⛈ 

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you guys about the storm last night. I LOVE storms. This isn’t news, I know. I’ve been excitedly anticipating our first good solid crashing storm. And last night was that storm!

Yesterday afternoon and evening already, we had our heat up and kitchen window open so we could enjoy the sounds and smells of the rain. The wind was whipping, and there was occasionally a quiet rumble of thunder. Out the window, I kept questioning whether or not I was seeing flashed of lightening, but it was hard to say. It was kind of an unsure beginning to an excellent storm!

Cher was over for the evening, and the three of us were watching tv as the storm picked up. Once we finished our episode, we decided to go upstairs and watch the storm for a bit. Cher also enjoys a good storm, so she fits right in 😆 We pulled a chair and love seat up against the living room window and snuggled in for the lightening show. I complained about the street light just across the street from us, wishing it could somehow be turned off. 😳 *ironic foreshadowing* 

At one point, we were watching the lightening behind the houses across the street, and we saw a BIG fork of lightening blast behind it. It lit the whole house up! The lightening stopped, but house remained backlit for a few seconds longer. The light changed colours. It was pink, even! It was reminiscent of the majestic northern lights you only see in pictures! Cher and I both were flabbergasted, and couldn’t figure out what was happening. Aaaaand then the power cut out. It got super dark out. And then lightening. And then dark. And then lightening. 

It was unbelievable. SO bright. Constant lightening. And the thunder was LOUD. 

And then it was too loud. If you were up last night when we were, you know the crash I mean. There was a big, shocking crash of thunder that made us all jump. Moments later, Dekker wandered up the stairs, bleary eyed and nervous. He figured something big had fallen outside and he was unsure about it. He was shivering. Brady pulled him up onto his lap and invited him to join us for a little bit. This never ever happens, because storms are usually pretty late, and our kids tend to sleep through them, so this was special. It was also kind of important, because it was clear Dekker was scared. Cher ducked downstairs for some cozy blankets and we all tucked in for a storm watch with Dekker. He moved onto my lap and eventually warmed up and stopped shaking. 

We kept Dekker up for maybe twenty minutes or so, and then took him back to bed. He wasn’t afraid anymore. The three of us continued to storm watch, watching flashlights out in the field where the lightening appeared to hit, and speculating how long it would be before power came back on. We watched until we were all really nice and tired, and the parted ways for the night. It was SO nice to watch and enjoy the storm! 

The wind continues to blow today, but the sun is trying to shine! Plans are still in the works for this weekends yard projects, and we hope the weather cooperates! Even if it doesn’t, the storm was totally worth it. 

As you know, I’ve been taking a new medication since mid-February. It was a bit of an adjustment, but not as bad as I thought it would be. I was a bit nauseous while my body figured itself out, and I was very tired. Thats since all been long ironed out, and I’m ready to talk about the positive things I’ve noticed since being on the meds!

First, I’ll go with the obvious. I started taking these meds because of my insane body pain that refused to quit. ANY small change would result in immense pain. My body was heavily overreacting and that needed to change. And it has! Praise the Lord for hands, arms, and shoulders that can bear weight again! 

Beyond that, I’ve noticed that I’m more comfortable with silence. I’ve never specifically been someone who hates silence, but now, if there’s a break in the conversation, I don’t feel as compelled to find another topic, or to fill that lull. So I can definitely tell my brain has slowed down a little bit, but in a good way. 

Something else that is definitely worth mentioning is that I haven’t had eczema on my face since I started this medication. I’d love to say its just thanks to Spring and humidity levels in my house, but I made this change in winter, so I know that is not the case. 

What I think is that my body is truly stressed out. Which is weird. I felt so strange starting an antidepressant when I felt like my mental health was in SUCH a good place. Probably the healthiest I’ve felt in years. My mind and heart were pretty lined up, and I feel stronger and more confident than I can remember ever feeling. 

Yet.

We all know our brains, hearts, and bodies don’t always agree. And maybe – just maybe – my body was stressed, and I didn’t know. Maybe, while I’m quite used to my life in general and don’t find it especially overwhelming as a whole, my body was struggling really hard and it needed some levelling out. I just didn’t know! I now find myself feeling healthier, more energized, and maaaybe a tad more patient. Jury is still out on that one 😆 Some days are definitely better than others! But isn’t that with everything? 

