This has been a busy and momentous year for our family thus far. Justin and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary on the 3rd of this month. We were able, thanks to some wonderful sisters-in-law, to get away for the night. I am so incredibly thankful that I am still married to my best friend, and my lover. We can hardly believe it has been 20 years already. Sometimes, we still act like a couple of teenagers in love. Just ask our kids, who are grossed out by our affection for each other on a daily basis. This is not to say we get along perfectly, or that things have always been easy. But we still like each other a lot, and for that we are thankful!
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| THEN: On our wedding day. |
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| NOW: On our 20 year anniversary. |
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| Senior Picture 2014 |
The next day, our oldest son, Seth (who will turn 18 in August), graduated from the Idaho Virtual Academy, surrounded by many supportive friends and family. His father and I are incredibly proud of the godly young man he has become. He has a passion for youth ministry, and will be attending Boise Bible College this fall.
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| The high school graduate and his very proud father. Jarod, who turned 14 in April, just completed middle school and promotes to high school level in the fall. Micah turned 12 in May, and will be promoting to the 7th grade. Gideon turned 9 in January and is going into the 4th grade. Titus will turn 8 in August, and will be going into the 3rd grade. Isaac, who just turned 5 years old in February, has already been doing Kindergarten level activities, as he enjoys being a "big boy" and doing school time with his brothers. He will continue with this in the fall. We are still homeschooling. The older boys school through the Idaho Virtual Academy, and the younger boys work with miscellaneous curriculum. |
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| Here are Jarod & Micah, after they gave their science presentations at May's IDVA school fair. We were delighted to see Mrs.Baillie, who was their former on-line elementary school teacher. She was always a big help to me and was with us for many years. Both boys were awarded blue ribbons. OTHER HAPPENINGS: Just before our anniversary date, Justin ventured out into the mountains with the 5 youngest boys for an over night back-packing trip. Seth was off with friends for the night. I was completely alone in our house overnight....for the very first time in almost 18 years. It was a little difficult for me emotionally, but also very good for me. God drew my heart to rest in Him. The boys & Justin all arrived home the next day, healthy, dirty, and happy. We recently had to say goodbye to our sweet old lady dog, Scout. She was very sick, and it was her time. She was survived by some very sad Sturgeon Aunties, Grandma, 6 very heart-broken boys, 1 sad mommy who tried to fix her, but couldn't, 1 sad yellow lab, and 2 ambivalent cats. I told Justin that we really needed some sack-cloth and ashes, because there was weeping and wailing in this house, all day long. That was a sad day. We will always remember what a faithful, slightly neurotic, sweet old girl our little Scout was. In late April, my mother, Deanna, developed pneumonia, along with some other infections. She was critically ill, so I took the 3 younger boys (and left the 3 oldest with my husband), and drove immediately up to WA to be with her. Cousin Regina & her husband Chris graciously let me stay with them for the week. They only live 5 minutes away from the hospital, so I was able to spend all of my time with Mom. Through the prayers of many, and good medical care, she pulled through & is doing much better now. We are are so thankful to God that she is still with us. My younger boys were such good sports, and behaved so well in the hospital for hours and hours on end. Cousins Regina & Emily were life-savers, and watched the boys some of the time. My older boys were angels, and got so much school work done while I was away. I didn't get to see many family members, especially on Justin's side of the family, since I was not there for a vacation. Fortunately, my own father, sisters, brothers, nieces, & nephews were around the hospital frequently, so I was able to see some family. Even though it was a bit of a frightening time, it was also a good bonding time for my family. On February 14, we traveled to Las Vegas to attend my sister Gloria's wedding. I was her maid of honor, just as she was in my wedding! She also asked me to sing during the ceremony. Afterwards, I realized that I have been privileged to sing in all 3 of my sisters' weddings! Gloria was a gorgeous bride. She married Elmer, a very kind and fun man. Many Haukaas family members could not be there, but I was delighted to see some of my cousins, aunts and uncles there. I am so happy my sister has found love and companionship. The boys LOVE their new "Uncle Elmo". Welcome to the family, Elmo!!! We love you! |
What we're up to:
Justin and I are currently having semi-regular Bible Study in our house (co-leading with another couple) on Tuesday nights, and are volunteering in the high school youth group on Monday nights. Justin is mentoring a couple of young men in the youth group, and I have found myself very attached to the girls in my care group. I am no longer playing keyboard or singing with the "SweetTarts". I am now playing worship (& occasionally singing) in the Celebrate Recovery Band at our church on Friday nights, which is a blast. I am also co-leader in the Life-Support group (dealing with relationships, and other emotional issues), and will be starting to co-lead a 12-step class in a couple weeks on Sunday nights. Justin is on the hunt for a new job, and excited to see where God will lead him. We both are growing closer and closer to Jesus, and can't wait to see what he has in store for our lives.
I'm somewhat sorry to admit that, even with all these boys, we really are not involved in sports. The boys are not on any teams, and we do not really watch sports very often. I realize that is completely un-American, but that just hasn't been a priority, which is OK because we can't afford it for 6 boys anyway. However, we do TONS of camping every Summer. There is daily tree-climbing, scooter-riding, tree-swinging, and other such adventures in the back yard. I don't think our boys are too ruined. ;) They have also all discovered a deep love of reading. Seth enjoys history pod-casts, and audio books. Jarod and Micah have recently discovered the genre of fantasy, and all things dragon-related. Gideon is enjoying The Hardy Boys. They all love music. Seth is a classic rock buff, and plays a mighty mean bass guitar, as well as acoustic guitar, and electric. Jarod and Micah both can play a few songs on ukulele, as well as guitar. Gideon has a drum set and loves to practice when he remembers to do so. Isaac and Titus do a great job shaking their shakers....sort of to the right beat. ;)
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