Ben got her there, she was completely  covered with hives, and had I not given her Benadryl before they left, the ER doc is certain she would have had breathing issues by then.  We continue to be humbly thankful that God protected our Ruby May that evening.  What a scary night that was! We are also thankful that Tyson was here.  He too has a bee allergy, and was able to advise us to go to the ER.  Ben and I really had no idea how severe it was, until the Dr. conveyed that to Ben in the ER.  Whew!  Thank you Tyson!  

Thats all for now,

Sarah

Catching up!

So, I do have some catching up to do.  September was a big month, and while I have not updated lately, I have been mulling things over, and think that some updating is just what I need to do on this yet again dreary cloudy day.  I am sure ready for indian summer!  Wonder if it will come?


So, first update is that Ben's sister Lauren was married on September 26, 2009.  What a day it was!  Ben and I got the kids out of school early on Friday, and headed to his folks home in Stone City.  We went right to work preparing for the wedding, and enjoying our family.  Ben's sister Amanda and her husband Steve and their 5 children were there from Texas, and his sister Abigail, her husband Greg and their 2 kids from Cedar Rapids, along with his parents, sister Sarah Ashton, Lauren and Moza,(bride and groom) Ben's Uncle Steve and Aunt Ruth and 3 cousins and spouses/significant others were there from Georgia, and Moza's family was also there prepping for the rehearsal dinner.  WHEW!  Luckily the house is 11,000 square feet!
The kids were so great, they just grabbed their cousins and started playing, which is the really great thing about these cousins, they really get along well, not much bickering, just loving and caring for each other.  They are all really great kids.  I was amazed with these kids all weekend!
We finished all yard work, as it was an outdoor wedding, Aunt Ruth, neighbor Lois and I tackled the flowers, (I have never worked with flowers!) while Ben's Mom finished the giant task of 11 flower girl dresses, and 7 ring bearer vests.  Keep in mind that she had 12 weeks to accomplish that task!  
All in all a lot was accomplished and while we were rushed to get it all done, the outcome was well worth the work.  Ben and I, and our kids were privileged to be a part of the day, and happy to honor Moza and Lauren and their marriage.  We love them so!  
The ceremony was breathtakingly beautiful, not only because Lauren is beautiful, but God poured his beautiful creation over it.  There is really nothing like an outdoor wedding.  Out in God's creation, witnessing God's created children make a commitment to each other and to HIM!  The most amazing thing happened.  The day was overcast, and frankly there were times when we were certain that the rain would fall, God held it off, in fact as the wedding party was ascending the stairs to the ceremony, God provided a double rainbow.  Just before all 18 kids came down the stairs, the rainbow appeared.  The kids faces were priceless.  Moza was stunned as he saw it, it was such an amazing thing to see.


Ready for pictures?

Bagpiper! I love a bagpipe.

Here come the kids.... all 18!

Jonah was so great!

Colin waving!  So cute!

Lots of cousins who behaved beautifully!  Not one fuss, or complaint.  I really think that they just love being together.

The Daddies helped the little ones down.  So sweet.

Sweet Lillian Ivy

Our entire family!

L-R Randy and Johanna Lenger, Colin and Clara, Daniel and Stephanie Berberich, Ashton, Cora, Eli, and Gideon, Stan and Debbie Berberich, Sarah Ashton, Moza and Lauren Fay, Steve and Amanda Finley, Samuel, Adeline, Simon, Audrey, and Amelia, Ben and Sarah Berberich, Jonah, Lydia, Fiona, Ruby May, and Lillian, Greg and Abigail Schlueter, Everett and Amara

Yeah, we are over-achievers!

Berberich cousins.L-R Abigail, Kaitlyn, Daniel, Lydia, Sarah Ashton, Lauren, Johanna, Kendra, Ben, and Amanda.

The most amazing musicians! They were Irish-y Folk-y.  Do you think that is a proper term?  Hehe!  Nonetheless wonderful!  They even wrote a song for Lauren

Lauren made her own cake with the help of Cousin Lydia.

Isn't it amazing?  The birds are figurines.

Centerpieces that were worked hard on by Aunt Ruth and Neighbor Lois.

This is just a sampling of how beautiful the wedding actually was.  I have so many other nice pictures, but think that maybe this is enough for now.  We sure love you Lauren and Moza and are praying for God to move in your marriage!

Sarah and Ben