I’m SO happy with my final decision to start this medication. I praise the Lord for guidance, and for modern medicine! 

I have a secret. I bet some of you have the same secret, but I’m going to be the ballsy one who says it out loud. 

I’m totally enjoying the pandemic. 

I know! I know! Don’t come at me! I know its not a great time in the world. But there are a lot of really special things about these weeks and months!

I LOVE our groove of getting outside every morning. I LOVE getting these yard projects done. I LOVE better breakfasts and coffee in bed with my husband before getting the kids up. I LOVE having Brady home. I LOVE chatting more with my neighbours. I LOVE crocheting more. I LOVE going for long walks in the daytime. I LOVE the simplicity.

I LOVE that my family truly loves one another, and we’re not going all that crazy being in each other’s space. I LOVE that we’re not sick of each other. 

I’m not naive to the fact that there are plenty of changes that are not ideal. While I’d love for Brady to stay home forever, income is also super important, and we need some to stay afloat. I know many are suffering in many ways, and I don’t desire to gloss over that at all. I’m not ignorant. 

But.

I think its important to remember what was GOOD during the pandemic 🙂 

What are some positives you’ve been experiencing since everything shut down?

I’m sure many of you have seen all over Facebook that people are making their avatars. For those of you who aren’t on Facebook, an avatar is a character you can build, detail by detail, to look like yourself. People are sharing them all over the place! 

Brady and I love the Animoji’s on our phones, which is sort of the same thing, except you can make them talk and move along with you. There has never been an emoji to look like Brady, ever, but his Animoji is hilariously accurate. 

After Cher and I had made our avatars on Facebook, we pressed Brady to make one. Brady technically does have a Facebook profile, but he probably actually visits it twice a year. He’s totally inactive on social media. Thankfully, he’s a good sport about it, and agreed to make one, just for fun. And then Cher and I decided we’d make one of him, too, and see how they’d compare! 

Behold, Brady! 🙌

The first one is ours, and the second one is Bradys. I think his version of him is way scarier than ours 😂 Which one is closer?? 

Aaaaand then I convinced them to make one of me, so we did that, also. 

First was mine, then Chers, and then Bradys. Thoughts? Which is closer? I’m so happy a hairstyle somewhat like mine finally exists on things like this! 

It was kind of fun making each other’s avatars. You guys should really try it for your friends/spouses/whoever else. I should make some for my kids too… 

Bonus picture of Brady!! 😂

I’ll leave you with that. Make some funny avatars and share them, if you feel so inclined! 

As I mentioned the other day, Dekker and Laela ran a surprisingly long stretch the other day, about halfway around the pond near our house. So yesterday, I decided to see if I could stretch it even further, and they were excited to try! We entered the path and I told them to run as far as they could. If they reached the garbage cans, they should stop. It would be almost an entire lap. Juuust shy of a lap. 

Aaaaand they did it, in about 3:15!! We were amazed!!!

They waited diligently at the garbage cans, but apparently the rest of us were taking too long and they started running back our direction. They met us and we walked the rest of the lap together. The garbage cans I keep referring to are right where the path splits off and where we’d turn to head home. But it was early enough that we decided to do another pass around the pond before going home. The big kids decided to try and run it. Again. 

And they did. The whole thing, without stopping, in 3:30. They are CRAZY! I am SO impressed in their endurance!!! 

We got home and I ducked upstairs to go to the bathroom. While sitting on the can, I saw a tiny little black bug on my leg and immediately knew it was a tick. I freeeeaked out and dove off the toilet. I successfully peed everywhere. 

And then it was a beetle. 

Because why wouldn’t it be? 

I crunched it and flushed it, and cleaned up the floor 🤦‍♀️ aaaaand that was how our successful evening as a family wrapped up for me. With bugs and pee on the floor that I couldn’t even blame on my children. Cool. Cool cool cool. 

We’ve been making a point to get outside as much as possible these days, as you know. Its become a really awesome habit, in my opinion, and I feel odd when we don’t get outside. I am easily the most tan I’ve ever been, and I have more energy, too. I’m loving the spring weather more than I usually do! SO thankful! 

