Sorry I haven’t been very good about keeping this up like I promised my mom I would. I shall try to do better. We just got back from the most wonderful little trip to the lake that filled up my whole cup of happy. There’s something about lakes that makes everything move a little slower in the best sort of way. A few pics from the trip :)
The bravery :)
^^the dog that couldn’t figure out the doggy stairs and preferred to take the human ladder
^^she’s a water dog <3 something about seeing your creatures doing what they were supposed to do is so special. See da bess. Even if she did scratch everyone up in her trying to save all her humans effort.
This place we stayed was exactly what I wanted. It was so cute and tiny but a place for everything…thoughtfully designed, kinda cabin-y and not too fancy but still pretty… it was just all the right things :) the only thing was….. the stairs…
123 of them to be exact. Oi. It definitely made you think twice about did we get everything?? before heading up.. but by the end of the trip, they weren’t so bad and I really loved how it made you feel like you were in a tree house. The bugs were SO loud at night in the most magical jungle-y sort of way, and the fireflies were dancing and I just loved every bit of this vacation :)
^^Noah man finally worked up the courage to do the big jump <3
^^this one ended in a, “ughhh… not doing that again… ughhhhh” …as I recall
^^Luke learned to levitate
^^finally figured out the stairs :) whattagooddock
^^cause they are my favorite :)
^^always spoiled by husband handing me things!
^^And then the kids discovered tubing…
^^And the baton has officially been passed. I was telling Greg, it’s so weird to be at an age where roller coasters don’t thrill me like they used to – they sorta just make me sick, and I have little to no desire to be whipped around on the water and flung in the air by bumps of glory but alas, it makes me equally as delighted to see them so happy out there :) they started out so unsure and a bit timid and were doing proper extreme tubing by the end. So very proud of them ;) we only broke down and needed to be rescued once!
^^Someone started to get a bit cocky…
<3
We love she :) I think the doggy stairs started hooking her back nails and they started breaking off and bleeding right at the quick so she had to rest the last two days so they wouldn’t get infected :/ naturally in my middle of the night anxiety, I took Greg’s comment of “if they get infected, they might have to remove her toe…” to obviously then removing her whole leg and got all upset picturing her having to go around on those wheel legs they have for dogs and such. I think she’ll be fine though ;) she the best dog of the girl dogs that are now living
^^ there was an attempt at fishing
^^ there was some Yahtzee
^^Abbie won her first game in her whole life :D
^^We tried to take a family picture
Just kidding, we got everyone eventually
I got to hang out with this lady, eat my ice cream in peace, finally read some Hemingway… it was just really lovely!
The kids made up interesting games…
^^<3 <3 <3
There was some positively delicious eatin’, so much relaxing, lots of fun, a few really fun storms and the most dreamy sunsets. Did I mention the water was NINTY ONE!?! I can’t even wrap my head around such madness. Smith Lake, you were mighty good to us!
We officially have a 6 year old and a TEN year old! How?? Howww??? Noah wanted to have another go at ice skating, clearly forgetting all the previous times of tumbles and tears. This time was no different and we had the pleasure of witnessing the whole spectrum of human emotion once more on the ice. But I think they still had fun even if they were begging to go home half way through and eventually left with very bruised knees and tears in their eyes. I did notice an ever so slight improvement so we’ll call it a win. Love that little punky brewster so much . So very very thankful he’s mine :)
And then we geared up to enter the double digit world. Abbie was so sad there was no snow on Christmas but kept praying for just a little on her birthday, pretty please. And then it just so happened a storm was a comin, and it happened to hit right on her birthday, making her the luckiest girl in the world! A snowy gift from above that just makes me smile :)
^^you can tell they are from CA when they’re out there making snow angels in an inch of snow :)
^^TURNS OUT this one also loves the snow. Either that or it’s just so cold she has to keep running so as to not freeze to death… but from her giant smile and frolicking movements, we’ll say she’s found a new happy :)
The sweetest parents that came all the way across the country to celebrate this ten year old <3
They kept calling this surfing. I don’t think they even know about snowboarding..
And then we headed out to get Abbie’s ears pierced but quickly discovered everything, including the mall and every store and restaurant around was closed, because snow.. and that’s apparently what they do here. So instead, we decided to take my poor sister and brother in law on a lovely drive out to the land, through the snow covered countryside with steep slopes and ditches abounding… but we made it and had a lovely little sledding session and snowball fight and got to see her all covered in white :)
And then Tami recovered from the drive of death with some lap dog therapy and we prepared to be overtaken by squeals and dancing to celebrate little miss.
Uncle Doug was the BEST to put on an incredible magic show for her! I’m still in awe!!
And then we were off to Opryland to combat the post birthday blues!
Had the best time riding water slides and little boats through the resort :) never had gone down a lazy river whilst there was snow outside! But mostly we all just loved spending time with those wonderful people we miss so very much :)
AND THEN the day arrived where we could finally do the ears once more!
And she did it. And I’m so proud. And now she feels like a grown up and I’m just not ready for it.
How can you not love that little face?? It’s such a delight to see her grow up into a little lady, I can’t believe I get to be her mama. These kids. They make me so very happy. Most of the time :)
Thanks Gummy and Papi for coming to see us! We love you ever so much!
Tritmas is sadly, now officially “Christmas” in my kids’ heads and next year I just know candy cans will officially become candy canes so since all the brilliant people in the world can’t put their heads together and figure out a way to freeze time so I can replay the Tritmas’, and candy cans, and kitty cat bars and all the things they say that I will now never say any other way, I shall continue to try to remember through little snippets into our days. I keep forgetting to take pictures of all the things but here are a few to remember Christmas!
Abbie and I made our first log! I’m realizing until one of us becomes better at baking, we should skip all French recipes to achieve the blissful baking experience I see in my head. Recipes that include phrases such as “IMMEDIATELY place in oven” and have me looking for a shade and consistency of egg white that is not explicitly indicated, freak me out. I might have hit her in the head several times whisking vigorously as she tried to peer over the bowl, but you know, we did our best. Those French. I think they delight in having vague and unnecessarily complex recipes. But goodness I love them.
And my kids are officially in the “don’t quite love it yet” phase of Coquille St Jacques. There may have been many tears and heavy sighs BUT ONE DAY! it’ll come, and they will start craving it just like the rest of us, come Christmas Eve. So we press on because, tradition. What is life without tradition??
When we walked into this house for the first time, the kids were literally most excited about the fact that we would finally get to hang our stockings on the mantel of the fireplace. So this was momentous.
We are all excited about chapstick these days.
First one of us to get a donkey <3
Apparently Noah is the only one in pictures anymore. And loves to dress up in all the things. And doesn’t do freaky faces every time I point a camera at him. I’ll still keep trying with those older two ;) but he’s just been cracking me up lately. I got him that doctor kit, as requested, and when he opened it up, there were a fair amount of pink supplies which I’d imagine a little boy wouldn’t be thrilled about. So I said, “Aw buddy, I can return it and find another one..” to which replied, “no it’s ok, mom. Just don’t let it happen again..” He took my hand as I was walking down the stairs and said, “men often help ladies down the stairs, mom” <3 I asked him what he wanted most for Christmas and he said, “What’s that white thing on the counter?” “The KitchenAid?” “Ya, I want one of those to play with” :) And then quite possibly my favorite – he was gazing off into the distance with the happiest smile on his face and said softly, “in heaven, Luke won’t be able to punch me because he’ll be so kind…”
Hope you all had a lovely Christmas! We miss you all, near and far, and love you very much!!
