A visit from Nana and Papa

 Nana and Bapa offered to come up to visit and help out the last week of February. It was great to have their company and their help. Dishes were magically cleaned, Legos cleaned up, books were read, kids were spent time with, returns made to stores, and cabinets were fixed. Bapa spent a morning with Robbie exploring the woods behind our house, which Robbie really enjoyed. They took each of the kids out on a date again, which was so sweet.

Reading with Nana. 

Bapa introduced lion hunts to the kids. The older kids loved them but Benjy was slightly scared, so Bapa made it into a lion tickle hunt.

 

We also got to celebrate Bapa's 76th birthday! For lunch that day, I made a little smorgasbord of things that Bapa likes. Here he is eating a tomato, peanut butter, and mayonnaise sandwich. I bravely tried one, and it wasn't bad.

Here we also have graham crackers and milk, turkey and mayonnaise, dulce de leche and apples (that Mom brought up). I sadly did not make bread and milk or toasted cheese sandwiches with our initials written in ketchup, a Dad classic.

So fun to be with my parents, and on Dad's birthday, too (not sure when the last time that was).

We celebrated with chocolate cake.

So thankful for these two wonderful people!

Bapa got to open presents with some eager helpers.

January and February 2021

2021 is in full swing. Below is a sampling of some of the things going on 'round these parts.

We're expecting a baby! Due in August. I've had some bleeding with this pregnancy (a subchorionic hemorrhage) that has caused me to get more ultrasounds at this point than I've ever had before, and it's amazing to see pictures of such a teeny person with little nubbins for arms and legs only a couple of inches long (this picture was taken a couple of months ago now, I believe). The kids were all very excited to find out we were expecting, and they've been patient with my feeling nauseated for so long.

Clara celebrated her sweet sixteen birthday!

Her Aunt Amie sent her a lava lamp and putty, Aunt Heather sent her some clothes and goodies, lots of cousins and family sent cards and well wishes, and she got a dance jacket, earbuds, and an iTunes gift card from us. Quite a haul.

One Sunday Michael proved his Lego skills are still going strong when he built these for the kids.

Speaking of going strong, Robbie's rattail is becoming a mullet, and he likes feeling it and "taking care of it" by brushing it. I am slightly concerned about its longevity.

The boys helped make valentines for some older folks in our ward one Sunday.

I appreciate the sweet moments when the kids are interacting so nicely.

These months have been filled with lots of drama about screen time ("Unpause the Wi-Fi!!" is a continual refrain from #1) and lots of phone selfies, but Clara is handling Covid days the best she can. I am thankful that she can go to school two full days and two half days. She really needs the routine that school can provide. Zoom seminary has been tough. But we're making it through.

Speaking of making it through, I made this poster based on Elder Jaggi's General Conference talk about patience and counting it all joy. I've been writing things on it most days, looking for the good things that happen. There truly is good happening all the time despite the challenges each day brings. I am especially grateful that I'm not morning sick during beautiful spring days when the kids want to be outside and I just want to lie down.

We have one sticky key and I was opening the piano to check it out. The kids were fascinated by the piano innards and it brought all of them over for a bit as we experimented with what it looks like when the keys are played.

Henry got new glasses! He wasn't thrilled about the difference at first ("I look weird!" he said), but then he he told me excitedly that he could see me out of the sides of his eyes (poor kid couldn't see peripherally when his glasses got too small). 

We drove to Mason, Ohio to the Great Wolf Lodge to play with Wright, Heiss, and Armstrong cousins there. It was wonderful to see family despite the stress of Covid. Benjy wanted to do all the big kid activities. 

Taking a break poolside.

L'Anita and Abigail and Anne. They are such sweet girls.

Tommy and Tabitha with Emmy and Ian.

Benjy and I taking a snack break. Being pregnant, I was extra nervous about going to such a busy place, but the Lodge's website stated that they would make sure visitors "strictly adhere" to social distancing and wear masks when not actively in the water, etc. Not so much. But miraculously we didn't get Covid, although Robbie did get an ear infection. I can't think too much about the kinds of things that float in that water.

