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Showing posts from 2016

He's My Bart

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When I was a horse-crazed teenager, I was given the opportunity to free lease a horse named Bart for a year. I had been a rider for years, and confident in my ability. I could gallop around, jump, handle the occasional buck. I'd ridden dozens of horses, had countless lessons. I thought I was a good rider. And then I got Bart. He was a stocky, strong, dark bay (brown) quarter horse, stubborn and strong willed. It didn't take long for him to establish who was in charge. He was sweet on the ground, but once I was riding, I couldn't control him very well. We'd be doing great, and then he'd whip around, get the bit in his teeth, and pull my skinny 16 year old self back to the barn. I created lesson plans and exercises, trotted him in circles for hours (until he got bored and pulled me back to the barn), and read articles about how to train a stubborn horse. He'd buck out of no where (as I'm typing this, I'm wondering if his saddle fit right...maybe there wa

One, Two, Three

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Baby Sweet Samuel is now almost 7 months old. When Graham was our one and only, we documented so much. I made these little monthly updates with his weight and all the things he could do and pictures. Poor Sammy has had little of those, though he does make his way onto Instagram fairly often. Anyway, we've had 3 kids for about 7 months and we are not only surviving, I'd say we are generally thriving (don't remind me that all three were up at 5:30 this morning. Stupid Daylight Savings Time). The summer was hard- all day, every day, three kids on not enough sleep, very little community, and not much to do in our area. But this fall has brought a sweetness and change with the school year and refreshing season. Behn and I love having a baby again. He is growing so fast, sitting now, babbling, and thinking about crawling. The big boys are also maturing and are more independent...sometimes. They can set the table, get themselves dressed, help in small ways. This isn't wi

Off The Bookshelf

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I have not been reading as much as I'd like to lately. I fill my days with busyness around the house, trying to sneak in some exercise, and running around. But in the evenings, especially at this time of year, it has been nice to make a cup of tea and snuggle up. I've read a few things in the past months, but am eager for a new read. First off, a classic. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen I loved reading this Jane Austen novel. I've seen the movie lots of times, which helped, as there are a lot of characters. I also got the homes/estates confused at times, since they all have names as well. The book had a lot more detail than the film (as books do) and I really enjoyed it. I loved the romance and sisterhood in the book. Now I'm thinking of re-reading Pride and Prejudice since I haven't read it in years. Book attempt and fail: I tried to read The Lifechanging Magic of Tidying Up. I got about 1/3 into it, but eventually got kind of bored. Behn and I ar

These October Days

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These October days are filled with baby smiles. Samuel can sit up now, and his tiny tuft of hair stands on his head and he's so beautiful my heart explodes. God is good. These October days we 4 -Graham, Patrick, Samuel, and I- walk home slowly from the bus stop at the end of the road. Everyone else drives to get their kids, but we walk and breathe in fresh (warm, this week) air. We check on the trees as they change color. Sometimes we detour into the woods. Yes, some days, there is whining, but it is always worth it to walk if you can. God is good. These October days, the house smells like pumpkin spice granola. I'm bagging it up to send to each of the hard-working teachers who have made my boys' transitions to school so seamless. Graham especially is thriving in the structure and all day learning. God is good. These October days I cherish my parents. I love that Dad is here with us this fall, and hearing what God has placed on his heart. I love callin

Summer Recap: Graduation in Oklahoma

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Another great trip that happened this summer was when Graham, Samuel, my Grandma, and myself flew to Oklahoma to visit my brother's family and celebrate his graduation from flight school. We are SO proud of Isaac and Elizabeth and I am very grateful to have been able to make this trip. It was Graham's first time flying! And Samuel's, too, of course. We were a funny little group but everyone did great. Southwest Airlines are awesome. The next day was the graduation. It was a little difficult with a baby and a 5 year old but we managed to see most of the ceremony. Afterwards, we took pictures. Absolutely love this picture! Pinning his wings! Elizabeth is such a wonderful support to Isaac. Proud to have her as my sister. After lunch, we went to see airplanes. Such fun! Fun until Graham's ping pong ball got away from him and blew across the Air Force tarmac. Kid in tears chasing a ping pong ball for 200 yards across a legit dangerous space while I'm

Summer Recap: Williamsburg

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In an attempt to catch up somewhat on all that happened this summer, here's the first recap. Williamsburg, 2016. Behn and I booked this little 4 day trip to the Williamsburg area in the spring, in anticipation that we would need some sort of kid-friendly getaway in the summer. Took a while to arrive, but it was finally late July and we got to go to Williamsburg. We stayed at King's Creek Plantation, which was great except for their hassling us to go to their presentation about buying a timeshare (we are so not in the place to do that, nor would we if we could). The great thing about a resort is they have a bunch of pools, which worked out because it was 100 degrees the whole time. We did a lot of swimming. We also braved the heat one evening for a round of mini- hockey  golf, also at the resort. Of course, we also went to Colonial Williamsburg and Yorktown. Behn's a big history guy and we all enjoyed it, when the kids weren't melting in the heat.