I just love this place. It’s so magical to me, the way the forest glows and the leaves swirl all about. We have officially been land owners for two whole weeks and decided it was time to do a weekend camping trip, so here are a few pics from the place we might just one day call home!
Abbie of course got bit by a hornet moments into unloading because NATURE but luckily she was the bravest girl on this day and carried on swimmingly!
This boy and the way he crosses his legs <3 these things make me smile
My girls <3
Wrong time to forget their helmets.. This one and his love for speed… but do you see that bend right there?? I remember driving around to literally every property on the market and thinking, I just wish I could find something tucked away around a bend.. and LOOKIT. A bend. :):)
So thankful for these wonderful friends. They are such an answer to prayer <3
Made some hobo packs and FINALLY SAW THE STARS!!! Twas all so very wondrous!
And then the glowy sunrise came!!!! I dunno .. I just really have a thing for glowy leaves. Poor Greg wanted to find lovely flat pasture land and I made him buy a snake like ridge surrounded by forest because the LEAVES ARE SO MAGICAL!!!! I just really love them haha I hate leaving. They just make me so happy to stare at. We shall see how I feel about winter…
Lady of the land! This dog. This is why we are two peas in a pod. I forgot her love of forests (as we so discovered on our last camping trip).. she just seems so happy amongst the trees! And she runs and runs and tuckers herself out. It brings me so much joy to see my people and creatures happy :)
Men make fire
This precarious camping situation
So. Step one is moving the telephone poles that go right down the middle of the property so it’ll give us a little more flexibility on where we can put the house. Which then requires taking some trees out so we can put these to the side. Which then I guess makes it step two. We are currently still waiting for step one :D but we are hoping to widen the middle bit to open up the pretty view to the hills there, and undulate the tree edge so it doesn’t look quite so much like a wall of forest.. you know? You know what I mean??
It really is nice to see these kids so happy out there. We shall see how long this newfound feeling lasts but the last time we were there meeting with the contractor, they were gleefully gathering bags and bags of acorns the whole time, giggling away. And it was really good. And I wish I could pause that moment and visit it again and again.
And there’s a nice path down by the creek that I HOPE they will spend loads of time building forts and getting lost in imaginary lands. One can always hope!
And the sweetest thing I heard this trip was, “Miss Hillary… next time we come over to your house, you don’t have to lock up Maisey..” :’) These sweet kids have finally conquered their fears of the giant leaping dog and have willingly pet and loved on her. And that makes me oh so happy :):) Sees a really good dog!!
I’m pretty sure they are trying to blow him over?
Sometimes it scares me and just feels like a lot of work. But most of the time I’m just so thankful. I really love being there and I miss it when I have to leave, so I figure that’s a good start :) Also, do you know how hard it is to get this \/ picture these days? Someones leg got stuck in the door, someone was scowling, someone was giving me sass, all were crying but in that half a millisecond before they all fell over, ten years from now when this project has finally finished, we can remember their cutie little faces and how little they were and how crazy we were to spend all our money on wild land full of promised potential ;)
One month of figuring out the lovely new land of Tennessee.. Here are some bits and pieces of what we’ve been up to!
Been exploring (and being bit by) all the new bugs!
Spontaneously bought a new flag and was so glad I did because everyone has one on their house and it just makes me so happy :)
Such a blessing to have the sweetest friends here!
Snuck my plant here under the guise of a box labeled “art” and it’s still alive! Think of my momma each time I water it :)
The first week or so was kind of hard. I don’t think I had really processed anything that was happening cause I was in such task mode for months and months but all of a sudden we were swimming in a mess of boxes, I couldn’t (and still can’t!) figure out where the heck I am.. I always find myself going the wrong direction and getting so lost, everything seems so unfamiliar for obvious reasons and I just kept having that feeling of uh oh what are we doing?? So it’s been nice to find little encouragements on the ground here and there to get me out of my funk :)
I remembered how we were so stressed about finding a rental and couldn’t find one that would allow dogs and cats and was big enough to work from home and have a homeschool area and all the things we needed.. and we were sitting there having this very discouraged conversation about where to go when at that very moment, my phone rang.. and it was the woman from a rental I had applied for after having been turned down to all the others that would have worked.. and she said, “lot’s of people are interested but if you’re ok renting without seeing it first, it’s yours if you want it! .. but it’s not available till mid to late July..” which was precisely when we were planning on moving and obviously we wouldn’t be able to see it first and it just felt like such a perfect miracle! It’s just so crazy to me how we’ve been praying that God would open and shut doors and put us or keep us where He wanted us and it’s like He just flung them all open and plopped us here :) Being able to sell our house so easily and figure out all the logistics that needed to take place and all the things.. It’s been awfully comforting, despite the feeling of a big step backwards, that I really feel like He helped us along the whole way. So once I stopped pouting and ignored all the shoddy work everywhere that inevitably comes with a rental, I realized I just love living here! There’s no pressure on making it look nice! Ha! I wake up to the most beautiful view of green trees! (well, until winter comes but STILL!) I have the most giant bath tub! It’s been the best possible neighborhood experience! The kids can ride their bikes around the block by themselves without me worrying! They spend most of their free time playing with the other neighbor kids which has been such a gift! Our other neighbors brought us cookies :’) Another neighbor invited us over for the most delicious smoked ribs! He also happens to be from Los Gatos and gave us Santa Cruz cups to remind us of home :D I’ve heard it said people in TN are nice but it’s a noticeable difference over all! They have been so nice! Greg was having a hard time getting something heavy into the garage and our neighbor comes running across the street to help! Anyways, it’s just a silly thing but it’s really been so nice to be surrounded by such kind, friendly people.
Sat in the DMV for 5 hours to get our (truly horrible) pictures taken for our licenses! Got caught in a tremendous rainstorm on the way back to the car! The kids thought it was the coolest thing :)
Celebrated Luke’s birthday for the millionth time!
Took him to the high ropes course. He got attacked by bugs. I conquered my fear of heights. Some of us had more fun than others.
Maisey has been making herself at home :) she’s been the sweetest little comfort to have around <3 I’m just so thankful for her.
Stayed up late watching heat lightning :)
Been love love loving the warm rain and having a front porch to watch it all on!
Boys got their first barber shop haircut!
Luke’s like, “no offense mom, but I think I wanna go back there..” :)
Every place we’ve lived, we’ve stumbled into a nice restaurant in our hideous street clothes without knowing it was nice. Accidentally kept the tradition.. they seated us upstairs so as to not be seen by passerby’s ;)
Greg got a steak as big as his head.
Found a metal man and a big chair
Been waking up with the strange desire to purchase more guns ;)
Love that this boy still plays with his trains :) I just love those kids so much
Got my first tick ;) Greg casually mentions “you have a tick on your ear” and walks away. I didn’t know if it was crawling… if it was going to go innnn my ear.. didn’t know he went to get tweezers… :)
Greg took Abbie to go see Lindsey Stirling again on a little daddy daughter date and i’m not jealous at all.
