Two steps forward, one step back

Phew! It seems like we are just seeming to get the hang of life here when we go out of town for a bit or somebody gets sick or something else happens that throws us out of routine and it takes a week to get back on track and all of the toys picked up. I've just decided, though, that this move has been more difficult than I ever imagined. Not only did we relocate ourselves to a new city (necesitating learning new roads, grocery stores, finding doctors, insurance, dentists, etc) but we moved into a different living situation (no basement or yard to escape to if we feed the need:) It has forced changes in our lives (changes for the better) and a reevaluation of old habits. I am becoming a bit better at executive functioning (time management, organization, orderliness), but I am sometimes amazed at how I made it through college (I guess I wasn't in charge of 3 kids then), but I have absolutely no idea how I made it through 2 semesters of grad school with three kids! -- the grace of God, fo' sure. Life goes on and I just take one day at a time. I'm learning to focus on relationships over things that need to be done and I am amazed at what a difference it makes (eg. if I play play-doh with the girls instead of trying to get some housework done while they are occuppied, then I don't get so annoyed about cleaning it up afterwards:) And, I've discovered that it is kind of fun to sculpt.)

But, it is weird, too, to ponder this life that we lead. I've been reading the 5th book by Laura Ingalls Wilder to Mariah and it just blows me away how different my life is from their's. It takes months for me to pack up and move and unpack whereas they can move in a day! They have very good executive functions (time management, etc). because their life depends on it -- if they don't do the chores or plant the garden, they will not survive. And here I sit, with a furnace running, no twisting of hay or cutting of wood to stay warm, Mike playing the Wii guitar, and a load of diapers drying in the dryer. And I think that my life is challenging....it is in different ways, I know....it is not so much a fight for physical survival, but a fight for mental and spiritual peace as the pace of life in these times can be out of control.

Enough pondering for tonight....if you've read this far, you get to enjoy some pictures.

Mariah's class studied defenses and disguises of animals at school -- for the required project, she chose to research the coyote and part of the project was to build a model. With Mike's help, she built it out of legos and covered it with construction paper. Here she is telling the class all she knows.....
A random picture in Minnesota this summer of when Mike had the engine out of the explorer before we sold it...I am amazed at his bravery! He just fixed some stuff related to the CV Joint on our van and it just blows me away! He's sometimes a bit nervous driving it for the next few days, :) but so far all of his work has been sound

A photo from Rachel's first birthday last summer....

Hm....what are those things that look like Russian stacking dolls???

Just Mariah and Allison in their new cozy sleeping bags (in our house in Minnesota this past summer).