We pray that you all had a beautiful Christmas. There is so much hope this time of year, and the light and warmth of the season remind us of our only true HOPE — that Jesus Christ was born to live and die and rise again so we could live with Him forever in eternity. We cling to the HOPE that this brings, no matter how chaotic things in this world may be.

.

Furry friend department: We’ve added some fun farm friends this year, so below are a few photos of the new additions. Not pictured are the three goats, two horses, two rabbits, several more chickens, a few other cats and our dog, Hazel. These are just the new additions from 2022. We don’t call it Abundant Life Ranch for nothing! There is certainly a lot of life around here, and we pray this place blesses everyone who comes to it with abundant life spiritually as well. (John 10:10 is our theme verse: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”)

We pray that you all find many blessings in the new year, and if you find yourself near the Driftwood, TX area, come visit us!

Blessings from,

Todd, Michelle, Abby, Datiya & Luis, David & Alex, Nina, Enoch, Lillah, Simeon, Jedidiah, Hezekiah, Toviel, Eden, Daniel and Haddie

After the busy holiday season, it’s time to sit down and reflect on 2020. I know 2020 was full of challenging circumstances and heartbreak for so many of our friends and family. We pray that this Christmas, no matter what 2020 brought, you were blessed by the wonder of the Child born to bear the sins of all the world. We, as a family, have so much to be thankful for. Even though Covid brought some separation and challenges for us, overall, we have remained healthy and employed, and for that we praise God. Here is a little rundown with a few details about what everyone is up to or into these days.

Datiya, 21, graduated from Texas State in December 2020 summa cum laude with a degree in Recreation Therapy. She passed her exam and is now a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS). Datiya completed her internship at a psychiatric hospital in Dallas, and she has been offered a full-time position to continue working there. Datiya is excited to get her own apartment and begin life after college.

David is 20 and thriving as the loudest, proudest member of the Texas A&M Aggies. He is a junior majoring in computer engineering. We enjoyed having David home for most of the spring and all summer. He was an intern at Intel again this summer, and worked at a desk in our home right next to Todd (like 1 foot apart) all summer, which they both enjoyed. Todd roped David into joining his workouts a couple of times per week. David just ordered his Aggie ring, which is a big deal for any Aggie. He has also secured an internship for this summer working for a bank.

Nina just turned 19, and she is a hard-working Texas Tech Red Raider! Nina is technically a sophomore, but she is on track to graduate early, majoring in Kinesiology with a minor in Spanish. Nina is still trying to decide what she wants to do in the future, but she is planning to either go to medical school, or possibly graduate school to become a PA (physician’s assistant). Nina has been very busy during her break working and shadowing a doctor and a PA in Dripping Springs. She worked really hard Fall semester to earn a 4.0 GPA.

Haddie just had her 18th birthday. She was so excited! Haddie is still making progress learning how to use her AAC device to communicate verbally. She was able to tell me what she wanted for birthday breakfast (pancakes), birthday dinner (enchiladas and corn casserole), and what gifts she wanted (a dress and pants). It is really huge for her to be able to communicate that! Haddie continues to live up to her nickname, “Happy Haddie,” as she is always smiling and laughing. She enjoys speech and occupational therapy and learning at home with mom. Haddie is great with kids, and Tovi adores her. She can often be found outside on the porch swing watching the boys play soccer or jumping on the trampoline with Tovi or Eden. Haddie loves to color and draw, and bestows her works of art upon everyone around her with great regularity.

Eden ia 17 and still our chatty girl. She loves to be in the middle of the action, and has many questions about everything that is going on around her. Eden is steadily making progress through math and still learning to read. She can read easy readers with a little help now, and is learning to read and follow recipes. She and Haddie make a great team and are both very hepful around the house, Eden always works hard in school and she loves doing her speech and occupational therapy via an online platform. Her new favorite game is Sorry, and she can often be found racing around the board with Tovi and Haddie playing ‘the game of sweet revenge” as Tovi likes to call it.

Enoch is 17 years old, and a junior in high school. He is playing soccer on a select team and doing well with that. Enoch began taking some classes at Austin Community College this fall and aced his two classes there. He is taking a combination of classes at One Day Academy, home, and through a weekly academic and discipleship group called School of Champions. Enoch will compete in Lincoln Douglas debate as well as a couple of speech categories. At this point the speech and debate tournaments will be online. Enoch works at TCBY and has gotten some experience working with our family’s mechanic.

Lillah is 15, and so ready to turn 16 in April so she can get her driver’s license. For now, she is sticking to terrorizing her parents as she learns the ropes of driving with her learner’s permit. Hopefully, we will all survive, and by April she will be an expert driver. Lillah is in 10th grade, getting perfect scores in Chemistry at One Day Academy as well as taking a combination of other classes through ODA, home, and School of Champions. She was thrilled to be assistant construction manager, architect and worker building a beautiful barn where her horses can stay in luxury and health. These days, if she isn’t reading in her chosen spot at the kitchen bar, she can be found hanging out with her horses in their snazzy new barn (check out the pictures at the end of this post).