I also had extreme ponytail envy.
Realized recycling is not a thing here.. still can’t figure out how to get a recycling bin.. and this is what every post-shopping trip looks like. I think they put one item in each bag? even milk gets a bag! I never need to buy poop bags again.
Had the BEST time at the fair! It was so cute and wholesome and lovely and had all the boardwalk rides my kids loved so that was nice :)
Went on this ride with Noah that got me laughing SO hard it still makes me laugh.. For whatever reason, our car was flinging around much more forcefully than everyone else’s. My glasses went flying off my face, my neck muscles had a hard time keeping my head steady, my hair made it so I couldn’t see anything and we were quite a site!
Took the kids to the river since I heard swimming holes are a thing here? They saw it and were like, WHAT? No way am I going in that!!! IT’S BROWN!!!! but then I forced them to and they ended up having the best time :)
Started school! I’ve been so worried about this year but I’ve been having the best time with them! Two weeks down ;)
Been exploring the most beautiful forests with the cutest tiny frogs!
That. Cat. :( has been hunting all the birds! We tried to rescue the sweetest dove.. in my head she magically regrew all her feathers overnight and is now living her best life <3
That. Cat. :( has also been bringing in all the fleas ..cause someone forgot to give her her flea medicine last month :/ whoops. but still. I am currently not a fan of that. cat. Counted over a hundred bites on one leg alone! I’m quite itchy :)
Took the kids to one of the civil war sites yesterday and found myself unexpectedly moved by it all! So grateful for all the lives given to bring freedom to us all!
This girl has been gifted with extra tongue ;)
I really love it here. I love driving around despite never knowing where I’m going! I love the weather I love the heat I love the rain! I love that it’s not super crowded! I love the friendly people! Every church we’ve visited has been amazing! I just really like living here and am so grateful the Lord kinda nudged us along :) I don’t like the bugs. So there we go – one month down!
Just a few pictures to remember this house I loved so much. Seems silly but I can’t seem to come up with the right words to say about it. It was just a house after all but it was more than that. It represented God’s faithfulness over and over again and heartache and growth and healing and so many wonderful wonderful memories and celebrations and births and deaths and discouragement and renewal. All I remember feeling when we were packing up was extreme gratitude. I truly believe God has been guarding my heart with that peace that passes all understanding because I can’t explain our willingness to move any other way, or the absence of my usual basketcase-ness. So anyways, despite never getting the relaxed lovely pictures I always intended to take, here are some hurried ones snapped quickly while the kids were out of the house ;)
I called this my little woodland garden AKA the redwood droppings garden. It never did become what I wanted it to but c’est la vie..
But THIS garden… despite it looking terrible when we sold it and possibly to everyone but me for the rest of the time, ugh, I loved this garden. It would catch the light in the evenings and sway and make me oh so happy. I would go and sit against the redwood tree to hide hehe so I could sit and stare at it in peace and watch the little birds that would come sit on that fountain and all the happy buzzing bees and butterflies and it just brought me so much joy for probably looking like a tangle of weeds to everyone else.
That silly little sign that I found on Etsy also brought me a surprising amount of joy for whatever reason..
And this was our welcoming committee :) Maisey Bonk.
I still remember the day I put that little sign up. We were going through the HARDEST parenting stage and I remember putting the kids to bed so angrily and they were being so naughty and I was probably yelling or whatnot and just storming down the stairs in a huff and seeing that. dadgum. sign. And having to turn around and reluctantly go apologize for my bad behavior and say sorry for all the things. haha it was our turn around and repent sign and mayyyy have just transformed our family cause I feel like we were headed to a bad place! So there ya go. Scripture doing what it does best :)
The PIVOT stairs and my most beloved painting <3
Called this room our morning room and I will never get over how lovely it was to finally have a fireplace after months and months of waiting for rain cause the guy building it could only come on a rainy weekend :) but coming out in the dark of the morning while everyone was still asleep and getting to sip my coffee in silence by a fire!! It was my most favorite.
I also remember when we bought this house, we didn’t have much, if any furniture but we were determined to open it up to whoever cause we loved it so much we thought other people would too haha so naturally we signed up to host a bible study.. with no furniture. But! that couch came unusually early – naturally the morning of our first meeting. And that will always make me smile.
Ha! That old oh so heavy piano came with us because it was the one my sister learned on when she was a little girl and I miss her and now I have a bit of Whad in my house to make me happy. :)
I also remember being pregnant with Abbie, sitting on our small hard couch in Pasadena, looking out our ugly small windows and dreaming about how much I would just love to nurse this baby on a big comfy white couch next to big beautiful windows… never thinking in a couple of months we would be moving and He would *so specifically!* provide all those silly things I was dreaming of!
The ever evolving little room that could. It was an office, a play room, Luke’s nursery, Noah’s nursery, and finally Abbie’s room!
And thissss room went from being my least favorite, grossest room in the house to the coziest, loveliest, most wonderful place to wake up to :) But it was dark and small so the pictures don’t do it justice :D
And again, despite the terrible pictures, this will probably forever be one of my favorite bathrooms. Maybe, again, it was because of how gross it was before but I just loved this room even with all its quirks and flaws :)
Guess what. I never finished painting the kitchen.
This was a n o t h e r room that I probably loved more than necessary simply because I remember how grungy and impractical it was and how hard it was to cook anything on the stove that couldn’t fit a full pan and had the one burner that worked.. sometimes. So very many good memories in there :)
And THIS room had one of my favorite views in the house which is just the loveliest thing if you have a lot of folding and ironing to do. And no I do not have a picture of said view because I tried and it could not be captured and so it shall stay in my head.
But this side was my actual favorite because it was pretty and practical and hid all the boring stuff and still had loads of storage :):) and Greg just recently realized how much storage this house really did have which was just the most lovely music to my ears!
She was plain and boring but I liked her. And she had a lovely little bench that I loved to escape to except Greg would always find me and ask why I was hiding.
And here’s my broken fish I never did fix. I still have all the parts! but who has the time..
Let us go upstairs, shall we? AND I FORGOT to take a picture of the deck and it’s view :'( and of the dining room. ERGH. but those were two of my other favorite spots! I felt like I was in a bustling city up there, what with all the traffic noise you got ;)
Loved that little room :) but I was worried once they grew out of the mural, how to get myself to paint over it. So at least it won’t have to be me anymore!
