Terry Peak House - Our Surprise Adventure

We had a great adventure at the Terry Peak house this past weekend.  We arrived at 4pm to a very cold, big 4 bedroom house (3 floors).   The furnace was on the fritz, which meant a chilly evening; thank goodness for a wood burning fireplace!  I stayed bundled in my winter coat and hat for nearly 5 hours, while everyone seemed to adjust to the cool indoor temps (the kids ran around til about 8pm, so I'm sure that helped).   I thought for sure that I would be sleeping in my coat and hat under the few blankets on the king sized bed.  But, thankfully the maintenance man was able to repair the furnace just in time for sleep.  Phew!   

As far as sleep went, Josh slept like a rock all night long, but Grayson and Saray played tag sleep; Grayson would cough, which would wake up Saray for 20 minutes or so.  Finally they were fast asleep, only for it to last 30 minutes or a hour until the tag game would start over.   Blah.  At least sleep is overrated.  

The kids had a blast playing in the hot tub outside under the stars with Daddy, Uncle Jesse and Uncle Jansen , Aunt Molly and Brittany (Jesse's girlfriend).  The hot tub was a highlight for the kids, that and watching "Wipe Out" on the TV with the crew.

Overall, we had a blast at the "Terry Peak House" and hope to go back again sometime in the near future (ya know, a year from now.)  

Sabastian - 3 months old (My parents' foster baby - also Molly's half brother.)

My better half.  :)

The twins were so excited to use sleeping bags for the first time.

Grayson, the boy who will eat anything.  He's enjoying Chunky Chicken Chili.

Saray hanging out with Uncle Jansen and Uncle Jesse the next morning.

Hanging around the fireplace, trying to keep warm.

Hot Tub Time!

Grayson and Mommy.

Relaxing after all the playing...watching "Wipe Out".

Uncle Jesse and Niece Torin

A Surprise Adventure

I should be getting things ready as we're headed out for the night, but morning sickness is kicking me where it counts, in the gut and my energy level.  We're getting ready to go on what the twins are calling "a surprise adventure".  My sister and her husband rented a big house just 4 miles from Terry Peak, one of the ski resorts up in Lead, SD (only 30 minutes away).  So my parents, Molly, Sabastian (Molly's half brother - foster baby), my sister Alesha, her husband and her twins, my brothers, my sister Ana and my family will all meet to have a good old family get together for the night.  We're not going snowboarding or skiing this year but we do plan on having lots of laughs and lots of fun in the snow tomorrow morning.
The twins are extremely excited for this adventure, especially since they get to sleep in sleeping bags for the very first time.  Grayson, I'm sure, will be extremely excited to tear apart a new place, I mean explore a new place.  All I am praying for is sleep, especially since my little family of 5 will all be in the same room. 

Wish us luck!   I need to get back to work.

My Miracles

I only have energy to post a few pictures.  I wanted to be in bed 2.5 hours ago (at 6pm), so you'll have to wait for a real update from the Chapeau crew.   Enjoy the pictures of the kids. 

 

Love Moments Like This

 

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Yep, you heard Saray right, a baby is coming around Joshua's birthday (August 29th) and Saray's birthday (August 30th).  My actual due date is August 27th.  Shocked?  So were we, but we're thrilled to be welcoming another member to our Chapeau Family.

5 years ago, after losing Isaiah in our second trimester, and then losing Jayden to our second miscarriage, I never would have thought that GOD would do so much in my heart and our lives.   After our second miscarriage, I knew God was calling me to praise my way through yet another storm.  God truly is the Calmer of the storm, and it truly was life-changing to set my gaze and praise on HIM.  I believe the praise prepare the way for God to do a supernatural miracle in me and our family.  January 2008 we we found out that we were having twins (supernaturally - talk about shock!).  And after losing Jael to our third miscarriage (the twins were 10.5 months old at the time), I continue to believe with all my heart that God was not done growing our family.  A month later we found out we were pregnant with Grayson.  God truly does work in miraculous ways!

Moments after Grayson was born, I knew God wasn't finished growing our little family; so a year & half after Grayson's birth, I stand in awe of God and His faithfulness to fulfill His promises to us.

So there you have it...now you know our 2012 news.  

2011 Comes to an End

I remember 1999 to 2000 being a big year; wondering if Y2K was going to ruin my life and my love for computers and connecting with friends and family via the internet.  The roll over from 1999 to 2000 happened with ease just like any other year. We never went without power and the computers never crashed, but I still remember that year like it was yesterday. (Not really sure why that year is so stuck in my memory...)  12 years later I am wondering how my life will change in the new year; my computer probably won't crash on New Year's Day (please don't crash) and we'll most likely still have power (unless we have an insane blizzard or we trip a breaker) but most of all I pray that my heart will continue to seek God and welcome the change that He brings to my life.
I have never been one to set new year resolutions, because I know by week 5 I will fall flat on my face, but I do pray that my heart would be open to change and that I would strive to live more by faith... to let go and really, really let God move in my life.