The suite we stayed in was the biggest we've ever had--there were two queen beds, a pull-out sofa, and a separate master bedroom. The Lodge is definitely geared toward families. It was fun to just hang out.

Robbie and cousins Samuel Heiss and William and George Wright.

We especially enjoyed going to the Wright's home in Dayton afterwards for Sacrament meeting and lunch. It was so special as we all partook of the Sacrament and sang hymns together. Definitely a little piece of heaven. 

Future priesthood bearers.

Since we drove home on Valentine's Day, we celebrated at home the next day. I made the pizza this year, so it wasn't as cool as Michael's usual cheese ball crust. But that's okay.

Later that week, we had our almost-16 week ultrasound and discovered that we are having another boy! Incredible to see all these details when the baby is only about four inches long.

I made a giant cookie and Michael decorated it to announce it to the kids. Clara and Robbie were really sad (like weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth sad), but they've come around to the idea. I am excited to have four boys who will have built-in buddies and am glad we can continue the fun boy things. I hope and pray that he continues to develop properly and is born at the right time. I still have morning sickness, but Zofran saves the day and helps a lot. Hopefully it will end soon. No name yet.

Michael's Grandpa Weiler passed away at age 95. I wanted to preserve this sweet card that Robbie wrote to Great-Grandma Weiler. We are hopeful that we can have a memorial service up in PA this summer in person.

Snow!

 We have had a lot of snow and ice this winter. It has been super fun for the kids to play in, and lots of days of school have been cancelled this month.

We got 6+ inches a couple of weeks back. That was the most snow we've had in a few years, and it looked so lovely.

Benjy does not like wearing a winter coat for some reason, but he tolerated it when he understood he couldn't go sledding without it. He and the other boys love eating the snow, sledding, and walking around in the snow.

It was fun to have Clara join us outside, too!

Michael made a sweet snow cave that could just fit Robbie and Henry.

We've even enjoyed sledding in the backyards of neighbors' homes, the Zopps and the Zangus'. 

A week or so later, we got another super fluffy snow with the fattest flakes I've seen. 

And then a few days ago, we got an icy snow that made for some fun sledding despite it only being a dusting. This picture was a quick attempt at my trying to catch Robbie pushing Benjy in the sled down the street after he'd thoughtfully gotten him dressed in all his snow gear. 

It's the end of February, but today it's in the 50s and the snow is melting. The blue sky and sunshine really do make me happy after so many gray days. I know it will get cold again, but we're enjoying the respite for now. There were ice storms in Texas and Oregon and other states where people were without water or power for several days, making me extra grateful for our current situation.

Sixth Annual Weiler Family Awards Dinner

 We opted to hold our family awards dinner on New Year's Eve this year so that my parents could join us. 

We enjoyed Chinese food as we usually do on New Year's Eve but dressed up and ate at a fancier table than we usually do since it was the family awards dinner.

Faces around the table.

Then we went downstairs to watch the London fireworks at 7pm since that is midnight their time. We found out afterwards it was a recording from last year, due to the coronavirus, but the kids didn't know or care.

Then we gave out awards to each of the children.

Clara earned the award for Endurance--this was a challenging year for her, and she kept plugging through despite girl's camp going virtual, not being able to see her friends very often, and being stuck at home a lot.

Robbie earned the award for Flexibility. He adapted very well throughout the year, from having school cancelled in March and doing kind of home schooling, to doing virtual school for the first couple of months, and then going hybrid in November, Robbie has been responsible and borne the changes well.

Henry received the award for Concentration. We noticed this year that when Henry is focused on something, it is laser-sharp. He is doing a good job of folding his clothes neatly in his drawers, coloring and drawing more, etc.

Benjy received his first award for Charm. That about sums it up!

This little imp is quite a charmer.

We closed the night watching Michael's beautiful compilation of video and pictures from 2020 set to music. It never fails to help me realize how blessed we are, despite our challenges.