So there she is! And she was so fun to love on and fix up here and there. And I shall miss her. But the thing that was the hardest to leave behind was :'( my :'( garden :'(
That was saying goodbye to hours and hours and hours and hours of hard, manual labor and work and sweat and tears and love and so many gifts and memories that I wish I could have dug up and taken with me except last time I did that, nothing survived except my one twisty plant that I had to leave here :[ but the trees my dad gave me for Christmas and the ones my mom gave me and the mock orange my aunt gave me for Abbie’s dedication and the snowball bush she gave me for Luke’s dedication and the dogwood tree she gave me for Noah’s dedication and the rose my mom gave me for mothers day and the grape vine my sister gave me for my birthday and the olive tree my mother in law gave me when Luke was born and and and!!! I did sneak one out here all defiantly because I just couldn’t leave it behind no matter what the rules were! It was awfully fun and rewarding to see this space transform and although I never got to see what I saw in my head, that yard was a mother-load of work and despite my love of gardening, it’s sorta nice to just have to remember to water a few plants each day rather than lie awake at night trying to figure out how to keep a thousand babies alive. So in memory of my beloved garden, here’s my most favorite place in the whole house.. especially at sunset when the sun would make everything glow. It was just so magical to me :)
Our little schoolhouse <3 speaking of, do pray for us as I finally did the math and realized we should probably start school ummm tomorrow. I am not in the least bit prepared or ready and am SO intimidated by 4th grade as we have to start learning Latin and studying Plutarch and such. But off we go to fill our heads with knowledge amidst the boxes and mess.. ahhhhhhhhh!!! Oh well.. what better lesson to learn on the first day of school than life isn’t perfect and to just move on through the mess ;)
So there she is! The little house we once called home. So thankful for each bit of her and all the wonderful memories and parties and people that came to celebrate all the things with us. She was good.
We had so much fun making our way across the US. I was especially blown away by all the landscapes and uniqueness of every state. Every time the scenery looked like it was beginning to change, sure enough we were close to a state line. It wasn’t without it’s low points (I see you, exit I missed in the dark that added a whole hour to our trip when everyone was oh so very tired) I’m not still mad or anything, but WHO designs a highway you can’t turn around on for a whole HALF HOUR!? Desert highway designers, that’s who. But we made it to our first destination in Twentynine Palms on a balmy 105 degree night and slept the anger away :) sorta.
Turns out every place I booked was extremely remote and well, the sandy roads were hard to distinguish from the less sandy ones especially in the dark, so now I know I need to confirm a mini van can actually access such destinations. Greg will never trust me to book things again. Only ran into a few dark bushes though. You live and you learn. The other thing we learned was to make sure the cargo box is indeed shut. One of those, “I don’t think I shut it” conversations confirmed by the “Hey look! My jersey! Our towels!” conversation. Sure enough there they were tumbling away down the highway. It was all very amusing till we realized all the way in Tennessee, that we lost Greg’s new camping gear. Boooo. So now we know: shut the cargo box!
Have you been to Kitchen in the Desert? The main thing I was worried about on this trip was the animals sizzling up in the car which made dining experiences near impossible. But I saw the cutest little patio WITH MISTING MISTERS! and thought yay we don’t have to eat fast food for one meal!!! But they were sweet enough to let us bring our dog and our cat into the cool, air conditioned restaurant and it became my favorite meal of the trip. Best plantains with this cucumber deliciousness on it, best burgers, the kids had the most incredible crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside pancakes I’ve ever had with spiced pears that tasted like Christmas and I was oh so happy!! Abbie found out what incense smells like and was not a fan. It was all very desert-y and a very fun start to our trip :)
I think it is impossible for them to be near a cactus and not touch it. Yes, someone always says ouch.
It was hot. July is a fine month to travel across the country. After this, Eleanor started panting and wouldn’t drink any water, which, if you consult google says without immediate medical care, death is likely. She was the funniest little traveler and gave us several scares along the way. She started out in her carrier but clawed her way out and made it known she would be just fine riding the whole way on the center console, thank you very much. But sometimes she would fall asleep so hard we’d pick her up and her head and arms would just flop back down all limp and dead looking. My heart stopped on multiple occasions and wondered how to discreetly offload a dead cat along the way.. I’m so glad she made it though. We do love her.
Next stop was the Grand Canyon which I’ve waited my whole life to see!!!
^^Grand Canyon flowers :) I do love weird plants. Well we finally got up there and it looked a whole lot like this!
It was big and it was beautiful but if I’m being honest, slightly underwhelming.. we took some pictures and patted ourselves on the back for planning our whole trip around this misty beige canyon..
^^when you ask your kids to take a picture of you guys in front of the grand canyon.. do you see it? do you see it?
My kids and their love for dramatic pictures ;) also, curious how they chose where to put the railings..
Greg and his games he plays with the kids :) I love being the mom that just gets to watch
And then!!! AND THEN!!! We were getting ready to leave and I looked behind me and THINGS STARTED CHANGING!!!! And the sun came out and started setting and oh my goodness I could have sat there all evening watching it set and change and uggghhhh it was so beautiful!!!! It just started glowing and shifting and turning all different shades of red and purple!! My pictures do nothing to show how stunning it was but goodness, it really showed off in person :) so here are a mere one thousands snaps of probably the same thing cause I couldn’t get over it and I couldn’t pick one.
So my disappointment became total awe and I left the happiest lady. And then there was the yurt. Our big dilemma was always, do we get dinner or do we try to get to the oh so remote place before dark. We were hoping to do both on this particular evening but found ourselves lost, yet again, bumping around the remote places of the desert as the sun dipped into total darkness and no yurt was to be found. My it gets dark in these places :) again, the “roads” were hard, if not impossible to see but luckily we had a lovely gentleman wander out with his little flashlight, fall down amidst the rugged terrain, pop back up and tell us to not go any farther “because there’s a hillbilly over there with a lot of guns that you don’t wanna mess with” so we tried to follow the directions back to the road but got lost again. By this time, Abbie is wailing about being lost forever.. oh yes – it had just stormed moments before dark so there was some slipping to be had but eventually we did indeed find the road and take the correct exit (another lesson, always double check the non google directions given by the kind people offering their remote properties – ROOKIE MISTAKE!!!) This time the roads were getting bumpier, there was still no yurt in sight in the darkness that was that night, the ground was getting muddier, and we did eventually find ourselves totally and completely.. stuck. We tried all sorts of things to get out but just kept getting deeper and deeper till the bottom of our car was resting on the ground and our wheels were spinning away. Abbie got out for some reason, and sunk right in with mud fully encompassing her shoes. We must have mentioned sinking, and she started scream-praying GOD LIFT US OUT LIFT US OUT!!!! WHY ISN’T HE ANSWERING US!?!?! to which we had some lovely conversations about God not being a genie but that we know He is good and although He is fully capable of getting us out, we must accept the good plan that He chooses. The next day it came up, somehow she thought we were in quicksand and that’s why she was hyperventilating about how this was the end and we were all going to die. I just thought she was being dramatic :) poor sweet girl. All that to say, we grabbed what we needed and slipped and slided our way on foot to the yurt in the dark. And we found it, hallelujah!
Luckily it wasn’t raining and luckily it wasn’t super hot but the kids were so relieved to be inside, LOVED that they could see over the walls from their bunkbeds and hated the compost toilet. These are their thoughts from the yurt.
