Look for Me on Instagram!

So, I'm new to Instagram (like haven't posted a picture there yet).  But I did come up with two different handles to help you track with what we are up to going forward.

1.  Find me and my efforts at settling us in, making our house a home and getting situated in NH: @followmehome_amy.

2. For all our upcoming family adventures find us @melderfamilyblogcontinues.  We may be changing location, but we will be the same busy, fun-loving, adventure-seeking family we've always been!

Thanks again to all my faithful blog followers.  I hope you will stay in touch through this new venue.  I'm excited to figure it out.  And for the fact it takes less time keep up with everyone this way!

PS - remember, have yet to post anything, but promise, I will.

Sappy Goodbye Post

Well, here it is.  This thing I started just so I would have a better way to share videos with loved ones and that has turned into a way to journal about and catalog the happenings in our lives is coming to an end.  It's been almost 6 and 1/2 years of blogging, 1,850 posts and almost 140,000 pageviews.  

But mostly, it's been a great outlet for me.  There's so much to being a mom and I've found that it's fun to share it, to savor it, to save it.  These are the moments I will look back on that passed like a flash.  And I will have the blog to view to bring it all back (sometimes very, very vividly and specifically thanks to my verbosity).  

Shutting down the blog is in a way a relief.  It's a lot of work to stay up on writing about and posting pictures of this busy, wonderful life we lead.  It's become very difficult this past year to find the time to do so.  And I never wanted this therapeutic thing to become something that added stress.  

But saying goodbye to this blog, is also a way of saying goodbye to this season, just as we are saying goodbye to Pittsburgh.  This is the place where I had my babies.  This is the blog where I shared that with you.  This is where I made all my friends.  And where the Lord blessed us with family when we had none within reach.  This is where our kids started their lives, their relationships, their schools.  There's a lot wrapped up here.  And this timing of moving on and therefore also a good time to say goodbye to the blog, is oh so much greater than just that little virtual goodbye to the internet infrastructure that brings our lives to yours.  It's closing a chapter, it's shutting a door, it's truly saying goodbye to a life we've known and loved.

But praise the Lord, that we can already see His goodness and provision in this next chapter.  We can see Him pulling together the details of what lies ahead.  And we are excited and thankful.  We can't wait to be close to family.  We can't wait to give our boys a backyard.  We love New England and all that it offers and can't wait to explore this area with our boys and make a new life together in a new place.  There truly is an excitement in our family unit.  Albeit bittersweet at times, sometimes you have to say goodbye to say hello to something just as wonderful, something just as promising, something just as meaningful.  And we trust that is what lies ahead.  

So, thanks for coming along for this part of our lives.  And stay tuned for how to keep up with us in the future.

And who knows...  Maybe this won't be my only blog.  But this is the end of the Melder Family Blog.  That busy mom raising 4 boys in the Burgh is moving on.  

Epic Catchup Post

As promised in my last post, here's the epic catchup post that needed to happen before ending the blog (note how I'm going to just skip that chance to be sentimental and will just save that for the afore-promised sappy goodbye post)...

Oh my goodness, you know it's been busy when my last post with pictures was 20 days ago!!!  Here we are back on Mother's Day on May 8th.  We celebrated simply with a tradition of getting pizzas at The Porch in Oakland and letting the kids play out on Schenley Plaza.  It was Jansen's re-introduction to what grass feels like.  He got used to it pretty fast!

Angela, one of the boys' favorite babysitter was walking through the plaza and when they spotted her, they just took off running and yelling her name.  She felt pretty special!

Later that week I took a 36 hour trip to NH and back to get some logisitical things handled regarding the upcoming move.  Jansen was my wing man, but Doug hung back with the 3 older boys.  On Wednesday night, the 11th, they had dinner at the Troxells (including some wiffle ball in the backyard).

On May 12th, Doug got to chaperone Tav's zoo trip.  Tav had been sick earlier in the week, but he was good to go for the zoo trip.  And he was so thrilled to have Doug chaperoning.  

