Florida Trip- The Beach

One of the greatest things about our trip to Florida is that we spent time with dear friends, who had moved from Houston to Florida this past summer.  It was like no time had passed and we had a fantastic time catching up and just having fun, first at the beach, the park, the sea turtle sanctuary, and at their house and later at Disney World.  These are a few of my favorite images from the beach days. 

The older boys working together. 

The girls spent a great deal of time running from the waves.

Jackson sand surfing.

The younger boys playing in the sand.

We wised up and put them in swimsuits the 2nd trip to the beach.

It was cooler that day, but it didn't seem to phase them until they got out of the water.

Darren and Matthew walking in the water.

Florida Trip- Alyssa's Bday Experience

When we first talked about Alyssa's birthday experience for her 7th birthday, she said she wanted to go to a ceramics place to paint.  Though I thought that would be lots of fun with Alyssa, it sounded like a very bad idea for the whole family (Matthew + room full of breakables = bad idea).  Thankfully she changed her mind before her birthday.  Instead, she wanted to go build a bear which is something we could all do as a family.

 

We had planned on doing Alyssa's birthday experience on her birthday, but Jackson had the flu that day, so we postponed it until our trip to Florida.  It was our first time to Build-A-Bear, and Alyssa (and Jackson) loved it.  

 

Alyssa and Jackson picked their bears and stuffed them.

They do a cute ceremony with the heart that they sew into the bear.
This was Alyssa and Jackson making a wish with their hearts.

The finished product.

Aunt Jeannie and Alyssa with her bear in the box.

 

This was Matthew's favorite part of the event--running through the mall.

 

Extra! Extra!

The Hoy House is on the move! 

We are moving to Austin!  Darren has accepted a new job, and will start the beginning of February.  The kids and I will join him after the school year concludes. 

This is our first big life event, post Matthew, and one that wasn't on our long term plan.  But it is funny how life goes, as God kept tapping us on the shoulder, and after a while, it seemed extremely prudent to listen.  And we are very much looking forward to this next chapter.

There are many things we will miss about Houston-- our family close by, our Houston friends, our kids' school friends, my job, Darren's current co-workers, our comfy house, and even our local grocery store, but new joys and challenges await us in Austin!

This upcoming semester will be a busy one, getting the house ready to put on the market as well as the care and feeding of our family in 2 different locations (especially with 4 of us going to 5 different schools), but we are hopeful we are up for the task. 2013 is shaping up to be a very eventful year already! 

1st Day of Preschool

Today was the first day of preschool for Matthew, and as expected, he LOVED it. 

This morning, he ran into the school and was very excited, until I walked out the door.   He cried for a moment or two, but was off having a great time when I stopped back in to check 5 minutes later. 

Picking him up this afternoon, I asked how his day went, and the teacher replied "I can't imagine Matthew ever has a bad day."  We echo that sentiment many times a week-- every day is a good day for Matthew. 

Matthew's first day at preschool!

Backpack on and ready to go!

It was so much fun!
He was asleep within 5 mins of leaving the parking lot.

Happy 2013!

Happy New Year-- belated!  I think this is the longest time I have gone without blogging since Matthew's birth, but I had good reason for the technology hiatus-- we were celebrating!  in Florida!

We had a lot to celebrate--
-the end of 2012, which was a very good year for our family
-the beginning of 2013, which is shaping up to be very eventful and joyous too
-Alyssa's belated birthday experience
-Our family's 8th birthday (aka our anniversary)
and the reason we originally booked the trip
-Matthew's walking (and running, and jumping)!

We left the day after Christmas, and first visited with Darren's Aunt Jeannie and our dear friends, the Randolphs, and then we visited with Mickey Mouse, Lightening McQueen and all of their friends at Disney World for a week, followed by a few days celebrating all things Lego at Legoland. It was a fantastic 16 days! 

I look forward to sharing the details after a much anticipated good night's rest in my own bed!

Merry Christmas

Today, I was reminded that just a few years ago I had feared that Matthew would never see a Christmas.  And this year he ran around, opened gifts, and enjoyed spending time with family.  We are so very, very thankful for our health, our family and our friends.  Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve!

Jackson's class of 5 year olds in his school's holiday program.