What have we been up to this year you might ask? Well, let's see.
In January we started off the new year announcing the upcoming arrival of baby #6; We celebrated the 4th birthday of our sweet, bouncy, little boy Jacob; In celebration of my sweet niece, & wonderful neighbor girl twins' birthdays' we took an afternoon off and visited the local beauty school for some much needed pedicures & paraffin wax treatments!
In February we took the first steps at putting our house on the market (haven't finished that one yet - hopefully soon); Misty had outpatient surgery (pregnancy related); and well, that's about it!
In March I'm sure we did something interesting, but nothing is showing up on my electronic calendars so I better check the paper one. OH, I almost forgot an INSANE (Last Minute) trip we took. We found out a few days prior to Spring Break that our cousins were also on Spring Break the same week so I decided to surprise the kids and drive them to AR for a quick visit! Yes, I'm am crazy. I took my pregnant self, my 5 kids, & my niece (who was a HUGE help) and drove all night long to AR. We left about 2:00 in the afternoon and arrived at my parents house about 6:00 am the next morning! Our plans to surprise my mom worked out perfectly! She was woken up by her grand-kids singing, "So Rise and Shine, & Give God the Glory, Glory,...) We had such a great time (except the two days that my niece and I were sick).
And there was the season premier of Dancing w/ The Stars! I love to watch it but have found that some of the judges comments can be crude and provocative, so I try to mute it when they speak. When I watch, I sometime feel that I too could dance if I just tried, then I remember that I'm not too quick on my feet, and say well, maybe not. JD and I did take Ballroom Dancing together when we were dating, so maybe that is why I enjoy watching it so much!
In April Jonathan and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary! He (somehow) convinced his brother and wife to watch our 5 kids for a weekend so we could go celebrate. We went to one of my favorite places: Asheville, NC. (I'd live there someday if I could). Our church owns a cottage in the mountains called Rand Cottage so we were able to stay there for the weekend. It was so beautiful and we had such a nice time doing pretty much nothing but relaxing. We did a puzzle, cooked as little as possible, went shopping,I got a prenatal massage, drove around and looked at real estate (too bad retirement isn't sooner), and JD wanted to take me to the shooting range (THANKFULLY or shall I say LUCKY FOR ME, they didn't allow pregnant women there)!
And drum roll....the highlight of our trip: Our last night at the cottage (remember it's our 10 year anniversary get away) we decided to have a nice romantic dinner (well, it was left-overs, but we were together) on the rocking chair front porch with the cool evening mountain breeze blowing through our hair. After dinner we took our dishes to the kitchen to begin cleaning up and we hear footstep (very near) and then heard a voice (one we recognized)! We knew that there was a group coming in the following day to stay for the week, but it was not the following day! Well, 3 "wiser" couples from church decided to come up the night before their retreat to get the cottage ready for the group that was coming the next day. Who would have guessed that being "interrupted" on an anniversary weekend getaway would be such fun! These three coupled have a few years on us and a ton of great stories. The cool thing about it is that we typically don't cross paths with these couples at church, so we were able to get to know them better and now share an experience with them!
In May, not a whole lot went on. Jonathan's mom came in for a visit at some point. While she was here we were able to celebrate Lizzy & Andrew's school graduations, spend lots of time with cousins, and eat at Pelican SnoBalls at least once!
In
June our hand bell choir performed a "Sweet Music" night to raise money for the Adoption Ministry at church. We played several songs and provided desserts for our guests. I also was able to advance my sewing skills by taking a "Make a Tuffet" class. There was 7 hours of class time and about 5 hours total of sewing time to complete this little tuffet. But I loved EVERY moment of it! I got to learn a new trade and took home a beautiful piece of furniture (well, it was for my niece, so I only see it ever so often), but that's okay I've got a few more started. You can order you custom one
HERE.
The kids participated in VBS once again this year, and I DID NOT! I had volunteered the previous 3 years and I decided that this year I would take my maternity leave and stay close to home. I always enjoy the music cd's the kids bring home and hearing them sing about God's word.
We also took the kids to the annual LMHT Associates Durham Bull Baseball outing (JD's company)! This is always a highlight of our summer! We only lost one kid this year and poor Charlie (once found - waiting patiently by the elevator of the parking deck) said in his sweet and quiet little 3 year old voice, "I was lost." Thank you so much Lord for protecting him from danger and allowing him to be "found" by honest folks who waited with him until we returned.
