I am sitting here with my 2 sweet babies while Barrett has the older kids at church. Miss Molly is cutting some teeth and has not felt good for a few days. I thought while they were both sleeping I would write about our amazing year and clear my head. Here is what we have been up to!
January: After being a bit more grumpy and tired than usual, I decided to take a pregnancy test. I can't tell you how many times I have taken a pregnancy test knowing it will turn up negative. I watched in shock as it showed me 2 positive lines. Having not had the best of luck staying pregnant, I kind of went into panic mode. My thoughts went strait to having ANOTHER D and C. I got sick to my stomach and I am pretty sure had a panic attack. Barrett came home and reassured me things were going to work out and be ok. He is awesome like that. He called our Dr, and we had an ultrasound. I got to see a perfect little beating heart.
February: We took 4 kids and headed to Florida to meet Miss Molly. Adoption is amazing but can also be VERY nerve wracking. Nothing is final until papers are signed and baby is in your arms. I didn't want to take 4 kids out to get a baby and return with no baby. As we were at the airport getting ready to board the plane, I didn't feel good. I went to the restroom where I discovered I was bleeding pretty heavily. I don't know that I have ever felt panic like I did in that moment. We had an ultrasound the day before and things appeared good with the baby but I was freaking out. We didn't want to miss our flight, so I reluctantly got on the plane. There is much more to the story, but when we finally got to Florida, I got checked out and baby was fine. Miss Molly was born on February 11th and I got to be in the delivery room when she was born. A perfectly magical moment. She got to come "home" with us on Valentines day! I will not soon forget the struggle emotionally and physically I endured with we were in Florida for just short of 3 weeks while Barrett and the older kids were home in Utah. I learned a lot about myself in that time and that I hate Florida ICPC!!!
March: So much happened in such a short period of time in 2014! Again, I will not soon forget the emotion of this month. Right after bringing Miss Molly home, we learned that my brother had stage 4 lung cancer. He is not a smoker, so the diagnosis came as a horrific shock. It is not my story to tell, but I will say, I think it has forever changed my life. At the time, his diagnosis was the worst it could be. I don't remember much but walking around in a state of shock for lots of days. My Mom felt it was best (against ALL our judgement) to come home from her mission at this time and did. People have taken part of my experience I had during this time and turned it into something ugly so I will not share it again. I will say during the time while he was being diagnosed I had one of the most spiritual experiences I have ever had. I know the Lord is watching over him and his family. Prayers are rarely answered in a fashion WE want them to be answered in but the Lord answers them in a way we NEED them to be answered in.
April: I celebrated my 34th birthday. Man, I am old! :) We also felt it was "safe" to share our news of our pregnancy with everyone. People in our family had known for awhile, but all ultrasounds showed a baby that was growing.
May: We celebrated Isaac turning 3 and Morgan turning 10. I can't help but think back on the day we got the phone call Isaac had been born. What a magical time for our family. He as an answer to so many prayers by so many people. Morgan is 10 going on 25. She is a natural "first born" and such a strong willed little lady. She is a lot like me and that is good and bad at times.
June: Barrett turned 35 and he got to celebrate by going on a 3 day golf trip with some of his friends. I am NOT kidding when I say if my sister, Nikie, would not have been here to save the day, I don't know what we would have done. Having a big family is one of my greatest blessings but it is A LOT of work. Being summer, having all the kids out of school and being pregnant was wild. Not everyone wants to help when you tell them you are dropping of a wild 3 year old OR all 5 kids. I still owe Nikie pretty big for that one.
July: Barrett and I celebrated 13 years of crazy together! We went to see Wicked to celebrate. We also took our annual Griffin Family Bear Lake trip. I don't think I will ever get tired of it. Such a fun time for our kids to be together with cousins, aunts and uncles. This year the Elwood's bought a condo there and ALL the big kids got to share one giant room there (which ='s no sleep!). I love listening to all the kids play together and share the fun of being cousins. We also got to head to Florida and have Molly's adoption finalized.
August: We had the opportunity to have Molly sealed to us. In true Labrum fashion, things didn't go as planned. Molly was perfect, the temple was perfect and those are the things I am trying to choose to remember. When someone is 8 months pregnant, you probably push your limits with them.
