Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Excitement and Exhaustion

Excitement! (And Exhaustion.)

Yes, there's always a lot of excitement-- and yes, even exhaustion-- around here on a constant basis.

New House

In case I haven't mentioned it, we moved to a new house in the middle of June. It is quite literally a HUGE blessing. I have friends I've known for years who have lived in this neighborhood and in the same house plan, and I still pinch myself to think that OUR FAMILY gets to live in a home as big and beautiful as this one. It even has a BASEMENT, which is rare and hard to find here in AZ. (They dig pools, but not basements... It's a mystery I've never been able to understand about this place.)

It's a six bedroom, 3 bathroom home, complete with a food storage room, a BIG basement family room, and a garage. Our back yard is small, but with so much room inside, that hasn't been an issue. There's a park down the street, lots of tree-lined biking paths, and even a couple community pools. We already know several people in the ward who are part of our homeschool group, and we hold our weekly homeschool group classes in our new house, as well as in a few other friends' homes on the same block.

Yeah, we are sacrificing more money each month to live here, but I feel so blessed! We still really miss our friends and ward family in Chandler-- that still feels like our "real" home-- but we're settling in here and are enjoying the indoor space we now have.

Birthdays

July, August, and September are full of birthdays and craziness. We've had a bit of breathing room the last few weeks before our baby turns one in the middle of October. Now I can post some birthday pictures!



Brennan is now legal!



Ronan, in his new racecar-driver suit,
 made courtesy of Morganne and Granna



My handsome husband:
We celebrated our 21st anniversary in mid-August!


Lliam has been working out, and I think he likes his new weight set!

                                 
I am now in my last year before the big 4-0!
(Playing with a 1940's hair-do)


Our Bonny got one BIG present for her 15th birthday, and she loves it!

Excitement and Exhaustion

Last, but not least, I got a BIG surprise in August. I never thought I would have the blessing of bearing a dozen beautiful, healthy children, but now it seems I get to be blessed even more...

We are now expecting a new little one-- our number 13-- sometime near the end of April. My guess is that it's another little girl, but we shall see! 

I am humbled... and tired... and excited! What a blessing it is to be a Mother in Zion!!! I am amazed at how much love and trust the Lord has given me. I obviously still have MUCH more to learn! I will do my best to be the mother my Father in Heaven wants me to be.

But first, I will probably take a much-needed nap...

Love, Mama Rachel



13 comments:

  1. Rachel, I knew you would have 13 and I so happy for you and the amazing person. you are. Heavenly Father knows who he can trust his Spirit Children too.

    Love Sister Andrews

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  2. Congratulations on your pregnancy and your new home! What great news!

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  3. Squee! More baby love! Congratulations, praying for an easy and uneventful pregnancy for you. ((HUGS))

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  4. Congrats on another baby! I swear everyone I know is having a baby at the end of April! I hope you are feeling well.

    Yay for a nice house too! Coming from a big family myself I know space (and bathrooms) are so nice to have.

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  5. Congratulations on number 13. We are expecting number 8 in January...I firmly believe that finding your blog was in the Lord's plan for me. It was at a time when I was so closed about adding more children and your words and willingness taught me so much about motherhood and our divine purpose and allowing the Lord to bless us with more children. I will be forever grateful for your blogs and especially for the fact that your lifestyle is reflective of the thoughts that you teach. On a side note, I have a Lliam too, and no one ever spells his name right. They always leave out the second L. Anyway, congrats on all the fun changes you are experiencing. And just so you know, there are big house and great wards up here in N. Phoenix ;)

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  6. Congratulations! You are a very blessed woman with a wonderful family. Huzzah!

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  7. Congrats on all of your exciting changes. I hope you get plenty of time for good naps In the coming months.

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  8. So proud of you, Rachel, and so very happy for #13. Don't you sometimes just sit in awe at the blessings Father has given you? Thanks for being such a great influence in our family. You are truly an inspiration to all of us! Love you so much - Aunt Deanna

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  9. Congratulations! Go get a much needed nap...and possibly a nice relaxing bath! ;)

    Horray for your new house. What a blessing!

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  10. Looks like I will be an Auntie again. Yay for number 13 Keppner!!

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  11. Congratulations!!!! What a blessing!

    I'm happy for your new home as well. It's sounds dreamy. :)

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  12. Just came across your blog and enjoyed reading a few of your posts. Baffles me how you do what you do and have time to blog. I only have 5 kids, but between that, homeschool and my calling I can't seem to even get the pictures off my camera anymore, let alone onto a blog! Even when I did, I barely could spare two hours of time a week to blogging. (And I don't even PINTEREST!) Kudos to you for finding a way to do it. Some day....some day

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