It is always my goal to keep 'caught up' on this 20 year old blog. But just as quickly as I get caught up, we live another bit of life and I am lucky enough to have another memory that I want to record. The happenings of our day-to-day lives seems so small, until I dive deep back into the volumes of this family history and recall small moments that I never would have remembered without writing them down.
This week I want to remember that Leah sent us a card in the mail that we haven't opened yet because we always open packages when we are all together! I think she she sent us a postcard from Mexico, but it most likely had US postage on it, so it never got to us. Sad!
Adam made a big, hard decision this week. I love that he wanted to talk to us about it and consider his options and practice what he was going to say. At the time of writing we don't yet know the results of the conversation he's about to have.
Emma decided to cut her hair shorter this week. She was shocked to learn that she'll have to pay for it herself becaues I paid for the last one a mere five weeks ago.
Noah slept and slept and slept this week. He could because our days at home have been super slow while the big kids and the father have been at work.
He also beat me at Monopoly Deal every time we played it.
Despite my best efforts, I have started thinking about going "back to work" for the first time in my life. There are a lot of changes happening at JC, and I hope that they are all for the best and that I can enjoy this new adventure. (If not, I'll be resuming my previous position as SAHM post haste.)
Jason was sure he was suffering from the early stages of heatstroke in the field yesterday, when the heat index was 117. I don't doubt it, but I did pause to remember what a BIG deal his grad school days in the field were for all of us. He had the wrong clothes! He didn't have any fancy gear! He's allergic to corn pollen! He worked such long days in such an unfamiliar setting. Now this is just life, and he handles it like a pro every season.
We have been watching the Tom Holland Spider-Man movies. They are fun and silly and the boys have been warned that, when it's Emma's birthday week, we will be watching A Walk To Remember and Twilight.
We tried starting The Office series but most of the kids were only mildly interested in it. It's an acquired taste for sure, and not one that we need to have.
Adam saw a spider eating a fly's head off in the field today. He wanted me to mention that here.
Emma got a new bike this week. It's the last bike we will buy for her, and possibly for any of the kids because they (the bikes and the kids) are all so big now. Noah probably needs one more size up once he's done growing.
Noah looks a solid inch taller every time he walks down the stairs. I also took the hem out of his church pants this week. See the above comment about excess sleep.
In the last few days, Laney has barfed on my couch, peed in my bed, chased down an Amazon truck into the road, rolled in something in the yard, and barked incessently at the workers from behind the office doors (which I had to tolerate for 2 minutes while I was looking for paint in the basement). I think she's hangry about her new diet. She is the best and the worst pup we've ever had.
Just when things get slightly settled around here, we seem to like to create more excitement. I think often about the constraints of time and how different heaven must be when we aren't constantly feeling the pressure to make the most of this one life we've been given.
The dead tree is still down in the yard, and it will stay there until the weather cools off. It's a constant reminder that we aren't caught up. But the ceiling in our bedroom has been reinstalled and the GI Joe project is coming to an end and, just as we are heading out of town again, the groceries need to be restocked. I believe it's an art to eat down what's in the house just in time to leave for a period of time.
It's also an art to slow down enough to recognize and record what a good life we have!
sometimes we get into the flow of things and the days blur together, but they're all good days! Here are some highlights:
️ Bap Date!!! Theres a sweet family in our ward with an 8 year old girl who wants to talk with the missionaries before getting baptized! So while she doesnt need to be taught all the lessons because she's only 8, we still get to come and get her excited for baptism! She's super excited to follow Christ's example and I'm so excited for her! 
so every night we get home, brace ourselves, and then we turn the lights on to see how many cockroaches will crawl out of our sink 
ai grab the flyswatter and an unfortunate bug massacre occurs every night. but not to worry, the bug guy is coming on Friday! Our hero!
Spiritual Thought
