Hello Friends and Family,
It seems this year has been one of full of surprises for the Fox family! It's not every year that both a baby and a burglar make a grand entrance into your world. Both surprised us, but thankfully neither surprised God. God knows just what we need. And while one surprise was certainly easier to love than the other 😉, we have been changed by God for the better by them both.
More about Ian below, but we were surprised to find out in February that we were expecting our fifth child! That's not to say we don't know how it happened 😊, but God surprised us a bit with the timing.
As we mentioned above, we were shocked to come home late one Sunday afternoon in March to find that someone had broken into our home. It was one of those surreal moments in life that is hard to explain after the fact. It took quite a few weeks to clean up the mess that left a busted back door, insurance claim, and threat of identity theft. We can genuinely say though that God gave us a sense of peace through the whole situation that can only be attributed to His goodness and grace. It was an experience we hope we never have to face again, but one that drew us closer to the Lord and each other.
While we're on surprises, we were shocked to find that our children continued to grow in 2018...at what seemed to be an increasingly rapid pace! Of course, anytime you add a new baby to the mix it makes you realize just how much older your other kids seem, but it really was "just yesterday" that each of the older four were born, and now look at them!
Lastly, we needed to be reminded often this year that our "surprises" are never a surprise to the Lord. The new baby, the break-in, it’s all part of the plan God had for us this year. We may not have seen them coming but God did, and for that we're extremely grateful. In fact, we wouldn’t go back and change a thing.
More about Ian below, but we were surprised to find out in February that we were expecting our fifth child! That's not to say we don't know how it happened 😊, but God surprised us a bit with the timing.
As we mentioned above, we were shocked to come home late one Sunday afternoon in March to find that someone had broken into our home. It was one of those surreal moments in life that is hard to explain after the fact. It took quite a few weeks to clean up the mess that left a busted back door, insurance claim, and threat of identity theft. We can genuinely say though that God gave us a sense of peace through the whole situation that can only be attributed to His goodness and grace. It was an experience we hope we never have to face again, but one that drew us closer to the Lord and each other.
While we're on surprises, we were shocked to find that our children continued to grow in 2018...at what seemed to be an increasingly rapid pace! Of course, anytime you add a new baby to the mix it makes you realize just how much older your other kids seem, but it really was "just yesterday" that each of the older four were born, and now look at them!
Lastly, we needed to be reminded often this year that our "surprises" are never a surprise to the Lord. The new baby, the break-in, it’s all part of the plan God had for us this year. We may not have seen them coming but God did, and for that we're extremely grateful. In fact, we wouldn’t go back and change a thing.
Here's a little year-end update on the fam:
Our biggest little blessing this year...
Ian Titus is super sweet and so far putting on weight faster than any of the other children. This is a big answer to prayer as Liza did not eat well and stressed her poor mother out for several months (all of you moms will understand). So far, his personality seems to be fairly laid-back, but we are only six weeks in, so we shall see! It has been a reminder of just how much fun it is to have a newborn in the house and the kids have all LOVED to hold and love on their little brother.
Liza turns 4 in May, is as cute as can be, and currently holds the status of being our loudest and most dramatic child. We were worried that she would need a sister to help balance out the testosterone in the house, but she is quite capable of holding her own around these boys. She won't be pushed around for a moment and if feeling threatened, does not hesitate to pull out her secret weapon of "The Sonic Scream" to disable her opponents long enough to make her escape. She is taking up all the responsibilities of caring for "her baby" in stride and has no trouble making sure he knows when he's supposed to be sleeping or awake. Liza decided to save all the "terrible" from her twos and transfer it to the "terrible" threes for a double dose of excitement this year. Whew! It has been quite a challenge to establish who exactly is the reigning matriarch of the home on a day-to-day basis. We are still sorting this out on occasion, but thank the Lord, we are slowing seeing some improvements :)
Owen is our smiley toothless child these days. He turns 6 in February and has been learning how to read this year (which also couples as a great way to put mommy to sleep on some days). He’s learning what real schoolwork looks like and honestly, he’s making good headway. But 1st grade just isn’t as fun some days as kindergarten used to be 😀. Owen has a tough job as the youngest of the three boys and has to work daily to make sure his older brothers know he’s a big boy too! Most of our struggles revolve around wanting to be big enough to tease back and forth with the older boys, but then not knowing when to take it as teasing or when to take it personally. It's a fine line for sure when one is making his way in the world with older brothers! He does have at least one claim to fame around here...he has got the most deadly forehanded frisbee throw of any of the boys and frequently puts them to shame anytime they play frisbee golf.
