Let’s Catch Up

It’s been a week, so I figured I better post something before I just drop off the face of the earth.

I’m frustrated to no end about how little motivation and inspiration I have to blog lately.  It’s been a passion of mine for the better part of a decade, but lately I just can’t seem to bring myself to type out a post.

I haven’t wanted to take pictures or post on Instagram or type out any thoughts onto the blog.  In some ways I’m discouraged by that, but in other ways it’s kind of a relief.

Spending my days resting, watching the girls play, and doing things around the house when I have the energy to.

I do miss the creative outlet though.  The thing I do that’s just for me (well and all of you, I guess :).

I also hate knowing I’m not capturing tidbits of our life to look back on later.  I love to stalk my own blog and Instagram to remember days gone by.

It’s kind of hard to do that when I’m not capturing anything.

Oh well.  It’s just a season I guess.

I thought I was on the verge of a comeback after last week’s post, but the holiday weekend threw a wrench in my plans to get back to writing.

We did a ton of yard work on Saturday.  It was tremendously rewarding and exhausting, but we tackled tons of overgrowth from our neighbors yard and we weeded and mulched all the beds.  I seriously can’t believe how long it took us (7 years!) to discover mulch.

It makes the beds look so finished and it keeps the weeds at bay.

Win/win.

I also can’t believe it took us 8 years to buy a little air conditioner cover up.  That thing was so grubby and nasty and it was a real focal point when sitting on the patio.  But now it’s outta sight!

Our yard is nowhere near where I’d like it to be, but in this stage of life it’s good enough :)

Sunday morning we went to church before heading out to my mom’s for the holiday.  Church each week is seriously like being bathed in a cool, clean stream.  Like a soul bath.  I really cannot explain it, but it’s by far my favorite time of the week every week.

Tethering my heart back to the God who made me and loves me and completes me.

The drive out to mom’s was gorgeous.  Sunshine, long stretches of country highway, and of course a bunch of quaint red barns.

We had a great time with mom.  She treated us to incredible BLT’s when we got there and we feasted on fall-off-the-bone BBQ ribs, homemade potato salad, baked beans and crisp asparagus for dinner.

We had Spotted Cow ice cream for dessert and were stuffed to the gills by the end of the day!

Grace had her first cone ever.  A baby size Orange Sherbert/Vanilla swirl.  She ate it without missing a drop.

It was pretty small, so she shared our Chocolate Peanut Butter Explosion Flurries when she was done.

I somehow forgot to pack Grace a pair of jammies (even though I brought 2 pairs for Avery!) so Grace wore one of my mom’s t-shirts as a nightgown and it was freaking adorable.  Reminded me of wearing my Grandma Marilyn’s old t-shirts to bed when I’d sleep at her house :)

Andy’s foot totally photobombed this shot.  Lol

The next day we ate delicious breakfast burritos and lounged around.  Grace helped my mom plant some flowers and both girls played kickball with her in the afternoon while Andy and I watched from the balcony.

After another incredible dinner of stuffed burgers and sweet potato fries, we hit the road.

Both girls were asleep within minutes of being on the road, so we came home and played in the backyard for a while to tucker them out again before bed.

It was a nice weekend…the perfect mix of work, worship, play and rest.

The next night was another story.

I went to my last Tuesday night Bible study (BOO HOO!) and struggled with abdominal pain through the whole meeting.  I figured I was overfull having had to try a bowl of the Pioneer Woman’s tortilla soup before I left home and then having a full Chicken Shack dinner with the ladies at church.

When I got home things just went from bad to worse.  I camped out in the bathroom for a while, seeking relief.

None was to be had.

I nearly crawled upstairs to the living room couch where I tossed and turned in pain.  Andy checked my vitals and everything seemed ok, but my pain was approaching an 8 out of 10 and I started to really worry.

Had I not been pregnant, I’d likely chalk it up to gas or something and just go to bed, but the pain was so intense I just couldn’t ignore it.

I called my sister in tears asking if she’d come over to stay with the girls (it was almost 11pm!) and once she got here we jetted around the block to the hospital.

After sitting for TWO HOURS in the waiting room, we were called back and I saw a doctor.  He checked my vitals again and then ordered bloodwork and an ultrasound.

Another FIVE HOURS LATER we were on our way with the knowledge that the baby was fine, all my tests were normal and it was probably gas or round ligament pain.

I felt like a hypochondriac drama queen.  ALL THAT TIME for nothing.

All those copays FOR NOTHING.

I left in almost as much pain as I arrived in.

Only now I had no sleep under my belt and a full day with two active little ones ahead of me.

By the grace of God I made it.  And so did poor Andy who was up all night with me even though he had class the next day.

I got 12 hours of sleep that night and was feeling much better by yesterday.  Pain is down to a 1 or 2 now and knowing everything is OK, I’ve just decided to take it easy and move on.

Yesterday we got out of the house for a while to drop off a bunch of jewelry to the ladies who came to my Lia Sophia party  (My sister is a new consultant and she’s incredibly fun and knowledgeable!  Hit her up if you want to host a party and get a bunch of gorgeous jewelry at deep discounts :)

Our errand running landed us at my sister’s office (my old office) where we ate lunch and visited with everyone.  Avery and Uncle David shared this precious moment at his desk.

How cute??

Other than all that, we’re pretty much outside whenever we can be…

taking more baths than the whole winter combined…

still eating the cupcakes I made for my sister’s birthday and Lia Sophia party…

and taking pictures of every hairdo I give Grace so she can see the back :)

How have you all been?

I’ve missed you :)