Life Update - Summer 2019

Life has been so busy lately in our house. I kept meaning to sit down and write a little update, but with vacations, and a kitchen makeover, and beginning a new school year, I just haven't had time. Today is the first day that Sophie and Nathaniel have school campus classes AND I have no urgent errands or appointments, so here I am! 

A little overview of the past couple months:

-Brian and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary in July.

I am so grateful that we are closer and happier together than ever. God has been so good to us. I don't know what I would do without my caring, thoughtful, patient husband. He is my biggest earthly blessing, and I just love him.👫

-We went on a family camping trip at Cape Lookout State Park in Oregon, end of July/start of August. 🏕We could hear the ocean's roar as we lay in our tent at night, and it was such a beautiful location. I love the ocean. We also got to take the kids to several museums, a salt harvesting company, and the Tillamook Creamery, where they enjoyed ice cream and grilled cheese sandwiches. Nathaniel was sick one night, and threw up in the tent while Brian was gone in town trying to find somewhere that was open at 11pm to buy a thermometer. Thankfully it was a 12hr. type of bug. He felt better the next day, mid morning. We crammed lots of fun stuff into two days. Then Sophie was sick the whole day/drive home, and then Brian came down with it the day after we got home and was on the couch with a 102+ fever. 

So basically, we had fun, but I kinda needed a vacation after that vacation. Lol

-Brian and I had to decide what to do for school this year for Sophie and Nathaniel. 📚After MUCH deliberation, going back and forth and praying and looking into ALL the options, we decided to enroll them in a local homeschool partnership program. They have two days of campus classes where they go to school for a variety of classes, and then we homeschool for the other three days. There has been a big adjustment and learning curve, but the kids love getting to socialize and have already come home bubbling with new knowledge and enthusiasm for their new friends and teachers, so I would say so far, so good. 

The stress of choosing a new approach was not easy to deal with and it weighed very heavily on me for the last two months, so I am glad a decision has been made. Praying and hoping that it will be a good thing for all of us. Part of the reason we decided to do things different this year was so that it would hopefully relieve the constant stress I have felt with homeschooling. I do not regret at all how we did things up to this point, but when you are a stay at home mother and you homeschool, you NEVER leave work. And you still have to do all the other chores of running a household. It is hard to find balance and stay caught up on everything. And then add my health challenges on top of that, and the fact that I have had to make myself separate meals for most of this year...it's a lot for a mama to handle. My doctor encouraged me to find something that would help relieve that constant pressure I was feeling, since that's really hard on your adrenals. I will say at this point, things have not been easier, they have been harder, but hopefully it's an intense but short adjustment period and then there will be a little more balance and less pressure on me. Brian has been so great about it all too. I do not like to teach math, (my brain likes words, not numbers), and he has been totally willing to take that job on after he gets home from work, which is so amazing. I still do teach them math in different ways, but sitting down to do the bookwork is officially Brian's job. Awesome! I will be doing bookwork for Language Arts (reading, writing, grammar, spelling, comprehension) and making sure they get their P.E. in as well, whether that's swimming, yoga, biking, or other athletic activities, or talking about health and wellness and nutrition. (My favorite thing to do! ) Thankfully they are both excellent readers and love books, and I am glad that we still get to teach them a lot ourselves. Even though it is a lot of work. 

-We also started painting our kitchen about 6 weeks ago. 🖌 So far we have sanded, primed and painted all the cupboards, the walls have two coats of new paint as well, and by the end of this week we should have the free-standing china hutch painted as well. That thing takes so long to paint; so many nooks and crannies! Then we want to remove an awkward corner cupboard and put up open shelving instead, replace the old laminate countertop with a new butcher block one, get a new sink, paint all the trim and ceiling. And then when we finish all that, we are considering replacing the floor as well. 

It's like, a domino effect. Lol BUT it will be worth it in the end, right? Kitchens and bathrooms though are the hardest things to work on because you have to use them all the time. Speaking of bathrooms...that needs a paint job as well. And new shelves. And we need to replace all the carpet in the house, minus one room. And I want to repaint the porch and put in new flooring in there too. See, it never ends! Lol Oh well, that's life. A work in progress.

-We also went to the Fair, and a couple BBQs. The kids both did a week of summer camp, (Sophie farm camp, Nathaniel gymnastic/science camp).
Took Sophie's new rabbit in to get neutered after realizing that we did NOT get two sister bunnies, they are actually brother and sister. (I don't remember if I mentioned our new pets before, but the kids each got a rabbit at the end of June. Aside from the surprise that they aren't both girls, it's been going great!)🐰🐇

Went to a bridal shower. Hosted a bridal shower. Excited to officially welcome another sister in law into the family in a couple weeks.👰

Also, ate as much pad thai as possible. Actually that was just me. Lol🍲 Still working on adding new foods/more variety back into my diet.
Our absolute favorite donut shop, with the best GF donuts, CLOSED.😭 I was able to order a dozen and stash them in the freezer, but that's not going to last super long...so currently on the hunt for a new place to go for a family treat.🍩

So yeah, it was a busy summer. 

I did not make a point to take time for as much self care as I was doing a few months ago, and I could tell it was catching up to me. So this last week I have been making more of an effort to do the guided meditation or deep breathing exercises again, to get outside when it's sunny (because winter is coming and that sun is going to be taking a vacation), and get more sleep. Not really succeeding with that last one, but I will keep working on it. Progress is not linear, and sometimes success is just making it through the day.
God has sustained us through it all.❤
There have been days that feel very lonely and heavy and frustrating, but He just never lets me go. It's good to remember how much you've already been through; it reminds you that with God you are stronger than you think you are. The Lord fights for you, Jesus prays for you. It feels so good when I can remember to step back and let go and give control (or the illusion of it) back to God, fully knowing and trusting that He knows what's best and His purpose is good.
We can find things to rejoice about even in the middle of all the crazy, busy, hard days.💖 So many blessings to be grateful for.

Here are a few pictures from our summer.

Sophie and Nathaniel, wading out into the cold ocean water at Cape Lookout State Park, Oregon. Holding hands to keep from getting knocked over by the waves.

Our last donut date at Rocket Donuts.

Extremely tiny hummingbird nest and eggs; just one of the amazing specimens to be seen in the Tillamook Pioneer Museum.

Gathered with family on the first anniversary of Brian's mom's passing from this life into Heaven.

Stormy and Oreo, our mini lop bunnies.  They are super sweet and soft.

Me & Brian💘