Sunday Photo:12

How's this for a real-life Sunday Photo.  

This depicts each of their personalities almost perfectly.  

It's been a busy weekend.  Yesterday I ran a little 5K here in town. I'll post about it tomorrow on My Reading Spot blog.  I was pretty happy with my time.  I beat my goal time.

After that we played at the park some, then headed home and did some yard work.  

Then Wade went to his brothers house for the afternoon 

(they are building some sort of machine, I'm really not sure what it is.  I'm honestly not even sure what they are doing.  I think they just like to get together...but whatever)

I decided to surprise Wade and move some furniture.  He loves it (can you hear  my sarcasm?) when I move furniture.  But this time he really will/does love me, because when we moved in with Wade's dad we moved into a guest room that had a full size bed.  All our furniture and things went into storage. There wasn't room for it in here. Of course, we didn't expect to be here this long...but almost 2 years later, we are still sleeping (or trying) on that tiny full size bed.  Honestly, it just doesn't work and half the time someone sleeps on the couch.

sounds.like.fun.

So yesterday I did it..I swapped that full size bed for the queen size in storage!  I feel like it's HUGE! (and moving it did feel huge)  Which is funny...because we were planning to upgrade our queen to a king before this last move. Because we never felt like it was good enough.  It's funny how sometimes you just don't appreciate what you have.

 But between running in the morning, yard work at lunch and moving around the beds around my muscles are hurting today! What was I thinking?  I should be able to log all of that as a work out, right?

Today cute baby Alice was blessed at church!  These are amazing girls.  We've come along way from Iowa so many years ago, when we were babies (with babies) and all lived across the street from one another.  It's been a few years and a few moves, but now I am so thankful we live within 30 minutes of each other again.  We've grown from 3 kids to 12 between us.  Alice was adorable today and Jon gave a beautiful blessing.  What a great reason to get together.

Some days I feel the growing pains from our little family moving around so much.  I mean 10 (maybe more if you count rotations) moves in 15 years has taken it's toll.  Sometimes I am really jealous of friends and family members who haven't moved like us.  Maybe a couple times but have stayed in one place, in one town.  I wonder if we've done the right thing, or messed up our kids for life, or made them stronger, or given them enough experiences...the list goes on and on.  We could have a 30 year mortgage half way paid off by now!  

It sounds so nice and appealing.

But we have these experiences.  

I'm moving around beds this weekend in and out of storage, and trying to make room here and there for our family as we build this practice.  We are building a practice from scratch!  Sometimes I can't believe it myself!  We are crazy. We've given up a lot to get here, but I know it's the right place and the right thing we should be doing.  No matter how hard it is.  

I've met the most amazing people, friends and seen so many examples from our moves.  These ladies are proof of that.  They are friends I can count on.  I can't imagine getting though tough days without them.  There are days I think motherhood is hard (because it is!) but I always think of an amazing Sister in Iowa who I look up to, she has 7 kids, and she said to me once, "I've never been bored a day in my life.  There is always something good to be done"  I try and live by that.  Because it's true.  There IS always something GOOD to be done.  In Washington I met amazing women who taught me how to stretch myself. I am sure I could sit here and list something for every move.   

I know though - there are days, when it's still a toss-up.  Days when I think, man we should have bagged this whole adventure and called it good after undergrad.  Just being honest here - days when I am SO super jealous of those around me.  

but then there are days like today.  

When I can hug Anne-Marie, give little Alice a cuddle and support their family.

Her friendship means a lot to me.  

I am so thankful she is in my life.

Pretty sure we would have never crossed paths if it weren't for those 10 moves.

My muscles might hurt from moving all that furniture by myself yesterday.  But it was worth it. Because what I have now is so much better...even though at one time I didn't even appreciate it for what it was.

I'm banking on that thought today. 

I'm going to cross my fingers and pray that we haven't scarred our kids for life...that we've made the best choices.  Because I really truly believe that we have.  I might not have always seen it has a blessing.

because it's perspective.

Today, I watched baby Alice light up when my kids made faces at her across the church, 

and that's worth it.  

I watched little Jonas throw his lego minecraft guy over the church pew on a string and my boys loaded it up with a dum-dum sucker for him, and that's worth it (and totally funny too).

I sat and ate lunch with Julianne, and watched these kids that used to be babies run around and play together.

  These ladies, these friends. 

these experiences...

I wouldn't trade them for the world.

It might have hurt a little bit to get here.

but today's a day I'm going to say it was worth it, because it was.