He Came Home!!!

Thank you for all of your prayers and encouragement over the last few weeks and months. Life has seemed stressful and a bit overwhelming with Matt's deployment and our sudden move plans. We are so thankful that Matt made it home last night. We aren't sure how long he will be home, but thankfully he will be here for our move into base housing next week. Hopefully this means we are only facing a six month deployment instead of eight months!

God does know the perfect timing for all of the events in our lives. I am thankful HE is making the plans and not me! I will keep you posted on the move. The packers come on Monday and we should be completely moved into the new house by Wednesday! Please pray that all of the details go smoothly and that God would be glorified through our words and actions during this exciting and stressful time.

Happy 1st Birthday Ellie Kate!!!

I can hardly believe my sweet baby girl is already one! This year has gone by way too fast. It seems like just yesterday we were praying that God would give us a baby girl. I am still in awe that my Heavenly Father cares enough to give me the desires of my heart or at least tune my desires to HIS will! Ellie Kate is such a sweet and happy baby. What a blessing she has been to our family! I have so much I could say about this little girl, but I think her Daddy did the best job with the sweet e-mail he sent us this morning...

Happy Birthday Ellie Kate! I hope you have a fun and special day on your first birthday. I am sorry that I will miss it, but am so glad that we were able to celebrate it a couple of weeks ago before I left. You have grown so much over the last year – it is unbelievable. From a little baby that just ate and cried to a toddler that walks everywhere, is a bundle of energy, so cute, has a great laugh, and has your Mommy and Daddy wrapped around your little finger already! I thank God everyday for the gift of you.

Love, Daddy

We celebrated her birthday early, so Daddy could be part of the celebration. With everything going on in our lives right now, we decided that a small family party would be best.

She really didn't know what to do with her stack of presents, so she just kept looking at them.

She already knows that the little boxes are filled with the best gifts! This one was her sweet little pearl bracelet with a script E.

The boys had fun helping her open her presents.

She got a new tea set from her brothers. They came up with the idea and picked it out!

Then we had cake out in the yard.

The bright sunlight made picture taking a bit challenging!

We gave Ellie Kate the top layer and let her dig in!

She started off with tiny bits of icing...

....and then kept going!

She loved her cake! Especially the raspberry filling!

When she had enough cake, she went in for the monogram!

We have made so many fun memories this year, I could add thousands of pictures to this post! I took a picture of her each month to watch her grow... although you will see I don't have the twelve month one done yet, but here is a glimpse of this little girl's first year!

Newborn - leaving the hospital at 16 hours

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months

Seven Months

Eight Months

Nine Months

Ten Months

Eleven Months

Twelve Months

What an amazing year it has been! We are so thankful for the blessings God has showered us with! Happy Birthday Elizabeth Katherine Loesch! You are loved more than you will ever know!

Happy 4th Birthday Zach!

I can hardly believe that our little Zachy is four! The years have flown by so far. It seems like not that long ago when I was telling everyone that I had two babies under the age of two. It was always a challenge to chase the boys as they ran off in different directions... now they are both riding off on bikes and leaving me behind! These are such fun years and I am so thankful to have healthy growing kids!

We celebrated Zach's birthday early again this year. Thankfully we weren't working around the birth of a new sibling this year, just a crazy, ever changing ship schedule! We had a simple cupcake party for him during the concert in the park. I have never seen 24 cupcakes disappear so quickly! It was the easiest party I have ever thrown! He had a fun evening with his friends and felt celebrated.

We kept asking Zach what he would like for his birthday and everytime he said, "a garden". So, we planted a container garden on our upstairs patio and he is growing strawberries, blueberries, grapes, green peppers, tomatoes, and basil.

We drilled extra holes for drainage, because Zach loves watering his plants! He has his own watering can and makes sure he waters his plants just enough!

So this is our new little garden!

Our first strawberries will be ready to pick today! What a fun birthday treat!

Happy Birthday to my sweet, spunky, energetic, loving, sensitive, free spirited, middle child! Daddy and I love you so much and we are so proud of you!