September: I have shared my story before so I will sum it up with this. Finn William came into our life on September 7th. It was a day of all around miracles. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't look at him and know miracles DO happen! We also some how blessed Molly the day Finn was born! I like to cram as many things as I can into one day! We also celebrated Eli being in our family for 2 years. He is such a sweet little boy. He is the calm to Isaac's crazy. He loves to follow his big brother around and we know without him Molly wouldn't have come into our family.
October: This was the month that having 6 kids really hit us. It was a month of adjusting around here. It really does take a village to raise a family. I feel beyond blessed that so many things have fallen into place and we are able to have the help we need to raise our family. Barrett has been blessed with an amazing job that has really taken off in the last year. It has provided me the opportunity to stay at home with our family. It is the first time in our married life that I haven't had to work in one way or another. It is a blessing. If I was trying to work and take care of this rowdy crew of 6 I don't think it would be pretty.
November: I flew out to see my sister, Nikie for her birthday. I took Mr. Finn on his first plane ride. When I was younger, I hated being the youngest. I never felt like part of my family. As I have gotten older, I think I have an awesome relationship with my siblings. I love spending time with them and feel blessed Nikie shared her birthday with me. We also took MY dream vacation to Disneyland!! Oh, I love being there. We took Barrett's parents and his sister, Nicky with us to help manage our wild bunch. It went perfectly and we couldn't have asked for a better trip. Ok, the airport on the way home was a joke, but come on, with that many people you are BOUND to have a melt down!! We also got to see my cute niece, Chiara go through the temple. It was such a great day. I am thankful she is such a good example to our kids. I am also glad family time comes easily with the Griffin's. It makes special days more special.
December: Well, here I sit the last little bit of December. We are getting ready to celebrate Max turning 9 tomorrow! NINE. He is such a smart little boy. He is going to be a math wiz like his dad. He has pushed just about every parenting limit I have. I have learned a lot from him. We also got to spend an amazing Christmas together as a family of 8. EIGHT. I never thought I would be where I am today. In my wildest dreams I didn't think I would be a mom to 6 beautiful kids. I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world. There are days I seriously consider running away but, well, I don't. It is OUR job to be their parents and no one else can do that for us. We also got to see Chiara and Taylor be married. What a FUN day. I am thankful I got to sit next to the love of my life in the temple. It gave us some time to reflect on our wedding day. It has given us a new perspective on the coming year. we are hoping for some AWESOME new changes to come our way.
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Finn William joins team Labrum
I have about 100 things I want to blog about but I know if I don't get Finn's birth story down, I will forget!
My official due date is tomorrow, September 22. Since I have a c-section, my Dr. takes me a week early so I was scheduled to go in September 16th.
Barrett and I were sitting on the couch the night of September 6th. We were talking about what a big day September 7th was for me last year. I sat with my Grandma Griffin as she left this Earthly life. I feel beyond blessed that I got to be with her in the last few hours of her life. I don't know if there are adequate words to describe the impact my Grandparents had on my life. As I have gotten older, I realize that I probably wouldn't be who I am today if I didn't grow up next to my Grandparents. Their house was also so warm and inviting to me and I knew I would be loved while I was there. My Grandparents always made me feel special and taken care of. In a small, small, small way I felt like being with with my Grandma when she passed let her know I was there to help take care of her. It was emotional as I thought about her and my Grandpa being together again.
Barrett and I talked and I really wanted to do something special to remember my Grandma on September 7th. We talked about making Grandma Griffin brownies and maybe taking some flowers out to their grave. Nothing I was coming up with really felt right. I went to bed that night and still hadn't come up with anything great.
Sunday the 7th. I was kind of hoping this day wouldn't come! How had it been a WHOLE year without my Grandma? There are still times I drive past where she lived and think I should run in and see her. I got up and got ready for church and wasn't feeling super great. I should mention that I never really went INTO labor with Morgan OR Max so sadly, this was my 3rd pregnancy and I still didn't know how labor was "supposed to feel. I was feeling pretty uncomfortable most of the morning but we decided to go to church. Sitting through sacrament was not a awesome experience. Barrett and I both got up to bear our testimonies and I said a silent prayer that my water wouldn't break while I was up there. After sacrament I was pretty sure I was having contractions and came home. Barrett called the Dr, on call and she said to come in a get looked at.
