For my sister

Kel, this one is for you, compliments of Addie!

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Lashes

These will be the envy of her sisters. They've gotta be a 1/2 inch long!

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She makes me smile...

every day! Even on the hardest ones.

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End of winter update

It's crazy that it's been a month since I have posted last. Having pictures is such a motivation for me to post, but since I'm not taking many because of a camera on the fritz, I guess I don't think about it. But honestly the real reason is that this has been a difficult few months for me, yet some that have once again proven God faithful.

To sum it up in a few words, I could say - Dave's job, postpartum, sleepless nights, and a full blessed life...and yes, chickens and a garden.

Ok, ok, I'll explain a little - Dave's job continues to be ridiculously demanding. Often I want to laugh about it, just so I won't cry. But the reality of 12-15 hour days, travel often weekly and working half the weekend has taken it's toll on all of us. I've taken on doing much of what Dave used to for our budget, planning, admin stuff and that takes up a lot of extra time too.We are praying for wisdom for the days ahead.

On top of that, right around the holidays I got hit with some postpartum issues, like I have never experienced before...extreme depression that made it almost impossible to get out of bed, anxiety attacks, waking up in a cold sweat, not able to sleep, and crying daily. This went on for almost 2 months, getting worse with each passing week. Coupled with Dave gone almost the entire month of January, by the the beginning of February, I thought I would go crazy if I didn't get some help. I was asking the Lord to do something because I wasn't sure I could go on much longer. And He did and proved so faithful. In the beginning of February I contacted my old Naturopathic Dr. that used to live in the area, but moved to Oregon a few years back. I told her what I was experiencing and she right away put me on some herbal formula. In about 2 weeks I was a different person. I was gratefully amazed! But it was two months that I don't think I'll ever forget and I have a new understanding of what moms go through who are hit with postpartum depression. It's real and very difficult.

Hailey has been a terrible sleeper, as has been the pattern with all of my girls. But I think it has just seemed worse because of all of the other circumstances going on. However since I'm feeling emotionally better, the exhaustion from nursing and waking up so much is manageable now. I can always grab an extra cup of tea! Assam and Orange spice black tea are my current favorites :).

And then there's the blessed life I live of being able to mother and homeschool 4 wonderful girls. Every day gets crazier and crazier around here, but I love it. From the moment I hit the floor in the morning till the moment I go to bed is non-stop, but I'm often amazed that I have the privilege to see these little lives around me grow up. I not only get to educate them, but teach them the ways of the Lord and see their little hearts grow in curiosity and awe at the world around them. It's priceless.

To give a little sneak peek into the days ahead...Dave has agreed to, perhaps reluctantly, to allow us to get some backyard chickens. The girlies and I are soooo excited. My pet crazed kids have been asking for way too long for some kind of pet. We've thrown around the idea of a cat or a rabbit, but decided against them. I've always wanted some chickens and the more I learned about them, the more I wanted to give it a try. Any spare moment I've had lately has been spent taking peaks online at different chicken coops, discovering which breeds are most friendly, and how to care for them from chicks to full grown hens. Hopefully soon we'll have some little chicks arriving that we'll raise to full grown hens. Then later on, we'll benefit from some nice fresh eggs! That and also planning a garden has kept me busy and my mind off the hard issues of life related to Dave's job and difficult church issues we have right now. I'm trying to prepare myself that both of the above could bomb on me...but at least we'll get some science lessons out of it and hopefully some fun too.

So that's a update of the happenings in our little world lately.

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