Tomorrow, we head back to the lake! Brady, Cher, and I have worked hard through July to strike a balance that somehow makes prepping less overwhelming for my body and my brain. While I feel content with our setup, my body tends to completely panic the day before we leave, and I struggle through additional anxiety, heartburn, and sickness.
This last time around, I think we got it!!! I am SO relieved, and so are my beautiful people who are eager to help me.
Even though we are leaving tomorrow, and my body is still unhappy out of routine, we are SO organized and my brain and heart feel content.
The changes we made are as follows:
While at the lake, as I packed up to go home, I took a few extra minutes to separate the laundry. Not in a big specific way. I made a kids clothes hamper, a bag for Brady and I, and then a bag of towels. With that, laundry went FAST and EASY! To be clear, though, I didn’t do a stitch of laundry. It was ALL Cher 💜 The moment everything was dry and ready, she folded ALL the kids stuff and put them back into the hampers to go back to the lake. Boom! Kids clothes DONE!
Another change we made was that Brady and I meal planned on the drive home from our last stretch at the lake! We did that out of necessity, because we knew we only had three days in between, and three different appointments over the first two days. So while I drove, Brady and I listed meals we wanted to have on our next trip out. Then we made a big list of all the items we’d need to bring to make them happen, and then Cher took pictures of our food around the house so we could see what we needed to buy and what we just needed to gather up. Before we got home, we had our list of food to pack AND a grocery list! Its important to say that this wouldn’t have really aided a whole lot if not for my mom offering to do our shopping for us 💜 What a HUGE relief that was!
Now, it is the day before. My heartburn is worse than it often is, even with all my meds working hard for me, and while my body is mad, I feel truly content. Today, we chop veggies. We gather up all the odds and ends. We put things that are completely ready out in the garage, ready to be packed.
And tomorrow, we pack coolers and tetris everything into the van. Boom. Done!
What a relief.l Hopefully packing and unpacking and repacking can be so much smoother through August!
The fish in the tank from Finding Nemo? They nickname Nemo ‘Sharkbait’ and start chanting ‘Sharkbait! Hooo haha!’
No? Just me and myself?
Ok.
This is Brady by the way. And I’m here with an announcement.
We finished the deck at the lake!
We completed the main deck and the stairs a while back and ran into some issues with the permit because the building inspector didn’t want us to build a roof with out concrete footings dug into the ground.
Well we showed him!
Because he was replaced by someone else.
The new guy was much more accommodating to our desire for a roof and said as long as it’s freestanding and not attached to a building then we can build it resting on deck blocks. We got word that our application had been approved last Tuesday morning and by 1pm we were building already. It was good timing too because the older four kids were spending the first four days of the week at day camp so we were free of most of our daily responsibilities until the end of Thursday. 🤗
We started by cutting and prepping the posts and both beams and by the end of the day we had one beam standing. It was a bit risky because standing the first beam permanently pinned the existing camper awning to the camper making it unusable. But we were on our way!
And then it rained.
It really rained. Overnight. It poured close to 2 hours. All I could think about while it was raining was that we couldn’t use the old awning. And everything out side was getting soaked. Towels. Bathing suits. Shoes. Tools. Everything was soaked.
And we were motivated. 😂
A quick coffee by the fire and we were hard at it again. We managed to assemble and stand the second beam, level and plumb both beams, and cut all the joists by lunch.
I had realized though that I had used the wrong 2x6s at one point in building the deck and we no longer had enough materials to make all the joists out of. So over lunch we packed up the one kid left with us and headed to the closest lumber yard for more lumber.
That was a short trip full of sweetness (from Wavy) and delicious food (from McDonald’s) and we were back and working by 1:30.
We made quick work of sliding each joist into the hangers on the beams and shortly after they were all nailed in place and secure.
I maaaaay have found myself up on a ladder.
Dumb and Dumber anyone?
We finished off day 2 by prepping the battens. (2x4s laid perpendicular to the joists to which the roof panels are screwed down. I had to google the term. 😂) I wanted them to be notched to rest on top of the joists for both aesthetics and functionality. By notching them 1.5” over the joists, that left 2” of batten above the joists. That way the tops of the battens matched the tops of the beams at either end and the roof panels would sit flush all the way across.