Typical Day Right Now

Y'all. I'm still here. Synopsis of my typical day (Mon- Thurs): 6:00..?? Patrick up at o'dark o'clock. Why?? Tell him to lay still and cuddle with us as long as possible. 7 a.m.- 8:50: Breakfast, getting everyone dressed, pack 2 lunches, general maintenance of bodies and souls. Looks like a bomb went off by 8:50. 8:50- 9:30: School drop-offs. 9:30: Finally home. House is quiet, except, oh yeah, the baby. But still, mostly quiet and I take a deep breathe. 9:30- 1:40: Everything. Clean up the bomb that went off from 7 a.m.- 8:50: laundry, meal planning, grocery store, meal prep, Bible reading, journal, sweeping, dishes, call actual adult humans for social contact, walk on treadmill, try to do squats/crunches (funny), shower. Oh yeah, and caring for the little human (breastfeeding, diaper changes, holding, playing). I have to pick and choose what to do each day. 1:40- 2:15: pick up Patrick 2:15- 4:00: play with Patrick, care for Samuel, maybe start dinner if I

Kindergarten

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It's mid-September and for the first time in days (weeks?) it is cloudy. Cloudy days, cooler air bring out the dreamer in me. I feel restless. One way I outlet that? Writing. I just told Behn that I'm so lucky to have him. He's steady and solid while I'm always dreaming and scheming. The summer felt long and hot and tiring. There were lots of good times and trips and sweetness but the endless idleness and all the needs of young kids left me weary. Now the two big boys are back in school and I have time- not much, but a little- to breathe. I have so much I want to record about the summer...how can I even catch up? I'll probably just do a big photo dump post. I better do it soon, before I forget it all. So easy for tired, busy mamas to forget. I don't want to forget the little things they said, tiny fingers, memories made. I kind of want to forget the long days, the tantrums, the nights we had cereal for dinner again. But it's all life, and it's all gr

"Triggers"

-2011- I slumped down wearily onto the couch in the quiet of the room. My counselor introduced herself and we began our session in prayer. I wasn't even sure why I was there. I was mostly just tired and felt like I needed to talk to someone, but I didn't know about what. After a session or two, she told me something I'd never heard about myself before. "I think you're feeling angry, Megan." Angry? Me? I had a happy childhood. I'd lived peacefully with friends in college and never had a major fight. I waited patiently in lines and in traffic. My husband and I had a solid relationship. And now we had a cute, happy little baby boy. Was I tired? Yes. Frustrated that I had to babysit full time so that we could make rent? Sure.  Anxious? Sometimes. But I didn't really think of myself as angry. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get too deep into it. I went for the 6 sessions that my church paid for, and I was too shy to ask for more money to contin

Off The Bookshelf

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And we move into August. I have read a few books this year, this summer. I wish I'd read more, but my quiet time is so limited. Still, priorities, right? Here are a few things I've read in the recent past: Roots and Sky by Christie Purifoy I read this a while back, in the late winter when it was published. I did really like this book. It's subtitle is "A Journey Home in Four Seasons" which appealed to me because 1. I like the idea of 'home' and 2. I love the 4 seasons. The writer has a poetic way of writing. The book follows the first year of her family's living in their historic brick home in Pennsylvania. It is full of pretty quotes, spiritual lessons, seasonal nostalgia, motherhood, and little stories along the way. I especially liked her writing about the gardens they plant. Bonus: follow her on Instagram (@christiepurifoy) for beautiful photos. Favorite quotes: " What is God doing in my life? In the mornings, I wake to

Oh, July

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Oh, hey there. A whole month gone by, and no writing. I hate that. I love writing; it helps me process things, remember this life, treasure moments. The air is warm and humid, cicadas humming. We've suffered through a long heat wave and the thunderstorms finally rolled in last night. It's the hard, middle part of summer. This summer has been just exhausting- in the good ways and in the hard ways. So much has happened: a whirlwind trip to Delaware for 4th of July, Dad had a heart attack (he's ok), hosting a new friend from Ukraine for a week, a family trip to Williamsburg. I want to write, but then a kid has a hard moment, I need to write a new grocery list, the baby wakes from his nap, I need to catch up on my reading for a book club I'm co-leading...the list goes on. At the end of the day, I am brain dead and can't do much more than binge watch Nashville .  I miss peace. I miss quiet. I miss not being constantly needed, and always touched. This mothe

Summer Updates

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Summertime...you are lovely and tiring and warm. Yesterday was the first official day of summer, but it's been warm and the kids have been out of school for a month now, so it feels familiar at this point. Today the air is humid and the sky looks like it might host one of those wonderful summer thunderstorms. I took the 3 boys for a walk in the woods this morning and it was perfect: that earthy woods smell was strong and we all breathed it all in. And then we got eaten by mosquitoes. The sun has been going down late and up early with the summer solstice and so the kids seem to go to bed later and wake up too early. That, on top of their relentless energy , million demands (not that every demand is always met), and a baby that is up at night nursing, is why my blog has been quiet. Writing is hard right now, as is showering, exercising, and sometimes eating. I do tend to prioritize eating though. Basically any alone time I have is very limited and I'm stretched thin. What hav