Daniel is 13 and in the 5th grade at Sycamore Springs Elementary School. He is doing remote learning this year so far, and it has proven to be a huge blessing for us. I don’t know what it is–maybe being around more during the day, or maybe the fact that I’m more involved in his schooling and I’m involved in rewarding him directly, but the remote learning seems to have opened a new door for Daniel in bonding with us as a family, and especailly with me as his mom. He is a whiz on his new AAC device (as of last spring), and often puts words together to form interesting and unique thoughts that show us what he is thinking! Daniel is funny and loves getting laughs out of people. He is very social, and enjoys waving at all his friends on the class Zoom calls. He will now use his device to say, “Mom, I love you,” which makes me want to cry. We’ve come a long way in 4 1/2 years.

Simeon is 13th and in the 8th grade. He can usually be found playing soccer outside with his brothers (our youngest 4 boys make up what I like to call the “boy sQUAD”) or riding the ATV or new dirt bike the boys got for Christmas this year. Simeon continues to be very acrobatic, and has fine-tuned his back-flipping abilities. This guy is also an excellent student, very diligent to complete his work and do his best. He is doing some school at home and some through School of Champions, which he loves. Simeon is competing in Team Policy debate and speech this year, and we are trying to figure out the new online competition forum. Simeon also loves to pray, so he and Todd go on runs together every week during which they spend a lot of time praying for friends and family. We are encouraged to see him reading his Bible every day, and often I’ve seen him leading his younger brothers in a little Bible study before bed (all his idea). He is finally outgrowing mom as of the writing of this letter.

Jedidiah (Jed) turned 11 in September. He is our resident cat lover, so he wanted his picture to have one of our kittens in it. Jed and Simeon have gotten into hunting the last couple of years, and they both got two decent sized bucks this deer season. They will enthusiastically eat anything I make with the venison they bring home for us. Jed continues to be a witty, energetic kid, often making us laugh with his comments or stories. Jed loves playing soccer with his brothers and looks up to Simeon, aka his best buddy, a lot. Jed is in 5th grade, and I’m very glad we homeschool him so he can be kept interested with lots of hands on projects. He enjoyed learning about the 50 states and capitals and he created some interesting videos about some presidents for our presidents and elections unit. Although he was disappointed that he couldn’t play baseball as planned last spring, he knows he is very blessed to have so many brothers to play sports with at home.

Excuse me while I just…can’t with this photo of our (not-so) little Hezekiah (Hezi) who just turned 9 in November! Look at him! OK, but he’s more than just the precious blond curls and big brown eyes. Hezi is a very sweet, loving boy. He will generously give gifts to everyone on birthdays and Christmas out of his own belongings or if he has the money, he will buy something. It’s the cutest thing. He loves building with Legos, playing soccer and football with his built-in BFFs (his brothers), and learning random facts to share with everyone. Hezi got so into our unit studies on the US and presidents that he would read extra books and watch little videos on YouTube to learn more. Then when we would be talking about something, he would chime in with his amazing knowledge about it all. He recently played a role in our family’s winning of a Zoom Jeopardy game with extended family.

Toviel (Tovi) is 6, and growing up way too fast. He is bright, capable and determined. Tovi is whizzing through 1st grade, easily completing his school work every day, and reading far above grade level. He is athletic, and as the youngest member of the boy sQUAD, holds his own out there on the family soccer/football/baseball field. Tovi is competitive, and still remains very driven and determined to learn and keep up with the older members of the boy sQUAD. He very often wins Ticket to Ride (Jr), Battleship, and Sorry, and he is very good at negotiating with Eden and Haddie to get them to play games with him. Tovi is a delight to everyone in our family, constantly saying adorable, precocious things and charming us all with his winsome smile. It is so dang hard not to spoil him. It doesn’t help that he loves his mama, and will just randomly come up and give the best, sweet hugs and kisses. I am always praying that he will grow up humble, kind, and a man after God’s own heart. I pray similar things for my other boys and the girls, too, of course (women after God’s own heart :)).

Todd and I are doing well. Covid-19 brought fear and hardship for our country, and uncertainty for so many people, and it also brought our children all home for months! Abby was the only member of our family who wasn’t at home for an extended period of time through the spring and summer. Todd and I have really enjoyed the slower pace of life and the extra time with our older children home. Todd has been working from home (still at Intel), and he has used the extra time at home, not having to drive children to and from sports, etc., to tackle large projects around the house and property.

