Is this thing on?

Well it has been FIVE YEARS since I updated the blog. As you can imagine, a lot has happened in the last five years. I now have FOUR children and have become a Board Certified Lactation Consultant. I will explain that process another day!

E will be turning twelve in two months. I can't wrap my brain around her being this old. She is very passionate, very intelligent, and very much a pre-teen. She is growing up so fast! She's an amazing big sister. She plays the trombone and has just started playing softball.

A is eight now. She is my little gymnast and artist. Her passion is being creative and she likes to cook. She's my most easy going kid now. She is smart, delightful, and flexible and really pleasant to be around. She's also my biggest helper.

J is five. This boy can TALK. He can hold intelligent and hilarious conversations with anyone, including adults. He's full of energy and loves to re-purpose things. He's a really fun kid to be around. He just started playing T-Ball, and let me just say, I think everyone needs a little T-Ball in their lives. It is very entertaining and sweet.

O is two. He has five times the energy of his big brother. He's curious, loving, funny, inquisitive, and resourceful. I am so thankful for him, even if I am exhausted every moment of every day. He loves Baby Shark, Paw Patrol, Mickey Mouse and Elmo.


My days can be chaotic. I take care of everything for my family during the day and work two evenings a week at the hospital. I am so incredibly thankful for my village of friends that helps me keep things moving and loves me so well.


I just returned home from a visit to Lawrence, Kansas. We lived there for five years while Jimmie worked on and completed his PhD. We made many amazing, lifelong friends there, and one of my best friends, Mary was visiting this weekend. I adore my brilliant and lovely friend Mare Mare. We had a very delightful day on Thursday full of food, pedicures, and many other fun things. I stayed with one of my other best friends, Sarah. Sarah also has four children. She's like a super hero. She amazes me with how she takes care of everyone. She has many of the same philosophies about parenting as I do. She is one of the most genuinely kind people you will ever meet. When we get our two families together it's like a huge, crazy group of siblings. These are some of my friends that I don't see often, but as soon as we do see each other we pick right back up where we left off. Our kids do too, which makes my heart explode with happiness.


I have been very weary lately. I needed this weekend more than I can explain. Taking care of everyone and every detail in a big family can be very overwhelming. My children are amazing, adventurous eaters, but they do.not.sleep. O still nurses many times during the night. I was able to sleep for two nights without children or a dog sleeping on top of me. I was able to eat what I wanted, not think about taking care of anyone else, have adult conversations, and RUN. Sarah and David gave me so much hope in how they are raising their children, and guys, guess what I learned? When your kids get big enough, you get to sleep in on Saturday mornings. I can't tell you how encouraging this was for me. I do not want to wish these days away, and it does make me a little sad knowing that my kids will soon be bigger, but I am looking forward to the day when I get real sleep again!


Do you know what else was wonderful? How excited the kids were to see me when I got home. They acted like i had been gone for months instead of two and a half days! It was so nice to come home rested and refreshed.


I have decided that a few things need to change in my life. I need to let some responsibilities go for this season, and make things like sleep more of a priority. It's kind of like they say on airplanes, "You have to put on your own oxygen mask before helping others". I need to put on my own mask. I can't take care of my family if I'm not first taking care of myself. I need to be ok with people possibly being upset with me because I had to say "no" or "not right now" to things. I did ok with this for a little while, but have slipped back into being the "yes" lady.


Hopefully I can keep up with this blog a little better now. The kids say and do such funny things. I also want to write about some things that are near and dear to my heart, like mental health, running, and breastfeeding. Welcome back to the chaos friends! It's good to have you here.

Here's a picture of my kiddos with my Grandmom. The girls recently had a Bible Quiz and we were very close to her apartment, so we stopped by to visit with her for a little while. I'm pretty sure she enjoyed the time even more than the kids did.