What Would Their Names have been?????

Babies, babies, babies...With so many babies around, we get talking about..what else? Baby Names!!!!  It's fun to think back to when I was expecting each baby and remember names we discussed, and names we might've used had they been the other gender.  Sometimes we even changed the same gender name after the birth or, in one instance, after announcing another name!!  So here are the names we thought of for each of our children as best as I can remember (I only don't remember one of them and that is what Daniel would've been had he been a girl)

Naomi Jean:  other girl names we discussed were Natalie and Victoria.  The boy name was Nathanael!

Anna-Renee Ruth:  We had Sarah picked out until my S-I-L gave birth to a girl 6 wks before me and used that name!  I wanted Abigail, Craig chose Anna.  He wanted Anna Ruth (Ruth is after Craig's grandma), I didn't think it flowed so well and wanted Anna Renee.  Craig decided to compromise and named her Anna-Renee Ruth (so her first name is actually Anna-Renee)  Had she been a boy she would've been Jared Ray (Ray was after Craig's grandpa)

Samuel Craig:  Moriah Faith.  (Moriah as in the land of Moriah and Faith for the Faith Abraham had to bring his son to Moriah as a sacrifice unto the Lord)  Why we never ended up using this name?  A: Everyone who heard the name asked if it was after MAriah Carey!!  No thanks.

Daniel Craig:  Originally had Jeremiah Douglas picked out.  Craig LOVED the name Daniel and I very much disliked that name! (you know when you know of someone that gives you the creeps, it becomes distasteful?) Douglas is Craig's middle name, but when we changed the first name to Daniel, I thought it might sound weird to have Daniel Douglas.  I don't know, I now think it sounds just fine! BTW, I love the name Daniel now!!!  for all who may be wondering! ;-)  And, I really don't remember a girl name.

Nathanael Craig:  Julia.  I was reading in my devotions while expecting him and read Romans 16.  Julia is in a list of believers names.  I loved it from that moment on!

Michael Craig:  I really wanted Joshua!  I was thinking that we didn't have any more rhyming names for boys, but Craig convinced me we should focus on the "el" ending....I'm soooo glad we did!!  As "el" means "of God"  Each of our boys' names have great meanings and they are so proud of them!  Girl name?  Julia (of course!)

Julia Katherine:  Gabriel.  But I really wasn't sold on it. (no offense to those who have a Gabriel, I just really didn't like it for a few years!)

Lydia Grace:  Gabriel.  Again, I still did NOT like it, but I knew Whatever Craig wanted, Craig would get! ;-)

Abigail Faith:  Actually was named Amelia for 3 hours!  We had even called our children and told them they had a new baby sister named Amelia Joy!  Three hours later, we called back and said we had changed our mind, her name was instead Abigail Faith! (Why not Joy?  Abigail means "my father's joy" so I didn't want a name that meant, "my father's joy joy")  Boy name:  Tossed between Gabriel, Lemuel, and Ezekiel.

Ezekiel Craig:  SELAH JOY!!!  Fell in love with the name from the beginning of this pregnancy!  Knew someone who had a Selah way back when we only had five kiddos, thought it was pretty, but kind of forgot about it until this time. Was so thrilled when we got the opportunity on the very next baby!

Selah Joy:  Lemuel.  Love the meaning of it!  "One who belongs to God" or "devoted to God"

There you have it, folks!  The story of each of my children's names!  A fun trip down memory lane for me.  And to answer anyone who may be wondering why Craig for all the boys' middle names????  No, it's not out of conceit, but with the name change after Daniel was born, we just thought that we didn't want any of our boys feeling left out of being a name sake of their daddy!  So, we gave their daddy's name to all of them!  And they are so proud of it!!!!

Almost there!

New niece #1, Grace

New niece #2, Amelia

New niece #3, Joanna

We are getting closer to being caught up!  After our crazy week, we had the chance to go and visit family!  The third week of February, we got to meet THREE new nieces!!! We have a new nephew as well but he lives in Utah, a bit far for a week's trip!

Aww, cousin time!

At Fultano's

More cousin time!

Julia and Zeke

Michael and a cousin in Seaside

Wearing Grandpa's reading glasses!

Dad and Daniel at the hat shop..and sporting that broken wrist!