I think I’ve mentioned it before, but when we go for long walks, the kids ask for “challenges.” I started it up a while ago and they really like it 🙂 Laela LOVES the challenges, and Dekker and Rowan like to play along. As we walk, I’ll pick a point (the next light post, vehicle, driveway, etc) and I’ll have them reach it in a more creative way. Some examples are: 

Run while kicking yourself in the butt.

Run with straight knees.

Run sideways.

Hop on one foot. 

Bunny hop.

Skip.

Sprint.

Run with your arms in the air. 

Gallop.

Do giant steps. 

Run, and make a fart sound every time your foot hits the ground. 

Sometimes, when they reach a milestone, I get them to do jumping jacks. It feels a little boot campy but they LOVE it! 

Yesterday, The kids were begging for challenges, and we still needed to get around the pond before we could head back to our street. I decided to give them a new challenge, and explained what endurance is. Its not a race, but rather a slower run that they could maintain, and I asked them to see how far they could get. I said, if they made it so far that they reached the garbage cans aaaaall the way to the other end of the pond, they should stop. 

Dekker and Laela ran the entire stretch without breaking a sweat, side by side, in one minute twelve seconds. I was SO impressed! 

It was a really lovely walk. 

Thank you, Cher, for editing these for me 💜

We are truly loving our outside time these days. Everyone sleeps better. Everyone is tan and happy. Everyone is healthy and strong. Everyone is together. Its pretty wonderful. 

Help me add to my list of challenges for the kids! Whats comparable to jumping jacks that young kids can do? What are more fun ways to reach checkpoints? Help a mom out! 

Never before have we had a child that really gets into everything else the way the bigger kids do. Waverly LOVES to join the fun! The fast fun. The rowdy fun. The messy fun. She is not afraid. 

She’s been outside a ton during these weeks of projects, keeping up with everyone else. If they’re all somewhere, she’s trucking along with the crowd. If there’s a game going, she tries hard to keep up and play along. And sometimes, she gets very opinionated and wants to do what SHE wants to do!! She’ll abandon whatever everyone is doing, run to the swingset, and shout “fwing” until someone comes and heaves her into her swing. If the big kids climb up onto the big rock by the pond, you’d better believe she wants to climb up that rock, too!

She even tries to join in on the biking! She sits on her trike and pedals once and then gets off 😂 But she’ll run around in a helmet anyway. Lucky for her, she’s pretty popular, and the kids are completely willing to include her and help her out along the way! 

The other day, she found her spot, stirring a pail of dirty water, adding scoops of dirt, small rocks, and shovels. 

As she stirred, and blooped in her little stones and junk, she announced “soup” over and over, in her singsongy voice. It was VERY cute. I’m not sure who suggested to her that it was soup, or if it was just her own thing, but she cooked and stirred and prepared her soup for a good long while. Aaaaand! She knew not to taste it! Win for everyone! 

By the end of yesterday’s play, Wavy had taken a few little spills and had beat up her little legs good and proper. She wasn’t complaining AT ALL, but I noticed, and took her upstairs to clean her up. 

My en suite is the place where the wounded kids come for warm water, polysporin, and bandaids. *adds bandaids to grocery list* This was Wavy’s first visit to my en suite clinic, and lucky for her, all she needed was a warm washcloth. She tolerated it easily, with no fear or hesitation, no complaints, and energy to get it over with and get back to her sibs. 

She was such a mess, and so beautiful, simultaneously. Mad skills, girly. Teach me your ways. 

This morning couldn’t have turned out much more beautifully ☀️ 

Brady was scheduled to go help with some yard work at my moms house today, and he was debating between going during naps, or this morning. I decided for him (whoops) that he should go this morning, so he and I could lounge a bit together during naps. I told him I’d take the kids for a walk while he was gone, and it would help pass the time a bit better. 

Thus began the walk that lasted basically all morning!

We all left at the same time, Brady in his van and me and the kids on foot, with Wavy in the stroller. We weren’t even one block down before I considered turning back. A couple of the kids were cold, and were losing their minds over it! I had two sweaters in the bottom of the stroller, and two obviously cold kids. One kid was happily pacified with a sweater, and the other was not at all content with theirs. I could not convince that kid into the sweater, yet the weeping and wailing was out in full force. I decided that the crying would settle out eventually, and I’d push through on the walk. 