On that same day, I was back at home with my buddy, Penn.  After preschool, he found some caterpillars in the backyard.  He was so brave with picking them up and playing with them even though they are so squirmy and tickly!  We decided we'd make a home in a mason jar for them.  It was a fun little unplanned activity.  He was thrilled.  I'm happy to say that one caterpillar is still living today (he ate the other, apparently weaker caterpillar - who knew caterpillars were omnivores?!).

Koen was thrilled to see Jansen after school that day as Janse was still sleeping in the morning when he left for school.  I had to snap a picture of them on our porch.  I can now proudly show the house number as it's no longer our home.  

Clearly sentimental.  After returning from my trip to NH and realizing how quickly this move was coming on, I was struck by the special street that is S. Pacific Ave.  Had to snap a picture of it in its Springtime glory.

That evening, Tavin had a make-up swim lesson and Doug sent me this video.  The progress the boys are making is so exciting.  I'm going to have get them into lessons once we get settled in NH!

On May 13th, Koen had a class science fair.  I was unable to go due to carlessness, but several mom friends made sure to pay extra attention to Koen and sent me pictures.  Here's my favorite.  Koen studied what would dissolve faster in water...salt, sugar or baking soda.

As mentioned, I was carless on May 13th, so I had a day at home with the little guys.  Here's Jansen's new grin...the no-tooth smile.

Just some morning birdwatching in their skinny pajamas.  

Oh my goodness, the adorable rump on this kid!!

On to the weekend.  I had a big moving sale/yardsale on Saturday, May 14th.  Of course it rained most of the day and was in the 40's (and I had laryngitis, so was quite the pleasant sales lady).  But it went pretty well irregardless of the conditions.  So well in fact, we had to eat on the floor that night because we sold our dining room furniture. =)  Note that Megan Magee and our friend, Gabby, joined us that evening for dinner.  Trying to squeeze in all the friend time we can amidst the moving chaos!

May 15th, was our last morning at church.  Jansen didn't really cooperate during the sermon, so we listened to it from the lobby.  Well, I tried, while he crawled around.

And rested...you know it's your 4th kid when you are OK with them taking a thumb-sucking break on the church lobby tile floor!

Earlier in the week, I gave Kidz Church a heads up that it would be our last Sunday as I knew it was important for the boys (and those that really care for them and have invested in them) to know and have a bit of closure.  Pastor Dennis and Jonathan, the Kidz Church coordinator, were on top of it and got cupcakes for everyone to enjoy as a little sendoff celebration.  The boys loved it, particularly Koen and Tavin.  Thanks so much, Dennis and Jonathan.  You will always be special to us and these boys!

Koen and Tavin with Jonathan.  He's been a great role model for these boys.  A young man who loves Jesus and is exploring his calling in life and while doing so is really ministering to these kids!

Pastor Dennis with the boys (note Penn's awesome face).  

Doug had to fly out of town that Sunday, so it was just me and the boys, but it was also getting to be crunch time on packing up the house.  So, the Troxells, being the amazing friends and godparents that they are, took Koen and Tavin for the afternoon (Penn was still recovering from a cold and was a little too fragile to send off or they would've taken him as well).  Koen and Tav had a fabulous afternoon in the woods with Uncle Nate, Aunt Megan and Alex and Andy.  They played Dragon Hunt.  Megan sent this pic to explain...

Jansen, Penn and I arrived to join them for family dinner in the evening.  A quick pic of the boys after we arrived catching some momentary downtime after their big afternoon searching for dragons!

On Monday, the 16th, Koen and Tavin had off of school.  Kind of a tough time for that for me since I was basically responsible for packing up the house while Doug was away on a business trip.  But oh well, I was thankful for the excuse to get outside with them for a bit.  We went to a local favorite, Osceola Parklet, before Penn's swim lesson.  (After we ran errands...not so fun).

Tav made some real progress on pumping during this playground visit, so I told him I'd take a video to share...