We started the week out with Daniel falling and landing on his arm.  Yes, x-rays proved what my suspicions were.....a broken wrist.  Well, after spending hours at the doctors, we finally pulled out of our driveway all packed up and ready for a week off.  We drove to Astoria, OR where we had our "Christmas" with grandparents and aunties, uncles, and cousins...oh the fun to be had!  We of course went to our favorite spot, Fultano's Pizza twice!  And as we headed out of town we stopped at the bakery and got fresh from the oven cardamom rolls- YUM!!!  From there, we travelled to Idaho and spent the next three nights at a hotel.  The children got to swim, swim, swim!  I found out that Zekers is a bit of a fish!  We enjoyed fellowship with new friends and then travelled to Royal City, WA where Craig's sister and her family live. After a few hours there, we headed on back home.

Zoom in and see my tooth!

Look at the new space in my mouth!

Since getting home, we had couples' retreat and this last week we have worked on getting a routine back to somewhat "normal", whatever that is! ;-) And while one little girl lost her first tooth and is working on losing a second, another little girl got her first tooth and likewise is working on her second!  Milestones everywhere!  So this concludes our February and gets us all caught up on the happenings at the Houston household.

Here's my tooth!

A Continuation...

Continuing with the catching up theme, the second week of February flew by with extreme busyness!  The first part of the week was spent in prepping for the days to follow and recovering from my birthday get away.  Early Wednesday morning, the Houston family rolled out of the sack, got dressed,  loaded into the van, and headed down to our state's capitol, Olympia.  Craig was asked to speak for the Christian Homeschooler's day at the Capitol.  What an opportunity!  There were several hundred homeschooling families that attend every year.  These families bring home made apple pies and the children, 12 and older, deliver them to our Representatives and Senators.  My children's group was even selected to deliver pies to the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor!  Craig spoke on being "salt and light" as Christian's in our nation.  Little did we know beforehand, but the House chose that particular day to vote on the bill for same sex marriage.  We had the opportunity to truly be salt and light that day!  Craig also was asked to give a short speech in the Rotunda, under the dome.  This is a very public part of the Capitol building where onlookers stopped to listen to what was going on.  He was asked to pray over Representatives and Senators that came to address our group.  It was a full day that ended with registering for a speech tournament that my four oldest children participated in.....

Getting serious about giving speeches! ;-)

Soooo, everyday through Saturday, the older children got up at 5 am to prepare for and travel to Olympia to the tournament.  They each gave speeches in front of judges.  Naomi and Anna performed duos with friends, and all of them did biographical narratives.  Naomi's bio. narrative was about William Wilberforce, Anna did hers on Nate Saint, Samuel's was on Winston Churchill, and Daniel's was on Christopher Columbus.  This time in speech club has been very educational and an all around great experience!  Much work was done, but not at the expense of fun!!!!

What else do you do while waiting for your turn?

Naomi and her duo partner

Anna and her duo partner being silly!

On Thursday, my husband had to have an emergency root canal.  His tooth had been hurting so bad, and the sensitivity to cold, hot, and sweet was intense.  It turned out that his tooth was practically hollow on the inside although nothing was visible on the outside!!!  He finished up at the dentist and went on down to Olympia where he helped in judging speeches.  We are thankful for those who also gave of their time that week to help out!  This would include, Russell Smith, Mark Howe, Brigitte and Derek Hase, the entire Green family (Brian, Sheri, and David), and Erich Heinz. 

During the tournament, I stayed home with the little ones and tackled the humongous job of switching bedrooms.  I took out all of the boys' stuff, bringing it downstairs to put into the green room, which meant taking the little girls' things out of the green room and putting it upstairs to incorporate into the older girls' room.  This was quite a task!  The boys' old room is currently being occupied by a family of 8!!!  This has been quite an adjustment, but is working well.  We are slowly but surely getting settled.  Again, thank you to those who have helped with repairs and "donations" of bunk beds ;-), and the putting together of bunk beds, and the help in moving large pieces of furniture!!! (R.J., Russell, Braylan)

PHEW!  That was quite a week!  Makes me tired just remembering it!  It is amazing how much one can get done in a short amount of time! :-)

Catching Up A Bit.......

Turning back the clock about a month brings us to the beginning of February.  My husband, sweet and romantic as he is, whisked me away for my 35th birthday.  He took me to get a pedicure and then took me to the Inn at Port Ludlow where we stayed for the night.  At home, we had a wonderful cake bought for me by a very sweet friend...thank you, Stephanie!!! ;-)

On our way!

on our balcony ;-)

So, I am officially at my mid-life....I look at my older children and feel old, then I look at my younger children and feel young.  I know that one day, I may look at my little children and still feel old...hopefully not anytime soon!! Lol!

The beautiful Inn

Sunset on my birthday

Beautiful sunshine....in WASHINGTON!!!

Tuxedo cake.....YUM!!!

FOUR teenagers?!!!!!!

