Around Here: Week 26 2021

 {June 20-26th}

Celebrating... Father's Day this month by spending the day with my parents in Wenatchee.  We met at the waterfront so the grandsons could all ride the electric scooters my parents bought to have at their house for them.  We sat on a picnic blanket and visited while the kids rode as far as they could down the way. It was a beautiful afternoon.

Then we went to my parents house, where Blake (my sister's husband) joined us, and we played a hilarious game of Never Have I Ever in which I learned my dad has been to jail.  Hah!  We laughed and took turns coming up with ideas, some of which had us cracking up. 

Taking... the twins to get their second dose of their vaccine and feeling so grateful that they are now protected.  

Talking... to my counselor about how wonderful it is that it's summer time and school is done.  We talked about boundaries and how important it is to listen over fixing or helping.  She reminded me that worrying ahead of time is not helpful.  What's coming will come, and I'll face it when it does. 

Hitting... 90 days for Logan weaning off his seizure meds.  He made it three months without medication and no seizures.  Oh I cannot even tell you how many days and weeks I dreamed of this day, not really believing it was possible.  Yet here we are.  He has officially outgrown his seizures.  Thank you, Lord.

Cleaning... Carly's room after neglecting it for a while.  I did a time lapse of her and I working, cleaning and folding laundry. It was fun to watch it all come together. 

Loving... our pool so much.  I am so grateful for it.  Sitting on the back patio, sunning and reading, is just the perfect summer activity.

Working out... with a friend multiple times a week.  It's HOT but worth it.

Reaching... the halfway point of reading for the year. I have read 29 books, 20 physical books and 9 audiobooks.  That is remarkably less than last year, but I am okay with that.  

Putting... together my summer stack of reading and sharing it with my Instagram followers. I love compiling the stack and dreaming of all that I'm going to read through the summer.

Listening... to JJ Heller's "I Dream of You Volume II" album and loving it so much.

Noticing... how long Carly's hair is suddenly! It's grown quite a bit since this time last year. 

Prepping... in the wretched heat in our garage for camping.  We borrowed a tent from Josh's sister and some other things from my parents.  It takes a village!

Reading... Good Company and listening to Good Morning Monster.  Good Company was a four star book for me.  I loved the drama of the family, and the setting.  But it wasn't exactly "un-put-down-able".  Good Morning Monster is an audiobook Josh recommended about five patients of a therapist.  Their stories are enthralling and entertaining.  It was also a four star read.

Dropping... my book in the pool when I took it in with me while I sunbathed on a floaty.  I was bummed that I dropped it, but was grateful it wasn't a borrowed book or a library book. Oops!

Learning... Grady is 100% German Shepherd.  My mom was so curious about his age and heredity that she ordered a DNA test.  Turns out he's a purebred! Who'd have thought? And he is three years old, which means he was a puppy when we got him.  We laughed about this, because we thought he was so big!  But looking back, he was pretty small compared to how big he is now. 

Receiving... a letter in the mail that let us know Wyatt has been accepted into our school district's excel program.  I am so proud of him! 

Also receiving... the twins' grades in the mail and feeling inordinately proud of us.  Jack got a 3.2 GPA and Logan had all A's, B's & C's.  I am so relieved (again. still) that school is over and the boys were successful.  What a long ass year that was!

Learning... so much about addiction as I listened to the We Can Do Hard Things Podcast with Glennon Doyle, episode 5.  The best piece of advice I walked away with is that your job as the person supporting the addict is to keep boundaries in place that protect the relationship so that when the person gets sober there is a relationship to come back to.  If we don't uphold good boundaries, it would be easy to burn out and have nothing left to return to.  Such a good listen if you have anyone struggling with addiction in your life. 

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Around Here: Week 49 2020

{November 29-December 5th}

{pc: Carly May}

{2020 Christmas Card: front}

{2020 Christmas Card: back}

Wishing... for snow.  It snowed a little bit one morning, like a tease, and it made all of us wish for the real deal.

Using... my Stress Away roller to get rid of a migraine that was starting, and it worked! Hallelujah! I am up to my full dose of blood pressure medicine, which is supposed to help eliminate migraines (and as an added bonus, it might reduce anxiety as well!) and I can't wait to see how many I have during the next month. 

Breaking... the wish bone a few days after Thanksgiving.  It was Wyatt vs. Carly and Carly won!

Hosting... Alvin for a game of Monopoly with the twins. Some days they walk, some days they shoot hoops and some days they play games.  Checkers is a particular favorite.  It's a nice way to break up the day. 