SO....our babysitter that we had lined up to come on the 16th was on a weekend babysitting job and all our neighbors were are church. Chris and Jenn were in SLC at the fair and I was hoping to NOT bring 5 kids to the hospital. Lucky for us, my Mom DID for one time in her life answer her dang phone and came to sit with the kids.
I was just going up to get put on monitors so I didn't pack a bag or even bring the camera. I told the big kids I would probably be back and to be good. I went up and they hooked my up to a few monitors and I was indeed having contractions!!! I asked the nurse what the plan was and she told me they were going to watch me for an hour and decide.
About 30 minutes later, another nurse comes in and starts to put an IV in my arm. She said " I need to get this in and they are going to take you back in about 20 minutes." I said " To where?" I think she thought I was probably the dumbest person. "Uh, to do your c-section. Dr, Horsley is on his way." I looked at Barrett with A LOT of excitement and a bit of panic!! Barrett ran home to get the camera and got changed into scrubs. HOLY CRAP. OUR BABY WAS ON HIS WAY!!!
When I found out I was pregnant with Finn, I NEVER in one million years thought we would reach this day. I was SURE I was going to miscarry again. On our trip to Florida to pick up Molly, this fear almost became a reality. I started to bleed pretty heavily and I was sure this pregnancy was going to end in devastation.
When Barrett got back, the panic had pretty much set in full force. I had a HORRIBLE spinal block when I had Maxwell and the thoughts of having another were going to do me in. I actually contemplated just going home :) Barrett has always been the calm to my crazy. He quickly gave me a blessing and talked me down a bit.
Before I knew it, I was headed back. They did let Barrett be in there while I got my spinal this time and that helped a lot. It was in and working in just a few short minutes. Dr. Horsley came in and my c-section was started. Finn William Labrum joined us shortly after that. It was a flawless c-section and our perfect miracle baby was here. I got to snuggle him and they took him over to be cleaned up and weighed. Barrett was guessing he weighed 8 pounds and he was just about on. 7 pounds and 10 oz of perfectness.
I was wheeled into recovery and we called the kids to face time them. I think we were ALL in shock he was here. I sat with Finn on my chest and couldn't believe what today had brought us. I couldn't think of a more perfect way to make September 7th more special.
I know everyone thinks their kids are miracles ( as they should) but honestly, I don't know if there is more of a miracle for us than Finn. He is the answer to so many prayers offered by not only us but family and friends in our behalf. He has taught me to never give up on things, the Lord DOES answer prayers and faith.
As I sit here and type, he is sleeping next to me and I feel beyond blessed for his life. It truly is a gift to us and I like to think my Grandma played a part in the day he arrived.
WE LOVE YOU BABY FINN!!
As a side note... I have had a few people ask where we got his name. We just like the name Finn. With a house FULL of boys, it was the last name we could agree on :) My maiden name is Griffin and I think Finn is short for Griffin ( Barrett hates the name Griffin, don't get me started on why he hates the name!!) William is my Grandpa Griffin's middle name. I hope Finn knows how important his name is and lives up to what that means.
My official due date is tomorrow, September 22. Since I have a c-section, my Dr. takes me a week early so I was scheduled to go in September 16th.
Barrett and I were sitting on the couch the night of September 6th. We were talking about what a big day September 7th was for me last year. I sat with my Grandma Griffin as she left this Earthly life. I feel beyond blessed that I got to be with her in the last few hours of her life. I don't know if there are adequate words to describe the impact my Grandparents had on my life. As I have gotten older, I realize that I probably wouldn't be who I am today if I didn't grow up next to my Grandparents. Their house was also so warm and inviting to me and I knew I would be loved while I was there. My Grandparents always made me feel special and taken care of. In a small, small, small way I felt like being with with my Grandma when she passed let her know I was there to help take care of her. It was emotional as I thought about her and my Grandpa being together again.
Barrett and I talked and I really wanted to do something special to remember my Grandma on September 7th. We talked about making Grandma Griffin brownies and maybe taking some flowers out to their grave. Nothing I was coming up with really felt right. I went to bed that night and still hadn't come up with anything great.
