Happy Birthday James!!!!

Happy Birthday to our oldest kid James! James is great guy and becoming a wonderful young man. He is intelligent, handsome and a whole bunch of things that only God can get credit for. It is so wonderful to see him seeking the Lord in his daily walk. What more can we ask for as parents than to see our children follow the Lord at even the tender age of 11.
11?? Where did the years go!? I feel like he was just starting 1st grade and dragging his dinosaur lunch box down the steps of the house. That's what they do. They grow up.
We love James so much and as you think of him on his birthday pray for him to grow to become a man of God.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoy a day with family and friends!!!

The Party!

Had to post some pictures of James's party. They seemed to have a great time! At least from what I could tell from all the yelling, running around and eating. I mostly hid out in my room watching a movie and let Daddy take this one. I think he really liked it :)
They didn't make it through all three episodes of Star Wars, only two. James said they were all sound asleep before that one was even over. Can you believe they were all asleep by 1:30?


well, the last piece of cake was eaten, and the baloons are put away. Party is over. Now his REAL birthday is this weekend where we will celebrate with family. :)

The Tuba

James plays the Tuba! These pictures are actually about a month old now. I just kept forgetting to post.
He picked the instrument himself. He had it narrowed down to French Horn, Trombone or Tuba. This is what he came home with. Mind you he has only come home with it once. It is probably in the worst condition of any school instrument I have ever seen. The other option of buying one doesn't seem smart when we have no idea if he'll continue next year. He needs to learn some notes first. When he plays it Evan yells "oops toot". So get the idea of what it sounds like. So, this spring I will sit there alomg woth his Dadddy, siblings and Momma to cheer on our Tuba player.

Rewind to My Birthday

I had a VERY wonderful birthday. Not in the sense that I did anything crazy or super exciting. As a matter of fact I spent most of the day taking Son #1 James to the orthodontist to get his upper palatial widener put in.
That was actually a true delight to this mom. To have him all to myself for a whole 2+ hours was a gift in and of itself. He was especially chatty and I enjoyed listening to him. I love to hear my kids hopes, dreams and am glad I am there when they need to share their hurting hearts. The Lord gives me grace and love beyond what I am capable of for sure. I treasure those monthly rides to Ann Arbor and actually look forward to the next appointment.
Hannah was especially expressive on my birthday. She showered me with hugs and kisses and wrote me some "keeper" birthday letters and cards. My favorite? She had to write a letter in school to someone and she chose me! I still never expect to be the first one on my older two's mind. I am their stepmother after all. (They never makes me feel that way though.) Hannah's letter:
Dear Mom,
Happy Birthday! I hope you have a good one. Thanks so much for everything you've ever done for me which is so much I could never keep track even if I tried. Do you want to know how much I love you? Well, it's from the earth's surface to the highest star in the galaxy. I bet you can't beat that, can you? You know, I love you so much that no more words could describe it. Also, while I'm at Momma's I never forget about you. No Kidding! Thanks Mom and I hope you liked the letter.
Love, Hannah
P.s. I really do love you. By the way Mrs. Reed says hi. I mean it. I really, really love you. Really.
I even cry when I type it! She touched me so deeply with this letter...I don't think she'll ever know how much it made my day, year...my mothering life!!
I'm not putting this letter on my blog to brag about my loving kids,(Although they are great), or to think that I am the best Mom ever. Trust me...kids are VERY forgiving. I fail often. I posted this to remind all of us parents that although there are days that are normal, a lot of work, or just not that exciting...our kids see those days as another day my parent loves me. Keep loving your children with the unconditional love that God gives us. FULL of grace and mercy.

Happy Birthday Brother!!!

Happy Birthday Chris! I hope your day is as wonderful as you are. You are a very loved Brother, Brother In Law, and Uncle!

Baby to Be

For those of you that don't already know....There will be another Wickman baby this spring! We are so excited!! We knew from the the beginning of our life together that we wanted 2 babies and God has blessed us incredibly to give us this gift of another life to love.

I've had many questions from those of you that already know. So, I'll try and answer a few.
- I feel great!! At this point with Evan I was sick as a dog, but this time around I feel great no sickness at all. So far.
- I suppose I am around 9 or 10 weeks at this point. That will put my due date in June. I haven't been to the Dr. yet so I don't know for certain. I have had a very different cycle each month and to be honest we had quit "trying" so I didn't keep track of dates very well.
- Yes, we will be moving to a larger home, hopefully soon. We have been trying to stretch it out as the big kids want to move, but Hannah especially wants to be close to her school this year. It is her last in Elementary and we'd like to do that for her.

Thank you for you prayers as we are praying too for a healthy baby this spring.