Since we had most of the older children home (aka free labor), Todd decided to pave the circle on our driveway. Pretty much everyone got in on the fun (er, work), even some helpful and useful boyfriends. After trying his hand at pouring concrete for the driveway, Todd decided to build a barn for our animals. Lillah had been dreaming of and drawing designs for a barn for literally years, and she was the architect/designer of the project. She and Todd bonded over every aspect of building the barn, and all hands were on deck from the beginning — building up the ground for the foundation–to the end–roof and painting, and everything in between. This has been a huge project, and Todd led the crew (aka, our family) in every stage from foundation to the roof. We did not hire subcontractors for any aspect of the project. The only outside people were the guys who drive the concrete trucks and poured it out. It turned out beautifully! Todd continues to be the best dad ever, and I just had to include this picture of him playing “Deal or No Deal” with the kids Christmas Eve (an annual family tradition) to come up with the wake up time for Christmas morning (he’s on the phone with the “banker”).

I (Michelle) am still a busy homeschool mom. With 4 children who have graduated from high school, but 9 left at home, I’m still pretty entrenched in the work of homeschooling and raising kind, civilized little humans. Eden and Haddie and are working on their academics at their individual levels as well as life skills. The boy sQUAD and I have been enjoying a States and Capitals unit, along with a unit on the US presidents and elections. This was a superfun year for that, wasn’t it? We have also spent the last few months reading the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings series. We are three chapters away from finishing the last book, and then we will have a movie marathon and feast, which we did following our reading of the Hobbit with a weekend movie-marathon of all three movies complete with a themed feast. It was so much fun, Can’t wait for the next feast. Besides the work of school, I have taken advantage of the extra time and new online platforms to complete 3 more Les Mills trainings, so I am now certified to teach Les Mills Body Combat and CXWORX (now called Core) and I am currently working on my certification for Grit and will hopefully pass my assessment within the next month. I am not currently teaching, but I am hoping to start again soon. One highlight for me in 2020 was promoting to Black Belt in Kuk Sool Won in May. This photo is of me with the cake Datiya won for me from a local radio contest for Mother’s Day!

It’s definitely a challenge to keep a letter about all 15 of us short, so if you’ve hung in there till the end, thanks for reading it all! I’m including some more photos from 2020 below. Enjoy!

It has taken me several days to finish writing this letter and compile all of the photos. Over the course of these days, so much has happened in 2021 already. So much craziness, division, and uncertainty seems to be the new reality. We pray that despite this rocky beginning, 2021 brings many blessings to you all, and in the midst of the chaos and discord that is surrounding us in our great nation right now, we pray that we can all see past the differences in views, opinions, and convictions to the hearts of those around us. Let us find hope in the Lord this year and place our trust in Him. I know that no person nor any government will save us, only Jesus, and only the God of the universe, Who holds all things in His hands. Peace to you all in 2021!

Love,
The Erdner Family
Todd, Michelle, Abby, Datiya, David, Nina, Enoch, Lillah, Simeon, Jed, Hezi, Tovi, Eden, Daniel and Haddie

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

A few days ago, I went on a run with my dog, Teddie. She saw me getting ready for my run and was standing by the door, tail wagging eagerly as I was about to make my exit. I couldn’t refuse those begging brown puppy dog eyes. Teddie is a pretty energetic dog, and as we began our run, she loped alongside me with ease, at times even bounding ahead of me. However, as the minutes ticked by, and we settled into the monotony of the run, she began to slow down a bit. Teddie is usually pretty good for the first two miles. Sure enough, right after the 2-mile mark, she began to drag her feet a bit more. She wanted to stop every few feet and smell the flowers and the grass, or chase the deer that had just darted into the woods ahead of us. I was annoyed and just wanted to keep on going. I had set my goal for a 4-mile run that morning, and I was not thrilled that now I had a 45-pound weight to coax along behind me. My attitude shifted between wanting to just give up and go home and the desire to drag Teddie the whole 4 miles with anger and resentment being the product of both.

I was frustrated that I had decided to bring Teddie in the first place. I should have known, and truly I had known, that she would slow me down. I dragged her along, unwilling to give up my goal of running four miles. I was wearing myself out struggling against poor Teddie, and even my arms began to ache as I switched the leash from hand to hand while attempting to get Teddie excited about running a little faster. My struggle against my situation was proving to be rather fruitless as Teddie was definitely winning the battle over who would be in charge of the pace at which we would be running.

Slogging along with my sweet pup while the sun was slowly rising, bringing along with it some good old fashioned Texas August heat, I began to think about how this run could be compared to other times in my life when I’ve struggled with the situation in which I have found myself. Many of the choices I have made in my life have actually led to hard things for me. They are not choices that I regret, but they are choices that put me in a position where I would have to sacrifice, work harder, and at times change my planned course or the pace at which I believed I could accomplish something.

I chose to follow Jesus the spring of my Junior year of college. I really didn’t know at that time, the cost of this choice. I have lived a very abundant and blessed life, but following Jesus has definitely meant that I have had to alter the attitudes, dreams and plans I once held to. No regrets here, but my life’s path dramatically shifted in my very early 20’s. I have not looked back. This has been the foundational choice of my life, following a Way that doesn’t reflect the ways of this world.