Science.
Day 3 was a shorty because we had a much more important birthday to celebrate. I spent about an hour in the late afternoon making sure the whole structure was squared up and posts were plumb. I also added angle braces at the tops of the posts to add stability under precipitation load.
We had a pretty wicked hail storm that evening and we were counting ourselves lucky we hadn’t tried to get the roofing installed that day already. That coulda been bad news!
Day 4 was another shorter day because it was just so gol’ darn windy! We spent an hour or so in the afternoon sliding the battens in place and Hailey climbed up to screw them all down to the joists. It was pretty good looking at that point. 😍
And the structure didn’t look bad either. 😉
Day 5 was our last full day before going home and we were determined to get it done that day. And the kids were determined that they were bored and wanted to go to the ‘Ark Park’. A playground designed to look like Noah’s Ark which is just a bit too far to let them all go by themselves. So the morning was spent drinking coffee and watching the kids play. But the afternoon, hoooo boy, we decided to get back to work.
We had one 2×4 to screw in place which I had forgotten about. It’s purpose was added support for the roof panels along the front edge. Then we cut the polycarbonate tinted roof panels to length, laid them all up there to make sure everything lined up square and then started screwing them down.
Roughly 2 hours later we were done! Hailey put the last few screws in, I took the remaining temporary supports down and packed up the tools.
We’re incredibly happy with it! 🤗🎉 I highly recommend this for anyone who has a permanent camping spot. Protection from the rain, relief from the sun and I have to say it adds a homey, lakelife feel to our site. I feel more relaxed and slow moving as I exit the camper and step out onto the deck. 😊
Anyways, our deck is done and our campsite is another step closer to what we’ve been dreaming about all winter.
It’s been a while since we’ve talked about Rowan on here in terms of his sleep and behavior. Its hard to really give a confident judgement of things, being as his routine is out the window this summer! Everything is completely different than how it was, so there has been a time of change and adjustment there. But he’s doing well in many ways, and I have enjoyed watching him learn to roll with the punches the best way he can.
I don’t remember if I talked about it in detail, but when we first got to the lake, Rowan did his fair share of sleepwalking. It was similar to how he sleepwalks at home, except less familiar. He would climb out of his bunkbed, mildly distressed, and come find me. I would do as usual, and gently walk him back to bed. No fuss, no muss.
Except, the camper was less familiar, as I said. When I’d try to lay him back down, he would lay cross the other boys, perpendicular to his bed. I would try to help him get to his spot, and he would get very upset. Then, usually, he’d wake up, and PANIC. He would scream and tantrum and wake the whole family and he was completely irrational.
It. Was. Horrible.
We’ve settled in well since then, and he hadn’t walked in his sleep at camp for weeks. But he did this last time. Once.
I woke up to him crying, stumbling around, trying to get out of bed and find us for help. I went to him right away, and he easily submitted to me walking him back to bed. But he did the dreaded move – he lay across the beds, with his legs on Solly and his feet touching Dekker. I was SO soft and sweet with him, trying to very simply explain his position, and that he was on Solly’s bed. He immediately got upset and said Solly always was touching his bed. Haha! Not the point, but I giggled a little at his sleepy defence. I was trying to work quickly to get him back to where he belonged without waking everyone, but without upsetting him further and waking him up. I said over and over “I want to help you, Rowan. I’m going to help you. Please let me help you!” And thank the Lord, I got it right!
I crawled past Rowan onto his mattress, and said “Oh wow! Rowan! I found your pillow! Its over here!” In that moment, he heaved an audible sigh of relief, and sat back up in an effort to come over to me. But he was SO disoriented and droopy, he lay down in the proper direction, but was still very far from his pillow. He started to cry again, so I said “Rowan, can I help you get there” and he paused….. and then whispered “Yes please.” So I hooked his armpits and hauled him up to his pillow with me.
The moment he felt his pillow, he grabbed his blanket in one arm, put me in a headlock in the other arm, and kissed my face over and over and over. Probably almost ten times. And then his arms relaxed, and he settled into his mattress. Not another sound.
