Labor of Love

The song, Labor of Love, keeps running through my head. The chorus sings, "It was a labor of pain. It was a cold sky above. But for the girl on the ground in the dark, every beat of her beautiful heart. It was a labor of love." Mary was just a young girl. But God still gave her the amazing opportunity to have His Son. That amazing Gift. And she hid all those things in her heart. We need to not only keep the love of God hidden in our hearts, but spread the Gospel to every corner of the world.

Here's a little piece of excitement from my last week:

December 21st was the last day of school in 2018 for me. After spending the day playing in the gym and exchanging gifts, Danny drove the two of us home (he got his license!!!!) and I packed to head up to Michigan. Dad, Mom, Kimberly, David, Danny and I headed up to Michigan and got there at about nine. Seth, Adrienne, and Lizah arrived a couple minutes later. That was the starting to an exhausting week.

Saturday: Nobody had seen Calvin and Addie since they had been in bed, so that morning hugs were tight and kisses were sweet. The excitement just kept on growing and growing until Calvin and Addie were getting chased around and the food, oh the food! Something you have to know about my family: we LOVE food. Food is a big part of our celebrating. I almost got sick every night because I had eaten too much. Anyway, Acquire, a popular game in the family that I don't enjoy, was played over and over. Mom, Kimberly, Adrienne, and Lizah went grocery shopping. Dad was building some shelves for Jim and Maria and Jim was helping. Danny was holding Silas and Seth, David, and Maria were playing Acquire. Addie went to get on a chair, sat near the edge, and lost her balance. I watched her bang her head as she went down and fell to the floor. Nobody could have stopped her, it was just an accident. The place where she hit the back of her head concerned Jim and Maria. They considered going to the ER, but decided to just be careful with her and watch the way she acted. Addie was fine, but man did that scare us! We celebrated Mom's birthday, which was on the 19th, and then Seth, David, and Danny went skiing and snowboarding. Here are some pictures from the day:

Addie wearing some pretend safety goggles right before she hit her head.

The amazing cupcakes Maria made for Mom's birthday.

Addie adores Lizah

Sunday:

We went to Alto for church. We got home, played games, and ate supper. After cleaning up supper, Dad read the Christmas story. Then it was time for presents. We went from youngest to oldest, and then the siblings and Dad and Mom did a game. Everyone bought a useful or fun gift for $15.99. It was fun to pass the gifts around as one person wanted something a different person wanted. I bought a puzzle, which Mom took, and I got a Bluetooth speaker, which Danny bought. It was a very fun night, and Calvin was sad after all the presents were unwrapped. 

Sweet little Silas, born December 8th

Monday:

The whole family headed to a ice skating rink near Jim and Maria's house. Mom watched Addie, Lizah, and Silas while the rest of us skated. I don't think there was every a time when all of us were all on the ice so Mom didn't have to take care of all the kids. Calvin wasn't a fan of ice skating, but it was still fun to do something together. That night we played a lot of games and enjoyed time just being all together again. 

Baby smiles!

Christmas day:

The guys played games while the girls cleaned, and then it was time to leave at four. Calvin and Addie were given bear hugs, Silas was snuggled and kissed, and Jim and Maria were hugged goodbye and thanked as we headed to the car. We stopped at Wendy's on the way home for supper and made it home around 7:30. A tired bunch unpacked the van, but still played games until about ten. 

Love these kiddos so much.

A box of See's candies was waiting for us at home. Thanks, Aunt Heidi!

Wednesday:

The house was cleaned as we got ready for Thursday. There was no church since there were services on Monday.

Thursday:

Adrienne and Lizah were the first to arrive before lunch. After them Uncle Dave, Aunt Nellie, and all there boys came, and we ate lunch. The boys started playing games, and some people worked on a puzzle we had set out. After a while, Uncle Joe and Aunt Sue arrived with Grammy. And then, since they missed us so much, Jim, Maria, Calvin, Addie, and Silas came down and got here at about four. We all had a grand ole time. Everybody ate so much food and played a ton of games. Bailey was going to have puppies the next day, but the way she was breathing made everyone suspicious. She was checked on almost every ten minutes. Everybody left before or at 10, except for Jim and Maria. 

Friday:

Bailey had two puppies in the morning! The day was filled with activity and Dad took the day off to build some shelves in the attic and to be Grampy. Bailey wasn't doing very well, and we called some vet friends. Jim ended up pulling a dead puppy out of Bailey. It was very sad, but it was already dead, and that allowed her to have a live puppy a while later! 

Today, Saturday:

Jim and Maria left around 10:15. A while earlier, Dad and Mom had taken Bailey to the vet to get an X-ray. They returned with good and bad news. We knew that Bailey was going to have more puppies since she was still really fat. So far, we are just praying she will be alright, but she was given a shot that will hopefully speed things up, and we will not give up fighting for her until the end. 

Thank for reading! 

Love, 

Edie