3.5

My sweet Hava Joy is 3.5! She says the funniest things every day and brings us so much JOY!

* Havilah's favorite things include reading books with Mom and Dad (she regularly sits for an hour at a time doing this--long after her brothers have moved on), making a mess, eating all kinds of food, playing outside, and being with other kids around her age.

* These two are joined at the hip. In fact, I wasn't really sure I could post about Havilah without at least mentioning her brother's name. Havilah's world revolves around John in so many ways. We are curious to see how she grows and develops when he enters kindergarten in August. For now, they are together 24/7 and that is a positive thing 23.5/7 (the other .5? That's when she complains "Mom! He's not obeying me!!")

* Havilah relishes messes. (Remember the sugar?) Someday she may be a neat freak, but these days she positively enjoys getting mud in her hair, getting scraped up from climbing the lemon tree, and on this particular occasion...rolling a "poop ball" for an invisible dung beetle, naturally.

* Hava loves to be barefoot. She takes her shoes off every time she gets the chance. Here's her bare foot at the Mariners' spring training game we went to recently--her shoes were in another row, where she had kicked them off.

* She is steadily learning to control those passionate emotions that make life with Hava a bit like riding a roller coaster. But when she's happy (and usually she is), she lights up our home with her smile.

I'm so glad to have this precious daughter!

1.5

David is 19 months old today--here is his 1.5 year old update (only a month behind!):

* David is Mr. Independent. If he can possibly do it by himself, he would like to do it by himself. This includes feeding, putting on his shoes, washing up, and lately--using the potty chair. An independent third child is a beautiful thing indeed.

* David is not speaking. Unless you count "Daddy" which I do, but barely. The pediatrician was concerned (it's her job to be concerned, I swear) so we had a state Early Intervention child development specialist and a speech therapist come to "evaluate" David. Their conclusion was that David is on target/advanced in his development and that he is not interested in talking like a baby so he'll probably start speaking once he's able to get full sentences out. That would not surprise me. Even if that's not the case, we don't see any signs of a speech disorder (thank you, Lord!).

* David thinks he's as big as John and Hava, and should be able to do everything they do. This can have interesting results. However, when it comes to potty training, I'm glad to have him be in a rush to grow up (nap time, on the other hand, is a different story).

* The kid is a charmer. Such a smile! He looks the most like Billy to me--maybe that's why I'm a sucker for his sweet little face.

* David's favorite things include food (all kinds, except meat), playing outside, Cutie (good gracious, that girl has been around a long time), anything John and Hava are doing, greeting Daddy when he comes home, EATING, playing in the church nursery, BATHS, and sometimes snuggling. My favorite is snuggling.

Love this kid!

Oregon trip, part 2

While in Oregon, we took a trip to Pacific City with both sets of parents and Ben and Anna. We had a great beach house big enough for all of us and the weather was gorgeous. It was very relaxing family time.

What a beautiful girl (this is at the top of the gigantic Pacific City dune)!

The kids loved snuggling and reading with Grandma Nee and Papa Dave at their house:

We enjoyed a visit with Stephanie and baby Cora:

My mom and I went out for lunch and when we got back to her house, we found two kids asleep with Papa Dave:

John and Hava helped Billy and Bill build this little picnic table, which they enjoyed eating at (inside the house!):

Mimi and Hava:

Such a nice vacation!

On weeks like this one...

This week has been marked by disappointing news--for both us and our families. It involves recharting our course and reframing our mindset. Yet I feel so secure in God's personal attention to our lives.

Because he has good things for my life--for our lives--he leads me to a place I didn't put in my plans, but that I can see is part of a greater plan. For my good. I do believe this wholeheartedly, even on hard weeks.

When I was little, my mom worked with me and Shawna to memorize Psalm 121. I remember lying in bed at my Nonni's old house in Snohomish. I could see the sheep out in the pasture and Shawna, Mom, and I repeated these verses several times:

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills—

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip—

he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD watches over you—

the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all harm—

he will watch over your life;

the LORD will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore.

The LORD will keep me from all harm...He will watch over my life...He will watch over my coming and going--this week and forever. I'm so thankful for that.

Cousins!

I'm alive!

Some people were wondering about that--and some people suggested I might even be through blogging. But I'm alive and I'm here with a couple posts for this week. First up are the cousins!

We went to Oregon at the end of January-beginning of February for an excellent trip that we absolutely packed with family and friends. During that time, we spent parts of two days with Jason and Elizabeth and their three kids, Cambria, Ezekiel, and Sophia. The kids hadn't seen each other in ten months but they picked up exactly where they left off last year--deep in cousin love!

Fairy girls:

Sophia had just turned one, and all five of us loved snuggling her:

The big kids:

The middles:

The babies:

A cousin tea party:

Have I mentioned that John loves babies? He does. Sophie stole his heart instantly (well, she's simply adorable, so I don't blame him).

On our way outside for a fire and roasted marshmallows:

My kids are suckers for wagons--and their Dad--and especially their Dad with a wagon.

More of the babies (and doesn't David look like a giant??):

Did I mention that John loves Sophie? Oh yes, he does.

All ten of us:

Thank you Jason and Elizabeth for hosting the family time!

December

Lots of blessings have come our way this month. Many people who we love are carrying burdens--and to some extent we carry those too--but here at the Honeycutt homestead I'm happy to report that we have had an abundance of love and peace.

Well, we did murder a tree but, hey, that's what it was grown for, right??

(Ok, Home Depot's minions killed it for us, but we don't mind because nothing beats a live tree...).

Billy and I had plenty of help when it came to decorating the tree. Come to think of it, our elves have helped all month by continuously redecorating it.

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is taking walks after dinner to see Christmas lights. We bundle up for the fun of it and to get in the Christmas spirit, not because it's actually cold. (-:

The kids and I decorated a gingerbread house:

And the best part about Christmas is the Christmas music! We listen to Christmas tunes early and often around here, so the kids are starting to learn the words to many of the songs. John and David had fun pretending to play the music too.

Last Sunday, John and Havilah were in our Christmas play for one song with the other preschoolers.

John really got into it:

Havilah did not.

Today we enjoyed our first AZ family Christmas gathering, complete with lollipop making and the First Annual Talent Show. Hava sang "Away in a Manger" with two of her older cousins, Sophie and Haylie.

Christmas is alive and well here--we're looking forward to a festive, relaxing week!