Sunday the 7th. I was kind of hoping this day wouldn't come! How had it been a WHOLE year without my Grandma? There are still times I drive past where she lived and think I should run in and see her. I got up and got ready for church and wasn't feeling super great. I should mention that I never really went INTO labor with Morgan OR Max so sadly, this was my 3rd pregnancy and I still didn't know how labor was "supposed to feel. I was feeling pretty uncomfortable most of the morning but we decided to go to church. Sitting through sacrament was not a awesome experience. Barrett and I both got up to bear our testimonies and I said a silent prayer that my water wouldn't break while I was up there. After sacrament I was pretty sure I was having contractions and came home. Barrett called the Dr, on call and she said to come in a get looked at.
SO....our babysitter that we had lined up to come on the 16th was on a weekend babysitting job and all our neighbors were are church. Chris and Jenn were in SLC at the fair and I was hoping to NOT bring 5 kids to the hospital. Lucky for us, my Mom DID for one time in her life answer her dang phone and came to sit with the kids.
I was just going up to get put on monitors so I didn't pack a bag or even bring the camera. I told the big kids I would probably be back and to be good. I went up and they hooked my up to a few monitors and I was indeed having contractions!!! I asked the nurse what the plan was and she told me they were going to watch me for an hour and decide.
About 30 minutes later, another nurse comes in and starts to put an IV in my arm. She said " I need to get this in and they are going to take you back in about 20 minutes." I said " To where?" I think she thought I was probably the dumbest person. "Uh, to do your c-section. Dr, Horsley is on his way." I looked at Barrett with A LOT of excitement and a bit of panic!! Barrett ran home to get the camera and got changed into scrubs. HOLY CRAP. OUR BABY WAS ON HIS WAY!!!
When I found out I was pregnant with Finn, I NEVER in one million years thought we would reach this day. I was SURE I was going to miscarry again. On our trip to Florida to pick up Molly, this fear almost became a reality. I started to bleed pretty heavily and I was sure this pregnancy was going to end in devastation.
When Barrett got back, the panic had pretty much set in full force. I had a HORRIBLE spinal block when I had Maxwell and the thoughts of having another were going to do me in. I actually contemplated just going home :) Barrett has always been the calm to my crazy. He quickly gave me a blessing and talked me down a bit.
Before I knew it, I was headed back. They did let Barrett be in there while I got my spinal this time and that helped a lot. It was in and working in just a few short minutes. Dr. Horsley came in and my c-section was started. Finn William Labrum joined us shortly after that. It was a flawless c-section and our perfect miracle baby was here. I got to snuggle him and they took him over to be cleaned up and weighed. Barrett was guessing he weighed 8 pounds and he was just about on. 7 pounds and 10 oz of perfectness.
I was wheeled into recovery and we called the kids to face time them. I think we were ALL in shock he was here. I sat with Finn on my chest and couldn't believe what today had brought us. I couldn't think of a more perfect way to make September 7th more special.
I know everyone thinks their kids are miracles ( as they should) but honestly, I don't know if there is more of a miracle for us than Finn. He is the answer to so many prayers offered by not only us but family and friends in our behalf. He has taught me to never give up on things, the Lord DOES answer prayers and faith.
As I sit here and type, he is sleeping next to me and I feel beyond blessed for his life. It truly is a gift to us and I like to think my Grandma played a part in the day he arrived.
WE LOVE YOU BABY FINN!!
As a side note... I have had a few people ask where we got his name. We just like the name Finn. With a house FULL of boys, it was the last name we could agree on :) My maiden name is Griffin and I think Finn is short for Griffin ( Barrett hates the name Griffin, don't get me started on why he hates the name!!) William is my Grandpa Griffin's middle name. I hope Finn knows how important his name is and lives up to what that means.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Pack your Bag {gage}
Today I had the opportunity to attend a welcome home. It was at 9:00 AM in Newton, which is about 20 minutes from where we live. Barrett and I decided that it would probably be best if I went and he stayed home with the kids. Seriously, we are a CIRCUS when it comes to church. Due to NOT having to haul 5 kids out there, I actually got there early. I went in a sat down and even got to listen to the prelude music. It was such a peaceful feeling sitting there. It was so fun to see Celeste. This is going to date me, but I use to babysit her as a BABY!! She is now all grown and just served a full time mission for our church.
I think it was a perfect combination of me being able to actually sit and listen to a speaker in church and the amazing spirit that Celeste has. I felt so filled from listening to her talk. I have been struggling with a few things over the past weeks (really for 13 years, but more so over the last few weeks). I am thankful I went and got to hear what I needed to hear. It was such a good talk but a few things really stuck out to me so here they are.