Seth turned 8 in July and is becoming our resident pianist. He and Blake started taking lessons a few months ago and we can see his skills improving. He enjoys playing for fun (which we think is super cool) and it's fantastic to see him even composing his own songs from time to time. Seth also shows an aptitude for thinking deeply and being aware of what God is doing in his and others' lives. If Seth is not tinkering on the piano, you can often find him kicking the soccer ball outside and practicing new moves. He and Blake got to try soccer for the first time this fall and had a blast.
Blake, who turned 9 in July, continues to impress us with his academic prowess. He is blazing through his sixth-grade math book and currently learning how to multiply and divide decimals. He still has a passion for reading and surprises us with random facts that we never knew we needed to know, like “The Statue of Liberty has Morton’s Toe which means her second toe is longer than her big toe.” And now you know too! Blake showed a new side of himself this past spring when he played a leading role in the play Charlotte’s Web at Alamance Fine Arts Academy. He memorized around 60 lines and enjoyed every minute of it! Blake is super helpful around the house and does a great job of taking initiative. Having said this, it's always hard as a firstborn to understand that taking initiative around the house does not include taking initiative to parent for us 😉. His desire to help the other two parents in the home enforce the rules runs deep, but he's learning more and more each day what it looks like to give his siblings some grace.
Micah and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary this year! Every once in a while we look at all the kids around us and ask ourselves, "Are we supposed to feel like grown-ups now?!" We still often feel like kids ourselves! Is that normal? Micah is still at North Star Marketing and thankful for the incredible team he gets to work with. Even after nine years, he still really enjoys sales and the relationship building that comes along with it. He also continues to serve as one of the eight elders within our church and is grateful for the way this experience has not only opened up new doors for ministry, but has also grown and stretched his own faith in many ways.
I am keeping busy in my roles as wife, mom, school teacher, and homemaker (all full-time jobs :), and also serving part-time on a women's ministry team member at church and as graphic designer/marketing assistant at Alamance Fine Arts Academy. The "mom" aspect of that job description makes up the majority of my time, especially the past six weeks as I have taken care of my newest sweet little bundle 😀. Now that Ian is here, I find myself totally addicted to holding him and staring into his eyes and wouldn't want to be doing anything else! Such a sweet time and so fleeting. I think the longer you are a mom, the more you realize just how quickly they change, and it helps you enjoy each moment even more. I feel like I'm finally learning how to relax more as a mom as well. I'm finding I'm stressing less about the spilled soup and instead spending more time focusing on the kid's hearts. Still, I have a long way to go, but God is faithful to bring me a little farther along each year that goes by!
One of the highlights of our year came in September when we got to host my family for two weeks for a Shoemaker Family reunion. Scott was home from Japan on leave so we thought it'd be a good excuse to get everyone together and it was a blast! We had a cozy time with nine adults and nine little kids (ages nine and under) running around the house. It certainly made the house seem just a little bigger when we had to say goodbye! There's something special about being with your family and being reminded that although we all continue to grow and change, our love for each other hasn’t!
Our big project this year was opening up the walls between our kitchen, living room, and what now couples as a dining and school room. With homeschooling and taking care of five little ones, the extra open space has been a huge help! We also added a window from which I can more easily see the kids in the backyard. So nice!
Hope you all are doing well out there! We don't know what surprises 2019 will hold, but we know that HE is never surprised and has us in the palm of His hand no matter how much we’re caught off-guard!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Foxes!
Love,
Micah, Kari, Blake, Seth, Owen, Liza, and Ian.
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6
