Ben's 7th Birthday

On January 7th, Ben turned 7! It is so hard to imagine how my sweet baby boy has turned into this big boy who seems so grown up! He is still sweet and sensitive and kind, but in a big boy way! When he was a baby he was so easy and laid back, and never fussed! He is so precious to us and we are so thankful that God has blessed us with Ben!

He had a fun sports themed party and had a "ball"!! Marcus took over the planning of the activities, so this party was easy for me! Except that I did get a little nervous with the boys swinging the bat at the pinata! Happy Birthday, Ben!

Christmas Fun!

Christmas this year was really a fun (and busy) time, but very special as we anticipate a break from our traditions next year. Throughout the season, here were a few of our favorite moments:

-Choosing our tree and decorating it together. We always go to Marvin's (really cheap trees) and get our tree, and then we go eat breakfast together. It is usually supper time, but always breakfast food. Now I will say that last year we had a small glitch in our tradition, because we went to Huddle House, and they were out of waffle mix. We would have left but we had already ordered our drinks. Thankfully this was a time when our children were very self controlled and chose something else on the menu with no tears shed. Anyway, then we go home and start the process of lights, ornaments, etc. NEVER is there any arguing! (ha ha!)

-Lawndale Girls' Tea: Evidently, this has been a longstanding tradition for many years at our church. It was my honor last year and this year to have it in our home, although I am very thankful for Mrs. Judy Taylor, Mrs. Ann Benson (Annie) and Mrs. Lee Jones (ChiChi) to plan the details and make it happen. We had some fun snacks for the girls, a craft (they made a cute necklace this year), and Allen Bradford shared what Christmas is like in Peru. They also sing Christmas carols and have the opportunity to play their own song on the piano. Fun and sweet memories for these little (and big) girls!!

-"Elf-is" appeared: once he had flown into the chandelier hooks, he was found hanging upside down, and was also found riding the rooster and decorative elf!

-Christmas parade. I will say this year was a little on the down side as far as parade watching goes, but we do usually make a big deal of this. We aren't sure why it just wasn't quite the same this year, but it was still fun and we have good memories of watching the parade with all of our buddies!

-Choosing our tree and decorating it together. We always go to Marvin's (really cheap trees) and get our tree, and then we go eat breakfast together. It is usually supper time, but always breakfast food. Now I will say that last year we had a small glitch in our tradition, because we went to Huddle House, and they were out of waffle mix. We would have left but we had already ordered our drinks. Thankfully this was a time when our children were very self controlled and chose something else on the menu with no tears shed. Anyway, then we go home and start the process of lights, ornaments, etc. NEVER is there any arguing! (ha ha!)

-This year we had a fun night of going to see the lights at Cottonplant with Justin, Rebecca, and Graham. Mia Katherine also joined in on the fun. We did the complete walk-through, had hot chocolate, and visited with Santa Claus!

-This year we started something new, that I think was the most fun thing we have ever done! On the 23rd we went to the dollar store, and each child had ten dollars to spend. This all started when Sarah Caroline had heard about Dirty Santa, and wanted us to buy gifts for us to play that with our family. Then they decided to also buy gifts for each other and Marcus and me. First of all, this gave us an hour of entertainment in shopping. Also, it made them focus on someone else and the act of giving, not receiving. Another good thing about this was it took another hour or two for them to wrap all of these gifts. One more reason - it added to their pile of gifts on Christmas morning without spending much more money. (They only get three gifts from us). But the best part - it was hilarious!! We loved seeing what they bought for each other and us! I was given a monkey loofah for the shower, a card with a dollar, and some matches. Priceless and precious!!

-We had a great family day on Christmas Eve, complete with Dirty Santa, stockings from Mimi, and lots and lots of fun presents! And a lot of food! Yummy brunch food - cheese grits, pineapple casserole, cream cheese braids, yum!

-Christmas Eve night we went to our church service, which is so wonderful to get us focused on Christ. It seems no matter how hard we try to focus on His birth it is so easy to get distracted!! We went back to my parents for more food then home to get the kids ready for bed. We read some sweet books (my favorite Christmas in the Barn by Margaret Wise Brown) and Twas the Night Before Christmas. We have this beautiful large copy of it with a beautiful font and pictures, and we actually have had it since I was expecting Sarah Caroline.

-Sarah Caroline is quite a night owl, and doesn't sleep late either. Particularly this Christmas she was very excited, and had trouble sleeping! She woke up at 3am and could not go back to sleep, then Sam woke up at 3:30 coughing, and I got in bed with him. Then about 4am she proceeded to come "check" on me and Sam in his bed, and woke him up again. We moved downstairs to try to go back to sleep in my bed, and saw that she had also woken up Luke, who had also moved to my bed. She then convinced us that Ben also was awake (as she went and woke him up!). Marcus ordered them to stay in her room and play until 6, but finally by 4:45 I was so awake I convinced him for us just to go ahead and get up too. What a sleepless night!! (We had been up until 12.) Sarah Caroline said her excitement was because she saw Santa outside her window five times!!!

-The kids were very excited!! What fun times to have four precious children all still young enough to jump up and down with joy!! We also always have a birthday cake for Jesus, and this year we realized we didn't have any candles. Hence the matches on the cake. But Luke had just given me matches for a gift, so they were already coming in handy!!

