Grandma Mayes and Grandma Kerr were correct on the Christmas baby photos! The photos were:
1. Madeline
2. Sophia
3. Savannah
4. Kayla
A few hours after writing the post “What a Night!” Sophia came down with the stomach virus. We had four sick girls at once! Then I came down with it the afternoon of the 2nd. I had a fever and chills and felt very weak, but thankfully I wasn’t throwing up. (A huge blessing, because I almost always catch stomach viruses.) Aaron did 11 loads of laundry in one day, and he really did a fantastic job taking care of us.
This is day #7 for Sophia being sick. The older girls were only sick for about 24 hours, but it seems to be hitting Sophia a lot harder. Based on past experience, I’m pretty sure it’s rotavirus. Tomorrow, hopefully, my baby will be back to her healthy, cheerful self.
Actually it started about 12 hours ago when Kayla first started coming down with the stomach flu. She threw up twice an hour from 3:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. Around 11 p.m. Madeline started getting sick, and then Savannah at midnight. Right now Kayla is sleeping on the couch in the family room, which is moved as close to the bathroom as possible. Madeline is in a nest on the hallway floor just outside the bathroom. Savannah is on the kitchen floor with a bucket next to her, and Aaron is asleep on the family room floor.
I’ve been up all night assisting the girls in the bathroom or with the bucket and giving sips of fluids every 10 – 15 minutes. I feel pretty wide awake, but if the vomiting slows down I’m hoping to get some sleep soon. Aaron, I’m sure, will take on whatever duties necessary so I can get some rest. I’m so thankful for his help! We’ve had our share of stomach viruses in the past, but this is the first time we’ve had so many sick all at once. Hopefully the worst part is behind us!
Here are photos of the four girls in the same Christmas dress. Any guesses?
The day after Thanksgiving was a beautiful and relatively warm afternoon in West Michigan—the perfect time to search for this year’s Christmas tree. Driving to the Christmas tree farm, the girls decided to name her Emily. We wanted a fraser fir, about 9 feet tall, and we wanted to cut it ourselves.
The first farm had frasers, but they didn’t meet the height requirement.
The next farm had frasers that met the height requirement, but they had already been cut.
The next farm didn’t have frasers.
The next farm had frasers, but once again they didn’t meet the height requirement.
We hoped the fifth farm would have the one we were looking for.
When we arrived at the Bosch Tree Farm in Allendale and knew we were at the right place. They had trees of all shapes and sizes. We knew our tree had to be there.
Here is the story of searching for Emily, bringing her home and making her beautiful.
For more about Emily, stay tuned for news about Aaron’s soon-to-be-published book, The Sneezing Christmas Tree.
The last trick-or-treaters have come, and the sugar-filled girls are in bed. Good night, and Happy Halloween!
I wasn’t sure if I had it in me this year to complete the Kerr Pumpkin Tradition. But after seeing how much delight this experience brought to our daughters, it was definitely worth the time!
Selecting the pumpkins from the pumpkin patch …
Savannah shows us the one not to pick …
Scooping, Carving & Counting
While we were busy, this little one enjoyed chewing on her hands …
Guesses for how many pumpkin seeds in each girl’s pumpkin & the actual …
On display …
Thanks to Aaron’s web design skills, our family had a “free” vacation on Lake Michigan from May 10 – 19. He designed a website for this Lake Michigan vacation rental in Holland in exchange for a vacation for our family during the off season. Since we homeschool our girls, we have the benefit of taking vacations while most kids are in school. With the weather, we take what we get! This vacation was a mixture of 80-degree days, 70-degree days and 60-degree days; a couple days were rainy, but otherwise we had lots of sunshine.
We had many visitors, too! Because I didn’t get pictures of everyone who visited, I decided not to include pictures of the friends and family who came. We were certainly glad to have so much company!
Aaron and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary on May 13th. Thanks to a generous babysitter, we went out the night of the 12th and discovered my new favorite restaurant. Located in Macatawa, Michigan, it’s called “The Piper.” We ended up taking the girls a few days later, and it truly was the best food I’ve ever had.
Here are the photos of our trip. We definitely came home recharged!
Madeline’s birthday was the start of our spring busy season. We spent a few days celebrating her and then traveled to Chicago. After Chicago we celebrated Easter, and a few days after Easter I went on a four-day retreat called Unveiled. About a week after Unveiled, our family went on a nine-day vacation to Lake Michigan. We returned May 19 and began celebrating Kayla’s birthday two days later. In the midst of all that, I’ve gotten a little bit behind on … well … everything! Until I have time to write more, here are a few pictures of our beautiful vacation spot.
Coming soon … more pictures of us!
St. Patrick’s Day, so far, has been the warmest day this year. Though it was technically still winter, the 63 degree high temperature that day made it feel like spring—and it felt wonderful! We went for a nature walk and also sat on the deck reading stories of Saint Patrick.
Playing in the yard before the nature walk:
Walking along the trail at Gezon Park:
Sisters wearing green:
