Merry
Christmas!
2014 was a wild rollercoaster ride, ups, downs, super-fast
and over in the blink of an eye!
The biggest and best thing that happened was our little boy,
Ames Johan (Ames after my great-grandpa and Johan after a couple relatives on
both sides), was born on August 19. He
is absolutely amazing! While writing
this, he’s 14 weeks, loves smiling and just started giggling. He has surpassed both Hakan and Adeline in
height and weight when they were his age…he’s a
really good eater. He definitely looks
more like Adeline when she was a baby. He
sleeps like a champ (thank God)! We are
so very thankful for God’s master plan and blessing us
with him this year, he was worth the wait.
We are all head over heels in love with him!
Adeline is 3 ½ and as
spunky as ever! She loves to make up
songs, which usually end up with “let it
go, let it go, don’t feel” from
Frozen stuck in there somewhere. When
she says the word stick, she replaces her “s” with a
“d” and doesn’t sound
like stick anymoreJ. Coloring and painting are some of her
favorite things to do, especially using herself as a canvas. Like me, she LOVES animals, to the point
where she may just be loving them a little too much, ha! She is fearless and loves adventures! She is so sweet and will just come up and
give us kisses. She is an amazing,
caring big sister and so adorable with her little brother.
Hakan is 5 ½. He finished up his first year of preschool
last spring and this fall we’re doing some preschool at
home, with possibly homeschooling kindergarten next year. He loves numbers, not something he gets from
me, but probably his CPA dadJ. Creating things is also a passion for him,
crafts, masks, little projects, anything that involves paint, colors, glue and
a toilet paper roll, he’s all in (I’ll take
a little credit for that). He’s so
sweet and remembers the craziest things.
He had tons of fun playing baseball and soccer this year, with soccer
being his favorite (cutest thing ever watching 5 yr olds play sports). He’s a
wonderful big brother, helping me and taking care of Adeline (when they’re not
fighting) and Ames.
Derek is heading into his 10th “busy” season
at Abdo, Eick and Meyers in January, doing mainly audits not taxes, which take
him out of the office and out of town quite a bit, but he enjoys working with and
helping all the different clients. I’m
trying to mentally prepare for this busy season with 3 kids and winter…should
be fun ;) He played on a couple
different softball teams this year and we really have fun watching him play, or
I have fun watching him play and the kids have fun covering themselves from
head to toe in orange sand.
I, Lacy, stay at home with our kids and wouldn’t trade
it for anything! It’s not
always easy, but for me to be the main influence in their lives and spend every
day with them is awesome. The days are
long, but the years are short! We spend
a lot of time with friends, at the zoos, parks, beaches, museums and tons of
free events around the area. I was also working
at Lifetime Fitness as a swim instructor and swim coach to 7-9 year olds, which
was so awesome getting back to something I love, but decided not to return
after having Ames. I put my Anchored
Hope etsy shop (www.etsy.com/shop/anchoredhope) on vacation after having Ames,
but I hope to have it back open come January.
It’s not easy getting sewing and knitting done
with three little ones (Ames just woke up from his nap and is crying, perfect
timing!), but it’s something I love doing, so I
try to make time for it. There are also
a few handmade shows in 2015 that I’d love
to be a part of, something I didn’t
really get to do this year.
Derek and I vacationed at Lake Las Vegas this summer and had
a great time sitting by the pool, reading, kayaking and even meeting up with a
friend, a much needed getaway, while the kids had fun at the Grandmas in
Jamestown. We spent one afternoon on the
Strip, and that’s probably enough for a
lifetime. We didn’t
gamble so no wins or losses. We also
went on our first family camping trip up in Duluth, I may have been 36 weeks
pregnant, but it was amazing! We had the
perfect camp site in the woods where we set up our tent and air mattress that
almost took up the whole thing…the kids had plenty of room to
sleep J. We cooked over the fire and spent the weekend
being filthy dirty and loved it! We visited
the historic Split Rock Light House, and spent the day hiking and exploring the
gorgeous area. Adeline found lots of
sticks, big, little, long and short, ha!
This will definitely be a repeat trip.
Our cat, Bear, is 9 ½, and
doing pretty well with all the craziness in our little home. Now that our Christmas tree is up, she’s a
happy camper sleeping the day away underneath it. I think she secretly loves it when the kids
chase her around the house…
2014 also came with the loss of my Grandpa Don and Derek’s aunt
Glenda. We are thankful that they are
not suffering anymore, and rejoicing in Heaven, but they are loved and missed
so so dearly. It is not the same without
them.
We are standing alongside and praying for all our family and
friends who are going through some difficult times, know that we love you so
much!
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy 2015 New
Year!
The Halvorsons