That night I was just praying He would help me accept whatever tomorrow looked like, cause we had an 11 hour day of driving ahead of us and waiting for a tow truck for hours and hours just felt so overwhelming. We decided to get up early and see what we could do.. maybe the mud would have magically dried? Bah! It was as stuck as ever. I really wanted my kids to see God answer their prayers but sometimes that just comes in super practical ways. Well, do you know what He did? Here, in this oh so remote desert of Arizona, one random car happens to be traveling by at 6 in the morning. He just happens to be a traveling mechanic. Happens to have all wheel drive on his tiny little vehicle. Happens to know our car really well and knows where to attach a rope on the back cause we only had a front hitch. Happens to pull over and ask us if we need help! I may have easily forgotten this whole scenario if He just quickly answered our prayers but that angel man I will never forget! And so, we continued on just 30 minutes later than we were planning. He’s really good, guys! Really, really good.
Picture entire wheel covered in such substance. Forgot to take picture :D
And then we drove through the most beautiful area! I had no idea parts of Arizona were so lush and foresty!
And then we finally made it to Shamrock, TX where again, we bumped along to our destination, being extra cautious of muddy places.. found our little place and looked into the wonderful eyes of a cow. By the way, I picked all these spots to see stars. It was cloudy the entire time. Every place we went. But the mooing of the cows in the fields brought my spirits right back up and I was so happy once more. And then there were coyotes yapping and howling (does Texas have wolves?) I don’t think so but anyways, there was a warm lovely breeze and cows and it was good. Kitty escaped but we found her rolling around in the field.
And then we were off to our last little cabin in the woods. I did read the directions this time, in which it was stated to “use four wheel drive if you have it or second gear. Get a good pace and head up. Don’t slow down. Just keep going and don’t slow down or stop.” << actual instructions. So we did and we made it and we were locked out. So we had to go back down to find cell service on a day that all of Verizon was out in the area :) But all worked out and we had a lovely time and were so glad we got there before dark!
Then we loaded up once more, this time in the pouring rain, and made our way to the new state we call home! Still can’t wrap my head around that one. But here we are just waitin to see what to do next.. in the meantime, going through one million boxes of why do we have all this stuff!? items. Enjoying warm rain and storms and more green than my little eyes can take in. He surely puts beauty everywhere and I’m so thankful we got to see so much of it!
…and some of the last. Because I’m behind. As usual. This year has been such a whirlwind! Homeschool has been non-stop but oh so fun! I was helping in the kids program at BSF which doesn’t seem like a big deal but it took up two mornings each week, which, in homeschool land is a lot. I just feel like we’ve been go go going and I’m so ready for theslow days of summer. HA. Today our house went on the market so the visions of rest shall have to wait :)
The backstory..
In January, we were sitting around the dinner table chatting about this and that and somehow Tennessee came up. I mentioned that “I like Tennessee… I could live there…” I don’t know what made me say it except that I really have liked it the couple times I’ve visited but Greg gave me the weirdest look and said “that’s interesting” and that was it. Naturally when I went to BSF the next day and they randomly went around the circle to check in on everybody, I of course burst into tears blubbering about maybe having to move and how everything was about to change and and and. Of course Greg and I hadn’t even talked about this yet but something in my spirit just knew everything was about to be different. Later when I had collected myself and actually asked him about this initial strange interaction, he said he had been thinking about it for a while and wanted to talk to me about it but felt the Lord say to wait… she’ll get there on her own. We have never talked about moving. Ever. Not seriously at least. We adore where we live. This is our forever house. We love our house. We have quite literally put our blood, sweat, tears and all our money into this place. We love all our family here. There’s nothing that was spurring this on.. except maybe the homeless lady down the street that kept lurking and stealing all our packages but really! not even her! We love it here so much!!! It was just this strange feeling that I’ve had maybe two other times in my life before big life events, that I felt again, so we started talking about it. We both had the exact same town in mind. Again, we’ve never talked about TN ever. It’s not like we were just looking to move wherever. It was strangely specific and so odd we were both so aligned, we just thought it was worth looking into.. so on our anniversary, we figured we’d just book a trip way down the line in May, and go out and just see… I don’t know what… just see. Ha. And this is how we do things ;) And since then, it’s been lots and lots of talking and discussing, a lot of me waking up in the middle of the night in a complete panic, or in tears, or in a WHAT THE HECK ARE WE DOING state of mind… a lot of processing… a lot of asking why?… a lot of not getting an exact reason but feeling like we need to just step out in faith because all I want in life is to go where He wants us to go and do what He wants us to do. There have been SO many prayers of GOD I’M SO SCARED!!!! and yet every time, it’s like He whispers to me it’s all going to be ok. It’s all going to be fine. He’s given me so much encouragement through His word and random devotionals and books. He’s just been so good. As He always is but ugh when you have nothing else to lean on, it sure is a comfort to have a great big God that will take care of all the things. And it’s a strange relief to give up something you’ve been holding on to so tightly. I love my house so much. I see His fingerprints and His faithfulness all over it. But at the end of the day, it’s just a house and if He’s leading us away from it, it’s going to be ok. Seasons come and go and there is so much beauty in each one if you have your eyes open to see it. Speaking of, I’m really excited to be moving to a place with seasons! I’m really excited about so many things! So long story short, our house went on the market this morning, we got a rental in Franklin and will be moving out mid to late July, hoping to eventually build! But we shall see where He leads. I’m just along for the ride :) So anyways, that’s what has been occupying my brain as of lately but here are some other snippets of things here and there! There was Fall… haha takin it back…
There was (most likely) the last time my kids would let me put them in theme costumes for Halloween :D
Abbie made the most scrumptious caramel apple cream puff deliciousness that night, that I still think about often!
There was our annual before Thanksgiving bowling tournament! The kids said they did NOT want to move to TN if there was no bowling alley but I checked and I think we’ll be ok. We are hard core once a year bowlers..
There was my most favorite of holidays where I got zero pictures except this but their vests were so cute I just hope they fit in them forever <3
This was the year of many an animal event. We lost like three chickens in one week earlier this year and only had one left.. and you know.. they like to be in flocks and she wasn’t doing too well so she lives with our neighbors now :) I ordered chickies for the spring but then our world turned upside down and I sadly had to cancel my order but one day I shall have chickens again!! I miss them!
We kept the dog though
Then there was winter :)
There was a lot of school done in this position
And other school activities requiring pasta
There was the sweetest little shower for the cutest of the pregnant womens
There were Nutcrackers to attend. And Nutcrackers to make friends with.
And magical nights away
And days with sinking lawns
And days by the sea <3
There were cuh-racy New Years parties to attend
And our most favorite way to welcome the new year with our most favorite people
Our last baby turned 5 so there was the traditional Disneyland trip!
There was a little girl who went on quite the adventure to find a kitten on her birthday. Who knew available kitties were so hard to find!
They like each other I think?
Abbie planned her whole birthday and it was the cutest thing :)
The boys started golf!
We welcomed the most precious nephew!!!
Maisey continued to think these grasses were planted to ease her aching puppy joints. They used to be so pretty :)
Kitty ate my knitting needles
And the week before any strange looks were exchanged, I put in a giant bulb order, ordered chicks for the spring, and called about putting a pond in because THESE were on their way!!!!