I have a Stanford education, and I chose to pour all of that knowledge into these amazing 13 people with whom I have been blessed as my children. Sometimes, I have felt like I did that morning with Teddie on my run–like I am being held back, like I want to go a different direction, like I am struggling against what my choices (and my blessings) have brought into my path. Over the years, however, I have learned to lean into these things and stop struggling against them. I have embraced the challenges, learned to go with the interruptions, found the joy in slowing down and checking out the scenery with my children. Together we have smelled the flowers and chased the deer. Instead of seeing this lifestlye as dragging me down or holding me back, I have seen how it has grown my character, helped me understand prioritizing what truly matters in life, and made me so much the better for it all. In my 20’s, I could have pursued a career that would have fulfilled me in a different way, and if that had been the path, I’m sure there would have been abundant blessings for me in that as well. But this is the life God has given me. He blessed us with baby after baby; He called us to homeschool them; He clearly called us to adopt three children with significant special needs. Some people would say I have given up the best years of my life to build into these lives. I could have put them in school, gotten a nanny, spent a lot more time pursuing things for myself. I could view them as dragging me down. My mom used to give me lots of ideas of things I could do as a “job” while staying home with my kids–I was always the daughter she thought would have an impressive career. I could have done so many great things with this tremendous Stanford brain. If I had dwelt on that too much, it would have felt like dragging my dog on that leash for my 4-mile run–inconvenient, slowing me down, cramping my style. I chose to see it differently.

That morning, just a few days ago, while I was running with my dog, I chose to see it differently. I slowed my pace, I let the leash out a little bit more so I wasn’t pulling Teddie so forcefully; so she could have a little more freedom. We became a team again. I listened to the day waking up, the different bird calls around me in our little rural neighborhood. I slowed even more to watch with Teddie as a bushy-tailed fox crossed the road just ahead of us. I smelled the beautiful morning air. I finished my 4-mile run. Yes, it was a bit slower than my usual brisk pace, but I did finish. I actually enjoyed it. When we arrived back at our long, gravel driveway, I let Teddie off of the leash, and she bounced ahead of me, back towards home. I laughed out loud as it occurred to me that maybe my style was cramping hers the whole time as well. Regardless, when my attitude shifted, so did my run. And I enjoyed my time with a little grey-spotted pup who forced me to slow down and drink the morning in fully.

I look at what lies ahead in my life. I still have many, many years ahead of homeschooling children, and I will have even more years ahead most likely, loving our children with special needs who will always require special care and attention. But these days, I actually am more free to pursue some interests that are for me. I am singing at church again after many years of being unable to do so. This past May, I promoted to 1st degree black belt in Kuk Sool Won martial art. I am taking a couple of classes that interest me, and I can share the things I am learning with my own little crew of students. We are entering a new chapter. Thus far in life, I feel as if nothing has really dragged me down. The sacrifices and the challenges have lifted me up. And all I see ahead is more beauty.

• 

 “Adversity is not simply a tool. It is God’s most effective tool for the advancement of our spiritual lives. The circumstances and events that we see as setbacks are oftentimes the very things that launch us into periods of intense spiritual growth. Once we begin to understand this, and accept it as a spiritual fact of life, adversity becomes easier to bear.“
– Charles Stanley

It’s that time of year again, when I’m late with the “Christmas” card, and end up writing a New Year’s greeting. 🙂 We hope you have all had a lovely Holiday Season. We have had a special time this year with some travel before Christmas, and a wonderful time of celebrating the birth of Jesus. So here’s a “quick” update on our family for your reading pleasure.

Abby graduated in May (a year early!) with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She turned 21 shortly after graduation and passed the NCLEX. Abby had been hired during her final clinical rotation, and upon passing the NCLEX she officially began her job as a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit at St. David’s Northwest Austin Medical Center. She is currently working nights, but is hoping to get put on day shift soon. Abby’s caring and cheerful personality makes her a wonderful nurse, and she is perfect for the ICU, which is not an easy place to be. When searching for Christian friends her age, we came across a ministry called Abby also began attending Coffee House Austin, which is a young adult fellowship that meets in North Austin. She really enjoys being involved in that ministry, and was asked to be on the leadership team. She is very excited to be joining a group led by our former pastor to Israel this Spring. We’re extremely proud of our beautiful Abby and all that she has accomplished through her hard work and dedication. We are excited to watch her future unfold before her.

Datiya turned 20 in October. It seems strange that we now have two children in their “20’s.” Weren’t we just in our 20’s? Datiya decided to to leave the ACC Vet Tech program after completing her first year (with flying colors–she just realized it wasn’t what she wanted to do). She transferred to Texas State University and was accepted into the Honors College. She is working towards a degree in Recreation Administration with a concentration on Recreational Therapy. She is on track to graduate in December of 2020. As a fun bonus, Datiya is planning to travel to Australia in the early part of the summer to study abroad. As part of her degree program, Datiya has been able to volunteer at the memory care community where my dad is a resident. That has been really special. Datiya’s fun sense of humor and wit keeps us laughing whenever she is around. We are excited to see where her adventurous spirit paired with her very versatile degree takes her in the future.

