Monday, December 2, 2013

June Bloom {Growing Pains}

Welcome back! 
{speaking to myself} 

It's been forever since I've blogged as I've been just a bit busy lately. 
Having an infant and transitioning into a Mama of 2 has taken much of my time…

Ever been there? 
{speaking to you now}

I was looking back at some old posts and I was reminded of two things:

1) I didn't start blogging until Ethan was 5 months old. 
2) I need to keep blogging because, unlike Facebook, this is a keepsake for me and my family.

Well, Grace is near 6 months now so it's time to catch up!

My goal is to be up to date by the end of the year… so...

Here we go!

JUNE

June was a month of beauty, growth, new life, change, and challenge.

Grace was born on Monday, June 3rd.
We moved Saturday, June 8th.
Mark's brother, Scott, got married on Sunday, June 16th. 
Grace came home with us on Monday, June 17th.
We celebrated our 9 year anniversary on Wednesday, June 19th.

Does it sound...
Busy?
It was.
Super celebratory?
It was.
Painful?
Oooh yeah.

I was stretched so far that my closest friends could see I had checked out.
Mentally that is.
One friend even said I looked zombie-like.
{attractive, right?}

I was spent. 
And if I had anything left in me to give, I saved it for my son, who was also going through a lot of transition (between our foster care experience, moving, and now adding another babe)…

I was ready, at any moment, to absorb the impact of his fall.
Which I knew, I just knew was coming… annny minute… juuuust around the corner…

But he didn't.

Call it resilience. 
Call it ignorance.
Call it what you will…

I call it God's provision.
God was all over the month of June... even when I was unraveling at the seems.

His strength is made perfect in my weakness.
Amen!

Here are some pictures of June along with some candid commentary…

Getting a pedicure with Anna and saying hello to Baby Girl while she was still cookin'.
I feel truly blessed to have spent time with Anna while she was still pregnant.
It allowed me to get to know Grace's birth mom and experience part of her pregnancy with her :)


Happy Birthday, Gracie!


Back at the fort. 
Taking a break from packing...


 Switching gears to wedding mode.
Jennifer's bridal shower with the Young girls...


Noteworthy: I tried fish at Sienna and LOVED it.
As a previous "anti-anything that lives in the ocean kind-of-eater"… this is HUGE.

Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi with Cilantro Lime Rice, Pineapple Salsa, Thai Chili Sauce.
Delish!!


Monkey Boy finding fun while I get my bridesmaid dress altered...


 So, I had this day.
The kind of day where I tried with so much effort and so much determination to get a handful of things done. On the top of my to-do list: 
Call credit card companies and switch over to new address.

Sounds easy enough. 
Should take no more than 10-15 minutes tops.
Wrong.
Because I'm not the primary card holder on majority of our cards, I couldn't do it.
{Mark, in the mean time, was working all week to cover for the other doc in the office…}

Seriously? 
I know the man's social security number, blood type, and every flippin' freckle on his body…
Really? 
You can't… just…?

They tell me that I can change it online, however.
Great! 

Log onto the internet… it's disconnected.

*Sigh*
Call Comcast.

After many transfers and holds and attempts to "fix the problem on their end"
... an hour later… 
still disconnected.

It's 10am.

I spent just under 2 hours doing absolutely nothing {productive}.

But, wait... where was my 3-year-old?
And why was it so quiet?

I run all over the house calling out his name.
No answer.
Heart pounding, I enter this scene:



See those shoes at the bottom of the picture?
Ethan had them on and was walking through the sticky mess. 
In the background I hear "Glug. Glug. Glug…" as the cleaning containers continued to pour out the mess that so accurately described my life at that moment. 

And there… in the middle of it… 
was Ethan
tracking prints all over the garage as if to say, 
"Have you walked in my shoes lately?"

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's when I cracked.

I literally came unglued as I stared at the cleanest mess I had ever encountered, not knowing where anything was to clean it up.

{Because unpacking boxes was the 2nd thing on my to-do list}

I made such great efforts to take 2 steps forward in productivity but instead felt pushed back 5 giant steps.

So what did I do? 
I called my Mom. 
No answer.

So... I called my Mama-in-law.
When she picked up the phone, I started sobbing.

I don't know what it is about breaking points and a simple "Hello?" on the other end of the line… but I always just lose it when I hear some anticipated love and comfort on the other end.
Just give me a hint of normalcy and I feel safe to emotionally collapse.

So… that's what I did.

Seeing I had lost total control of my life, she ordered me to take the day off.
Leave the mess for Mark to clean up and go do something fun and relaxing with Ethan.

Done.

So, for the first time since we moved in, I enjoyed our new pool with this little man.


Who, by the way, started swimming independently.
Which meant I could do this:


What's a life story without a little drama? ;)



And then she came home.


And all I wanted to do was hold her and keep her safe...




 This is what our anniversary looked like 2 days later…
headed out to a romantic dinner… table for 3.
My mom took Ethan for a week so that Mark and I could bond with baby.


Visitors!
Auntie Krystyna and cousins from the East Coast (in for wedding… great timing!) and Grandma Young


Me to the girls: "Thanks for coming to visit us!"
Bella: "You're welcome. I like your baby."

My favorite quote of the day!


Grace's first little buddy that came to visit… Adrian :)


Sibling love <3


Growing pains lead to growth.
But in the end, if you have a bigger heart because of it… it's worth it.
Even if you look like a zombie in the process ;)