When Life Gives You Lemons

I was pregnant. That's no new phenomenon for me. I was hopeful, thinking that the pain of my last two miscarriages was long past. Alas, life is rarely so ideal. So once again I had to endure a miscarriage. Sometimes I can't believe it, sometimes I am left wondering if past promptings were meant for this life, but I'm getting through it. 

My sister sent me these gorgeous flowers to cheer me up. 

    In the midst of this ordeal, Daniel was called at work and asked to interview for a job. This was peculiar because they called his desk line which no one has outside of work. He called them back and went for an interview, honestly not thinking that it would be anything. Daniel has been in a toxic work environment for years now, so he had been interviewing pretty regularly for two years. So we didn't think much of this new interview. Daniel has been trying to get into the butler world. He was set up for training the first two weeks of Aug. Due to the pandemic however, his class was canceled. We were looking at another 2 years before he could get in again. 

    He had an informal phone interview and then they had him come down and shadow the guys for a few hours. It seemed so weird. He went down on Friday, by Monday he was offered the job. Since this was not in our plans we held a family council and put it up for debate. The kids were excited about a move, except for Lizzy, who was worried about missing her friends. So we went ahead and accepted the job. 

 Here's where it gets interesting. Daniel was set to start work on Aug 3. His last day here at Lower River Road was the Thursday before. The new plant is in the tiny town of Roosevelt, WA. There are no homes out there, okay there are 20 homes out there, but none available and no shops. The nearest town is Goldendale. It's 2 hours east of Vancouver. The plant is another hour east.  Luckily they provide a house where the workers can live during the week. So Daniel leaves Sunday night and comes home Thursday night. He's been really enjoying his new job though. It's so much better than his old job. We went house hunting a few times and put an offer on a house, but the owners decided to go with another offer. We were wondering what to do when a new home went on the market and we were able to view it. The homes are selling like hotcakes so we put an offer on it that day. Not surprisingly there was a counteroffer. So we waited. Luckily they chose us! So that was settled. Then we put our house on the market and got an offer before it officially went live. A second offer came the next day which was much better, but we were already locked in. Then as luck would have it, the first guy bowed out. So we had our inspections done and we are just waiting for the closing dates. 

    Our home closes on the 11th and our new home will close on Oct 10. So we may be homeless for a month, but we are hoping that we can get in sooner. So there we are. Trying to drink the lemonade and feeling very grateful. Here's a view of the Columbia with kite surfers.

Packing has it's advantages!

Goodbye old friend, you served us well! Mom came down with Taylor and Makayla to help pack up the house. It was so nice to have some extra hands.

May We GO On?

 This year has been insane. I have not been keeping up as I should here on the Blog, so prepare for a download. Here the kids helped me harvest and can the beets. We had just used up our last bottle from last year so it was great timing. 

Mask night!

We spent the fourth in Bremerton. Celebrating both Jessica's and Emily's birthdays.

I got Jess the child.

Smoke bombs were a big hit.

Caught the men working. They cleaned out the gutters at Mom's house.

We went on a walk down to the water. The kids played Pokemon go. 

Collecting sonic's rings.

Pin the Tail on Tails.

We went up to Bremerton to celebrate Charly's graduation and Lizzy's birthday.

Charly made this awesome dessert!

Ready for the drive-by graduation!

Lizzy was so excited to get her pocket watch. I told all the kids that they get one when they turn 12.

Charly's favorite animal is a hippo.

Helping Uncle Rex!

Emily's drive-by graduation.

Playing on the trampoline.

Moving the antenna for the Hamm radio.

I took Henry and Emily strawberry picking.

We got some fun hanging pods for the cherry tree.

I've been making bowties. These were for Sal's boys.

Here's our gift to Daniel: The LEGO Tardis!

To All The Girls I Have Loved Before

This month is marked by a holiday that is met with both gratitude and dread. Increasingly over the years, I have come to realize just how much Mother's Day can hurt the very recipients of the attention it wants to recognize. This day can come like a bolt of an avenging angel to the hearts of many women. Women who dearly need to feel the warm embrace of maternal comfort. I have struggled to write this for fear of not getting it right, but I feel this subject is one I can not let pass another year in silence. 

  My dear sisters, Mother's Day is not solely to honor and acknowledge those who birthed us.  It is a day to celebrate what women do best. Women help others achieve their potential. They support, understand, and correct those lucky enough to come into their sphere of influence. Many are the times I have had a woman come into my life who has challenged, helped, and refined me. I am who I am today due to the sustaining influences of amazing women who have graced me with their love, friendship, and wisdom. 

  That being said I can absolutely commiserate with those who find Mother's Day a time of sorrow. My first Mother's Day I mistakenly admitted my feelings of inadequacy and said I didn't feel like I deserved a gift because I was not "A Mother." My husband took this to mean I didn't want a gift and he accordingly did not celebrate Mother's day for me for many years. He still brings this incident up each year, and it still hurts. Beyond that, I have twice lost a pregnancy, and feeling the pain of those events adds an extra barb to the "unworthy" trope. It can make a day set aside to celebrate mother's just that much more painful. Regardless if you have felt the wounds of child loss, loneliness, unfulfilled dreams or other feelings of "unworthiness" to be celebrated on this special day, I want to tell you that you are enough! You are helping, lifting, and inspiring so many people. And that is worth celebrating. So if you find yourself in a chapel next year listening to children singing about how much they love Mothers and when a bishopric member askes you to stand to receive that treat you can't eat or quote you don't want, please, please know that it is intended to recognize your value and not to belittle your situation or remind you of your loss. You are so loved and so necessary. I need you. I love you. Keep on being the amazing daughter of God that you are!

Corvid Eileen

So we have been on lockdown for a while now, I know that it's the best thing for the world, but it's brought up some interesting challenges. To break up the monotony I made a schedule for each day. It's really flexible and more of guidelines for the day's activities. The kids like knowing what to expect and it keeps me motivated too. The big thing is we do art each day. So far we've done playdough, painting, salt painting, alcohol paints, and interpretive dance. I have really liked what they have come up with. I'm not sure if I really have enough projects for the duration.

 We did shadow art on the tramp. Lizzy made a koi fish too.

I like how creative they are. It's definitely a bright spot in our day.