Gosh, some MAJOR life changes have taken place since the last time I posted back in September. My few loyal readers already know what's been going on with us, but here's a quick summary for those who may not (and for me to look back on in 15 years when I'm feeling nostalgic for these sweet years):
We finished building our house and have moved in! When I first titled this blog "Acker Country Living," I truly thought we lived in the country. Ha! That was a mere baby step, my friends! We are legitimately in the COUNtry now -- 20 minutes from any full grocery store or viable restaurant, a bean field in our front yard, no sight of any neighbors, and the greatest play area the kids have ever known (47 acres of woods and swamp). We've been settled in the new house since just before Thanksgiving, and all 5 of us love it here. I could go on and ON about how proud I am of Pete for building this house. He took on the role of General Contractor without a second thought, not knowing at all what that entailed. He spared me of the bajillion frustrations he encountered every SINGLE day during the building process and was able to balance building, his paying job, and spending time with us without me and the kids ever feeling for a second that we weren't important. In the husband and dad department, I know I'm biased, but my Pete is a man among boys. The house is 2 stories with an unfinished basement; 3 bedrooms are upstairs, and we basically have one great-room downstairs. Here is a video that I made for my mom of the downstairs (the upstairs is not quite as put together just yet):
My twin sister Katie (aka Aunt KK) had a BABY!!! Her name is Addison Joy Haitz (Addie), and she is so unbelievably beautiful. I love hearing about her and seeing pictures of her and thinking about her and cannot WAIT to meet her! I fly out to Denver on January 20th to spend a few days with Addie, and I'm counting the seconds. Her parents will also be there, but they have officially taken the back seat in regards to being the cause of excitement.
We're pregnant! Speaking of ole Peter being a man among boys... (just kidding, Dad, gosh!) We're due in June and are able to actually get excited and talk about it now that we're settled out here and have told the kids. We are planning on waiting to find out the gender until delivery like we did with Mary. So far these are the name options Susannah and John have come up with: Kela, Holy, Hela, Gay, John-Mary, and Fan. I see some real winners in there! Here's the video of when we told the kids:
Susannah turned FIVE. Good gracious, I've blinked too many times. I cannot keep these kids from growing up. Susannah's kindheartedness has grown exponentially over the years. She is so sweet, and though she and John definitely drive each other bonkers at least 4 times a day, I've never seen a more loving and doting big sister. She wants to be like me in every way, and that is one of the most convicting things I've ever encountered -- it challenges me to up my game in every respect because I know she's watching me so closely. We're trying to teach her some gumption these days because her sweetness sometimes keeps her from being strong in her beliefs and feelings; even though that makes for a very obedient child, Pete and I truly want to see her feel strong and bold enough in her convictions to occasionally push back, whether that's toward us asking her to do something she doesn't want to do or her friends who are playing in a way she doesn't want to play (she has ZERO problem pushing back against John and Mary though - go figure!) :D Sus is absolutely beautiful inside and out, and we are ridiculously proud of our five-year-old.
Don't think Mary and John have been mere bystanders the past few months. They're still stealing the show everywhere they go. Mary might be the smartest year-and-a-half old in the whole world. Her vocabulary is ridiculous, and she is so funny. She is definitely one we do not have to worry about with boldness in her convictions. Unlike her big sis, that girl LOVES to push back. It's a good thing she's so sweet! She has her scowl face down, and she saves it for right when I'm about to get real upset with her about something, knowing that I'm going to crack up. Mary is also in a TODDLER bed now and is doing great!
John is mini-Pete in a million ways. Pete took him "hunting" (walking to the location in the woods, sitting for 10 minutes, walking back), and it's hard to describe the absolute delight in John's little countenance in the preparation to go hunt. He loves talking about it, making plans for it, getting dressed for it, and heading out the door for it. And then he's ready to come back where he can be rowdy! I know for a fact, though, that the day that he's actually allowed to carry a weapon out there to shoot something he'll sit for as long as he needs to sit to take down whatever unsuspecting animal crosses his path.
