WayfaringStrangers

Ya'll. We made it to 3.5. Two was hard. The first half of three was harder. And then it was like a cloud was lifted...a goldmine was discovered...a rainbow in the sky...you get the idea. Three and a half is pretty awesome. It's not perfect, no. He still won't eat chicken. But it's so much fun! His imagination has taken off. He's a pirate, he's a baseball player, he's a monster. He says the cutest things: "God made me; God loves me," "Come on, Patrick, let's hide from Pirates," "I need 3 chocolates because I am 3," "Oh, this breeze feels great! "  And there's lots more where that came from. He is learning empathy. I moved my struggling daisies to a new location and Patrick promptly stomped on them. I was sad, and Graham came up to me and gave me a hug (unprompted), "It's ok, Mama. The daisies will be ok." He loves the garden and enjoys watching it grow with us. He asks a...

It's mid-summer, so I think it's time for an update on the garden. It's been a lot of fun. A bunch of work, too, but I really enjoy the work. Behn is a great helper and we both love being out in the yard making it pretty. This year, I'd say the vegetable garden is more of a "hobby garden." It's the best one I have ever had, but it's not really producing enough to impact our groceries. It's fun and we have enjoyed some fresh food, but we're not exactly farmers yet ;-) Still, it's been a lot of work to dig up the dirt and turn it into an area that will grow vegetables and flowers, so I'm proud of us. We have big plans to expand it next year. Things I've learned: I need more than 4 measly green bean plants if I want a real harvest. I also need to make sure I string them up more efficiently next year. It's a good idea to start new squash plants in June. That way they can replace the ones that will inevitably get eaten by bore...

It's been a wonderful July. Crazy that we are almost at the end of the month. A couple of weeks ago, we spent the morning at our friend (and my brother's girlfriend) Autumn's house. The boys LOVE Autumn (me too!) They had a bunch of fun. Patrick got to ride on the 4-wheeler with Uncle Aaron. It's his dream come true!    The boys got to play in the pool. Uncle Aaron threw Graham really high! Got a huge bunch of blueberries from the Mennonites. They are safely tucked away in the freezer and ready to be made into all sorts of lovely treats. The butterflies love the zinnias. We have had some much needed  rain. Going to the beach last week was so fun. I want to take the kids next. So there you have it, a little peek into our life.

My tutoring gig today got cancelled at the last minute due to traffic, which leaves me with a tiny sliver of a moment to try and catch up on this here blog. Remember when I said that lately things have been getting easier with the kids ? I really think that's true BUT they nap much less than they used to so I can barely sit down and write anymore. I'll try to do better. I don't want to forget these years! Last weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to go away- for FOUR days- with my beautiful mom and sisters. We met up at my sister Olivia's place in Virginia and made our way around Hampton, Williamsburg and Virginia Beach. Oh my! It was so  fun and refreshing! I know we all needed this. It couldn't have been done with my mom being so generous and making it all possible for us. We made some awesome memories and had some hilarious conversations. We talked about our dreams, our worries, our stories, our lives, our families, our hopes, our faith....

Yesterday I was feeling nostalgic and pulled out some of my old personal journals from the past few years. I asked Behn to randomly say a date and then I'd look up my entry for that date. It was fun to remember some stories and little things and also to see that God had his hand upon us all those days. But as I read about last summer, I read that I was exhausted.  I had an often tantruming 2 year old and not-sleeping-through-the-night infant. We had a new house and a crazy tight budget. I was tired, stressed, and overwhelmed. Of course there were some sweet things I wrote about as well, but the overall feeling in my writing was that I was a mess. All this to say: it's getting easier. This summer I have a 3.5 year old and an almost 2-year old. They are busy and they are loud and they are messy, but this is easier. They sleep pretty well now (of course, the past 2 nights Graham has woken up asking for water, but in general they sleep all night). I can generally trust Graham to ...

4th of July weekend was wonderful! We spent 4 days in Delaware doing all the summer things: playing at the park, grilling out, visiting family, swimming, fireworks, and watching lots of little cousins playing together. Behn and I got to sleep in a couple of times and as always, it's great having extra eyes and hands on the kids. We even got to see the Donut Man one night! (Who's the Donut Man? See popular 90's Christian VHS tapes at your local church library). He played a sweet little show at Behn's childhood campground and we took all the littles. It was a pretty great trip. So much cute! This is only 1/2 of the grandbabies! Donut Man! Ice Cream- classic summertime My 2 little fishies loved swimming. Actually so did I! I totally went all out with the cannonballs. I want to say thank you to our family for making the weekend so fun! Glad for the boys to have such sweet memories.  Now home and back to routine and the ups and downs. We e...

This summer  year we are staying local. As I write this, I am aware that tomorrow we are heading to Delaware for the holiday weekend, but even Delaware is fairly local. And later this month, I'm going to Virginia Beach with my mom and sisters for a much needed  girls' weekend. This year, we aren't planning on a long road trip or any flying. Behn and I might sneak away to my favorite place in the world- Lexington- in the autumn. That's about it. This is hard for me. Motherhood, though sweet, is monotonous and lonely. It's in my personality to crave adventure and I adore traveling. To be forced to stay put  is a struggle in contentment for me. And I am grateful for even those little opportunities to enjoy a weekend in a different setting, with different friends and family. We do live in an area with lots to do! So, that's what we are doing: staying local and finding things to do here. We still have to be conscientious of budget: a day to the city or beach can ...