{twenty thirteen}

December 17, 2013

What a year we have had!
This is the year that Aubree FINALLY turns 6. She has been waiting and dreaming of being six for as long as I can remember. This year was filled with so many new friends for her~ and our social butterfly has enjoyed every minute of it. She is learning to read and I am pleasantly surprised at how well she is doing. She is doing mostly first grade work.

Brant has been making such large strides in spite of his dyslexia. I am so proud of his progress. It has not been easy at all. We have both cried our fair share of tears, hung on for dear life at the end of our ropes, and climbed our way back up. This year, our little man played Quarter Back for his football team. He did such a good job and it was pure joy to watch him week after week.

Drake is turning into a teenager before our very eyes. This year, I have seen him struggle with saying good-bye to the child and try to find himself as he grows and matures. He could not be more excited as the first signs of facial hair begin to shadow his lip. If you know Drake at all, you know how THRILLING this is for him. He has wanted "man hair" forever! He aged out of rec ball this year and joined a Home School football league {AHSA}. It was precious to see the transition. He still has a lot of growing to do over the next few years, but I am eager to have a front row seat to see how it all unfolds! He struggled so much at his first practice and it was simply amazing to see my kid doing such a good job by the end of the season.

Karli has had such a wonderful year. She has not ceased to amaze me. With the help and support of so many of you, our family and cherished friends, she was able to attend Model & Talent EXPO this past summer. The experiences she had there both rocked her to the core and strengthened her spirit. She tried out and made the competition team at her dance studio. Every single week it is evident that all of her constant hard work is paying off because she is consistently improving so much as a dancer. It's been so special to see her finding herself and settling in to who she really is~ and it's even more beautiful to see her drawing close to God and building a personal relationship with Him.

Freddie & I celebrated 21 years of marriage this year. I am proud to stand next to this man as his wife. I love him more each and every day, and I pray he feels the same way about me. This year we were able to go on a family vacation- our first one in four years. It was an amazing time and we completely enjoyed every moment. As a family, we were able to sponsor a little boy from Honduras. He is a precious six year old and we pray God's favor on his life. The kids are so excited to love on him in letters and share God's love with him. I spent a lot of this year giving of myself and my time. I have gotten back so much more than I could ever give. It has been so important for me to be a good example to my children this way. This year I also reached a personal goal of reading the Bible through. It was a lovely experience and I hope to go deeper into Scripture next year. Freddie has been working as hard as ever, and our hope is for him to be able to take a little more time off and work like "normal" people are supposed to. We are continuing to be committed to becoming debt free and look forward to what God has in store for our family as we faithfully serve and worship Him.
This year has had it's share of challenges and disappointments, but it has given us BLESSINGS running over! We are honored to have made so many new friends and share another wonderful year with old friends and family. We enter the new year in prayer for you and yours for health & favor for the New Year. Thank you for sharing 2013 with us. You are forever a very important part of Our Story!
Merry CHRISTmas and Happy New Year!
Love~ the CALVERETTE's

Merry CHRISTmas from the CALVERETTE Crew!

{our year in pictures in no particular order}

New Year's 2013

my goofy girls

Ariel

someone turned FORTY this year!

Karli's awards from the Model & Talent EXPO 1st Runner Up: DANCE; 1st Place: SWIMSUIT; 1st Place: RUNWAY

Brant's faux-hawk

reading a book for FUN!

CYT: Karli was in a scene from The Sound of Music

Brant's birthday trip to the movies

photo shoot for MT EXPO

Car Wash fundraiser

Karli & Drake's birthday party

my April babies

Easter bunny is brave to show up at the hunting club

my little Picasso

Painting with a Twist with friends

appendicitis scare

dinner to celebrate Daddy's birthday

our meteorologists

this is how we play

duck lips

I'm gonna miss this

bow hunters

Aub's birthday party

Drake and his pet iguana, Elvis

vacation: New Orleans

oh, you know, this is just what dancer's do when they are waiting in the car

vacation: Destin

and we've got asthma

new friends

first day of football practice. High School football is serious

what she loves

dancer

joy

one proud football mom

my love's still got it

rescue

me and my love!

my life.

May 22, 2013

Wow. It's been over a month since I've written here.
I've thought about writing MANY MANY times, but life has had other plans.
I miss it. Writing. Sharing my heart.
But, sometimes, other things take precedence.

It's been a year full of activity so far.
And I LOVE it.
Every second of it.
It's like I always say, "If I didn't have everything to do, then I'd have nothing to do."
I'd rather be busy than bored any old day.

We've celebrated several birthdays so far this year.
This guy turned "41".

He was the "Ghost of CHRISTmas Past" for our Tacky CHRISTmas Party.

This guy turned "12".

Love those snuggly moments I have with him. They are entirely too few and far between.

This girl turned "14".

She's just as pretty on the inside as she is on the outside.

This guy is about to turn "10" in a couple of weeks.

He's undergone a "makeover" recently.

I had the best Mother's Day a couple weeks ago. It was all about ME and I spent a very nice RELAXING day with my favorite people!

My girls have been hard at work practicing for their dance revue, which will be on Father's Day. I cannot tell you how proud I am of them. Karli has improved SO much this year. Her efforts have really paid off and it shows not only in her skill, but in her confidence as well.

And, I am proud to announce that we officially have a HIGH SCHOOLER in the house!
Where has the time gone? It seems like only yesterday I was dropping her off at Kindergarten.

Drake is finishing up the last of his school as I type this.
By this afternoon, he will officially be a 7th grader!

Brant will be starting 4th grade in the fall.
But that is not what I am most impressed with about him.
I could have cried when I saw this:

Brant has dyslexia and has struggled to learn to read efficiently.

Yes. You are seeing correctly. He is actually reading a book independently! We have worked SO hard this year and I tell ya, I could not be more proud of him.

Aubree will join the ranks of the full time home schoolers in this house this fall as well. I've not decided if she will be considered a Kindergartener {because we worked through the Kindergarten book this past year} or a 1st grader. By age she would be going to grade K, but I think she may be ready for bigger things. I plan to complete the Reading Lesson with her this summer. I will use Singapore Math and Learn at Home Grade 1 for the rest of her curriculum in the fall.

The older kids will all continue {Brant will use it for the first time} to use Switched on Schoolhouse. We love it. It works very well for our family.

We will also be taking our first FAMILY vacation in four long years!!! You cannot possibly imagine how incredibly excited I am about this. We toyed with several different options. In the end, based on everyone's age height {Disney got ruled out on this criteria}, and ridiculous aversion to flying {okay, only ONE of us suffers from this and Freddie he will remain nameless} and the fact that I just could not imagine my family on a cruise ship, together, at the same time, we are going to go somewhere that I have actually never been to {which my kids are amazed by because, in their minds, I have been everywhere}. We are going to Panama City Beach, FL. I found a resort with tons of activities for the kids. I cannot wait!

Karli will be taking her very first plane ride this summer. We are going to Mike Beaty's Model & Talent EXPO. We've been raising money all year doing things like this:

And this:

She's been working hard and praying for God's will in preparation for this incredible opportunity.

In addition to all of that, this year has also seen things like this:

And this:

A little appendicitis scare.

And this:

Oooh, and this:

I'm FINALLY remodeling my bedroom! It's girly and rustic at  the same time. A perfect blend of Freddie & I.

As you can see, we've been squeezing every drop we can out of this life. I am so blessed to be able to share it with some of the most amazing people on the planet. I am so excited about summer. We're working on getting the pool ready and looking forward to NO SCHOOL! Hopefully, I'll have a little more time to sit down and share my life and heart with you here more often.

"The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." 2Corinthians 9:6