Here are a few more pics from recent weeks in no particular order:
Walking to the mailbox and back is the perfect length for a good afternoon activity.
I found Sus and John's toys set up like this the other day. I think it is a perfect and hilarious representation of the life in their little shared room.
We went to the Williamsburg Christmas parade back at the beginning of December. The kids had never seen a parade before, and they for real loved it! Our kids, however, do not like strangers, so to each nice person who stopped in front of our kids to speak and try to get a smile or high-five, I'm sorry. (But not really...STRANGER DANGER!)
The kids' new favorite activity.
Figgy, Pops, Aunt Sarah, and Aunt Vicky came to town a couple weekends ago to surprise me for my birthday! I was literally brought to tears by both the sweetness of that gesture (I've had a lot on my plate, and this family is SO good about being receptive of that and knowing when a good time to step in and lighten the load/mood is) and the hilarity of this cake. I can't help but think that maybe Paul Simon almost had the perfect lyrics, "And Betty when you call me, you can calllll meeeee [F]al!" It was also supposed to be orange and blue, to which Pete said so appropriately, "Tennessee wins again." (If you followed college football this fall, you know that's unfortunately funny.) BUT I will say that it was THE yummiest ice cream cake I have ever had. The story that goes along with it just made it that much better!
Snow day!
Susannah's first Christmas program! She and her little preschool buddies did a GREAT job singing and entertaining us.
Sus and her best friend Ella at the program
Church Christmas program time! John refused to sing the songs during any of the practices, but he sang every word during the actual program.
John's shoe also came untied during the program, and he just could NOT go on until it was tied! He sat there forever, pretending like he knew how to tie his own shoe until our sweet program director Jessica tied it for him during one of the songs.
John with his two best buds, Lane and Wes. They are such a fun trio!
Had a nice, warm-ish day to go splashing around in muddy puddles this past week. Needless to say, we went straight to the bathtub.
And now for a little personal reflection:
I started a read-your-bible-in-a-year plan last January, and I'm about 17 weeks behind where I should be to finish next week; but my reading this morning was surprisingly appropriate for this season of Advent: Psalm 62.
We wait for the Lord. It's a constant thing. In this season of Advent, we are to draw our focus back to the waiting that God's people had to do for hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus. They knew He was coming; they didn't know when; so they waited. Sometimes with joy, sometimes with lamentation, sometimes with loneliness, but always with anticipation for the promise they knew God would fulfill. It is so much fun celebrating that day -- the day God's promise for a Savior to be born came true -- and trying to imagine the feeling of fulfillment, even if just for a moment, the world felt when Jesus entered the world. And now, we find ourselves...waiting still. Not only are we now anxiously waiting on Christ's second coming, but the waiting for answers to our questions and victories in our battles and completions of difficult seasons and healings for the hurting continues. Waiting is hard.
We're currently waiting to sell our old house. This is a really difficult thing to just wait on, and I find myself putting my hope in a realtor and in the efforts of our own hands. What can wedo to get this burden off our backs? My heart was so convicted this morning when I read Psalm 62:5 because my waiting had become so focused on being freed of this financial burden that I was losing sight of the goodness of God and His promises. "For God alone, o my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him." And it goes on to say that my salvation rests in Him and He is my refuge. My hope, my salvation (from sin and from the burdens of this world), and my refuge are all found in the Lord. Not in the house selling or in having just one mortgage or in putting Glade plug-ins in every room or in stalking our realtor to see if she's even doing anything over there... My hope should rest in the promises that the Lord (1) will provide our daily bread, (2) knows when the house will sell, and (3) has a purpose that's for our good and His glory.
Putting and keeping our hope in God's sovereignty and promises instead of the things and ways of this weary world is a much safer bet. As Pete prayed last night for the sale of that house, his words began this conviction that the Lord set in this morning: he praised God for the blessing of our old house and for how abundantly rich we are. Those words settled so deep in my heart. That house was absolutely a blessing from the Lord, and it didn't take me but half a day to start cursing it when I didn't want it anymore. Our family is rich beyond measure, in more than just money, and it didn't take me but a week to start bemoaning the possibility of not being able to do all the things I want to do this spring. Through Pete's prayer to God, God was speaking directly to me saying, "Stop waiting for your problems to be solved--there's no refuge there. I'm your refuge. Wait on me."
