around here: week 17 2020

Family FaceTime to wish my nephew Isaiah Happy Birthday!

Enjoying... how Carly feeds her stuffed animals (which we call "bubba's" at our house) with her pretend food.  She even puts her real bibs on them and uses her little plastic silverware. It's adorable. 
Also enjoying a little break from the twins on Saturday while Josh took them to the land to ride four wheelers.  Carly got to spend the day playing with Wyatt, which overjoyed her little soul, and I got to spend the day journaling and reading, which made me so happy!

Watching... Holiday in the Wild on Netflix and enjoying all the elephants in the movie.  It was a cute little romantic comedy.  I've also been watching Anne with an E again from the beginning and I love it just as much as the first and second time.

Kayaking... with the family on Sunday and enjoying some music on the lake while soaking up the sun.  It was so lovely to get out of the house, and it's such a great workout!

Reading... Anne of Avonlea, Untamed and Iron & Silk, and listening to The Making of Us.  Untamed is incredible.  I am underlining something on nearly every page.  Anne of Avonlea is like a big hug. It's such a cozy read, I am loving it.  And Iron & Silk is interesting (about an American teacher in China), but mostly, it's a book I have had for somewhere for at least six years now, and I am so relieved that I am finally reading it.  It's been riding on my conscious for a long time now!

Receiving... the last book I ordered for my Anne of Green Gables collection.  I have 1-6 in a super cute collection (that even came with a journal!) and then I ordered Rainbow Valley & Rilla of Ingleside from Powell's, so The Blythe's are Quoted is the final piece!

Encouraging... the boys to do more reading as well by setting goals for their reading time.  They read for a half hour everyday after lunch, and now I tell each brother how many pages I expect them to finish in that time. If they meet that goal every day (Monday through Friday), they earn movie night. If they don't, or they are caught not reading during that time, they will lose family movie night Saturday.  It's been incredibly successful and I think it's actually helping them really love reading, because they are reading enough of the books to really get into them. It's exciting to witness.

Telling... Carly the same three rules every night at bedtime:

1) Stay in your bed

2) Be quiet

3) Go to sleep

I love how she looks when she does her little "shhhh" with her finger on her lips for #2.  She's just so darn cute.

Asking... Josh to cut my hair.  I've needed a haircut since before quarantine, honestly, and I had finally had enough of my split ends.  He was very brave and just went for it.  Then after he did the original cut, I trimmed a bit here and there, and overall, I'm very pleased with how it turned out!  It looks so much more healthy!

Loving... Carly's drawing of a cat and how much she loves her new set of dress-up stickers from Melissa & Doug.  I ordered them, hoping they would be a hit, but having no idea how much she would play with them. They're reusable and are full of unending fun.
Also loving how much Carly loves the Birkenstock flip flops my mom bought her to match me.  Before she went to bed, she lined her little ones up next to mine, and when I saw them all in a row like that, my heart did little somersaults in my chest.

Pulling... out a tree in the front yard and replacing it with a lilac, my favorite.  Josh and I both disliked the tree that was originally alongside the front porch, so when I asked him to pull it out and put a lilac in it's place he agreed, but was not looking forward to digging it out.  So instead he bought some tow rope and used his Suburban to rip it out. Then we passed the little tree along to his mom in hopes it can have a second life out on his parent's land. 

Celebrating... my nephew from faraway by waking him up with a beautiful rendition of Happy Birthday, sung by his dad, my parents, my sister & her crew, and Josh and myself and our crew.  It made my heart feel full to all come together and send him love on his big 21st birthday.

Finding... hearts everywhere it felt like. I found a heart shaped rock in the driveway, and a heart shaped chip in Carly's BBQ Lay's bag.  They always make me smile and make me think of Everett and Toby, whose mom's I follow on Instagram. They're heart warriors whose stories are both remarkable in their own ways and have reminded me not to take for granted my healthy kiddos.

Laughing... at how Grady sits on the couch looking out the window.  Especially if the kids are out there.  It's quite pitiful. 

Grateful... for the twins' tech teacher who checks in with them every week and knows our whole family.  Even Carly jumped in Jack's lap to check in with Mrs. Kowalski and talk about our dog with her. Any time we have a technology issue or question, she is our go-to teacher, and she somehow never seems put out or annoyed by our need for help.  Love her!!

Regretting... that Carly left her glasses outside on the patio.  Grady found them (he LOVES glasses for some reason!) and DESTROYED them.  Carly cried and cried when I found them in the grass, lenses popped out, completely chewed up.
Thankfully each of our kids has a back up pair, so she'll be fine, even though our vision clinic is closed.

Appreciating... the messages that the boys leave for Josh and I in our shower with Carly's foam letters.  There is only one of each letter, so they have to get really creative with their spelling. Love those guys.

This made me laugh.

This made me take a deep breath.
Keep carrying on, friends. 

***