In July, not much was planned but...God had other plans for us! On the morning of July 4th we had planned a "Men's work day" here at the house in order to get some projects tackled for getting the house on the market. My brother-in-law planned to come over the night before so he and JD could get all the tools ready, move needed furniture, take down shelving, etc. to be prepped and ready to go very early the next morning. Well, just a couple of minutes before my brother-in-law knocked on the door, my WATER BROKE. When he knocked on the door (carrying a rake, a backpack, and other assorted tools) I greeted him saying, "Change of plans! You get to babysit!" Off to UNC we went!
Bed Rest it was! Nothing unfamiliar to me! It was like old times (5W01) only now Antepartum is on the 3rd floor. I spent several day there "waiting" and eventually started showing signs of infection. So they decided it was time to deliver. By the time that I was in full blown labor I had a 104+ temperature. NOT EXACTLY FUN! Needless to say, when they check me and I was only 5cm dilated, I opted for my first ever epidural. It ended up being such a blessing as I was able to deliver ASAP so the doctors could administer the needed antibiotics for my infection.
Margaret Jane Dupree
July 7th, 2012
4lbs. 9oz
17 1/2" long
Maggie spent 8 days in the NCCC @ UNC (also a very familiar place).
My mommy was able to fly in a few days later and spend a couple of weeks here to help out transition baby Maggie home! It's so wonderful to have family who is ready and willing to give of their time to come and help out when needed.
We also celebrated Cyndi's 2nd birthday this month too!
In August it hits and it hits HARD. You would think that after you have a baby things would slow down a bit but when you have 5 other kids to tend to, there is NO STOPPING. We had appointments after appointments. We had decided to transition all the kids to UNC Pediatrics and they were all in need of their yearly check ups anyway, so I tried to stagger the appointments where I could take a few at a time. This is where large family logistics can get a bit challenging. Sometimes it works, and other times, you must ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES, and do with it what you can. (i.e.when you suddenly find that you end up having to take ALL 6 kids with you to an appointment - I almost canceled it, but realized that school would be starting a week or so later and knew it would be that much more difficult to go then). To top if off, we woke up late that morning too! I just threw everyone in the car and drove through Burger King on the way in for some breakfast. Once we got to our room at the doctors office we literally had a breakfast picnic on the floor. The kids enjoyed that a lot. Before we left UNC we stopped in at the Butterfly Garden on campus and I used my new DSLR camera (WOOHOO - Happy Birthday me - August birthday) to take a gazilliion pictures of the kids. It was so much fun. They were climbing trees, playing with pinwheels & wind chimes, and I even let them play with the small water fountain too!
Lizzy and Andrew had been practicing all summer long for the summer musical "Race to Win" at church. They had several performatces in late August.
Jonathan's mom was also able to come in to help out and did get to see one of the kids performances.
Andrew go signed up for baseball and LOVES it!
A week before private school started back we decided to homeschool. YES...can you believe it? So you may be thinking that we are CRAZY but some friends told us about a new thing that Abeka has available. Online Streaming. The kids log in everyday on their computers and participate with an actual class (pre-taped). They have a teacher, and fellow students in their class. My job as the parent is to "facilitate". Each night I look at the next days lesson plans and pull the needed workbook sheets, and any arts/crafts supplies they might need for the day and have it ready for them the next morning when school starts. I will also grade and test and send off the needed paperwork each quarter to Abeka. It's a pretty sweet gig!We are two days in and everyone loves it. The kids woke up today and before we made it down for breakfast were asking if it was time to start school.
Okay, so you are now up to date on our lives...a year in a nutshell! I wanted to start a new blog and start over. I feel that I'm in a new place in my life, physically, mentally, parent-ily (if that's a word), and spiritually and wanted to introduce more joy into my life...and one of the ways I find joy is in words. I love to type, talk, share, and take photos! As you read earlier I now have a DSLR so there will be MANY more photos to come...BEWARE!
If you are new to following the Dupree Clan, you may be interested in kowing a bit about us before this year. You can read our old blog
HERE.
In His Love,
Misty Dupree
