Constant Beginnings

We just wrapped 6 glorious weeks in North Dakota. It was lovely! We had an unusual summer in that we camped out in one location--my Mom and Dad's new house in Bismarck vs. traveling anywhere and everywhere to visit. Chris' family was invited to visit us, but declined. My parents came to Bismarck, stayed awhile, then returned home, repeating a few times over the 6 weeks. It was perfect! Claire played club soccer, practicing 3 days per week and a game or two on the weekends. She loved it, met some nice girls and improved quite a bit. Mya LOVED being surround by her cousins. Luke and Olivia showed her first class treatment, taking her wherever, doing everything to entertain her and lovin on that spunky kid. She had a great summer! Gavin loved the daily treks to the playground, lots of playtime with Jackson, Avery and baby Easton. He thought their playroom had the best toys ever. We spent a lot of time at the playground, swimming, boating at the lake and soaking up as much family...

I told Chris the other day this has been a hard year. His response, "what do-ya mean?" Obviously, he doesn't really share the same perspective. As I reflect, each year or "season" in life is tough. Different from others. This one was tough as we had a mobile 1 year old, not yet able to verbalize his desires, not yet able to truly PLAY with siblings, but 100% dependent on us. We had an eight year old and six year old, both incredibly brilliant girls, but clearly each needed space--from each other. They had their moments of love, but each trying desperately to figure out how they fit into our family life, trying to figure out their own likes/dislikes, etc. As if we weren't crazy enough, we welcomed a puppy into our madness. This cranked up the level insanity a million, but she too, is figuring us out. In the midst of it all, Chris and I were trying to engineer our lives and orchestrate the greatest composition ever.  It was tough. We've gone back and f...

There are only a few things I miss about the military life. The biggest being that anticipation that comes knowing that your life is about to do a 180 shift as new assignments are dropped. You generally know exactly how long you will live in one place and consequently, look forward to that next chapter. Well now that Chris is retired, we no longer have those dictated moves. We are the grown ups, in charge of our own adventures. While we've had an amazing 6 years living overseas, we knew from the beginning this isn't our forever. We want our children to know the world is their oyster, to not be afraid of conquering whatever they may desire. Growing up in small town America, I traveled the US, but only dreamed of traveling abroad. I know very well that I would never have stepped outside of my comfort zone and booked a trip without having been forced. I never want that fear or anxiety to paralyze our children. I think our life overseas has laid a solid framework for that hope. Ch...

We spent another amazing Thanksgiving experiencing a new country. Iceland. It was cold, but beautiful. Our trip was a perfect mix of relaxation, family time and tours. We had scheduled a cruise to see the Northern Lights on Thanksgiving Day, hours after we arrived, but sadly, it was cancelled due to snow and wind. We wandered around the hotel a bit, found a delicious hamburger joint and filled our tummies. Afterwards, we checked into the hotel took a much needed nap and gathered our thoughts as to where to dine for dinner. We decided to keep the evening low key and ate in the restaurant inside the Fosshotel, Rejkavik where we were staying. We had a delicious meal--duck, fish, and soup. It was yummy. Definitely the most elegant meal our children have enjoyed! They were critiquing the plating and food as if they were judges on their favorite show--Masterchef Junior. It was cute. Friday was a day where we hit the ground running! We left around 10 to the Blue Lagoon or paradise as we li...