Showing posts with label grace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grace. Show all posts

1.24.2020

around here :: week 3 2020



All Day.
Every Day.
#momlife










{feels like 2!?!}







Reading... Anne of Green Gables (my book choice for book club!) and listening to Five Love Languages of Children and The Good Earth (another book club book that I just jumped into ahead of time).  Five Love Languages is giving me tons of good ideas for showing love to my many children, and The Good Earth is so much more engrossing than I had imagined.

Finishing... Gentle Ben with the boys who really enjoyed it.  It's about a boy who gets a pet brown bear and how his small Alaska town reacts.  I also finished Motherhood So White, which was an interesting read that made me think, but also frustrated me in some of its points.

Excited... to find a copy of a book I read over and over in elementary school at the Friends of the Library sale to read to my boys when it's my turn for read aloud again.  It was only .25! It's a ghost story called Wait Till Helen Comes and as I was researching what the old cover looks like, I discovered that a movie has been made, just in 2016. So now I want to see it!!
Recently I reread another childhood favorite, Goodnight Mr. Tom, and loved the experience, so I can't wait to reread this one as well.

Sending... Jack & Wyatt off to the land with Josh so I could focus on just caring for Logan on Saturday.  He did pretty well all day until late afternoon when I was in the shower.  He then suddenly came upstairs, out of breath from nonstop coughing.  I checked his oxygen with our oximeter (it was in the high 70's and low 80's- not good) and his breaths per minute were 40 (normal is between 12-20).  I threw on some yoga pants, got boots and a coat on Carly, called Josh and we headed out the door to the ER. 
At the ER Logan was diagnosed with some type of Influenza (the tests came back negative, but the doctor thinks the results were an error) and pneumonia.  He was placed on Tamiflu and an antibiotic.  We were luckily released relatively quickly and met Josh and the other kids back at home (he had picked Carly up at the ER on his way home) and were back in time for movie night with our crew. 

Dealing... with Jack getting sick as well on Sunday and staying home with Logan, Carly and I on Monday.  We are quite the crew.

Smiling... every time I see Ramona sleeping with Wyatt in his bed.  He adores the cats, who usually sleep in the twins' room, so having her sleep with him makes him so happy.  They look so cozy, all snuggled up together in his blankets. 

Taking... Carly to Grandma's and the twins to the doctor on Tuesday to have Logan rechecked after his ER visit and to have Jack checked as well.  When I dropped Carly at Grandma Carol's we saw bunny tracks in the snow, which was so cool! And she was thrilled to spend the day learning and playing with Grandma.  I was happy to take the twins to the doctor without an extra kid on hand.

Learning... that in addition to Logan's pneumonia, Jack has Influenza A and an ear infection, and Logan is slowly recovering from fever blisters in his mouth and pink eye.  (Jack & Wyatt at Influenza B back before Christmas break- and this is all WITH our flu vaccines! Very poor luck this year for us!)

Worrying... when Carly threw up for no good reason Wednesday morning, until I pieced together that I think it was from giving her the Tamiflu (as a preventative) on an empty stomach.  Last time I gave it to her right at meal time after she'd eaten. This time I waited and she had an empty tummy.  Apparently that was not ideal, as she vomited up every last drop of the medicine.
I'm so blessed, though because that girl knows she's supposed to puke in a bowl so she came all the way downstairs with her hand over her mouth, holding the puke in, to ask me for a bowl, before she would let it fly. Gosh, do I love that girl.

Napping... for two solid hours on Wednesday afternoon when my sore throat really hit with a full force and the sickness seemed to really settle in.  Thank goodness Carly is old enough to watch a screen and not get into mischief while hanging out with her big bros while I slept.  Boy did I feel better after that!

Driving... Carly to Grandma Carol's to spend the day Thursday again and feeling ever so grateful for that day off from parenting her when I am feeling so crummy.  It was lovely to rest, and sleep, and catch up on some blog posts, all without overdoing it.

Grateful... for friends who think of us when they are getting rid of their kids' things.  I have the BEST group of friends and none of them get rid of things without offering them to Carly. I swear. They always call.  "Does Carly need a coat? Snow pants?"  This week it was dress up clothes.  So Carly got home from Grandma's to see a cowgirl dress up outfit (including hat!!!) on her bed and was beyond thrilled!!  Thank you, Becky!!

Waking up... every morning to a Kleenex apocalypse in Logan & Jack's room, where they simply blow their noses and throw the tissue (BOMBS AWAY!) over the edge of their bunk beds toward the floor. Some mornings this week were quite impressive. G R O S S
(Thankfully they seem to be getting better.)