1. She talked about meeting with her mission president. He asked her what she wanted to accomplish for the month and she said she wanted to have charity for everyone. He turned to her and told her to first work on having charity for herself. This is JUST what I needed to hear. I feel (probably because I am aware of it) that people have been over whelming me with the need to givje charity to others. I know that sounds weird because charity is a great thing and there probably can't be enough of it in the world, but I hardly feel like I can't keep my head above water these days. We met with a professional as an extended family a few weeks back. She really encouraged us (in my opinion WAY to forcefully) to rally around those in need and show them charity. I get that, again, charity is a good thing. However, I have defiantly felt like when MY (or our) time when we needed a rally and some serious charity, none was give. I have battled since then trying to put hurt feelings away and erase a bunch of crap from the past to be able to do what is being asked of me. Today, I felt totally different. For me, for right now, the rally needs to be around me, from me. It was clear today that even if other people can't or won't give my family charity, it doesn't matter. I can give myself the charity that is needed. I thought this was such a profound statement that I need for me right now. I need to work on charity to myself.
2, She talked about how just simply giving love to people can change them. This is where the water works turned on for me. Celeste has such a special family. I grew up in a lot of chaos. I didn't know it was chaos at the time (most of it) but it was. I started watching the Jenkin's kids when Celeste was little and watched them until I was married. Their family showed me love and it changed me. They listened to my problems, helped me make big decisions,let me talk about boys, made me feel special when I was lacking it at home. I am not sure I would be where I am today if their family hadn't stepped in and taken such good care of me. They taught me what a family should look like and what to strive for. My 34 year old self thanks them and I am sure my family does as well. I also feel ( and I KNOW people see it differently and that is ok) that if you truly love someone, sometimes you show that love by stepping away. I was recently told by someone very close to me that I was an abuser (seriously, NOT the first time someone has told me that. I am starting to take it personal!!!) I genuinely love this person and I don't want to be an abuser to them. Today, I felt like showing them that I love them is really stepping away from them. For me, NOT engaging in a toxic relationship IS showing love. I think loving yourself and them enough to know it is a bad situation.
3. She talked about an investigator that decided to stop coming after awhile. She was upset one day and asked what SHE had done wrong to make this person not come. A member of her ward said hadn't done anything and the LORD would take care of it. He suffered for us and knows what we need. Again, it was JUST what I needed to hear. With the chaos of my home life, I thought when I got married that I had minimal baggage. Maybe like a small carry on and a personal item such as a purse or laptop bag :) The longer we were married, I realized it was more like a giant suitcase with a few carry on's and way more personal items then you are allowed. I have been adding to this baggage over time by being in the mind set of "what have I done to make so and so not do this" or "why does so and so get help and I am not worthy?" It kind of hit me today. You should be accountable for your part but at some point, you have GOT to stop adding to the baggage and let the Lord carry it. He knows us, he suffered for us and doesn't want us to suffer MORE for things he can take off our shoulders. I can't go around wondering what I did wrong 10 years ago to make things the way they are. I can't keep going over it in my head and hoping for a different out come. I am letting the baggage go today and I won't be picking it back up.
Thanks Celeste for sharing your amazing testimony. I am hoping to work on those things in my life to help build mind.
I think it was a perfect combination of me being able to actually sit and listen to a speaker in church and the amazing spirit that Celeste has. I felt so filled from listening to her talk. I have been struggling with a few things over the past weeks (really for 13 years, but more so over the last few weeks). I am thankful I went and got to hear what I needed to hear. It was such a good talk but a few things really stuck out to me so here they are.
1. She talked about meeting with her mission president. He asked her what she wanted to accomplish for the month and she said she wanted to have charity for everyone. He turned to her and told her to first work on having charity for herself. This is JUST what I needed to hear. I feel (probably because I am aware of it) that people have been over whelming me with the need to givje charity to others. I know that sounds weird because charity is a great thing and there probably can't be enough of it in the world, but I hardly feel like I can't keep my head above water these days. We met with a professional as an extended family a few weeks back. She really encouraged us (in my opinion WAY to forcefully) to rally around those in need and show them charity. I get that, again, charity is a good thing. However, I have defiantly felt like when MY (or our) time when we needed a rally and some serious charity, none was give. I have battled since then trying to put hurt feelings away and erase a bunch of crap from the past to be able to do what is being asked of me. Today, I felt totally different. For me, for right now, the rally needs to be around me, from me. It was clear today that even if other people can't or won't give my family charity, it doesn't matter. I can give myself the charity that is needed. I thought this was such a profound statement that I need for me right now. I need to work on charity to myself.