David turned 18 in December, and got accepted to Texas A & M University where he is now the “loudest, proudest member of the fighting Texas Aggies, aaaaayyyyyyyyyyy! Ay!” I have honestly never met anyone more excited to be in college at a particular University. David lives and breathes Texas Aggie spirit. It is very cute. This past summer, David pulled off getting a paid internship at Intel. He was Todd’s chauffeur to work every day, and it was a real blessing for both of them to get to work together. We are happy to report that David has already been hired again for next summer. Another notable event for this young man was that he participated in a mission trip our church hosted for our young adults to minister in Guatemala. He was able to go with Nina, Enoch and Lillah. They had a very special time. He finished his year last spring qualifying to Nationals in speech and debate in 5 speeches. He is currently helping out at a speech and debate club in College Station and is really enjoying that. He is doing very well at A & M, and he recently got a job in campus cyber security. We will see how that goes. David is a delight and we are very proud of him.

Nina is newly 17 but still going on about 25. She is very capable and has a couple of “mom jobs” where she does everything from caring for children to cooking meals and doing housework. Unfortunately, those skills aren’t necessarily put to use in our own household because she is so busy! She loved the mission trip to Guatemala over the summer, and she often says she misses her time there. Currently, Nina is very busy completing her high school requirements this year and earning college credits through Austin Community College. She is also doing Mock Trial this year as well as competing in speech and debate. She is a junior this year, but has a hankering to graduate early and begin her studies to become a surgeon. She applied to a few colleges this fall, and has been accepted to Texas Tech. She is waiting to hear back from a couple more universities. Nina is a bright, funny, and very mature young lady. I’m hoping she’ll get into UT so she can stay close to home. She and her mom are very close, so it will be hard to let her go too far. We have very mixed feelings about letting Nina graduate early. We enjoy having her around, and it’s a bit shocking to have 4 kids graduate from high school in the span of 4 years! Regardless, it is wonderful to see the beautiful young woman Nina is becoming. We know God has great things planned for her.

Enoch is 15 as of July, and he is Mr. Social. Enoch makes friends easily and is somehow really good at getting what he wants. I guess that’s a good skill to have in life. Persistence is the name of the game with Enoch. He doesn’t give up easily, so he is successful at many things. The good news is, he’s really generous and shares pretty well. If he buys food, he always asks if I want some. He often buys a coffee for one of his teachers at One Day Academy just to bless her. Pretty sweet. Enoch continues to enjoy playing select soccer, and he spends a lot of time practicing and juggling the ball. He is also a very good student. Enoch will compete in Lincoln Douglas debate again this year as well as a few speeches. Over the past summer, Enoch not only got to participate in the mission trip to Guatemala, but he also went on a soccer travel trip with US Revolution to Norway and Scotland. His cousin was on the team with him, and his Uncle accompanied them on the trip. They had the time of their lives. It was so nice for him to be able to spend that time with his cousin and uncle. Enoch is a really amazing kid, with so many things going for him: great personality, confidence, brains, and he is kinda cute to boot! It’s fun watching him grow into a young man.

Lillah is 13, and will be 14 in April. She remains as sweet as she can possibly be. Lillah is a horse lover extraordinaire. She now has 3 horses in her care at our little ranch. She helps out at the barn where she rides whenever she can. Lillah is a loyal friend, and her friends all love her. She can make anyone feel comfortable. The little brothers all look up to Lillah, and she is still their “captain.” Lillah and Simeon have had the opportunity to be part of a homeschool discipleship group run by a pastor at a little church not too far from our house. That has been a huge blessing for them this year. They are learning a ton and having loads of fun as well. Lillah is increasing her speech load this year and hoping to compete in 4 speech events. She wanted to debate as well, but we haven’t been able to find her a Team Policy partner. Lillah was the youngest member of the Guatemala mission trip this summer, and her favorite part besides ministering to the beautiful people there was, of course, meeting different animals there. She even befriended a chicken she named Pablo. Lillah is still very horse crazy. She also plays soccer and takes ballet, tap, modern and drama at Dance to Glory dance studio. Lillah is sweet, compassionate, and, even at 13, has remained very innocent, which we really love about her. She can stay young and innocent for a bit longer–that’s OK with us! Lillah is becoming a lovely young woman inside and out, and she really loves God and learning about Him. We are delighted with our little lady.