Tolerating... super cold temperatures this week, as it was only 2 degrees with wind chill one day! Brrr!!!

Taking... Wyatt late to school Friday because I let myself sleep in.  The twins are finally getting better, but now I am fully coming down with it and it's got me exhausted.  Old Shelly would have berated myself for letting him be late, giving no grace.  But New Shelly is full of mercy and patience and knows that I was doing the best I could, and that Wyatt being an hour late was not the end of the world.

Loving... watching Carly playing dolls.  She props their bottles, changes their diapers, and talks in the sweetest, highest voice to them.  It just melts me.  Having a girl has yet to get old.

Listening... to Jen Hatmaker reveal bits & pieces of her book to us this week (it's out in April) and her words from the chapter about our bodies??? UGLY TEARS.  It reads like poetry, and she ends like this:

"Her voice is the sound of home.  
You may hate her, but no one else does."




***





For laughs:
{This had me DYING! Hahaha!}

{Maybe a little too accurate to be funny. I'm going on nine years next month...}

6.02.2017

Around Here: Week 22



{Josh's brother, Samuel; his dad Carl; and Josh}

{Carly, Jack, Wyatt, Milo, Ferris, Logan & Annie}

{Annie & Carly}











Hosting... Memorial Day weekend at our house.  So much family & so much fun.  What a blessing to have so much family come visit and love on our kids!  It left me feeling so grateful for our sweet little house and our awesome backyard!

Finishing... the twins' baseball season.  They had such a great team, with an awesome coach (plus Josh, who was the assistant coach) and it was all around a great experience.  They grew so much.  I feel so proud of them. (Plus, okay, I'll admit it, I also love (!!!) when they are dressed in their matching uniforms. Ha!)

Reading... Bear Town and The Mountain Between Us after finishing Anne of the Island, The Tailgate and Into the Water.  Into the Water was far too dark for my taste, and The Tailgate was not a Hildebrand favorite.  I thoroughly enjoyed Anne of the Island (and can't wait to start #4 of the series).  I am sorry to say that I've thus far been disappointed with Bear Town because it reminds me so much of Britt Marie Was Here.  Small town, obsessed with sports. We'll see if it gets better.  As for The Mountain Between Us, I'm hooked. It's really good!

Wrapping... up May with 28 books read!  My goal for the YEAR was 24, so I am very pleased to have read 28 in just five months.  The introduction of audiobooks in my life has been monumental, as has sending the kids to school!

I can listen to a story every day as I go about my chores, and I also listen as I walk home from dropping the boys at school and on the way there again to pick them up. Winning at reading, I tell ya!

Watching... the rest of Anne with an E and wishing there were 100 more episodes!  I know it varied (greatly!) from the original story, but I still really enjoyed it.

Planning... on daily gratitude in June (I have been in a "we're broke" funk and it's been stealing my joy); clearing my blogger dashboard (so close to summer and I really want all those drafts published!); and the boys' birthday party (the twins turn nine on June 6th & Wyatt turns six on June 15th and I'm letting them have their first "friend party").

Making... a summer bucket list, as well as goals for June including what books I want to read; trying meditation everyday for a week; and looking at my 100 small things to see what's left to accomplish before August.

Growing... plants from seed with Wyatt for our backyard garden.  He's so excited to watch them grow, and I can't wait to see what the harvest will be!  We have corn, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, peas, rhubarb, watermelon and dill.  He got his green thumb from his Grandma Carol.

Encouraging... Carly in her first adventure in baby wearing.  Her baby seems to tolerate it well, which is good cause Carly really needs to start getting things done around the house.  ;)

Enjoying... new bikes from my mom & dad for our boys.  They are all overjoyed to be riding their new bikes these last few weeks of school, and I'm happy to have such lovely gifts that will keep on giving all year long.

Feeling... inspired by this post on Clover Lane about summer.  I love the freedom and permission it gives me to create the summer that will work for my family, not the one that looks like everyone else's Pinterest board.

I also loved this quote:


I had spent the morning Wednesday barking orders at the kids, worried when we were running late, then lost my temper when Logan made a bad decision, and I was starting to really beat myself up about it after taking them to school when I saw this on my Instagram.  I decided then and there to forgive myself and remember that what I'm doing (raising four kids!) is hard (hard!) work, and I deserve a little grace.

I bet you do, too.

***