Around Here: Week 38 2025

{September 14-20th}

Logan's girlfriend is the best and always sends me pics of my guy.

A fun comparison:
The twins in fourth grade & Carly in fourth grade

Enjoying... donuts on behalf of Logan. He showed up with them for the family, which was so sweet! Something unexpected about him having a job is how much he spoils the family. It's been really delightful to see. 

Cherishing... a slow morning with Carly, watching a show and reading all the books. We don't get enough of those, so I really enjoyed it.

Reading... The Unmaking of June Farrow and We All Want Impossible Things. They are both so good and I have liked them both.

Processing... Charlie Kirk's death. It still feels unreal that people can die in this way in America in this day and age. I am so sad for his family. (I can disagree vehemently with his politics and still not be okay with his death.)

Feeling... like there's not enough time in the day. I want to be present with my family, clean my house, write in my journal, post on my blog, and read while also being an amazing wife. It's just too much living and not enough time! 

Laughing... as Logan was riding his dirt bike and Jack was on a walk, and the two of them both (separately) got caught in a massive downpour.  Oh those poor boys!

Sending... Logan off on a dinner date with Elyssa. He's been doing so great lately that his curfew (which was 8pm) is now 11pm on weekends and 9pm during the week). 

Loving... Kelle Hampton's post (@etst on Instagram) about how we are raised to believe that babies require the most of our parenting. But looking back, infants are only a "2" on the demand scale compared to supporting big kids through big stuff. Amen, sister. Amen. 

Reaching... out to the boys' teachers to make sure they had seen their 504's.  I also shared an infographic that related to the boys' diagnoses and let the teachers know to reach out if they had any questions. I got a lot of great replies that made me feel like my kids are in good hands. God bless high school teachers. That's all I have to say.

Staying... home with Carly who was sick Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday this week, poor thing. Thankfully the only thing on my calendar was my massage, which I was able to reschedule. Thankfully she was well enough to go back to school Thursday. 

Printing... fall coloring sheets for Carly and I to color while we were home together. We used this website: https://mondaymandala.com/fall-coloring-pages/ They had a lot of really cute options!

Doing... load after load of laundry while I was home with Carly. 

Decorating... for Halloween as a means of entertaining Carly while she was home sick.  Josh brought in the Halloween bin and she was delighted. 

Missing... book club this week as I was home with a sick girl and quite tired myself. 

Disappointed... that a rug I had been so excited to finally order ended up being really poor quality and bad for pets. This thing attracted their hair like it was made of lint roller material. So bad. The edges weren't finished and the colors weren't near as good in person as they appeared online. So disappointed. 

Letting... Jack stay home Tuesday despite the fact that I really wanted him at school, and feeling happy for him when Josh found a dirt bike to buy on Facebook Marketplace. He's been looking for one for a while now.  Josh took him & Logan to go look at it and came home with it in the back of the pickup. Later Jack posted a story about it with a song by Waylon Wyatt (whom I don't know) and when I saw the name I laughed and told Jack it reminded me of his Papa Carl. 
When Wyatt was a baby, we stayed with Carol & Carl while we waited for our teacher housing in Alaska to be finished. Carl offered to hold the baby and as I handed Wyatt to him, he asked, "What's his name again? Waylon?" I laughed so hard and said no, it wasn't Waylon (which reminded me of that singer Waylon Jennings that my Grandpa Jerry liked so much) it was Wyatt. Jack laughed when I recalled the story for him. 

Grateful... that Jack was able to go to school Wednesday.  After school he and Logan worked for a few hours, then they were able to take their dirt bikes to the sand dunes for a while. I am happy they have them because it's such a positive outlet for all their energy.

Meeting... with my counselor Saturday morning and chatting about how there is no such thing as the perfect choice, or even the right choice. We just make the choice we feel best about, and go on from there. We can't know the outcome, and that's okay. We just make sure our choices align with our values, and that has to be enough. 

Receiving... my Book of the Month box. I was so excited!!! I can't wait to start reading Wild Dark Shore most of all! That author wrote one of my favorite books of all time: Once There Were Wolves. 

Shrugging... and saying "C'est la vie" when Carly decided to spend her weekend making art with glitter and that glitter ended up ev.er.y.where. It was truly remarkable how much was left behind. Lucky for her, she's my fourth kid and I have mellowed a lot. Plus I love glitter and creativity. So I couldn't be that mad. 

Subbing... for one of my favorite kindergarten classes in the afternoon on Thursday. Gosh I just love those littles!

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The terrible rug I mentioned. 
The colors are off, and look at all that dog hair!

Oldie by goodie of Wyatt

***

Things I shared on the internet this week:

I feel so seen.

My friend Kori sent me this. 
It felt like a hug.

The infographic I sent Wyatt's teachers
about his type of ADHD (inattentive type).

The infographic I sent Logan's teachers about
his type of ADHD (combined type).

I want to try this- to write out the opening scene
based on this image. So fun!!!

I sent this pic to my little brother.
He's always talked about building something like this.

More of Charlie Kirk in his own words.

This.

And this.

Another helpful infographic.

And this final infographic.