Simeon is 11 1/2. He is very charming with a big smile, and a fun, endearing manner about him. He is the one all the little boys look up to, and he’s so loving and caring with Tovi. They call each other “Buddy,” and it is just the sweetest thing. Simeon is very athletic, playing soccer on a select team for the first time this year, and continuing to impress everyone with his gymnastic abilities. Simeon can often be seen jumping on the trampoline with the younger boys, doing tricks and back flips. Simeon also continues with Kuk Sool Won martial arts and is on track to earn his black belt in the next year or so. He is very bright, and learns things easily. When he wants to learn about something, Simeon simply checks out a book about it at the library or reads about it on the internet. Recently, Simeon has developed an interest in baking, and we enjoy the goodies he makes whenever he gets the urge to create a new baking creation. He is also the healthy Smoothie King of the household. It is a pleasure to see Simeon growing into a young man who loves Jesus and is trying to please him. He is generous and cheerful, and he is a good buddy not only to his siblings, but also to his friends. We love his kind, loyal personality.

Jedidiah is 9 as of September, and he is the most hilarious person. He keeps us all laughing most of the time, unless he’s getting into major trouble. He has been our most accident-prone child, sporting scars from 6 different sets of stitches or staples on his head or face alone. He added a 7th round of stitches over the summer after stepping on top of a glass aquarium. This time, he expanded his repertoire to include 27 stitches on his calf. Jed plays soccer, which he really loves, and he is also working towards becoming a black belt candidate in Kuk Sool Won. Jed is maturing and beginning to really get into school. He is quite a math whiz, easily working through several pages per day in his math book. Jed competed in his first Juniors speech tournament last spring, and he placed 3rd with his cute interpretation of the poem “Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out!” He is quite expressive. Jed is very thoughtful for such a young guy. He pipes up with little nuggets of wisdom for us all the time. Recently, we were driving home after a long day of outings during which I had been trying to civilize my bunch of little boys. Jed was sitting up front, and I was asking him if, after seeing me dealing with all of their antics all afternoon, he could understand why I sometimes can get frustrated. He nodded sympathetically and said, “Mom, when I’m having a hard day, chocolate helps.” Yes, yes, it does Jed. We love our bouncy, energetic little Jed.

Hezekiah turned 7 in November! It’s hard for me to believe our little ones are getting so old now. Hezi is in 2nd grade, and is doing really well with reading and math. He is inquisitive and able to figure out where to find the information he needs. I always say if you can teach a child how to learn for him- or herself, he or she will excel. Hezi seems naturally good at math as well. It’s fun to see him easily navigate through his books. Learning is such a cool thing to be a part of as a homeschool mom. As for sports, Hezi became our first baseball player ever. He played Spring and Fall ball. He told me last Spring that he was retiring from soccer to play baseball, but that he might decide to go back to soccer someday. It was a nice change of pace to sit on the bleachers and watch his games. We really enjoyed it. Hezi is sweet and sensitive. He asks for snuggle time every day and still sleeps with his little bear, “Bear Walker.” We love having this precious boy in our family.

Toviel is 4 and will be 5 in April. He is no longer a baby although we call him our baby. He is quick to remind us that he is a big boy. And that he is. We are always joking that Tovi is good at everything. The reality is, he is really good at things. If there is something he isn’t good at, he will practice over and over until he masters it. I’ve never seen a more coordinated 4-year-old. Tovi can ripstick, ride a bike, play soccer, swim like a fish, and ski better and faster than many of the other family members. This summer while we were in Destin for a family vacation, Tovi wanted to learn how to stand on the boogie board in the pool. He tried again and again for over an hour until he could stand on that boogie board. He did the same thing to learn how to ride the ripstick. He spent a whole day falling off the ripstick and getting back up on it again until he could speed around the couch with the older kids. It’s truly amazing, the determination that drives this little 4-year-old. We can’t wait to see how this little wonder continues to grow and mature. We are all smitten with him. We can’t help it.

Eden is 15 and doing well. She chatters away in English all day long. She is full of questions as well as answers. Eden is helpful and sweet and super obedient. She is eager to do school and is learning to read! She also can do math at a kindergarten level, and is progressing well. Her fine motor skills are developing well, and she works really hard. Eden loves going to therapy. She has speech, occupational and physical therapy, and is making improvements in all areas. Eden loves to help Haddie in their school as well. Daniel really responds to her, and she is very sweet and patient with him. We are very blessed to have this sweet girl as our daughter.

Daniel is 11, and he LOVES going to school at our local public school. They moved him to the 3rd grade this year. He spends most of the day in the Special Ed classroom, and about 30 minutes each day in the mainstream 3rd grade classroom. He rides the special needs bus, and he absolutely loves it. The bus driver has created a little incentive chart to help him learn to behave on the bus. It has worked really well for him. He sometimes struggles with behavior at school, but overall he has improved with his behavior. I love seeing him interact with kids at the school. They are all so sweet and accepting of him. He has learned to be more comfortable on the playground, and now he can swing without freaking out. Daniel still struggles with connecting with the family, which is really hard for us, but we are loving him and giving him a place to belong. All of the other kids are really sweet to him. His favorite sibling is definitely Eden. He shares a special connection with her.