I am waayyyy behind on my blogging and I am sorry.  I will do some catching up in the next few posts.  But I will begin with a most important post:  Daniel turned 13!!  That's right, I now have FOUR teens in my home!!  In one year, I'll have 5, then it will be on to the 20s!!! {sigh}

My sweet baby, Daniel

Daniel was a whopping 9 pounds, 8 ounces at birth.  He was always such a sweet natured baby who became an ornery toddler.  Thankfully, he is again a sweet natured young man.  He loves his family very much.  Daniel's interests include (but are not limited to):  reading, reading, did I mention reading? ;-)  Boy scouts (he is a star scout on his way to eagle!), riding bikes, hurting himself by knocking out his teeth, breaking his arm, and spraining his wrist,  he also enjoys exploring in the woods,  learning all kinds of things.  He recently experienced the giving of speeches in a speech club for homeschoolers and did very well.

At the speech tournament

So handsome!

For Daniel's birthday we were on vacation and had pizza at our favorite spot, Fultano's.  On his actual birthDAY  we travelled to Idaho and stayed in a hotel where the children all got to swim!  Yes, he even swam with a broken wrist!  He also got to go to Bucer's with his Dad and had a large chocolate chip cookie and coffee!

Nice arm, dude! ;-P

Soooo, HAPPY 13th BIRTHDAY DANIEL!!!!!  We love you so much and are so thankful you are here with us!!!!!

Toothless!

Her tooth up close

Look at that gap!!!

Friday was a very special day for a very special 6 year old!  Because Friday was the day that Lydia Grace lost her first tooth!!!  Yay, Lydia!!

Photos!!!!

From this (4 yrs ago).......

It has been FOUR years since we last got our family pictures done!!!!  We thought it high time to get them done again!  We were planning on getting some last year when we found out we were expecting....we thought we should get them before I started to show, but I started showing so fast!  Little did we know why at the time! (We were MUCH further along than we thought possible!)  So, we waited.  We waited to have an updated picture with ALL of our 11 children!  Here is one photo for you all to view.  Jenny did a great job and we all had so much fun!  That is, until the little ones became so cold that there was no more consoling them! ;-)  Anyway, I will put up the pic with her watermark on it as she isn't fully finished with all of them and we haven't yet purchased the actual pictures.

This picture has become a very special one for Craig and I.  It shows an aspect of our family.  Triumph, hope for the future, look out world!  Here come the HOUSTONS!!!  And......the infamous, "Houstons Stick Together!"  At the same time, it shows how little time we have left with some, and shows us how important it is to take the time with the little ones showing them the ways of the Lord.  The responsibility of this is sobering, but a great blessing nonetheless.

My children are so precious to me.  In the early years, I'd have people tell me, "just wait until the teen years!"  And the funny thing is, now people say, "You have it so easy because you have teens!"  I used to get irritated with the "easy" comment until I realized it was actually a compliment to all the HARD work that had already been done!  That comment is a testament to the fact that much time and effort has been spent in training them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  My "teens" or as we call them, "young adults",  are in no way perfect but they are a blessing to many!

Yes, there ARE easy aspects to having young adults in the home, IF you train them in the EARLY years!  I do have babysitters, those extra hands I always needed, extra eyes, etc.  BUT, they are NOT extra parents for my little ones!  I do the majority of the work with the "babies" because I want them to turn out like their big sisters and brothers!  And because God appointed ME to be the mommy, not Naomi or Anna!

But, I must say that those who think life as a mommy becomes suddenly easier with teenagers, most definitely has never had them!  Don't get me wrong, it is a great joy and this is not a complaint....it is just a reality.  The burden that comes with older children is intense!  Let me explain.  Do you remember getting close to a final exam, you know one that would determine your very future?   The closer you get, the more extreme study or "cramming" becomes the focus of the moment.  Well, this is how it feels to have young adults living in your home.  Not just any young adult, but the ones you have the responsibility to have made sure they know all that they need to know to go out from under us.  Have we done all that we could, or even should?  My husband has a series of messages entitled, "The Work of the Fletcher" about child rearing.  He added to his series a section on having older children and how when they are about to be "released" you must draw them closer to you.  Just as the arrow is drawn closer before it is released.  Too many parents seem to feel the need to let go of their young adults just when it becomes VITAL to draw them closer to themselves!  This is so important, and at the same time, I MUST juggle the balance of time with my younger ones.  This is a huge burden, but one that is so worth it!  We are, after all, raising soldiers for Christ!!!

To this!  Look out world, here we come!

So once again, here is our "troop".  Enjoy!!!!



P.S.  For those of you who claim that I have it easy, don't worry, your time will come.....your little ones will grow and make life "easy" for you, too! ;-)