And guys, it felt SO VICTORIOUS. No one got mad. No one panicked. I thought really clearly, considering the hour of the night, and he was receptive and willing to work with me. He trusted me. And God directed us, as he does.
I had a hard time winding down after that. Not because I was all flustered and worked up, but because I felt SO GOOD. I was so grateful for how well that interaction had gone!
And he had zero memory of it in the morning. What a win! Thank you, Lord!
Yesterday was a day of firsts. Three firsts, in fact. We have never had a sting of any kind amongst our kids, but yesterday was the day for it!! Yikes! Dekker was first. He and Laela were filling up the wagon with wood when he got attacked. He got stung on the arm and then over on the other hand. He was across the campground, but was lovingly walked back to our site by another caring dad, and someone who was just visiting for the day helped Laela fill the wagon and bring it back 💜 Everyone was so caring. It was awesome.
Towards the end of the day, Rowan could be heard screaming like he was being skinned alive. Before I could even go run for him, he was at our site, bawling, holding his eye. Braden was closely behind, as his youngest had been with Rowan when he got stung. Unfortunately, it turned out that his son got hit, too :/ Yet he still chased after Rowan to make sure he got back to us safe 💜
Needless to say, Rowan was in quite a bit of distress. He had never had a sting, and on the eye is just so scary. I convinced him to let me put a wet paper towel on it but that was IT. He wasn’t pumped. The snuggle was good, though.
As today stands, everyone is ok. Dekker is completely over it and when asked by someone, he had forgotten. Rowan still looks like he got a bite, but he’s happy and is more amped about the great story 😆
My goodness he is just the CUTEST little thing! 😍
Aaaaanyway. Firsts. They’re not always exciting fun milestones but they’re things we go through, and my big strong boys are more than fine! Just a little bit more experience to share 🙂
I’ve talked about plans a lot in the past. They make me feel sane. I like having an idea of when I’ll be where, so I can be productive while also having things to look forward to.
In the last couple of years, however, a lot of my plans have been turned on their heads, and I’ve learned just how how little control we actually have over a lot of things. I’ve said it a lot – plans are just placeholders while we wait to see what is actually going to happen.
I didn’t really even have a chance to make a plan for this year. It was already very clear last year that something was happening with Brady, and it became top priority VERY early on in the year. I think that is actually a blessing, because I don’t feel like we’ve had to let a whole bunch of big lofty plans and dreams go by the wayside, though of course we would have! Brady comes SO FAR AHEAD of any little plan we might have toyed with.
Back when Brady was first going for his MRIs, I had a hunch that I needed to prepare for something. Maybe you remember. I was meal prepping, freezing things, pre-writing blogs, etc., and at that time, not a single thing was confirmed or scheduled. I just felt like it was the calm before the storm. Well, “calm.” And then, lo and behold, Brady had surgery, ended up paralyzed, and lived in the hospital for the next nine weeks! I had started writing a few blogs, some just titles or ideas, to help me write when my brain was clearly elsewhere. One of my titles was centred around new years resolutions.
I had a GOOD laugh about that. Like, it was a pretty sick laugh in the moment, but its a funny one now, I promise. Resolutions?? Like plans? COMMITMENTS?!?! Heck no!! There is NO way I could even remotely claim to be working towards anything that wasn’t just surviving. It took a while for me to know that was enough. I’m here now.
From where we are right now, toward the end of July, I think I can write out a handful of things that sort of count as resolutions? Intentions? Ideals? Aaaaanyway, here you have it.
We built the deck at the lake. I’d love it if we could finish the awning, too, before the weekend is over.
I’d like to find a counsellor that is a good fit for me.
I’d like to find a financial advisor that I trust.
I’d like to crochet each of my children a blanket for Christmas. (This one is a secret from them, obviously. Don’t tell!)
I’d like to organize another homemade gift exchange like I did the last two Christmases. It feels like it’ll be a stretch but I SO enjoy it!!
