Around Here: Week 48 2020

 {November 22-28th}

Reminiscing... about life in the past as I sort through all the pictures on my phone.  This last one (of Josh and the twins in 2011) took my breath away.  Josh was so young!!!

Letting... the kids go play in the snow one morning when we woke up to it. They had so much fun and I enjoyed sitting out there, reading on the porch, as they played.  I sure hope we get more snow this winter!

Needing... the days off that are coming for Thanksgiving this week.  School has been hard as of late, and I am ready for a break! (The kids, too!)

Decorating... for Christmas with some music (Amy Grant, of course) on my HeyDay speaker and lots of little hands sorting through our vast collection of ornaments. It's probably one of my favorite traditions, pulling the ornaments out and talking about each one's history.  The kids love playing with them (mostly only Carly now) and I allow it even though it makes the tree look uneven and we usually lose two or three each year from breaking... because I know that someday I will have a perfect tree and it will make me sad.  

Baking... pumpkin pies, fudge and prepping the seven layer salad on Wednesday with Jack.  I was really proud of us- we made the pies from scratch!!

Celebrating... Thanksgiving, just the six of us, and feeling so blessed.  Josh cooked the turkey and mashed potatoes & gravy.  We ate together, sharing sparkling cider in fancy glasses, and telling each other what we are most thankful for.  The twins were both thankful for me teaching them last quarter.  That meant a lot to me, because it was hard work the three of us did, and I'm glad they knew it was for their own good.  Carly was grateful my  mom and dad moved to Wenatchee.  I was grateful for our house and Josh was grateful for just about everything- his job, the kids, me... And Wyatt was grateful for us, me and Josh.  

Making... turkey cookies with the supplies Aunt Julie brought over for the kids.  They had so much fun, and the turkeys were really cute.  Thanks for being so thoughtful, Julie!

Starting... a new quarter with the twins, including math and having terrible flashbacks of seventh grade with Mr. Rye in the portables, struggling to remember PEMDAS ("Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally") and learning how to find the area of a triangle.  Sigh. 

Readjusting... our daily routine to have less screens and feeling better about it. The kids do screens from 12 or 12:30 to 3:00pm.  Then they go play outside or do chores or play games. Before this change, it was hours and hours of screens. Each day I think it got a little longer.  

#quarantinelife 

...but at some point I had to get back to monitoring it and encouraging them to do other things. 

Reading... Caste and spouting off statistics and random information at poor Josh.  It is just so good!

Loving... my life without Facebook.  It's amazing how much more time I have on my hands. I am also shocked at how much easier it is to keep up on chores when I am not sitting down every hour to check in on my social media accounts. (I canceled Instagram & Facebook a week ago) I am surprised to say that I don't miss it, and in fact I am so much happier without it. 

Meeting... with Wyatt's sleep study doctor to find out the results of his most recent sleep study.  It turns out that he no longer has obstructive or central sleep apnea.  I am so grateful that all is well! 

Raising... big boys who sometimes hurt the house that we live in.  Having three boys in three years, particularly a set of strong willed, growing twins, means that some of each day is spent breaking up fights.  One night this week, I simply didn't get there in time, and one brother pushed another into the wall, creating a huge hole above the catbox. It'll be a pain in the ass to fix, and Josh & I were not happy with them, but after feeling pretty upset, I've come to peace about it.  They don't know their strength and try as I may to teach them self control, sometimes things like this may happen.  The hardest part is to not see their failure in managing their emotions as a failure on my part as a parent. 

Cheering... Grandpa on as he gets closer to his last round of chemo.  He's been so brave about his treatment every week, and this week he even took the bear we sent him at the start.  He and grandma named him Luke (short for leukemia) and Carly loved seeing him comfort grandpa as he was brave for his needle.

Welcoming... Dashy our holiday elf, back from the North Pole after Thanksgiving.  Carly is thrilled with him and his shenanigans, and he has shown up every morning thus far! #winning

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Around Here: Week 44 {2018}

 

Visiting... the pumpkin patch after school last Friday, which was an awesome choice.  There was hardly anyone there, and it was so fun to have the place to ourselves.  The kids loved climbing the hay pyramid, visiting the animals and riding in the train behind the 4-wheeler.  The twins loved riding the zip line they had there, and even convinced me give it a try. It was so much fun, I did it twice!!  Toward the end of the afternoon, we all got to pick pumpkins on the hay ride.  It was an awesome family memory to make, and I'm so glad we did it.