Whatever it is that you're waiting on--be it daylight after a long night of nursing a newborn (cough, cough Katie), or retirement, or marriage, or healing of a physical ailment, or healing of an emotional ailment...we're all waiting on something--whatever it is, let's make sure we're first waiting on our God, seeking refuge and salvation in Him before worldly solutions. I need to trust Him more fully--He's reminded me of that big time this Advent season. And as hard as it's been, God's been so good and loving to me, teaching me and drawing me closer to Himself. Isn't the Lord always so good to us like that? May we always direct our hearts toward Him in our waiting.
So many things to share since the last post! One of the many valid reasons I have for not posting in so long is that I was offered 2 online classes to teach this fall, which has taken up a TON of my non-kid time. I'm teaching English 12 and Creative Writing, and I'm loving it! I've been teaching with ACCESS (online classes for high school students in the state of Alabama) for 5 years now, and it has been a huge blessing. Pete's been up and out of the house by about 6:15 almost every morning to go work on the new house before he has to go work his real job. We're getting very close to being able to move in, and we're falling in love with the house even more with every step. Pete just finished putting in the kitchen cabinets, and I actually have a job out there, which is painting trim and baseboards. It's going to be so amazing when all is said and done! Now for the kids.
Susannah started preschool back at the beginning of September, and not surprisingly, she loves it. She walked in to class by herself on the first day and never looked back! She told John last week on the way home, "John, you are going to LOVE preschool when you're old enough to go." Something tells me John might spend more time with his nose in the corner than Sus, but I bet he'll love it, too...most of the time. Susannah also started gymnastics lessons this month! She really enjoys it, but she also still talks about going to ballet lessons alllll the time. I was really hoping gymnastics would take the place of her desire to dance, but the girl just wants to move to choreographed routines! Susannah is turning 5 so soon (I'm sure before I remember to post again), and it's just so surreal.
John is still getting bigger and funnier every single day. He's ready to be 4 already so he can take gymnastics, too. He also wants to do karate, t-ball, basketball, and be a workin man; so we'll hopefully have it narrowed down to just 1 thing to try come May. Quick funny story about John. Last week I took the kids to Chick-fil-a for lunch with some friends. I took John to the bathroom, and since he's not quite tall enough to stand while going potty yet, I hoisted him up on the toilet. We talk all the time about how we are not supposed to touch things, especially toilets, in public restrooms; but of course like always, John's hands wen't straight for the toilet seat. There were people in the bathroom, so I leaned in really close to give him a whispered reprimand, "John! We talk about this all the time, Buddy. Do not touch the toilet! It's so dirty!" John was just watching my mouth move with a little smile on his face, and as I finished, he reached up and placed his little, toilet-touching hand right on my mouth. "JOHN! You just touched my mouth! After you touched THE TOILET! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gossssshhhh!" I've never pulled that boy's pants up so fast. I darted out of the stall and was getting foam soap and hand sanitizer simultaneously to coat my mouth (and maybe a little inside) faster than you could say, "dirty toilet." John, having no concept of germs and how they work, was perplexed. And now, I'm just thankful I lived to tell the tale, because you know I was the biggest hypochondriac in America for the next 48 hours. The slightest stomach bubble, and I was immediately, "Oh no, this is it. Tell the children I love them!"