Our Holiday Blog!

If you have been looking for updates on the Loesch Family, you haven't found them here! It looks like I only update the blog on holidays. It has been so long, even my mom has stopped looking for new posts. I would like to start fresh and commit to weekly updates. Our family and friends, spread out all over the world, like to see the updates. So I am going to try one more time to keep this up-to-date!

If you haven't heard, we have had a huge answer to prayer in the last week. We have been living in the village in Coronado for 3 years now. We have been praying that God would open up a house on base for us in His perfect timing. Last week, just two days before Matt went out to sea, we were offered a house! The timing is not exactly what I would have chosen, but thankfully God's plans are always greater than mine and I am choosing to trust that this timing is perfect! Now we are praying that Matt will be back in port for the move in the next few weeks. God has faithfully provided for us over the years and we are so thankful to be moving into a bigger house with a great yard for the kids.

Please come back and look for updates in the next few weeks! I am happy to be back to blogging!

He Is Risen!

I hope you and your family had a wonderful day celebrating the life given to us through our RISEN KING! What a high and holy day it has been!
I am months behind on this blog and have hopes of bringing it up-to-date sometime soon... I just can't seem to find the time and energy to get it done! Hopefully soon!

Happy Easter!

Merry Christmas 2009!

For unto you a child is born, a Savior who is Christ the Lord. ~Luke 2:11

I am so thankful for a Savior who loves me just as I am. Christmastime reminds me to look at all of the things I have been blessed with. Though the times we walk through on earth are often hard, we have so much to be thankful for. This year I thank my loving Heavenly Father for a husband who made it home safely after six long months on deployment, a healthy and precious baby girl, an energetic three year old who fully embraces the adventures of life, and a strong and motivated four year old who is always seeking new challenges. I could keep going with a long list of all the ways God has shown our family His love this year.
We are still enjoying life in sunny California. Though we tried hard to get orders back to the east coast, it looks like God has plans for us in Coronado. This has been a hard thing for us to wrap our arms around, but we know that God is in control and we have decided that we will be happy here. If we have to be far from home, this is the place to be!Andy and Zach are both strong and healthy. They are riding their bikes without training wheels and racing all over the island. Two days a week they attend the preschool at our church and have made some sweet friends. They really enjoy the freedom of being outside all the time!
Ellie Kate is growing fast! She has transitioned right into our crazy life. She is an easy baby and sleeps in the midst of all the noise around her. We are still working on her nap schedule, but that will take time. It's hard to be on a schedule when we are constantly on the go with the boys. She is such a blessing to us.
Matt arrived home in July and was thrown back into our busy life with kids! He deployed with his squadron on an aircraft carrier. He was able to continue flying and get some needed qualifications to advance in his career, he even had the opportunity to drive the ship! They spent their deployment in the Far East. Matt enjoyed getting to see a different part of the world than what he had experienced during deployments originating on the east coast. If everything goes as we have been told, he will report to HSM-77, a new MH-60R squadron, as a Department Head. He should be deploying again next fall. We are just thankful to have him home with us right now!
I haven't been doing much outside of taking care of my husband, kids, and home. The boys and I spent three months on the east coast while Matt was at sea. It was fun to have an opportunity to spend lots of time with our extended family. I really needed the help while being pregnant and trying to keep up with my energetic little guys! I am in a Bible Study with some of my best friends. It has been such a blessing to walk through motherhood with these sweet ladies. I am busy and constantly behind, but I am loving this stage of life. This is what I have dreamed of every since I was a little girl!
Thanks for taking time to check out our update. We try to add new pictures at least once a month. Our prayer is that your family will have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a BLESSED NEW YEAR!
With Love, The Loesch Family

TRUST... Life is good in Coronado!

"'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" Isaiah 55:8-9

I have been doing a lot of soul searching lately. For those of you who don't know, we have been given spoken orders to stay in Coronado for another three years or so. If you are not familiar with Navy life, spoken orders mean that we will most likely be staying here, but it is not definite until we have written orders, and even then things could change. Sounds like a fun way to live doesn't it?