2, She talked about how just simply giving love to people can change them. This is where the water works turned on for me. Celeste has such a special family. I grew up in a lot of chaos. I didn't know it was chaos at the time (most of it) but it was. I started watching the Jenkin's kids when Celeste was little and watched them until I was married. Their family showed me love and it changed me. They listened to my problems, helped me make big decisions,let me talk about boys, made me feel special when I was lacking it at home. I am not sure I would be where I am today if their family hadn't stepped in and taken such good care of me. They taught me what a family should look like and what to strive for. My 34 year old self thanks them and I am sure my family does as well. I also feel ( and I KNOW people see it differently and that is ok) that if you truly love someone, sometimes you show that love by stepping away. I was recently told by someone very close to me that I was an abuser (seriously, NOT the first time someone has told me that. I am starting to take it personal!!!) I genuinely love this person and I don't want to be an abuser to them. Today, I felt like showing them that I love them is really stepping away from them. For me, NOT engaging in a toxic relationship IS showing love. I think loving yourself and them enough to know it is a bad situation.
3. She talked about an investigator that decided to stop coming after awhile. She was upset one day and asked what SHE had done wrong to make this person not come. A member of her ward said hadn't done anything and the LORD would take care of it. He suffered for us and knows what we need. Again, it was JUST what I needed to hear. With the chaos of my home life, I thought when I got married that I had minimal baggage. Maybe like a small carry on and a personal item such as a purse or laptop bag :) The longer we were married, I realized it was more like a giant suitcase with a few carry on's and way more personal items then you are allowed. I have been adding to this baggage over time by being in the mind set of "what have I done to make so and so not do this" or "why does so and so get help and I am not worthy?" It kind of hit me today. You should be accountable for your part but at some point, you have GOT to stop adding to the baggage and let the Lord carry it. He knows us, he suffered for us and doesn't want us to suffer MORE for things he can take off our shoulders. I can't go around wondering what I did wrong 10 years ago to make things the way they are. I can't keep going over it in my head and hoping for a different out come. I am letting the baggage go today and I won't be picking it back up.
Thanks Celeste for sharing your amazing testimony. I am hoping to work on those things in my life to help build mind.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Lucky number 13
I am BACK in the blogging world. I am sure not for long, but it feels good to clear my head with writing.
In THREE days, I will have been married for THIRTEEN YEARS!! I now feel pretty darn old and by old, I mean lucky! I have a new computer that I haven't transferred any pictures over to so pretend below is a picture of Barrett and I when we dated. Ah, look how cute we are.
As I was feeding the baby today, I got to sit and think about what the last 13 years has been like for us. Today I feel thankful. We have come such a long way and I feel like our hard work is FINALLY paying off! I am not saying that we don't have problems, because we do, but life has gotten more crazy (5.5 kids will do that) but it has gotten easier in a lot of ways.
Barrett's job: After 10 YEARS (yes, 10) of our marriage, Barrett FINALLY has an awesome job!! During medical school we actually PAID for him to work! Those times were hard. I have no idea how we made that work, but it taught us a lot and even though they were happy times, they were very hard. I learned a lot about what you can make due on. Learned to coupon like a crazy lady, found a deep love of yard sales AND found out when to call uncle! He is such an amazing guy and LOVES what he does. He is happy to get up and go to work every day. It is a blessing that he has been given this talent and uses it. We were recently talking with someone about what strengths people do and don't have. Barrett is a hard worker and he is driven and I am glad it is his strength.
Our house: We were super blessed to buy a home in KC while Barrett was a resident but I knew we wouldn't be there for long, so it didn't really feel like home to me. When we moved here to Logan, I knew we would be here for the long haul and feel blessed to have found a home here to buy. It feels like home to us and I am happy that we own this home. I hate renting and the thought of moving this circus any time soon makes me a little sick! It isn't our last move or home, but we are getting close! We recently put in a yard and flower beds and every time I pull into the garage it makes me happy we have a yard I can work in.
