Family and Fall

Sorry for all the pictures, but I really love my family and I really love fall. We couldn't help but pull out our camera. It was a good weekend because we didn't have much going on, and spent a lot of time together. That's the best.

 These pics Kenny took in our backyard.

Critical Mass

You know at the airport baggage claim how that little conveyor belt just goes around and around and you just try to grab your suitcase before it leaves? Well that's sort of how my life has felt lately. I feel like the days  are just flying by and I'm trying to grab things and pick up pieces as I go but I just want to push a big red button to STOP for a second. Or at least slow down! Very out-of-control feeling around here. But not all bad, mind you. Just crazy.

I've had a lot of people ask me, "So what's it like to have 5?" Most think it's probably not much different than 4. And maybe eventually it won't be. But I feel like with every child there's an adjustment period. You get knocked flat on your back and it takes a while to get on your feet and going again. At least I feel that way, I surely can't speak for everyone.

Especially when he hasn't been the easiest baby. He can be pretty fussy, he only sleeps in his carrier during the day and he spits up EVERYTHING. Like constantly spewing all over the place. It makes for A LOT of laundry for both of us.

Another factor is that I homeschool. So anywhere we go I have to bring all 5 kids with me. Also, my oldest child is 7 years old. Lots of little needs to attend to all day, and we're quite a crowd. I don't get any breaks and I'm tired all the time. I think I'm doing okay until something happens and I snap. Like today Briggs smiled at me. A real, actual, deliberate smile AT ME and I broke down crying. It was so dang cute and I guess I really needed to make that connection with him. Like all these sleepless nights and hours of feeding is worth it because he recognized me and knew me.

I don't want to sound like I'm complaining here. I'm not. I'm just stating the facts of my current life. Yes, I'm struggling, every single day. But I remind myself that we chose this life, and with many reasons to back it up. We purposefully brought these children into our home, and we chose to homeschool also. But it's still hard every day. Just as one may choose to go on a mission and describe it as the hardest years of their life.

But ya know what, it's a really GOOD kind of exhaustion. I go and go and when my head hits my pillow at night I'm full and satisfied with my efforts. I know when I'm like 86 or something nobody's going to care where I am or what I'm doing. But right now I'm surrounded (literally) by people that really need me and love me. I spend all my energies into shaping these little lives and teaching and nurturing, and that's a beautiful blessing.

My parents always describe having 5 kids as "critical mass". My dad keeps saying that if you can handle 5, you can handle any number. At this point I'm pretty sure we can't even talk about having more kids until Briggs turns 5 years old. But it is comforting to know it will get better. Or if it doesn't get better, it's at least not going to get worse. :)

A Month Gone By

I have so much to say and write about as it has been a crazy month. But I'm just trying to keep my head above water every day so the update will come later. Maybe on a day when I won't be so negative :). For now, here's a bunch of pictures of our lives lately, most of which are on Instagram so I apologize to those of you that follow me there.

Kenny purchased a burn barrel for $10 off of Craigslist. Turns out to be a lot of fun for adults and kids alike. I really want a fire pit in our yard, but this will have to do.

These two really liked the bubble bath. Kelsey became terrified once we turned the jets on. So she quickly got out. But these two had fun!

Loves to change outfits and dress up a lot.

I have to wear him in this baby carrier all the time. A lot of times it's the only way he sleeps. I'm so so glad we have it.

Went to the park one night and they had fun rolling down the hill. 

1 month old! 11 pounds 10 oz.

Made some fun masks one day and Ty was especially proud of his. The girls' were covered in glitter which makes them very happy.

Kenny's Birthday

Kenny turned 31!! His b-day was on Monday Sep. 8th. The Sunday before we had Andy and Shalee over for dinner. We made some yummy St. Louis ribs that were so dang good! And since Kenny doesn't like to be traditional, he chose homemade donuts again, instead of birthday cake. It was fun, but sure took a lot more work and dishes than a cake :). We had a good time celebrating his big day with family. The next night (his actual birthday) I made some chicken fettuccine alfredo-his favorite. Then we also had cake and ice cream, mostly because the kids really wanted to. They were disappointed we didn't have balloons decorating the house, but we didn't make it to the store. so we just made a big birthday sign instead. They also all made him a birthday card/picture. I read to him 31 things I love about him while we ate dinner and Tyler says in all seriousness, "All these things you're saying are true!" haha! We sure love our dad and we're so grateful he is ours. In the words of Gru, "Why are you so old?"

House Projects

We've done a few things for our house lately that are fun. I love making this house really ours. 

#1: This is the one I'm probably most excited about--a desk for our home school!! Kenny built this from scratch with his bare, manly hands :). I'm very impressed with his skills. I told him he shouldn't have showed me how talented he was because now I'm going to have a list of things for him to build for me! This desk is really big--about 7 feet long. He made it to fit this very spot, and even added a little bookshelf on top for books and curriculum. I love it and it is well used every single day.

#2: Our master bathroom has a sauna, but we haven't ever been able to use it because it didn't have a heater. So it was just this extra weird room that the kids liked to play hide and seek in. But Kenny found a cheap heater on craigslist some guy was selling. He had to fix it and get it running again. Then he built this nice box for it to go in so it looks like it was just built in with the sauna! It looks so nice like it's been there all along. I still have yet to use it, but I'm pretty sure it's Kenny's favorite spot in the house. :)

#3: This was quite a while ago, but we painted an accent wall in Ty's room. he wanted it to be light blue like the sky, and then paint Avengers all over the wall like they're flying :). But Grandma got him an Avengers poster that hangs over his bed that he really loves. So thankfully we won't have to be painting large super heroes anywhere. Notice the "T" on his wall that he painted himself, his 3 favorite colors.

#4: Curtains!! These are the curtains my mom and I were making when I went into labor with Brigham. Thankfully, she finished them for me the next day when I was in bed. We finally got them hung this past weekend and now it's like my new favorite room in the house. I love it!! (We got a couple black chairs on huge sale too, so now it's a more functional sitting room.) But I really like how much they add to the room, They are 12 feet high, which is A LOT of fabric to work with!!