-The day after Christmas we headed to Forest to enjoy more holidays with Mamaw and Jim. And more gifts! And lots of rest for me! I get pretty spoiled not having to cook or do laundry!

The Ueltscheys Going To Peru!

We are officially joining Peru Mission! After much thought and prayer through the past several years, and more so in the last year, our plans are to go to Peru! We are committing to an 18 month period of time, three months of which will be language school. Marcus and I have been to Peru two times with this wonderful mission team, and have prayed for an opportunity to serve for longer than a week. God's timing is perfect timing, and now is the time! It became more clear to us last year that we were being led to go, then we returned to Peru in April and began to take the steps necessary to make plans. We were officially accepted this fall, and hope to move in early summer.

It was really so much fun telling the children, because God had prepared them! When we told them we had some fun news, Ben guessed, "Are we moving?" Then we asked, "Where is somewhere you have been asking us to take you on a trip?" Sarah Caroline guessed, "Are we moving to Peru??" as she was jumping up and down with excitement. Only God could make them so excited about leaving their comfort zone, family, and friends to move to a new country!

We have much to do - sort through "stuff", sell our house, learn Spanish, and raise financial support. All while we continue with the daily routine of raising four children and have work commitments, church activities, Christmas plans, school, piano, Scouts, soccer, etc. Please pray that the details will fall into place and that we will continue to trust the Lord to provide the way.

When we get there, Marcus will be working in an existing medical clinic, as well as continue to build a relationship with the Peru Ministry of Health. I may assist him at times with Physical Therapy needs, although my main goals will be to homeschool. We hope to serve in the orphanage and local church for two reasons - ministry and service, and also for the children (and myself) to practice our Spanish. We also hope to recruit others to come visit!!

Peru Mission is so wonderful - you can read more at www.perumission.org. They do church planting, English as a Second Language, Seminary training, college ministry, economic development, and more. It is wonderful to see what God has done with this wonderful group of people, and we look forward to joining with them!

Halloween Fun

Look quick at the horse! Because it didn't last long! Sam wore his horse costume for about 5 min Wed night to a festival, and 20 min Thurs night, and 5 min on Halloween. Thankfully I had thrown in a pumpkin sweatshirt so at least he looked festive, but he really didn't care. He really just cared about how many suckers he could eat in an hour! We had a great time at Lawndale's R eformation Party then on to Katie and Talmadge's to hang out and eat with some of their friends. Sarah Caroline got to spend some time with her best buddies in the neighborhood. So thankful the candy is almost gone now!!

The Moment I Want to Scream

One day I thought I might scream - the boys were chasing each other around and around the house and being very loud. Isn't that what boys are supposed to do?? I'm still learning, even after 6 1/2 years of having a boys (growing up with sisters is VERY different!). Just when I thought I was going to lose it... this is what I see. Ben and Luke at being dogs. Lapping water out of bowls. On my newly mopped floors. And instead of going crazy, I started laughing and grabbed the camera. This is what I'm going to miss in a few years. This is what I'm going to remember the most. This is what I love about having them!

MSU Fun!

Go Dawgs! We have had fun this fall going to the State football games!! The kids have enjoyed being at State and learning about football, and it is some fun family time!

Sam's School and Stitches

Sam started two year old preschool after Labor Day, and as the picture shows all three boys now have had stitches. He fell as he was climbing on the kitchen counter (and I was right beside him) and busted his chin. Once again, it was a weekend, so we went up to Marcus' office and he stitched him up. He said he liked school, but he is not much of a talker. I asked him a million questions on the way home, and he answered "yes" to them all with a groan, like "please leave me alone!"

Back to School

Wow! We can't believe we suddenly have 3 out of 4 children in school! It is so hard to believe that this time has come. It is bittersweet - much easier for the day to day life, and fun to see them becoming more independent. But also sad that the time has gone by so quickly. It was just yesterday that we were all piled up at home playing with nowhere to go and no schedules to follow other than lunchtime, naptime, and bedtime! We are so blessed to have three great teachers this year! We also love our neighborhood tradition of walking to school together the first day. It is fun for the kids and parents to go as a group, although sad for the older girls this year they had to change schools and leave Church St. But they all are enjoying their school years very much and we are so grateful!

Twin Lakes Camp

We were so blessed to spend a week at Twin Lakes Camp this summer! It was so much fun for the whole family! Marcus was a camp doctor, which was actually a fair amount of work the first day, but a nice vacation after that. Ben and Sarah Caroline were campers, and Luke and Sam and Marcus and I stayed in a great lodge next to the infirmary. We were ready to move in permanently!! The entire week I did not have to think about when or what we were going to eat - we just walked over the the dining hall, sat down, and got up when we were finished!! I did not have to clean or cook or go run errands all week!! We played and took naps and read - what a treat!!! It was fun watching all of the campers have a blast! They loved it! The most fun was watching the boys on "boys only night" get ready with war paint, learn how to march, go through a mud pit (which by the way smelled horrid!). Thankfully they went through hoses and a slip and slide before they went back for showers. The staff are wonderful, godly people and it was a joy to get to know them! What a great way to spend a week of summer vacation!!

Summer Pics in November?

I do realize I continue to post pictures several months behind, but I do not want to miss having these fun memories on my blog. MAYBE one day I will catch up and stay caught up, but for now I will just keep posting very late!!