Happy... to be back on social media after a month long break.  I did some serious culling on Instagram, so I don't waste as much time on there, but otherwise, I am just watching how much time I spend on my phone.  The extended break showed me that my FOMO (fear of missing out) was unjustified and that I won't miss anything if I don't check my phone every two minutes!

Helping... Carly heal with plenty of snuggles, popsicles & story time. Thankfully by mid-week she was feeling much, much better after that terrible cough & cold she had.

Organizing... the boys' school memoribilia.  For the last two years, all of it (every.last.piece) has been in a humongous green laundry basket (all the boys' stuff-- all mixed together) and I finally got around to sorting it this week.  Now I just have to decide how, exactly, I want to separate and store it from here on out.  It feels amazing to have come this far!

Walking... finally, and for the first time, in a month!  I am SO happy!  My broken toe is all healed, and it felt great to be pushing Carly in her stroller, out for a long walk.

Choosing... my book of the month!  The options were so good this month that I actually chose 2 (instead of 1), plus I threw in an additional book! If you have thought about joining Book of the Month, I highly recommend joining this month and picking up these amazing books for only $14.99 for the first & $9.99 for each additional!!
The books I picked this month were:

• Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty (she's a fav author of mine, LOVED What Alice Forgot)
• Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver (she wrote Flight Behavior, which was so good!)
• As Bright As Heaven by Susan Meissner, which is about the Spanish Flu in 1918.

Carving... pumpkins with all the kids.  Logan & Wyatt did well with theirs, but Jack really struggled emptying his.  He hates the smell and feel of the guts inside the pumpkin, so I had to help him out quite a bit.
All their pumpkins were super adorable, and I was surprised how quickly they got it done.

Celebrating... Halloween and loving Carly's enthusiasm for life.  She was SO excited to go to and get candy.  We started at the Trunk or Treat in the church parking lot near our house, then we marched around the neighborhood, the kids' pumpkins getting heavier by the house.  When we got home, the boys dumped their candy out all over the kitchen table, taking stock of all they had, and they spent the entire next morning trading candy with each other.  It was so cute to hear them negotiating.

Leaving... Carly with my mom all day Friday after a Thursday night dinner with her and the kids while Josh had parent/teacher conferences for his students.  She was going to be in town visiting my sister over the weekend, so we scheduled a visit for us as well.  Once the kids took off for school, I hugged both my mom and Carly and took off.

Road tripping... 7 hours, alone, listening to good books & great music after leaving Carly with my mom.

Getting... away for the weekend!!!  I finally made it and met up Friday night with the girls from my small group bible study at Katie's in-law's beach house along the Washington coast.  We had an amazing weekend, but I'll be blogging more about that next week.

Adding... a new medication to Logan's repertoire after he had 3 seizures this week.  He had two in class and 1 at the pool during 5th grade swim lessons.  Luckily he always feels them coming on, and told a friend each time, so he was safe during all of them.  The emotional toll that his seizures take on me, however, is high, and by Friday, I lost it.  I cried and cried (I was alone in the car, remember?) and let it all out.
I just wish that I knew why he had them. And I wish I knew how to stop them.  He is so brave.  And thinking of him, so vulnerable and disoriented, hurts my mama heart.  By the end of the week, though, I was fighting to keep him at school.  If he's going to have three seizures each week, he certainly can't afford to come home after each one. So his teacher and I worked together to get him to stay in class, hallelujah.
Now we're all just putting our hope in this next new medicine.  He will take it in addition to the medication he's already on. (So he'll be on two.)  And I think when he has his follow up neurology appointment in December, I will be requesting more workups.  This mama needs some answers.

Reading.... and finishing Lord of the Flies, Marilla of Green Gables, Not That I could Tell. I had read Lord of the Flies in 10th grade, and revisiting it was super disturbing.  What a messed up book!  Marilla of Green Gables was fun to listen to, but I enjoyed Caroline much more.  Caroline's writing was far more poetic.  I am still working on Grace (Eventually) by Anne Lamott.  I started A Spark of Light (on audio), and The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer, that my mom sent me for my birthday (which is on the 18th) which I couldn't wait to open & read!  I listened to it earlier this year, and having the actual book in my hands is a dream come true. I am underlining something on nearly every page!  It's a life transforming book.  If you want to know what it's about before ordering it, I highly recommend listening to this Supersoul Conversation he has with Oprah.

Contemplating... the last year of my life as I rapidly approach 36.  My oh my, it's been a doozy!  But with the struggles & challenges, has come so much growth.  I've learned that I can't wait until life slows down or is perfect to find joy.  And I've learned to enjoy the bits of peace as they arrive, no matter how long they do (or don't) last.  And that I'm strong enough to face whatever comes my way.

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