Turns out, I was right. The crying ceased. Aforementioned kid warmed up with the walking. Everyone enjoyed the exercise and together time. And I’ll admit. I got a little ahead of myself. I took them waaaaay too far. 

We walked to the mail, and then past the church. That’s about as far across town from us as you can get. But we’ve done that walk before. No big deal. But I took it one step further and decided we’d go down the street to my moms house to say hi to Brady and my mom. 

Hear me. This makes for a LONG walk. But, the sun was out and we had no deadlines, so I figured we could swing it. 

It was nice to break it up and see Brady for a minute 🙂 

But we didn’t stay long! I knew eventually the sun and wind would wipe everyone out, and even going straight home from there is a long stretch. So we began our mosey home. 

We had made it maybe one block back when Solly started to say he was tired. Now, he has EVERY right to be tired after such a long walk! He usually tuckers out by the end of our walks, but usually its a lot closer to home. And I was on my own. There is no way I could put him on my back and push the stroller at the same time. Laela diligently took his hand and encouraged him to keep going. 

We walked and walked and walked. Slower and slower. Solly was started to trip over his feet, and we were maaaybe halfway home 😬 Not ideal. 

We stopped at one point along the way to regroup, and ended up chatting with a couple from our church who were out on their deck. It is just SO good to see people we haven’t seen in such a long time 💜 We had a good chat and a bit of a rest, and when it was time to move on, we were offered freezies!!! That was exactly what our group needed! What a thoughtful gift! 

Everyone got a freezie (Wavy and I shared) and the boost in energy was evident in everyone. Solly would lag a little, and then run to catch up. Everyone was silly again and spirits were up. It was SO nice! 

About a block or so from home, we ended up chatting with more friends from up on their doorway, too. Its so good for my heart to see our friends. Man. What a strange time of life. 

The sugar crash was beginning as Brady drove by on his way home. He laughed at us, still out walking. Laela began to run, and she managed to beat him home 🙂 Rowan wasn’t far behind. The others stayed with me while l wrapped up our conversation, and we headed home. Solly could barely lift his feet by the time we got home 😆

When I got into the house, all of the kids were tucked into blankets on the couch, with books and water bottles. It was so cozy and well deserved. They were CHAMPS!!! 

Once everyone was back home and settled, lunch wasn’t far away. Pb&j makes everyone happy, and nap time is going to be the cherry on top of a pretty excellent morning! 

🍒 

I’ve talked about this before. Dekker and Laela. There is this hefty competition between them. I imagine it will always be there, to some degree. They are SO different. 

Dekker is the oldest. He is a “classic” oldest. He’s very responsible. An old soul. No nonsense. Wants things done right, the rules followed. Everything must be done properly.

Laela is second oldest. But, she’s the oldest girl. She is very outgoing, energetic, capable, and a full blown bossy pants. Everything must be done her way. 

So. They’re different. And they’re both vying for the positive of control freak. 

It’s great. 😐 

So, needless to say, these two battle it out more than any other pairing of children in our family. These. Two. Scrap. 

It helps my heart to know they truly love and trust each other. They have fun at school together, and work well together during quiet time. Dekker feels protective of Laela, and she wants him to snuggle her, from time to time. They are on the same level for many things, which is good and bad, but its easy to group them together. 

The other day, there had been a BIG fight, and I had them sit on a chair together, snuggled in a blanket, and read a book, alternating pages. So much of their time that day was spent fighting, I wanted some nice time for them. They were both furious! The first couple of pages were read through tears, but eventually they got settled in and enjoyed the book. It actually worked out pretty well, in my opinion! 

Another day, more recently, ALL they would do is nitpick at one another. I was desperately trying to get a thought out and all I could hear was them arguing. I’d ask them to stop fighting, or quiet down, or just pause even, and they’d say “ok” and immediately start up again. I could NOT get my thought out so I cut them off and sent each kid to a separate couch, across the living room from one another and instructed them not to talk. After a stretch of silence, I allowed one to join the other on their couch. I didn’t make any rules or give any instruction beyond that. My mama heart was overjoyed to find them like this just moments later. 