I think these appear to be reasonable goals. There are much loftier ones out there, but they are lower pressure, with lesser specifics to measure, and definitely not things to accomplish by the years end. Sure, I’d love to find peace about not feeling capable of doing sooooo many things that I used to. I’d love to be able to host people at my house, or to take my kids out, or to run errands as a family, or to buy my own groceries, or to just feel like less of a mess. But I think all of that will come with time, and maybe one day, I’ll just look at my life and think “Huh. Remember when I couldn’t do those things? I wonder when I started again.” Goodness I cannot wait for that day.
So. The goals.
Build an awning. Find a counsellor and financial advisor. Crochet some big projects. Organize an event.
This is all doable. Three of the things are fun. The other two are important and beneficial. I can do it.
Does anyone care to share a goal they have for the remainder of the year, so I don’t have to feel like a dork making new years resolutions in July?
Yesterday was SO fun. It really couldn’t have been better, honestly. To be clear, it wasn’t just me who felt that way. Cher’s birthday was a huge success, and was enjoyed by all!! Cher arrived to our spot shortly after 8, and we already had a fire going. My mom wasn’t far behind. I ducked out to drop the kids off at day camp around 9, and then the festivities began!
Birthday scones have become a tradition, as well as bacon, that was made on the barbecue 🤤 No photo evidence of that one because it was gone too fast. We lurked by the fire most of the morning before heading to a nearby beach, just to mix it up. Mom and Cher had water fights with Wavy, Brady napped and sunburned, and I photographed the whole thing.
Brady and I did go in together for a little bit 💜 it is a challenge for him as the water gets less clear, but it’s fun for a bit for sure! I loved it.
Finally we had been out in the sun long enough that I called it on behalf of the fear of heat exhaustion. We carted ourselves back home, got into dry clothes, and went to retrieve the kids from their final day of day camp. It was sweaty and loud and fun and Wavy pooped and smelled sooooo bad 😆 an excellent time was had by all! Thank you, grandma, for sending our beautiful children to camp 💜 The kids barely came back to our site before running back out after their friends. Brady used that time to work a little more on the awning, and we kept a fire going despite the sweltering heat and sunburns.
The kids had grilled cheese for supper, and once that was done, the birthday supper began! For Cher’s day, we got appetizers from M&M.
That includes cheddar cheese balls, battered pickles, garlic shrimp, bacon wrapped steak skewers, and cheese stuffed mushroom caps. It was absurdly delicious, and a couple of the kids even came for some tastes here and there. It was so fun to share that meal all together around the fire, the four of us adults, and the occasional kid. SO good! A really really nice memory. It started to get a little rainy, so we got organized on the site and put away the things that needed to stay dry. Finished our food. Brought in towels, etc. And good thing we did that, because out of nowhere we were hit with a hailstorm.
It was LOUD!!! And a little intimidating! All nine of us piled into the camper and watched the hail come down. It was the longest hailstorm I can remember, but it did end, and order was restored. Vehicle damage, of course, but the camper remains strong 💪 Once the really loud part of the storm was over, we broke out the dessert! It was already late, but my mom had brought a beautiful drumstick cake! One of my favorites and I KNEW Cher would love it.
She did! Woot! Then the little birthday girl was all tuckered out and took a little cat nap 😴
Then it was getting late and it was time for she and my mom needed to get started on the two hour drive home. We are SO grateful they made the trek out and spent the day here with us 💜 What a beautiful day celebrating a beautiful girl with our beautiful family 💜💜💜 thank you Lord for all you’ve given us!
Today is an important day. Today we celebrate the day, on which, thirty-one years ago, Cher entered the world. I wasn’t there personally, but I imagine she was pink, and that she cried and squirmed for a bit, like babies do. She probably liked things like milk and pooping. She was probably scrawny and fuzzy. She probably wore sleepers and onesies and sucked on her fingers when she was hungry. I say again. I wasn’t there. What I CAN tell you is that Cher is far from ordinary. She may have done the baby things that pretty much all babies do, but the woman she is now is no average woman.
