It's better now

Roasting marshmallows at the fireplace :)

Sometime in the last few months, I came home from errands and found Jordan and the kids all in the kitchen - cooking dinner maybe or tidying up and having a dance party at the same time. I sat down to feed Isaac and watched them all dancing and working and tapped my feet along and started to cry when I listened to the lyrics - feel better now, it's better now.

And this thought has been with me every single day since Isaac was born.  The first two years after Porter was born were so hard  that every day I am filled up with gratitude for just how much better things are working right now. 

There's a lot I want to say about all this, maybe someday. A good deal has to do with sleep. To have a new baby and have some decent sleep at the same time is a miracle in my life that has shown me my Heavenly Father's love for me so tenderly. Being able to live these days with a clear mind and with greater capacity to care for and love my family has been such a wonderful blessing. 

Some days are hard. But more often it has been a great mix of hard moments and wonderful moments and regular moments all jumbled together as they should be.

The rains came down and the floods came up

A few weeks ago we had some pretty intense rain. One night Jordan was outside with a flashlight at about 11:00 cleaning out the rain gutters as the rain poured down into our window wells. Our downstairs bathroom got a little wet, but we thought that was the end of our rain troubles. But, a few days later when April stopped in to get her things after her river rafting trip, we discovered that the guest room had flooded! (With nice and squishy carpet beside the bed...) Jordan used the carpet cleaner and got about 5 gallons of water out of the carpet then pulled it back and also made some holes in the wall to dry with a bunch of fans blowing, etc. (And we discovered that this wasn't from the windows but coming up from the corner of the house...)

Then a day or two later we realized that the basement room had flooded as well. Unfortunately, this wall had two layers of dry wall and some old wood paneling in between so it trapped all the moisture inside and it all had to come down.

A few weeks ago Jordan and I started to talk about maybe jumping in and starting some of the little updating projects we've had in mind to do --  Now we definitely get to! (At least in this room for sure!)

Right now it feels kind of fun - new carpet and paint (except, carpet is much more expensive than I knew!) and maybe some bigger changes downstairs... we'll see how long our energy lasts and if we can make any decisions on how to move forward. :)

May & June little things / And welcome to October :)

from Ellie "Do I look like a great summertime girl?"

It has been long enough that I already can't remember why I set a few of these pictures aside... But here's a few little things from our early summer :)

Landon was a super strong ruuner at the 4th grade district fun run - Porter and I went to cheer him on. 

I can't remember the story of this picture, but he's a cute sleeping little kiddo :)

Some garage floor kayaking 

And some real kayaking at newly discovered Cutler Marsh

And at First Dam (with some inflatable rafts too) with family

Herm's Inn birthday breakfast for Jordan with Dad & Shauna + Danielle & Amanda

Celebrating with Jen & Jeremiah on Alex's baby blessing day!

Making some bedroom improvements for all the kids (and some Ellie & Dad building time)

Treats + a poem from Landon to his great primary teachers who were moving

Adventuring on the super train bike (Jordan + 4 kids on one bike!)

Trying out our new tent in the backyard 

And welcome to our little Isaac!

Welcome Fall!

two-year-old Landon + me

Last night we had a crazy welcome to Fall rain storm. As the thunder rumbled and roared and our room flashed again and again with lightning, I thought about heading downstairs to the guest room for a safe, cozy sleepover party. (Our kids have never really gotten nervous about thunderstorms, and at bedtime I knew I really wouldn't have taken the effort to move everyone downstairs, but it still sounded nice to be even just a little bit more sheltered from the storm outside :)

On the other side of the room, Jordan was just loving the storm. As the winds blew stronger and the rain fell harder, he opened the blinds to watch the lightning flash, then opened the windows wide and leaned out, just to take it all in.

We are a funny pair! I'm so glad for all the times Jordan helps me enjoy life a little more!