If you know me very well, you know that I am a planner and I have a hard time living with the lack of plans the Navy seems to offer. You also know that my heart is constantly yearning to be back on the east coast. I have loved our time in Coronado, but have felt a sense of sadness being so far from our families. We really thought that we would be moving back to Jacksonville this fall.

When Matt got the department head slate showing that we were slated for Coronado, our hearts dropped. Matt and I both went through days of questioning, feeling depressed, working with people to get it changed, and asking everyone for prayers that it would be changed, but God seems to have a different plan for us. That's where the TRUST comes in. This is where I am asked to fully rely on my Heavenly Father to supply all of my needs. This is where I am forced to TRUST that His ways are better than mine. This is where I am TRUSTING that God is keeping us in Coronado for a very special reason.

I thought I had found peace in all of this, but I am still struggling. I have had a pretty negative attitude about California and have really had to pray that God would change my heart. I started feeling very convicted about my attitude and was reminded that by complaining about life on the west coast, I was complaining about what God has chosen for me. I have been blessed far beyond anything I could have asked for or even imagined and I am complaining about having to live in "paradise"!

I can't really explain how I feel, but its something in my gut that tells me that this just doesn't feel right. I am praying that God will help me to get over this feeling and look at all of the reasons why I do absolutely love life in Coronado! We have a wonderful church family. I am part of a very special woman's Bible Study. These women are some of my very best friends. The boys are in a wonderful school. We have a fabulous beach lifestyle, not to mention the amazing weather. We have a cute little house in a wonderful location. I could go on and on, but I just miss my family!

As I said before, I know that God is keeping us here for a very special reason and something tells me it has to do with some relationships that God has given us with some friends. We are praying that he will use us to accomplish His will no matter what that looks like. Or, maybe He is just teaching me to TRUST that His ways are always better than mine! You would think that I would have learned that by now! I never would have chosen this crazy Navy life, but this is what God chose for me and it has been good. He continues to teach me so much and bless us more each day.

So, there you have it. I am growing and struggling and learning, but most importantly I am TRUSTING!!! Life truly is good in Coronado! If you don't believe me, come out for a visit!

Look Who Is Three Months Old Today!

Look at that big smile! Ellie Kate was in such a sweet little mood while I was taking pictures this morning.

She has just learned that she can grab her dress or doll or whatever is near and put it in her mouth. This makes it a little harder to keep her clothes dry and to try to take pictures!

We are having such a good time with this little girl. She is still sleeping well at night and her naps are starting to become more regular. She is cooing at us more and more, especially when we are reading books. She loves when anyone talks to her. She is already very social. Tummy time only lasts for a few minutes with her, because she pushes up on her arms and rolls over or lays her head down and sucks on her hand. Her favorite spot is in her Bubmbo chair, where she sits up and watches her brothers. She has been staying up for longer periods of time between naps, so we have all enjoyed having more time to play with her. Looking cozy after her bath. One of my friends made her this sweet hooded towel.

Sick Days

Now that it is a little cooler around here and everyone is in school, we have started getting sick again! It always seems to start with Zach's allergies and then turns into a cough. Zach missed school all last week. We stayed home from Bible Study on Friday, due to lingering coughs and runny noses. So, the boys decided to have "pajama day" and stay in their PJs all day. We pulled out their little tents and tunnel. They had a great time playing together. They even let Ellie Kate join them for a little while!

Andy pulled out just about every puzzle he could find.Zach was acting silly after being stuck at home for so many days... he decided to try out the Bumbo chair!Ellie Kate enjoyed all of the excitement in the house. Her brothers were quite energetic and entertaining to watch! We stayed at home this weekend. The boys seem to be doing a lot better. They don't look too sick to me!

Finally Up-to-Date!

I spent the free moments of my day catching up on this blog. Unfortunately I have sick kids, but thankfully they all took really good naps today! I think there are eight or nine new posts... just keep scrolling down. This is my first set of updates since Ellie Kate was born! I am going to try to stay current...Ha! Just like my scrapbooks! Life is busy with three kids! Enjoy!