Our Mary Girl is sassy pants and all over the place. She keeps up really well with her big siblings, and LOVES to run around the house with anyone who will run with her. She has a vocabulary like no other and knows all game and farm animals and the sounds they make. One super impressive thing she does is count. From 1 to 10, she can tell you almost every next number. If I say 1, she'll say 2; if count to 3, she'll say 4. She's a little sponge! And now about her sass. She's already crossing her arms at me when she says, "No," and she says that word A LOT. She pulls Susannah and John's hair because she knows it bothers them, and she'll take the punishment every time just to see their feathers ruffled. She's been paci-free since early July, and I'm fairly certain that's when her sassiness solidified. Even still, she's the most darling little one-year-old on the planet, and we are SO in love with her. She hugs me approximately 27 times a day, oftentimes just coming up to squeeze my leg while I'm working in the kitchen. I don't think I've written about Mary's love for books yet, but it's an unreal obsession. Every time we turn around, she's following either me or Pete holding a book saying, "I sees? I sees?" which is her way of asking us to read to her. It's precious, but it's constant; so I confess, I often want to hide the books by the end of the day. But it's also the best way to get Mary snuggles, so the perks are good. And here's an assortment of pictures in no particular order:
Reading with Daddy
flower pickin' pretties
More reading with Pop and Figgy
Following suit of the ones who've come before her: in love with Pop
This was on Day 2 of no pacis. Just LOOK at those sweet cheeks smooshed on that bed.
Took the kids to the beach with some friends back in July!
John and one of his best buds, Wes, pushing back those waves!
beach-obsessed
These buddies took swim lessons this summer and did awesome!
At the lake for Ware Fam Vacation, and loving Fake Mom, aka Aunt KK
She only put up with this life jacket for about 10 min.
Sus and Holland are 2 peas in a pod!
All the grandbabies (except for the one in Katie's belly) with Dizzy/Susu and PopPop
Mary was just a tad jealous of Baby Blakely's attention
SOOOOO PUMPED that there's a baby in there!!
This might've been my favorite moment of our lake vacation: looking out and seeing John totally passed out while my mom paddled him around the lake. There's just not a whole lot sweeter.
Our first dinner at the new house! That porch is stained now, and HOLY COW it's even more beautiful.
The best picture of my babes!!
I traded Brae two little kids for two big kids one weekend last month, so I took the big girls out for dinner and pretty drinks
Mary LOVED having the big girls all to herself!
Sitting on the steps of her preschool after orientation and being beautiful
John's dream came true when a lizard was discovered in our house.
Everybody wants in on the pancake cooking!
Monkey Mary's new favorite trick
Sus and I went to the theater last weekend to see Pinkalicious: The Musical! It was so fun getting fancy with my big girl!
She was beyond excited.
Hopefully I'll squeeze in another post before Christmas! ;)
Here were are again, over a month past another birthday. John turned THREE back on May 22! We had so much fun celebrating him with a little friend party I dubbed "Dudes and Dads." We invited a few of John's closest buddies and their dads over for an obstacle course, water balloons, silly string, and food. It rained almost the whole time, so it turned into puddle-jumping, silly string, puddle-jumping, eating, and puddle-jumping, which was just as fun as my best-laid plans. What's cool about boys-only parties is that I felt zero pressure to make something beautiful. For Sus's princess party when she turned three, a LOT of time and effort went into making beautiful things because girls appreciate that (Susannah definitely does). Boys couldn't care less. So we spent half the money, I spent half the time, and John had 18 times the fun because he's the most fun-loving, happy kid in the world. Here are the party boys after some preliminary puddle-jumping:
Just a few more quick things about John. I don't know why, but I assumed that by the time he turned 3, John would become a normal little boy. You know, like real reckless and destructive and all about wrestling or whatever. While John is absolutely a boy's boy with his love for heavy machinery, outdoor adventure, and the like, he is the kindest little soul there is. He loves life and people so hard. While he is definitely not perfect, he has a goodness about him that's incomparable. Anytime we are picking out a show or movie to watch, he always, ALWAYS says, "Is there a mad man in it? I don't want the mad man one..." He's never concerned about mean dogs or scary monsters, aliens, or the like; just angry and/or malicious villains. He seems to long for a world without antagonists--like the Lord is already building in him a desire to make things "on earth as it is in Heaven," starting with his cartoons, of course. I pray he steers clear of mad men as he grows, and that he himself continues to choose goodness over evil. (That's not too over-spiritualized, is it?? Ha!) John is also a good friend and a good listener, and he is so funny AFV just needs to come follow him around for all future episodes. We love him so much!