Heading... back to (online) school for the kids after our long Thanksgiving weekend. The break was much needed and enjoyed, and now it's back to real life. Just a few weeks, though, until Christmas break. 

Enjoying... pizza at my parent's house during the Seahawk's game Monday night.  I was desperately needing to get out of the house (something I don't usually experience when I'm home for days on end) and this was just the ticket.  We enjoyed an evening with my parents, celebrating the boys' amazing report cards (all A's & B's for all three of them!) and watching the game. 

Playing... guitar with my dad for the first time. I have no talent... but I'm trying and it made me excited to learn! My first goal is to learn how to play the chords to Bill Gorgan's goat. 

Grateful... that my mom bought the kids Advent calendars this year. It has made every day of December so exciting for them.  The Advent calendars along with our Elf on the Shelf Dashy has made the start of our countdown to Christmas very festive. (They all got different Advent calendars- Jack chose a Funko Pop Harry Potter advent; Logan chose the Lego City advent; Wyatt chose the Hot Wheels advent and Carly chose the Littlest Pet Shop advent.)

Listening... to Ordinary Grace on audio and loving it. It's such a beautiful tale, and reminded me a lot of Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. 

Getting... school lunches everyday with the kids and stocking up on little milk boxes.  It is saving us so much money, I'm sure, and it ensures we get out of the house (even if it's just for a minute) everyday.

Taking... Logan to the doctor to get a fresh cast (the other one was funky!!) and having Carly get her flu shot at the same time. She was so funny, very nervous, but when it was over she said, "Owww! That didn't hurt at all!" Hahah!

Logan has just two more weeks with his cast. His break is 80-90% healed, but I don't trust that he would (could) be careful, so we're keeping it on a little longer for complete healing.

Sending... Christmas cards, which is probably my favorite Christmas tradition. I write a yearly Christmas letter, which feels so good- to look over the year and remember the ups and downs- and we usually have my sister take family pictures (thank you Roxanne!) which I then turn into a Christmas card on Shutterfly during one of their 50% off sales around Halloween. I really love when I choose a card that has a matching return address label. So cute!! #nerd

Thankful... that school is going really well right now with the kids. It is not my favorite, and this obviously isn't how school was meant to be... but we are doing well.  We are in a good routine and the twins' teacher is working really hard teaching them math at a distance, and Wyatt's classwork has simmered down some, so I am overall really pleased. 

Seeing... Logan's neurologist via Zoom and telling her that he is two years seizure free. What an amazing thing to say out loud. The next step is to have a sleep deprived EEG for him and see if he is seizure free during that. If he is, then we can try weaning him off his medication and see how he does. Fingers crossed that it all goes well, and that this means he has outgrown his seizures. 

Organizing... the pantry & the garage which is so helpful when we are all home (and usually in the house) during winter time.  The space suddenly feels so much smaller now that we aren't spending all our time outdoors. 

Obsessing... over Harry Potter alongside the kids. I still haven't read the books, but Josh is on the third one with the boys and they are loving it. It's so cute to hear them talk about it and to have them look forward to bedtime reading the way I do. 

They have been watching each movie as they finish the book, and that's made it really exciting as well.

Ordering.... things for pie making (a pastry cutter and a crust cover) to make it easier. I enjoyed making pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving, but realized that some tools might make it easier, and make me more likely to bake when it's not a holiday. 

Those items along with all our Christmas gifts started rolling in, and the empty boxes stacking up in the kitchen are quite ridiculous. 

Cracking... a twin egg while making breakfast one morning this week and calling all the kids to show them. It always blows me away that my body did that same thing. 

Watching... Carly dance to the music and pretend to snap her fingers. It's currently my favorite thing, and I really need to video tape it. You can tell she really feels the music in her soul. She closes her eyes and furrows her brow, and it's just the best. 

Coloring... while the kids do school in my new beautiful color book by Katie Daisy. It is so happy. 

Wrapping... up a good reading month. I read 8 books, hitting 99/100 on my yearly goal (wahoo!) and getting rid of 7 books off my Unread shelf, bringing my Unread Shelf down to 121.  I am toying with not buying books in 2021, in an effort to reduce my Unread Shelf... but the idea makes me kind of sad... so I'm not sure I'll do it. 

Reminiscing... this time three years ago when Wyatt was hospitalized in the PICU in Spokane for status asthmaticus (asthma that is not responding to treatment). It was a very scary time, and I am forever amazed at how his body eventually recovered.  And now, with us being home full time, he doesn't seem to have any asthma symptoms at all.  It feels like a miracle. 

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