There weren’t many words exchanged at first. Then she started playing with his hair, commenting on how long it was.

After a while, it turned into a rowdy, silly tickle fight. 

But it was perfect. Clearly, they just needed to step away from their arguments and enjoy some good time together. 

I’m learning more and more about parenting with every given day, and for that, I praise the Lord.

We’ve had our fence package on hand for a good while already. Unfortunately, we’ve had to wait for a little while, as we decided to get post holes dug, and therefore we had to wait on someone else’s schedule and not our own. You might say we should just do it ourselves, but the ground over here suuuuucks, hahaha! Its pure rock 😆 So, we’re hiring that disaster out.

Its ok that it took a while. There was a whole debacle, but long story short, we ordered half of our fence package, and when we went back to order the other half, our guy didn’t have the green treated wood anymore 😳 Did you know they’re phasing it out?? We did manage to find some, but it was a pretty significant effort and it cost more than we were originally getting it for. Teaches us for not being as organized as we should’ve been. All in all, though, we managed to get what we needed! We had someone help us get gravel as well, so when it came to post hole drilling time, we were ready! The kids were out on the deck, enthralled…

and Brady was on the ground, following behind with posts and judging everything being straight enough. (Don’t worry, they’re not set. Just in there.)

It was pretty cute and going according to plan. I decided to play it lazy and microwaved taquitos for the kids so they could stay outside and watch. 

And then it SUPER wasn’t going according to plan anymore 😆😩 

On this particular hole, the drill went down, and when it came back up, it had our lines hanging from the drill. 

They cut our power and our internet line. 

Whats done is done 🤷‍♀️ They continued to dig holes and I makeshifted the rest of supper out of fruit-to-gos and desserts 😬

Brady began calling our service providers and getting that up and organized. Our loving neighbour brought over some drinks and gave us her wifi password. We sipped our bevies and speculated what was to come. 

The work was finished in quick time, and Brady and the contractor agreed on a price for the job. And they left. We put the kids to bed shortly thereafter, and then I went to pick up Subway from Martensville, because, no power. Can’t complain about a good excuse to get Subway! 

SaskPower did eventually make an appearance. Three guys came in with shovels and dug down by hand to find the split wires. There were a few, they said. Apparently they were marked off by about 8” but the flags placed specified not to dig mechanically within a metre of them, so while they could’ve been more accurate in placing flags, they were covered by their disclaimer. The SaskPower guys also mentioned that the drill was dangerously close to hitting the gas line. THAT would’ve been a mess!!! But, the guys who came out to reconnect our power were great sports and got things done quickly. We had power back by 9:30pm. 

Who is that weirdo taking a picture of our back alley? 🤔😆

I’ll admit that the evening was pretty unsettling. Brady received a call that indicated that the contractors we hired plan to try to put it on us. They said “It is your job as the homeowner to know where posts are allowed to be placed.” But it isn’t. Thats why we hired a professional!! We hired them to dig the holes. They could’ve dug them with shovels for all I care. Its not OUR fault they used a bobcat and a drill where they weren’t supposed to! Goodness. Around 10:30pm, Brady received a text from one of the workers, saying he was in our backyard taking pictures and wanted to speak to Brady again. Brady declined, which I think is more than fair. The guys pictures are just going to show he dug within a metre of the flags anyways, but 🤷‍♀️ His call. 

SaskTel came out today to try and restore our internet, and was able to fix it temporarily, but they’ll be sending someone out another day to replace/repair the conduit. So, temporary lines are better than none, but still. Ugh. 

We still have to get a hold of Access, because while we don’t use them ourselves, the Access line installed got nicked in the process. But we haven’t been able to get through to them yet. 

Sooooo beware the tiger trap in our backyard! 🐯 There is a pallet overtop of a gaping hole that we have to leave open for all of the services to be repaired. Its SUCH a mess. 

I don’t desire to throw any company under the bus, so I won’t name anyone, but man. This is NOT a fun thing to figure out. And I cannot believe they’re going to try and put the blame on us. Brady even asked the SaskPower guys working in the backyard and they said they had no leg to stand on, which is reassuring, but it doesn’t mean any of this will be fun. 

New territory. Always. Wish us luck!