Sister Sus would run this little house if granted permission. She is so strong and confident, it makes me so dang proud. She takes the role of the boss whenever the resident bosses are not looking, much to her siblings' chagrin. But Susannah has a heart of gold and an aim to please, so she rarely-if-ever takes it too far. The kids went to another local church's VBS last week, and when they had their closing ceremony to get their little completion certificates, Susannah's teacher said, "Susannah Acker, my little all-star. Susannah listened to every lesson and knew the answer to every question all week!" And then when I was talking with the teacher afterward, she said, "When is Susannah going to kindergarten? Because she is definitely ready," to which I replied with a toss of my hair, "Oh? She's just starting preschool this fall." My head was so big after all that I could hardly fit through the church's double-doors on the way out. And the thing is, this is all her. Susannah is self-taught in most everything people consider amazing for her age. We do not have rigorous at-home preschool (about once a month I get motivated enough to print off a worksheet for her to do after she's begged me for 6 days straight to do school stuff), nor do I demand she sit and listen and prove story comprehension. She just loves learning and excelling. More than all that, though, she has this sweetness in her spirit that manifests itself in empathy, helpfulness, and laughter. We couldn't dream up a more amazing leader of the pack for our troop of kids over here!
Mary Girl is nonstop! I'm sure I've written this before, but she is definitely going to be the toddler who gives us a run for our money. She has the sweetest little rebellions multiple times a day, doing the exact opposite of whatever it is we've asked of her with the biggest smile on her face and loud giggle. She knows how to get away with murder, and that giggle is my kryptonite as the law enforcer (her daddy's, too). Her fourth molar is going to break through any day, which brings upon my least favorite transition of all the transitions: bye-bye paci. Mary loves her pacifier ("pa-pa") more than either of our others, so I'm already dreading it. But she's got binky-teeth bad, and I'd really rather her not remember ever having it, soooo... we'll probably take away her paci next month. Pray for us! Mary has a collection of words now, as well! It's so fun hearing her talk. Most often used word is "No," which is not surprising, but the cutest phrase she has is, "Good girl!" She praises herself now when she does things that we normally praise her for. For instance, she can't stand being wiped off, so when she stays still, we always praise her. So now, when she's being still, she say, "Dood doyl!" I melt into a puddle somewhere around 16 times a day.
And a quick house update: we've got some siding up and a well going in! We still don't have a good idea of when it will be done, but still hopefully this fall.
Lastly, I wanted to share a verse that the Lord has been writing on my heart over the past year or so. "And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them" (Isaiah 42:16, emphasis mine). While I haven't experienced any times of intense confusion or difficulty recently (or ever, if we're being honest), I have been working on memorizing this verse for a long, long time and cannot tell you how many times I'm so thankful that I've had words of encouragement to offer friends who are struggling. What a beautiful promise from our Lord: the rough places will be made level; it's what He does and He doesn't forsake it. We don't know when or how, which is the hard part; but we know He will. AMEN. And enough with my rambling! Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure:
The best daddy!
I admit that I staged this, but they weren't mad about it!
I wanna eat her.
Spying on Sister while she sleeps!
Petes best friend from W&M got married earlier this month, and we had an amazing time celebrating Abe and Blair!
The W&M crew (and some non-Tribe spouses) at the rehearsal dinner.
Hanging out under our only front yard tree that offers any kind of shade.
HOW is this girl SO beautiful already?!?
She prefers to rest her head while eating.
Mary meowing at the kitten we found on the side of the road. For a split-second I wanted to keep it. And then I came to my senses (READ: Pete reminded me of my senses when I called him to ask if we could keep it).
Fire department fun
Three Amigos
Mary getting some coveted one-on-one Daddy time while her siblings are at VBS!
No boy sweeter in all the land!
Must snuggle all babies upon waking.
I can't blame her for falling in love at first bite.
The bike-riding champ
Fishing with Daddy!
Mary got a quick turn, too.
Little friends
Until the next time I have a spare hour to update!