Did I mention this whole time that we were out and about my dear friend Veronica was back at the house packing up 85% of my kitchen for me?  What an amazing blessing!  I don't know how we would have pulled off this move without the help of the friends the Lord has surrounded us with here in Pittsburgh.  That is absolutely the hardest part about moving.  We can only rest in the hope that we will maintain the important friendships and that the Lord will bless eventually again with new friendships in our new location.  I'm not sure the community we have had in Pittsburgh though can ever be matched.  We actually had the opportunity to meet up with other dear friends that evening, the Matsons.  Lisa was the friend that used to watch Koen one day a week back in the day when I worked part time out of the home.  She and Koen have had a special bond ever since.  It was essential we have a chance to say goodbye (well until we visit or she visits us).  Gary and Lisa have been friends of Doug and mine basically since we were married.  Anyways, on our way up for that "goodbye" dinner, we stopped at a playground.  Penn fell asleep on the way.  Stay tuned...not a good sign.  This kid is still under the weather it seems.  We have been plagued with illness these past few weeks, these last weeks of the move, etc.  It's been a challenge, but by God's grace He is getting us through!

Jansen did his first tunnel slide at the playground that evening.  He looks tentative here at the top, but I wish I could've snapped a picture of his "pure joy" face at the bottom (tough to do that when catching him though).

We had a very nice dinner at The Oven, Gary and Lisa's business.  Afterwards, Lisa surprised the boys with some thoughtful gifts for our trip (fun travel games and activities) and some birthday presents for Koen.  It was really precious.  Koen hasn't seen Lisa much the past year and that special bond between them just keeps him so comfortable and at ease with her.  He was so proud to don the hat she gave him and he was all sweet and grateful towards her.  Must have been so rewarding for Lisa!

Group photo (well, except for Gary, who's taking the photo).

The buddies!  Look how happy Koen is!

This is random, but while we were there, Penn was busy coloring while we waited for pizza.  I turned to look over at what he was doing...he wrote his name!  I had no idea he knew how to do that!  Way to go, Penn!!  (And all the while he was falling apart at the seams coming down with a sinus infection!)

On May 17th, I happened to take a bunch of pics of Janse.  I must have been thinking that amidst my week of crazy packing I might have time to share these with you or something.  Anyways, I'm glad I got the pics.  This kid is an absolute joy each and every day.  Here's his sweet no-tooth smile again.

And again.  All naked at the big bro's swim lessons (it's so hot in there!!).

Later in the day, Jansen had cherries for the first time.  He's a big fan!!

We stopped for some boxes at a friend's house in Friendship.  This house used to also be home to our dear friends, Sky & Megan (& Marshall), before they moved to Kenya.  I snapped a pic of the Springtime view of their drive to send to them so far, far away.  And to keep for myself.  

Things got pretty hectic (you know, husband away, 4 kids (1/2 of them sick) and prepping to move a household, no big deal), so the pictures are a bit few and far between for a few days.  On Saturday, the 21st, Janse and I found a cute hat while packing up.  He was a good sport and "sported" it for a bit while hanging with me in the Ergo.

At this point in the week, poor, poor Penn Rye was so sick.  He had had a high fever for days.  Saturday morning we took him to the doctor and found he had a sinus infection, so he got an antibiotic, but as you can see, he still was wiped Saturday night.  Our bed furniture was all dismantled and the mattresses stripped of their sheets, but Penn didn't care.  That poor thing was exhausted.

On Sunday, the 22nd, it was move-out day.  And that meant the Troxells had big plans for our big boys so that we could be as efficient as possible at home.  Unfortunately, Uhaul didn't hear about that plan and they totally botched things up with delaying our truck availability for hours, causing us to have to push back our heavy-lifter movers (landing their arrival time right on a downpour and thunderstorms) and just utter frustration.  Thankfully Koen and Tavin were out and about having good fun with Andy and Alex instead of hanging around their stressed out parents!