I finally got my duckies! I’ve wanted ducks for so long!!! And wouldn’t you know, by the time they finally arrived, the discussions were beginning and I’d just lie in bed at night wondering how to get them to TN if that is what we ended up doing. But I kept turning them faithfully each day hoping they would in fact hatch and 28 days later we had the most adorable creatures I ever did see! Here are a few hundred pictures :)
God did a good thing making them so cute because BOY do they stink! I was SO happy when they could finally move them out of the house :D And then they turned awkward real fast :)
I loved them. But two of them mysteriously drowned and the rest wouldn’t come out from the dark corner of their pen and I don’t know what was going on but with my mind swirling with trying to figure out our rapidly shifting future, they went to the neighbors as well :[
And then there were eclipses to view, and decks to sleep on, and sprinklers to run through <3
And then there was Tennessee where I had the best mother’s day where my whole family went to go see Unsung Hero with me and it was so sweet even if all I could hear were their chairs going uppppp and downnnn the whole time and there was so much greeeeeen everywhere and everybody wasn’t angry and it was just so lovely. I really loved it there. We wanted to go to a church that a pastor Greg likes goes to and I was praying Abbie would meet a friend in Sunday school and wouldn’t you know, she came out and said she met her best friend. And it was the pastor’s daughter! So then they invited us over for pizza one night, and we got to see our friends that live there a couple times and it was just so much fun. Tried to buy a house from the 1700’s :D even though I told Greg we were done with our old house phase. It was just so pretty :’) Everyone was just so friendly.. the firemen pulled up and walked over and asked the boys if they wanted to get on the truck… just felt like the sweet slower pace of life we’ve been craving :) we shall see we shall seeeee
Came home and finished school! So proud of those kiddos <3 they really pushed hard so we wouldn’t have to bring any books on OUR CAMPING TRIP!!!!
Had the BEST time in Pinecrest even if I was so sick the whole time. So sorry to everyone around us and the extreme hacking that was happening each night. And also for my kids screaming MOM COME HERE THERE’S SO MUCH BLOOD!!! IT’S GOING EVERYWHERE!!!! so very early in the morning. Luke got a bloody nose, and turns out, those do indeed get on everything :) Maisey became the best dog that ever was and seemed to find her inner peace amongst the pines! She was the best hiking dog and SWIMMING dog! and conquered her fears of the scary steps! She even fell asleep sitting up from all the new activities she participated in :) see da besssss <3 <3
I absolutely boo-hooed on the way home, thinking about that being the last time we’d camp there. Apparently I’m a mess at all times these days. But also very excited for the next adventure, trusting He knows so much better than we do! Thank goodness for His goodness :) Happy summer to you!!!
I do apologize. I think it always takes a while to process a trip but looking back on these pictures, I’m reminded what a wonderful trip it was and how BEAUTIFUL God made the world! I’m reminded of the wonderful people and customs and streets and towns scattered all over the planet that make us smile and bring such joy. What a gift to be able to explore such things :) so let me show you bits and pieces of our adventures!
Here we have Greg convincing the kids it would be way more fun to watch him play the games whilst waiting those three dreaded hours for the plane to arrive. And they seemed to agree :) it was e i g h t y e i g h t in San Francisco. Have you ever dressed in your bulkiest garb for Ireland weather and had to sit in a sun baked airport? It’s quite fun.
They say the Guinness in Ireland depends on the pub and all the locals have their favorites etc. Well, that first night, the Guinness tasted like nothing I’ve ever had before. It was like drinking a cloud! It was so delicious and has stuck forever in my memory as magical. My life is clearly changed. Thank you, Guinness family. And that particular pub.
Their breakfast buffets made me so happy with their full honey combs and pastries galore but especially their beans and tomatoes and mushrooms that kept you full all day so we hardly ever had to eat lunch :D I did look forward to such things.
These two. We had the best time with them! I couldn’t imagine better traveling partners!
Dublin was one of those cities I didn’t really care if we went to or not… but I’m so glad we did! The pictures just don’t capture it but it’s so charming and walkable and friendly and I really ended up loving it! I would absolutely go back if I could!
THE WINDOW BOXES. I came home and told Greg WE NEED WINDOW BOXES EACH PLACE! I just loved them so much! They were all over Ireland and England and they made me so happy!! Of course they get rain, but I could keep them alive I’m just sure of it!!!
Ha the Guinness Storehouse was like a mall. There were so many floors of beer education and so very much to see. I had just finished Angela’s Ashes and he’s always going on about how the men have to go to the pubs after work because we wouldn’t want the Guinness family to starve! Well, I get the impression they won’t be starving any time soon ;)
Abbie tried her first oyster! I tried my first oyster with Guinness! Luke fell in love with an air plant!
We finally made it to the top with the most lovely of views and EVERYONE WAS JOLLY!
And then Greg and his family were off to Jameson and the kids and I walked back home and got to see little bits of the city here and there which was simply my favorite!
First stop – St Patrick’s Cathedral complete with boy with broken legs!
Thank goodness they had a playground that miraculously healed said legs!
All the emotions were had!
And then that night we went out to the most unexpectedly delicious dinner! And ice creams with things in it! And all the pubs were packed for the rugby world cup AND IRELAND WAS PLAYING!!!
And the next day we were off to Trinity College which, in my head, is exactly what college should look like.
IS THIS TOO MUCH TO ASK!?! It was so pretty haha
I think I wanted to attend Hogwarts. But the library was empty for renovations I think? and other things didn’t work out but it was still fun to walk around in and pretend I was much smarter than I was. My favorite part was hearing the most beautiful choir waft out of the chapel! It was all just so lovely!
In the first pub we went to, Lory asked if their fish and chips were the best and the waiter answered honestly, no. If you want the best, you have to go to Bray. So off to Bray we went in search of the very best!
I really liked the little we got to see of this sweet town. Maybe it’s just the sea. I love the sea.
But he was right. It really was the best fish and chips of the trip! Complete with the best mushy peas :)
And then we were off to Kilkenny to an estate that literally made me feel like we were in some Jane Austin novel.
The views around that place were just spectacular! And it was so quiet and peaceful! I want to go back :)
Their morning faces are my favorite <3
I wasn’t expecting great food in Ireland but we had so many incredible meals! I was so pleasantly surprised! And the other thing that surprised me wereeee the fake flowers everywhere!!! Ha! They were everywhere! Both Ireland and England! I always saw these elaborate flower displays on Instagram, outside of shops and stuff and wondered how they kept them fresh and alive. Now I know! They are very pretty! We just don’t really see that here :D
My personal favorite <3 gimme all the dead flowers!!! I love them so much! But seriously, isn’t their form and structure just stunning?? I was in heaven. Greg sees things differently ;)
So. many. hours. in. car.
And then we were off to Waterford!
Have you ever been to a crystal factory with three wiggly children? It doesn’t make you sweat at all.
What a fascinating tour though! Starry Starry Night was my personal favorite but I was just blown away by the craftsmanship and skill involved in each piece. And getting to see them work was so special!
And then off we went to see a whole lot more of this
I just never got tired of seeing it. Their landscapes were so pretty to me! I probably have one thousand blurry pictures of green and hills and cows. And a few ruins. It’s just magical!
But then we made it to our little schoolhouse where we spent the rest of our time!
It was the tiniest little town but drop in Susan was so sweet and even brought the loveliest scones! There was a cow! And a beebee cow! And there was the most beautiful estuary to gaze upon and such.