Haddie will be turning 16 in just a few days. We had thought about changing the kids’ ages with a readoption, but decided against it after finding out they can receive some insurance benefits when they turn 21, so it’s better to not do that. Haddie is still severely delayed. She still barely speaks. It seems like she puts together what is being said to her and around her by taking in body language along with the words, but we’re not sure how much she truly completely understands. She gets by for the most part and she can play with the younger kids without needing to talk much. They all make it work and don’t seem bothered by it. Last Spring, we were able to find someone who could evaluate her in Mandarin (this has been a huge hurdle). We discovered she only says about 40 words in Mandarin. She couldn’t tell a story from pictures and she also only puts 2-3 words together at a time in Mandarin. This was very eye opening for us as we try to help Haddie with learning and language acquisition. Learning is very slow for Haddie, but she is making some progress. She can identify most of the letters of the alphabet now as well as the sounds they make. Counting is still very difficult for her. She has worked very hard and can now reliably count to 5 using signs and words, but she starts to get confused starting with the number 6. I am really excited because she is eligible to receive a communication device through our insurance and the speech therapy office. I am really hoping this device will help to unlock her ability to communicate. She needs a lot of repetition, and the device will allow her to choose pictures of words she wants to say and put them into sentences that she can then click on. The device will say the sentence for her, and she can try to repeat it. It will be wonderful to get the device and see how it helps Haddie. She is sweet and happy, and pretty compliant. She loves doing her school work and is helpful with chores as well. Haddie seems very happy to be part of our family and we love her. She shares a special bond with Tovi. He says she’s one of his best friends.

We had a bit of a shock in early September when Todd went to the hospital with chest pain and found out he was having a heart attack. I got a call from a nurse on his phone, which was very disturbing. I could hear him in the background telling me not to freak out. Needless to say, I freaked out. I rushed out the door and made it to the hospital in downtown Austin where he had been taken by ambulance from the hospital near our house which isn’t equipped with a cath lab. The doctors were able to quickly get a stent placed in the LAD artery, which was 98% blocked. Thankfully, the doctor said there was little to no permanent damage to his heart. We did find out that the main cause of his heart attack was that his blood was thickened and clotting. After a series of blood tests, we found out that he has a rare blood disorder that causes the bone marrow to make excess red blood cells. This condition is treatable by having blood drawn periodically to balance the volume of red blood cells and keep the blood from hypercoagulating. It has been quite a bumpy ride adjusting to the idea of all of this. Ultimately, we are just so very thankful that God spared Todd’s life and that He led us to discover this blood disease that could have caused even worse complications if left undetected.

I continue to homeschool the children and work with our speech and debate club. I am training for another half marathon, and I’m thinking of trying to work towards running a full marathon sometime. Right before Todd’s heart attack I went through training to become certified in Les Mills Body Pump. The day after the training, Todd had the heart attack. I didn’t think I would be able to complete the certification process, which involved team teaching and sending in a nearly flawless video of myself teaching Body Pump. I was able to finish the process in the weeks after Todd came home from the hospital, and I became a certified Body Pump instructor in November. I am now teaching classes at the YMCA.

We are so blessed in this crazy, full life. and are thankful for our friends, family and our church. We are happy to announce that we have started a YouTube channel to share our crazy adventures. We would love it if you would subscribe to our channel and share with your friends and family. By subscribing, you will receive an email letting you know whenever we post a new video (it doesn’t cost anything to subscribe). We are very entertained by our crazy family, and we are thrilled to share it and some positive family energy with the world. You can find our channel on YouTube by searching Erdnerds or by clicking the following link (to our intro video):

We hope that your holidays were filled with joy and wonder and that 2019 brings many blessings your way.

 

I’m a debate mom.  During tournament season, our family spends at least one long weekend per month traveling around Texas or Oklahoma to participate speech and debate tournaments.  This activity is a centerpiece of the home education for our children.  I love and value this activity greatly. I’m always trying to recruit my friends to join us.  Granted, competitive speech and debate requires a lot of commitment to keep up with all that goes into participating.  One of the things with which we must keep up is all of the debate attire. Our home isn’t always the cleanest, most organized place, to put it lightly. (Why not?  I only have 13 children..haha) I have a few systems in place to help things run smoothly, but let’s just say I can’t sail that ship without the crew on board.  And my crew often isn’t on board with my neat and organized plans.  When it comes to debate attire, we have a hanging area by our washer and dryer where the kids used to keep their tournament clothes.  However, there was so much stuff hanging there, and not all of it fit someone at any given moment, so I told all the children of competition age to move their debate clothes to their own closet and keep track of it there.  A few days before each tournament, we gather all of the items that need to be dry cleaned.  Each student is responsible for his or her own debate clothing.  Should be easy enough, right? Continue reading Sometimes it’s the Little Things →

As you can imagine, my husband and I are often told we are crazy for living the way we do.  We have “tons” of kids.  We live on a farm.  We live a little differently from most people we know because we are trying to stay debt-free.  The list goes on and on.  I often reflect on this idea that we are crazy.  Sometimes I wonder myself if we really are crazy.  The truth is, sometimes I think that as believers, we will be called to do things that the world around us—even fellow Christians—will think are crazy.  Todd and I are always learning to not care what others think and to do what we feel called to do, regardless if it makes sense to anyone else.