Since our truck timing was pushed back 4 hours, so was everything else, which meant we didn't lock that truck up til 10pm.  And we wouldn't have even been able to do that without the help of some amazing neighbors and friends (Steve and Jennifer and Nate and Megan).  This was the status of the truck around 9;30pm.  Doug is a master packer (also worth noting..he was great at the game Tetras).

Doug had a business meeting in Boston on Tuesday, so that's why we packed the truck up on Sunday, giving him Monday to drive it all the way to NH.  He had trouble sleeping the night after the big move and was up at 3am.  So he decided to just get on the road.  He arrived at my parents' in NH at 1:15pm.  Amazing time.  And so happy he got there safe in that huge truck!

Back on the homefront, Penn had swim lessons on Monday, the 23rd.  He's doing amazing.  Had to post a video for you. =)

On the 24th, Jansen and I went to pick up Penn and for once arrived about 10 minutes early.  It was a gorgeous day, way too pretty to spend those 10 minutes inside waiting outside Penn's classroom.  So, I did a little Jansen photo shoot in the grass.  First pic you can see he's still getting used to that tickly grass feeling.  Relax, buddy!

Here he's doing..."so big!".

And here we are singing, "if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!".

Oh my goodness, on Friday, May 27th.  We had a really sad goodbye.  I mean, thankfully we all held it together, but in my heart, it was a hard one.  Miss Christal, at Children's Hospital, has seen both Tavin and Penn through great adversity in their speech and helped them work through some difficult obstacles and discover amazing success through her kind, skillful leading and through their determination.  She's made speech therapy a positive, enjoyable experience.  One that has built their confidence and their work ethic.  And they (well, all of us Melders) adore her and appreciate her so much.  She, of course, had a fun last session planned for Penn.  She had a gift for him.  An Olaf-themed "Don't Break the Ice" game (a favorite game for them, plus it has an "s" sound in it, which is their target sound right now).  Then they read a fun Olaf book together and then headed into their usual session...bingo, bubbles and just lots of fun while working on their target sound.  Christal, you've been such a blessing to our family.  We are so sad to have to leave your special care.  You've made such a difference in the lives of Penn and Tavin.  Thank you for the way you've worked so hard and so lovingly with them.  You will always hold a special place in our hearts.  Here are the pictures I got to capture the last session...

Penn never ceases to entertain with his photo faces!

Now we are up to date and it's Memorial Day Weekend, 50% of our kids are still sick and we are in house-limbo.  But we are surviving!!  Poor Tavin has been very ill all week.  He missed his only chance to go to his school's overnight retreat.  Koen, on the other hand, who's been very healthy, got to stay for the first time at camp without a parent.  He was such a big boy about it!  Tav was too sick to care that he missed out.  We planned to go camping with our friends this weekend, but with the strain of the move and then the sick kids, we decided we would just spend the day with them at Raccoon Creek State Park.  Unfortunately, that even was too much for these sick babes.  Tav started out relatively strong, but eventually the fever overtook him and he was miserable.  When meds kicked in, he had a slight rebound, but then when we came home after bailing early, he slept for 2 and 1/2 hours on the couch (literally fell asleep within a minute of laying down on it).  Jansen was diagnosed with an ear infection yesterday.  He hasn't had quite so hard of a time and even enjoyed the sand a bit today.  It's the first time to get those pasty white legs into the sun and sand.  Go, Janse!

Jansen and Tavin spent most of their time in the shade.  After they both perked up after Tylenol doses and lunch, they had a lot of fun wrestling gently and then blowing bubbles together.  So cute!  Tav was trying so hard to have fun.  Poor little bug!

Koen has been our only healthy one these past few weeks.  Lord-willing it stays that way (I'm wearing pretty thin on the whiney sick kid thing!).  We packed overnight stuff for him in case he felt like staying.  He was up for the adventure.  Here he is before we left getting buried in the sand at the lake.

And here he is afterwards with Miles.  They are going to camp out together in their own tent!

Well, that gets us up to date.  With all these sick kids, temporary homes and lots of goodbyes, I think this will probably be the last picture-heavy post.  Stay tuned for the last two blog posts (goodbye and where to find us going forward).