Back to blogging...hopefully

 

Boy, oh boy, life gets busy sometimes.  I thought we were busy with just Tyler in our lives.  Then Caleb came along...and life got exponentially busier.  That being said, I would rather be overly busy with my two wonderful boys than lonely and bored without them.  I try to remind myself of this when I'm picking up the same toy for the 50th time in a day...without my kids I would have no toys to pick up.  And I would be bored and alone and bored and alone.

And so I'm thankful for my boys. Tyler, who is smarter than John and I (which is a problem!!) and Caleb our Challenge Baby, who has brought more challenges to our lives than we ever imagined possible.

But here we are, all well and happy, and busy.  It's been a long time since I've blogged, so I thought I'd pick it up again.  What have we been up to?  Well, nothing new really just more of the same, trying to keep up with Tyler and his smarts and Caleb and his never ceasing to move (except when he's sleeping). 

As I said before though, everyone is well, and that's all we can hope for.

In the past year, we've been on a journey.  I suddenly found myself overwhelmed by anxiety.  That's sometimes a hard thing to admit, but then again, I've found that when I do someone can relate.  So there it is...I have anxiety.  I'm medicated, but I'm well and happy.  That was quite a journey, dark sometimes, but with the help of my amazing husband, some faithful family and friends, counseling and well, honestly drugs (only prescription ones though) :) I have found my way back to me, actually a better version of me, if I do say so myself!  So some days are not great, but everybody has a bad day now and then...and I just don't let it get to me.  I've started a healthy eating routine that my great husband is fully on board with and my kids are okay with also.  And finally, we have rediscovered our faith.  That might sound strange, but I got lost with my anxiety and had no idea where to turn.  In part, I turned to God.  Part of that was taking my kids to church.  This has been really good for us.  Now, please don't call me religious.  I'm not!  I have a deep faith in God and how He can and has worked in my life over the past year.  I won't go into all that now, but the truth is, I know I wouldn't have worked through my anxiety without my faith.  The reason I don't want to be called religious though is because I simply love Jesus and everything he stands for and I don't have to join a particular religion to live that every day.  I'm trying with everything I am to instill this love in my kids, and for now it seems to be taking.  :) 

The best part is that Tyler has more faith all wrapped up in his tiny little body than anybody I've ever met!  He's amazing.  One day I asked him what Jesus meant to him.  He said, "Me?"  So I said, "Yes, just you.  What does Jesus mean to only you?"  He thought for a second, and said, "Well, Jesus means truth and goodness and love."  I was blown away.  I'd like to take credit for putting such a well thought out concept into my boy's head.  Though, it's not me.  We go to church, we read a cool little Bible for kids at bedtime, we pray together...but I didn't put that in his head.  The truth is that I can say all I want to him, but he just gets it.  He gets what Jesus is all about and that he should and does love him.

And Caleb...well, he might not get it yet, but I'm still working on him.  He's just so sweet and innocent.  Every night at bedtime, I have him fold his tiny little chubby hands together and he looks up and says in his sweet little voice, "Tank you Gawd."  I giggle every time he does it.  Then I have him say, "I wuv you Gawd."  I believe with all my heart that God must get a big kick out of his well, meaning mumbles.

Well, it's a long one, but that's where we are and what we're doing.  Tyler will start Kindergarten in the fall and it will be a bittersweet day for me.  John makes fun of me because Tyler will be gone for just a few hours, but it's so much more than that.  It's the end of an era.  Tyler and I have gotten to spend most of our time together from the day he was born.  I feel like I'm going to slowly be pulled away from my best buddy.  I know that's an over exaggeration, but it feels true.

I've also been taking tons of pictures for people.  I have a business, Blissful Moments Photography.  You can find us on facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Blissful-Moments-Photography/227085100705915?sk=wall and on our website at www.blissfulmomentsphoto.com.  That's been fun to watch progress.  I even have a wedding this summer, and hopefully will have a second one in the fall as well.  Here's hoping! 

In June we were fortunate enough  to get to take a trip to Seattle to visit my sister and then a short trip to Vancouver.  It was a great time!!!

We'll keep you updated on our lives, and please keep us updated on yours!!!

My boys by the Olympic Cauldron in Vancouver.