Our family: Holy struggle of the century. There is not enough blogging time in the world to write down the saga of getting our family here. It has consumed us and our marriage for almost the whole 13 years we have been married. It has been my biggest trail, my darkest days and in the end, my biggest blessing. I know that our Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers. It was 100% sure not on MY time frame, but it came. I have felt nothing but immensely blessed to be having this last little spirit in our home. What a perfectly sweet "ending" to the hardest most daunting chapter (or chapters!) of our life.
My job: Does my job get any better? Yes, yes. There is A LOT and I do mean A LOT of diapers, crying (mostly me), hard times, yelling (again, from me), frustration and craziness that come with my job. I could NOT be more thankful I get to be home with my kids. There was a time when I felt like all I did was run around and worry about how ends were going to meet. I worked LOTS of jobs to help us get by. They were not always jobs I loved or wanted to work but I did it. Today I feel blessed that I get to "just" be a mom. It is insanely crazy around here and if I had to throw work into the mix I am not sure my high strung personality could take it. Barrett makes that possible for us and again, it is a blessing!
We have come such a long way and the Lord has given us a lot to be thankful for. I am glad we are where we are at. It feels good and right to finally take a deep breath and exhale!
Here is to anther 13 (and more!) years!
In THREE days, I will have been married for THIRTEEN YEARS!! I now feel pretty darn old and by old, I mean lucky! I have a new computer that I haven't transferred any pictures over to so pretend below is a picture of Barrett and I when we dated. Ah, look how cute we are.
As I was feeding the baby today, I got to sit and think about what the last 13 years has been like for us. Today I feel thankful. We have come such a long way and I feel like our hard work is FINALLY paying off! I am not saying that we don't have problems, because we do, but life has gotten more crazy (5.5 kids will do that) but it has gotten easier in a lot of ways.
Barrett's job: After 10 YEARS (yes, 10) of our marriage, Barrett FINALLY has an awesome job!! During medical school we actually PAID for him to work! Those times were hard. I have no idea how we made that work, but it taught us a lot and even though they were happy times, they were very hard. I learned a lot about what you can make due on. Learned to coupon like a crazy lady, found a deep love of yard sales AND found out when to call uncle! He is such an amazing guy and LOVES what he does. He is happy to get up and go to work every day. It is a blessing that he has been given this talent and uses it. We were recently talking with someone about what strengths people do and don't have. Barrett is a hard worker and he is driven and I am glad it is his strength.
Our house: We were super blessed to buy a home in KC while Barrett was a resident but I knew we wouldn't be there for long, so it didn't really feel like home to me. When we moved here to Logan, I knew we would be here for the long haul and feel blessed to have found a home here to buy. It feels like home to us and I am happy that we own this home. I hate renting and the thought of moving this circus any time soon makes me a little sick! It isn't our last move or home, but we are getting close! We recently put in a yard and flower beds and every time I pull into the garage it makes me happy we have a yard I can work in.
Our family: Holy struggle of the century. There is not enough blogging time in the world to write down the saga of getting our family here. It has consumed us and our marriage for almost the whole 13 years we have been married. It has been my biggest trail, my darkest days and in the end, my biggest blessing. I know that our Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers. It was 100% sure not on MY time frame, but it came. I have felt nothing but immensely blessed to be having this last little spirit in our home. What a perfectly sweet "ending" to the hardest most daunting chapter (or chapters!) of our life.
My job: Does my job get any better? Yes, yes. There is A LOT and I do mean A LOT of diapers, crying (mostly me), hard times, yelling (again, from me), frustration and craziness that come with my job. I could NOT be more thankful I get to be home with my kids. There was a time when I felt like all I did was run around and worry about how ends were going to meet. I worked LOTS of jobs to help us get by. They were not always jobs I loved or wanted to work but I did it. Today I feel blessed that I get to "just" be a mom. It is insanely crazy around here and if I had to throw work into the mix I am not sure my high strung personality could take it. Barrett makes that possible for us and again, it is a blessing!
We have come such a long way and the Lord has given us a lot to be thankful for. I am glad we are where we are at. It feels good and right to finally take a deep breath and exhale!
Here is to anther 13 (and more!) years!
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