Lately, I have felt as though God will soon be calling us to do something crazy. We need to move out of our comfort zone and follow Him. Sometimes, we need to be like Abram, when God called him to leave his family and the only home he had ever known, and go to a land God would show him.  The blessings that followed Abram’s simple faith and obedience still continues to bless the world today. Think about the blessings we miss out on if we only stay within our comfort zones.

What if what God is calling you to do something that feels absolutely crazy?  The timing seems wrong.  The finances seem wrong.  You just can’t see how the logistics will work out.  Instead of just telling yourself that you can’t do it, I want to challenge you today to step out and do whatever you feel He is calling you to do.  Take the first steps.  They may be baby steps that become bigger steps.  God will show you the path.  He sees the future.  He will take care of all the details.  I urge you today to ignore the voices of the doubters in your life.  They aren’t the voice of God.  The doubters will want you to stay in the comfort zone with them, but God wants you to dive on in and watch Him do His thing.  Imagine if Moses had really just gone ahead and turned God down when He told him to go to Pharaoh.  This morning, my pastor taught out of the book of Judges about Gideon, the “valiant warrior” who really wasn’t so valiant in the beginning.  He made excuses, just like Moses.  Anything to not step out of that comfort zone.  But Gideon ended up trusting God and taking that leap of faith.  He became a hero and watched God win the battle for his people!

Today, think about the something crazy God may be asking you to do, but don’t think too long or hard about it.  Take the steps, dive into the deep waters of trusting God, and see how He will work and bless you in it!  I will do the same, and let’s compare notes later.  I for one don’t want to sit on the sidelines and miss out on the Great Adventure of following God’s will for my life, foolish or crazy as it may sound right now.

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 1 Corinthians 2:14

I never really expected to write so much on here about spiders.  But, hey, I live on a farm in Texas.  There are spiders everywhere.  And since I introduced my little (make that, huge) morning friend in my last post, I am going to need to finish the story.  Before we left on a short vacation last week, I went out to milk the gals, and to my horror, this is what greeted me (please excuse the poor quality of the photo–I didn’t have my camera with me; just my phone):

I have never seen anything quite like it.  I couldn’t figure out what had happened.  It looked like another gigantic spider had come and attacked Charlotte, and she was hanging there apparently dead. The other spider appeared to be dead as well.  It was blowing around in the wind, apparently very lightweight.  I stood there for a few minutes, trying to see if there was any life left in either spider, but they were just hanging there, Charlotte’s legs heavy and limp; the invader blowing around in the breeze.  I took a shovel, and tried to tap the spider’s web to see if there would be any movement. Nothing moved except the brown spider, as the breeze continued to push it this way and that. Finally, I used the shovel to take down the web, since it seemed that the spider was dead.  The lightweight brown spider kind of flew away in the wind, and Charlotte dropped to the ground, where her legs began to move a bit.  She was obviously not actually dead, but was on her way out for sure.  I tried to pick her up with the shovel (because I sure wasn’t going to touch her with my bare hands), when this little lady came over:

And just like that, Charlotte became part of Chicken Little’s breakfast!  Ah, the drama of farm life!

I later did a little research and discovered that my spider was an “argiope aurantia,” also known as the yellow (or black and yellow) garden spider, or a writing spider (so the name “Charlotte” was fitting for her).  I also discovered that she was indeed, female.  I read that the male argiope aurantia is smaller and brown.  I am guessing that the brown spider that was blowing in the wind was the male.  After mating, the male of this species dies within 15 minutes, and the female sometimes even eats the male.  I don’t know exactly what happened for sure, but I guess that maybe the male fought with Charlotte and she died in the process as well.  I wish I had a better picture to add to the internet collection I found, because I didn’t see anything at all like it in my searches.  I may still add the photo just because it’s so unique.

All that remains of the web that used to hang above me as I milked my goats are a few stray strands blowing gently in the wind.  I can’t say I really miss ducking under that web with it’s rather large occupant, and I certainly don’t miss wondering if she will descend upon my head at any moment while I am milking.  But when I see those remaining strands, I think of that monstrous spider every morning.  Kind of crazy, but it’s true.  Just like the rest of my life!

I’ll leave you with my favorite (and completely unrelated to this post) quote from last week by one of my younger boys.  My 8-year-old said to me one afternoon, “Hey, mom, we should go to a spa today! Because, sometimes I just want to relax!”  Yeah, me too, buddy.  Me, too.