Thankful Thursday: October 15, 2015

Today is Thursday

and it's the middle of October.

My name is Shara
and it has been over a year since I have typed up
 a Thankful Thursday post
(last one was July 31st, 2014)
Can you believe that?

I am pretty sure I stopped when I started to feel
tired, overwhelmed, nauseous, exhausted, & grouchy
from my pregnancy (I was *so excited* to be growing a baby, but had a hard time keeping all of my balls a'jugglin'...also...prenatal depression, it's real).

August 2014-at the park!

I literally went all day with my trio 
and as soon as they fell asleep,
I fell into my bed.

For the rest of the summer, 
I kept up with a few of the things I needed to do (monthly volunteer doula work at the hospital, volunteer church responsibilities, homeschooling, feeding the kids...),
and crossed off some goals (became spinning babies trained, took a doula business training, signed up for lactation educator counselor training), but I really backed off of a lot of my  normal-schmormal things (passed on photography gigs to a friend, cancelled play dates, etc).

As summer turned into fall, we added new things to our family's plate ...like, Mr. H spending time helping the bishop (leader of our LDS congregation) with his duties, Saturday gymnastics, homeschool co-op, registered my new business, and more...

I was still falling into my bed as soon as they fell asleep.
Keeping things going, but after neglecting the blog for so many weeks, it was easier just to forgetaboutit. (Clearly)

So I did.
Then it was winter (I'll just sum it up with these words: snow, cold, hot cocoa, basement makeover, & my growing belly)...then hints of spring...and before I knew it, Mr. H and my doula were by my side and I birthed our baby girl (2nd VBA2C, which is a really big deal, for me)!

Four kids now (my dream)! We did the newborn thing in the spring (with grandparents and cousin-nanny and helpers and meals brought in)--which means I was mostly in pajamas on the couch nursing.  I took a childbirth educator training (babe in arms, she just nursed & slept it was golden) but put many, many things ON HOLD. All the while, Mr. H traveling every other week (saving the world from slips & falls, of course!).

After melding into a semi-normal rhythm, we took a big end of summer trip (#EndSummerTripSouth2015, because every trip needs a hashtag, right?) to visit our families in KY and TN, introduce the babe, have her baby blessing, and enjoy the freedom of vacation play. 

In the middle of that trip, we left our "bigs" with the grands and rejuvenated ourselves by going out on our own (babe went with, of course). We were able to spend some time with my bro & his beautiful family in Boston and then ventured on up the coast of Maine...which was, in a word: spectacular.

We got home at the end of September and have been re-formatting our new-again rhythm ever since. Our days are amazing, messy, loud, fun, and...exhausting.

This is how I feel every evening...around the time everyone needs me....lol

The boys are in kinder & 2nd grade and participate in a fabulous weekly co-op of classes (art, music, karate, hands-on-science). They are best buds and do almost everything together. J is my encourager, discovery seeker, and rule-follower. N is my charmer, generous gifter, and sneaky mouse. Miss N has recently stepped up her mischief game as she has recently upped her own independence and will. (Thus increasing my need for patience and clarity). They are incredible people who amaze me---and with whom I am learning daily. I am so lucky to be their Mama.

 Miss A is now squealing, kicking, pushing up, and rolling all.over.the.place. Also, she is the first person EVERYONE wants to see in the morning. And after naptime. And pretty much all the time. She is our shining star!

Mr. H is still traveling for work and making us laugh, taking us on adventures, cleaning up our messes when he is home. I have taken on a few photog gigs, continue to nurse the babe all day (and sometimes night), and am now 11 days sugar free and haven't jumped off a cliff yet...so that's a good thing.

All this to say...it's been a wild & wonderful year. I am feeling the pull to find more peace, more calm, more focus...and I remembered the joy and balance that expressing gratitude gives to ME.

I didn't realize I'd be writing up such a review, but that's been good too--I am grateful for the hard days and the sweet things. I am grateful to my Savior Jesus Christ who is my rock in this blustery world. I am grateful to our families for being our supporters and cheerleaders. I am grateful for my Mr. who loves me for who I am and who I want to be (and looks past the way I squeeze the toothpaste). I'm grateful for our life. It's not always shiny and sparkling and perfect...but it's exactly where I want to be. Perfectly imperfect, right?

That's a lot for a Thankful Thursday. 

I guess I needed to get some journaling in. 

If you've read all of this you must be my mother. 

Love you, Mom!

Also I revived my family blog yesterday with a brief posting. If you're interested, hop on over HERE