Counting all His blessings in 2011: 3 beautiful miracles, my precious gift from God: Jeremiah, a new home, our 3 wonderful families, old friends and new friends, our Bible study group...and so many more blessings.

(Sorry, I still do not have any updated pictures of our house...maybe this Summer)

Jer and His Dad, Jerry

The Pojar Family: Maddie,  Grandpa "Oatmeal" & Grandma Rose

The Culver Family: Paula, Molly, David, Jesse, Ana, Jansen (MIA: Alesha & Gabe and their families)

Representing The McMahan Family: Grandma Fran

Our Friend Amanda Zell

Our Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas!

     We hope this finds you enjoying this season, even with all it's busyness.  We pray that you find time to settle down and enjoy your family and reminisce together about Christmas past, but most of all, we pray that you will find yourself thinking about the birth of our King Jesus and all that has been given for you and me.

Our lives have been a bit of a blur this past year; back in May we bought our first home (newly built house with a huge dirt yard) located here in Spearfish.  Jeremiah spent countless hours this Summer putting in an underground sprinkler system and preparing the dirt yard to become a real grass yard.  Along with all the house work and yard work, Jeremiah has been working full-time as a Respiratory Therapist at the Spearfish Hospital.  He loves his job, even with the early mornings and long days.   He is an incredible handy-man, hard-worker, a loving husband, and a fantastic father.

Our kids are growing like olives trees around our table; Joshua and Saray turned 3 in August and Grayson turned one in May.  Josh is laid back, soft-spoken, has a giving heart, and has a infectious, contagious laugh.  He can entertain himself for extended amounts of time, which is simply wonderful.  He generally has his Lightning McQueen car and his one favorite Fisher Price People in tow, even at bedtime. 

Saray is a little fire-cracker, full of energy; this girl runs at 110% from the moment she rises to the time she climbs into bed.  Saray can talk a blue streak most of the day and holds a conversation very well.  She is super personal, loves meeting new people and enjoys getting to know them better.  She loves miniature toys and objects.

Grayson is our dare-devil; he has more bumps and bruises from trying to jump off the couch, walk up our flight of stairs, or climb into the bathroom sink.  He strives to be just like Josh and Saray; he will try anything that they do.  He loves to dance and has fantastic rhythm, is full of laughter, and he loves to make others laugh.   He adores balls, and exclaims over our Christmas ornaments that are shaped like balls.

God truly has blessed us and we stand in awe of his amazing gift: family.  We are busy, but we can't imagine life any other way.  Our God still is in the business of working supernatural miracles, I know this, because we have three miracles that are changing and challenging us every day.  I get the privilege of staying at home with them and teaching them how to live for God, love, share, and treasure family and friends.  What a big job, but it's such an honor. 

Outside of taking care of my family and home, I have been squeezing in some photo shoots.  I stand in awe that God would give me His eyes to see and capture the precious life around me. 

Treasure your families and the true meaning of Christmas: Jesus. 

Love to all of you from all of us.

Ponder This...

I have a thought for you to ponder (from the book "One Incredible Moment" by Max Lucado):
If God is able to place the stars in their sockets and suspend the sky like a curtain, do you think it is remotely possible that God is able to guide your life?  If your God is mighty enough to ignite the sun, could it be that he is mighty enough to light your path?  If he cares enough about the planet Saturn to give it rings or Venus to make it sparkle, is there an outside chance that he cares enough about you to meet your needs?  Or, as Jesus says, "Look at the birds in the air.  They don't plant or harvest or store into barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them.  And you know you are worth much more than the birds...Why do you worry about clothes?  Look at how the lilies in the field grow.  They don't work or make clothes for themselves.  But I tell you that even Solomon with his riches was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers.  God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today but tomorrow is thrown into the fire.  So you can even be sure that God will clothe you.  Don't have so little faith!  (Matthew 6:25-30)

Why did he do it?  Did he have to give the birds a song and the mountains a peak?  Was he required to put stripes on the zebra and the hump on the camel?  Would we have known the difference had he made the sunsets gray instead of orange and purple?  Why do stars have twinkles and the waves snowy crests?  Why dash the cardinal in red and drape the beluga whale in white?  Why wrap creation in such splendor?  Why go to such trouble to give such gifts?  He did it for you.  

Here is something to think about: If you were the only person on earth, the earth would look exactly the same.  The Himalayas would still have their drama and the Caribbean would still have its charm.  The sun would still nestle behind the Rockies in the evenings and spray light on the desert in the mornings.  If you were the sole pilgrim on this globe, God would not diminish its beauty one degree.  

Because he did it all for you...

Find such love hard to believe?  That's okay.  Just because we can't imagine God giving us sunsets, don't think God doesn't do it.  God's thoughts are higher than ours.  God's ways are greater than ours.  And sometimes, out of his great wisdom, our Father in heaven gives us a piece of heaven just to show he cares.  

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 Think on these things, this season, and everyone season.  May your hearts begin to grasp the incredible gift that has been given just for you.  May you stand in awe and silence of all that He has made and given, just for you.  

Merry Christmas!