Luke’s teeth were fallin out all over the place. One fell out right before we left. One fell out in Ireland. Another in England. And another right when we got home. Now he is symmetrical.
I LOVED the castles way more than I thought I would. They are so spectacular in person. Even driving by, you don’t really get it but WALKING UP ughhh they are so beautiful! I’m normally so embarrassed about touristy things but every touristy thing we did was so much fun! ha! Greg signed us up for this dinner in a castle which I really didn’t know what to expect but there was singing and mead and delicious food and no utensils and it was just so much fun, I’m so glad we did it!
It’s just so fun to go in a real castle and see a real dungeon and go up the super tiny steps in the super narrow staircase and see the things we’ve been reading about – silly but it’s such a dream come true for me to get to do this sort of stuff with the kids :)
The next day was really fun for me – we ended up stumbling upon this little beach town (which, I don’t really think of Ireland as a surf spot, but it felt oddly comforting to see little surf shops all around :) ) and again had really good food in quaint little pubs and it was just all those things you want in an outing :)
And then it was off to see the Cliffs of Moher which I really wanted to call the cliffs of mohair cause that’s what my brain kept doing. My goodness. I kept hearing there are other cliffs… you don’t have to do it! but I’m, again, so glad we did. They be so pretty!!
I don’t know if this ^^ is ballet or karate, but it is the pose that kept happening.
The next day we were determined to finally get Abbie a jacket, poor girl, and headed off to the Ring of Kerry which is just, unfathomably beautiful. Like, you kinda get sick of seeing so much beauty. Yuck. I’m just kidding. It’s ridiculous. But ALSO the variety! There were so many different TYPES of beauty and landscapes… it was just such a treat for my misty mountain loving soul.
My sister had said she couldn’t find many (or any?) shamrocks in Ireland. This was the only resemblance I could find. Does it count?
And then everyone humored me by going to Limerick the next day… cause again, Angela’s Ashes ;) I LIKE SEEING THINGS IN PERSON OK!??
Also the birthplace of The Cranberries anddd The Irish Coffee… which was also the best I’ve ever had in mine life if I do say so myself.
Now THIS castle I loved! There was so much history that we have been learning about and again, just so fun to go into these real places and be there! I hope it sticks in the kids heads but if not, I’m really enjoying my second education ;)
Abbie looking right at home ;) can’t blame her.
The Ring of Kerry was a l o t of time in the car the day before so we promised the kids a playground date and ohhhhh there was so much good. Abbie was pouting cause no one wanted to play with her and two seconds later she was leading around a whole posse! They were all wondering why we were even there because no one visits Limerick on purpose, they said. She was the first person they had ever met that used American dollars and none of them had ever left the city except one had been to London to see Beyonce :D hehe they were so cute. And the park was packed and everyone had the most wonderful accent and it was just fun to be amongst locals. Oh! Another thing I was surprised with was how many people spoke Irish. I guess I thought it was sort of a dead language but it’s not.. all the signs were in Irish (big) with English (smaller) underneath.. Irish is very much alive! And it’s called Irish, not Gaelic, we found out. These are the things we learned ;)
So there’s an address in the book that was just around the corner from the park.. not sure if he actually lived there or not but Greg was nice enough to check it out with me :D And it was fun to see some of the churches mentioned and little places here and there… I think there’s actually a museum we could have gone to but, NEXT TIME when I drag my family back to Limerick ;) we went to yet another fish and chips place and looking at the menu, I had no idea what to order, so naturally, I tried to confidently order what the guys in front of me ordered and came out with a very large amount of food.
And then we were back to the Shannon that kills. One more thing about Angela’s Ashes and then I’ll shut up about it. The dad is always going on about the (river) Shannon that kills cause it’s always damp there and people are dying from all sorts of diseases because of it and such.. well, I was reading it one day and then it hit me. BABE, I said, where did you say we are staying on the west side of Ireland? And then I realized… the quaint little schoolhouse that was so affordable right on the water was ON THE SHANNON THAT KILLS ;) The Shannon estuary not the river so maybe it makes a difference but anyways, that was the joke. We ended up all getting sick (ha! after visiting the Shannon River!! JUST NOW PUTTING THIS TOGETHER!!!) and yes, I was maybe worried she would do her killing but we survived. And she did have some pretty sunrises :)
And then we roused our sick selves and headed off to Galway for our last day of Irish Exploration!
I really just wanted to see some live music while we were there so Greg was sweet enough to find a pub that had such and my trip was finally complete!
We really loved Ireland. My pictures don’t even begin to capture how stunning it was. If you are a lover of moody landscapes…. it’s just :’) so :’) lovely. And the rock walls everywhere. THEIR HIGHWAYS WERE SO STUNNING! My beauty loving heart was just so happy. And the people were so kind and we just had the best time driving and driving haha all about! I shall miss it very much!
But then we had to say goodbye to Lory and Jen :( and hopped over to England where someone threw an epic tantrum on the airplane, someone may have cried, and all of us were very much wanting to head home too! Ok maybe it was just me. I was so tired and so ready to be home but we kept calm and carried on, as the British do. Greg spoiled the kids rotten (ok and me :D ) and surprised them with all the fancy things. We are all utterly rotten, once more.
That bed was so comfy. Our bed before, the sheets weren’t quite big enough for the mattress and kept shifting all night so this was a real treat :D
Oh look pooplets.
I loved London. I feel like we barely got to see any of it but everything I saw I loved! We’ll just have to go back I suppose! For now here are the basics :)
Here’s another touristy thing I actually really ended up enjoying!! Whaddayaknow!! Greg really wanted to see Westminster Abbey and I’m so glad he did cause WOW ohmygoodness the architecture and and and art and statues and all the things!! And all the dead people! I didn’t know there were people buried under there. That was strange but here’s Sir Isaac Newton..
But my goodness the skills some people have.
We thought it would be fun to do a high tea with the kids and signed us all up… and then started to do research.. and then remembered the kids, ahem, none of us have any manners and then we started to sweat and dread and hate ourselves for being such foolish uncultured Americans! But then we went anyways and it was fine and they were very nice and my goodness that’s a lot of sandwiches and no one was doing the things we learned!! So maybe we didn’t go to a real one but we tried ;)
It’s hard to be proper when you are the pot of gold.
We didn’t get to spend much more time in London cause we found they don’t like cars. They don’t want you to drive cars. They do not provide parking lots. So we headed out to our people in the country.
Greg’s a huge Top Gear fan and we conveniently h a p p e n e d to be passing by so we stopped in for supplies and such. It was windy. And then it was off to the cutie Cotswolds!
I cannot fathom a place where everything is so idilic but I did pretend I was Beatrix Potter and all the ducks were my friends and it was quite nice. We got some good rain (finally!) and had the coziest little place to snuggle up and play games and try not to hit your head on the light!
And then we walked :)
There was a sandwich. From this shop. I’m still thinking about it. It was it was it was ughhhh it was the best sandwich. I really liked it. Apparently. It was ham and cheese and melty and crunchy and just SO GOOD. And this loaf of bread was good too. My heart breaks for gluten free people. WHAT KIND OF LIFE HAVE YOU KNOWN!?!?
