Although we were extremely busy trying to balance getting the house complete, a newborn, and getting Jayden and Brooklyn in school, we still had time to celebrate!
August 7 our anniversary
The week of our Anniversary was spent working on the house with the CELP group. We were blessed to have students from Limestone University volunteer their time and help us paint the entire trim in the house, seed our huge lawn, pack and clean the old house, build the make a wish playset and bless us with their fresh energy as ours was depleting. Thank you to everyone who helped us feed the group and the Clarks for letting them take over your home for the weekend. Dan and Jill were amazing coordinating all the workers, thank you! It was the best gift ever!
August 8 Uncle Chads birthday
We love Uncle Chad. He has been living at Ken and Joans, so it has been nice coming home and seeing him because we have been crashing at Ken and Joan’s for some extra hands with the kids. It is great seeing Chad wrestle with the kids, and take special care of Ellie. He is going to be such a great dad someday! He has such a sweet, tender heart and is extremely thoughtful, although to most he seems reserved. We adore him and are so thankful for him on his birthday!
August 26 Angie’s birthday
My dearest gal, Angie celebrated her big day today. She is an amazing friend and outstanding person. I love everything about this lady! She makes me laugh, catches my tears, listens well, helps with the kids, and is always up for a night out dancing! I couldn’t do this life without her and feel blessed to call her friend.
August 29 Bill’s birthday
Uncle Bill has been a great addition to the family. Rian’s husband is a tough police officer with a great heart. His love language is generosity and he would do anything for the people he loves. I think it was hard for him to enter in with Jayden in the beginning, but now, they have a special bond. He has taken a special liking to him and really spends quality one on one time with Jayden. It just warms my heart.
August 11-12
August is also crazy for me because it is my busiest time at work. I plan two retreats and a ministry fair. The retreats are for our freshman and our Juniors and are a highlight of my year. To say the least, it is always a great time and this year was no exception. Sandwiched inbetween the chaos, though, it was hard to fully embrace the weekend.
To be honest, August…and the rest of 2012 is a big blur. We don’t know how we survived it, actually. A newborn, two kids with special needs, and building a house almost buried us. We are fried and ran on fumes for so long, now trying to update a blog in Jan 2013 from this far back is difficult. I really want to remember these days, however, there is little energy left to reflect back. I feel like we are just no trying to fill our tank, so to speak. And, it is an adjustment actually having a ¼ tank to function with. We are still tired. Three years ago, the physical demands are not nearly what they were today. Although we have “adjusted”, it seems our physical needs for help are greater. In the beginning, everyone is offering to “help” but in the emotional aftermath of the diagnosis, there is very little to DO. But now, there are sleepless nights, 3 people with diapers, and the ever looming truth of what Sanfilippo means. Overall, emotionally we are in a better place of coping and acceptance, we still struggle to make time for our marriage, friends, meaningful time with our family, and individual attention for our children that goes beyond the normal daily demand to meet their basic needs. I am sure this is a universal truth. The end of the day comes and we are tired. I want to unplug. Yet, the night never brings a full nights rest. Someone is always waking. The sun rises, and the day starts, but we are still tired from yesterday. We are on the up and up, though. I think we slowly are trying to make adjustments to our ever-changing daily demands while fighting for who we want to be. Again, I think that is just part of the universal rat race. I have always struggled with slowing down. I don’t know what to do when there is actually space. It’s in internal struggle between shutting down and staying busy just to be busy. I will probably dance this line my entire life. And, I think it’s ok. I think that’s life. It’s Jan 14, 2013 as I write, and I am happy. I am ok with the imperfect reality that I am.