I am over the moon with pride to call this beautiful Cher Andrea my best friend. Since we have known one another, we have seemed to almost trade off crises, and this last one on my end has been a doozy. And she has stayed by, working hard to do everything she can to make my life as smooth as possible, even when its unpopular and hard. Even amidst all of HER stuff. I was never off her list. And it showed. I know my memory is fuzzier than it was a year or so ago, but I will never forget the things we’ve gone through, and more than that, the things we’ve COME through successfully, side by side! Our friendship is one of the books. We know it. Many others see it. We have a beautiful thing, designed and explained only by our Heavenly Father, and I am overwhelmed with gratefulness that he brought you and I together to be best friends in the midst of all the messes and chaos.
Hey check it out I’m wearing the same color in every picture 🤦🏼♀️
My sweet Cher, I thank God for you every day. I am so glad you were born those 31 years ago. I couldn’t imagine my family without you. My only regret is that I didn’t get to know you sooner. But hey. We have a lifetime 💜God knows. I’m looking forward to all that is to come. I love you, Cher. Happy birthday 🎂
I really couldn’t love the weather more. It stormed overnight and was soaking wet this morning. Naturally, this happened right after we placed the beginning of the deck roof up, rendering the built on awning useless
No big loss, though. The kids happily went to camp, like every other day, just a little more damp than usual. They were happy, and so were the three of us who stayed back.
The rain was a solid motivation to get our awning built. So we slugged back some coffee, Wavy ate some cheese balls, and we were ready to start!
By “we” I mostly mean Brady. I am SO able and willing to help, but I know it also really makes him happy to be able to do projects again. So I’m nearby. Available. Willing. And I jump in when he asks. It’s a good system.
At one point, we did realize we were short two boards, and after some research, to our dismay, we came to the conclusion that the closest lumberyard was in PA. So the three of us made a road trip and picked them up! And because of timing, we let Wavy skip naps. She was AMPED.
We kept working all afternoon. I actually got to help by hanging the joists and screwing the ends on. I am grossly uncomfortable on a ladder, but yay for new experiences?? 😬 I was pretty shaky but we got there!
It’s been a successful day, and there are more to come 💜
Today has been a really beautiful day in a lot of ways. Starting with yesterday evening, actually. The fire ban lifted. Finally.
We had a fire going within minutes of finding out. And again this morning.
We got the kids to camp, gave Wavy some cheese balls, and sat by the fire to sip coffee. While we were there, Brady got a call from the permit people that we had FINALLY been approved to build our awning!
It’s been kind of a bit of a debacle but it’s sorted out now, and we officially can start the build!
So we did 😁
While Brady does what he can do, I’ve been crocheting at the fire.
There isn’t a whole lot more I could ask for right now, to be honest. I feel so content in this moment. It is healing to have these moments in between the chaotic ones, to remind me how they feel.
I hope you’re having some of the comfort and peace I am experiencing today.
Thank you for your warm care on my post about my mental state yesterday. It was truly an incredibly hard day that wrapped up with a giant cry, a panic attack, and then the PROPER meds that helped me finally find rest.
Today is clearer and healthier already. Thank you, Lord. It’s beautifully chilly and misty, and four out of my five children are officially off to their first day of day camp!!!
We were not as organized as we would’ve liked to be, but alas, off they go, sharing bags and items that we were apparently supposed to bring for each of them 😬 whoops!
Conveniently, Laela got bumped up an age group, so she and Dekker can share items. And Rowan and Solly go together too, so they can also share! Woot!
Brady signed in the middles and I signed in with the bigs. Surprisingly, the big ones seemed a little timid while the middles were gung ho! Dekker and Laela walked slowly towards their group, and Rowan loudly introduced himself and Solly to the whole room.
Wavy felt a little lost when we got back to our site. Though she didn’t seem super upset that she didn’t get to attend day camp herself, she was pretty scattered within the first few minutes. She was unsettled but didn’t want to do anything. She just cried and cried.
Buuuuut I bribed her with cheese balls and now all is well, lol!
We took a little coffee break, and then went for a long drive in the golf cart together. It was really really sweet to just be the three of us. A little taste of September, I suppose.
It’s been a really nice morning so far. I feel more myself, though still quite tired from my lost night. But I’ll take improvement over perfection 💜 always.