This house was so fun :) the kids and Greg were horrified the whole bathroom would get wet whilst showering, the bath was in the bedroom, one needed to duck to get into the bed, and the whole house needed a day to warm up and stay warm. It was all so lovely :) AND THE TOWNS!
THERE WAS CUTENESS EVERYWHERE!!! DO THEY EVEN REALIZE!?! And then it was one more fun meal and off we went to the next place amongst beautiful scenery each place you looked!
And Greg let me go to one garden which filled up my gardening cup. Mostly because I HEARD HIM ACKNOWLEDGE all gardens have weeds and look dead in October. Even lovely estate gardens with full staffs. And I felt seen and heard and all was well :)
Give me all the rosehips!!! And dead meadowy things!!! I bet you were just stunning in August :)
And allées!!!
AND THEN to possibly my most favorite place of all!!!! But only cause we got to see our friends!! AND ALSO THE PONIES!!!! off we went to the New Forest!
DO YOU SEE HOW MANY ARE SO VERY CLOSE TO THE ROAD!!!!! This is my heaven. I have made it I am in heaven.
THEY JUST ROAM AROUND. EVERYWHERE. HAPPILY. AND IT’S NOT JUST PONIES!!! There are donkeys and pigs and I’m sure other things!!! This was very hard for me to handle. It was all very good. But then we got to see our wonderful friends and that was even better!
And then I got the most delicious birthday breakfast and lovely birthday outing to see lovely cars MY FAVORITE ;) and lovely falcons!! and lovely gardens and estates!! and delicious cocktails and it was all so wonderful.
AND THEN the next day they took us to the most delicious Sunday roast I ever did have. It was inspirational! Seriously need to work on my skills cause I must have such things once more!!!
These people are really special. We miss them a lot <3
And then it was one more walk in the woods with the ponies :) :) and off to Windsor Castle!
The Red Coats came.
And then we breathed a big sigh, had one more delicious meat pie and headed home, thankful for the memories, and thankful for our beds :)
Time just seems to be f l y i n g by! My brain can’t seem to comprehend that it’s already fall and where on earth did the time go and what happened to summer and and and! I can hear Abbie’s little voice in my head saying, “mom can you just sit with me?” and my answer is almost always, “ya just a sec, I just need to ….” There’s always something isn’t there? Everything feels so busy right now and I’m forever trying to find a balance. Why is finding that balance such a hard thing? I guess that’s why we have the actual visual of a balance beam or a tightrope walker constantly subtly adjusting to make it right. I just happen to still be in the flailing stage ;) Perhaps that’s why I like taking the time to remember silly, little, rather mundane things. It all goes so quickly and the simple stuff happens to be my favorite stuff. So let’s remember, shall we?
I got to celebrate one of the most wonderful humans I’ve ever known. Forgot to take any pictures but hopefully he knows how much we all love him. He’s exceptional.
One day we were at the beach and the kids start talking to this guy who hands Luke a live shark and tells him to go throw it back in the water. I think it is forever emblazoned in his head as the most courageous act he’s ever done. I was equally terrified and oh so proud. And so glad he didn’t end up as bloody as the lil fellow.
Obviously we spontaneously woke up one morning and drove to get dis doggy
Abbie rode back the whole way home like this because poor Maisey girl was throwing up so much.. things I wasn’t exactly prepared for..
But she slept on my lap in between pukings and looked into mine eyes with all her puppy goodness and I didn’t mind so much having an arm covered in chunks for a couple of hours ;) hey, I had had the norovirus a couple weeks earlier so it was sort of a bonding moment. or something. I think.
We’ve sorta been in puppy heaven ever since <3
But really I saw this and thought it a more accurate description..
She be crazy. I love that she loves to be outside with me but she does like to rearrange any plants I might be planting. She has ideas. She thinks she’s a lap dog which was just so dear when she was tiny but now that she’s giant can be a bit much when she makes herself comfortable up there.
She loves to join us at school
She seems to concur with Bentley that the window should be a door and uses it as such frequently
She loves to make a mess of toys and carpets, trash, dolls
She is often the worst dog!
But oftentimes the best
She’s so very obnoxious but we love her to bits. She brings me so much joy and isn’t that what life is all about? The things that are messy or inconvenient or rob you of some self-serving desire tend to also be the ones that enrich your life the most? Get the dog! They are the best :):) We love that Maisey doggy
Greg and the kids threw me the most dreamy mothers day complete with all my favorite things! I felt so very spoiled
I even got stones!!! ..that I have yet to place because, life.
We got to go on some cutie little school outtings
AND EVEN FINISHED SCHOOL
And then came the boardwalk summer. Oi did we get out moneys worth out of those passes… if I never have to ride another ride again…
Just kidding, I love the rides. It’s the people. But I just said inconveniences enrich the life. I guess I love all aspects of the Boardwalk. Especially the most busiest of days.
Sometime we just go into the ocean with all our clothes on
And then proceed to run through public areas in our skivvies.
Well not all of us.
There were game nights
And REAL concerts with daughters!
She loved it.
There was explosive chamomile to harvest!
And days where Greg went into work and I thought THIS IS MY OPPORTUNITY TO PAINT THE CABINETS!!! Turns out it takes a long time. They still aren’t done..
And we tried this guy red. Luke was very upset that I didn’t like it as much as he did.
And now it’s a clashy brown! But I think I like it? Sometimes? Solidly in my beige stage. Clearly.
And then I didn’t finish the kitchen so I thought it was an excellent time to begin the laundry room
The big kids went to camp!
Little man and I got to hang out with cousins :) er, cousin.
There was a trip to Indiana and Michigan in there!
I really love all these people. I’m so blessed to get to be part of such a great family
There was lots of karate
And making the best of not having sisters
There were fourth of July celebrations!
Greg decided to do his tiki summer on the coldest summer in history ;) but mmmm
Abbie and I made cheese, then a cheesecake, then felt so very domestic, then tried it, then threw it away.
I was so happy I took AAAA picture of my garden this year cause I didn’t feel like I was able to spend any time in it :[ but different seasons give different flowers.. do you see what I did there all metaphor-like
Because I like to remember the flowers when all I can see are gophers and weeds :)
There were lots of chiropractor days from last years gardening ;)
We started school again!
And crafting days!
And more fieldtrip days!
And beautiful moons and mermaids on logs
And fair days — the. piggies. my life is forever changed
And Abbie starting to sneak in and steal my clothes days!!
And lovely nights around tiny tables
Noah just loved roller skating with Uncle Ray’s daughter <3
There were even painting days with my momma!
And celebratory dinners!
And guitar playing days
And baking days
And tooth losing days
And so very much school
This year has definitely been a challenge in the school department but one that I am so enjoying. Still working on not flailing quite so much in the balancing act and trying to find our rhythm but God is so good in how He gently leads and guides and gets us out of our ruts. He is a Good Shepherd and I am so very thankful to walk beside Him through all the hills and valleys. And that’s all my little brain can muster up right now! I hope you are having the most wonderful beginning of your fall. I feel like I can finally acknowledge it now and I’m just so excited!!! Till next time, summer! You’ve been grand!
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