September 2015 Update
Here’s what happened in September. tLG and I finished out our beach trip with Mom and Rex. We had so much fun. I just love the beach! I also love traveling with this kid and her best buddy Carl. We’ve done the airport together about a billion times now and we can totally rock it from checkin to security to boarding.
Now we are back home and settling into real life. Our little family has been back together for 2 months but in some ways we are still learning to live together again. We are in that mode of figuring out what works and what doesn’t, what our new systems and routines are, rebuilding trust and faith in each other, defining our goals and developing our communication skills. Basically, being intentional about marriage, parenting, and family is hard. But I just can’t go back to going through the motions again. We almost lost it all that way.
The Lord has been so good to provide for us since I left my job last month. It has been a huge confirmation that it was time for me to step away from that company. I have 3 new virtual assistant clients who have committed to a block of hours each month and a few others that I’ve been helping with small projects. I was also called to do some backup postpartum work and I’m booked through the end of the year with doula clients. Right now I really only have an opening for 1 more VA client. For doula clients, I have an opening in January – early Feb and then I’m basically booked until summer. It’s just so exciting to see how the Lord is providing. I literally had no plan B. I totally walked away with nothing more than His peace to do so. He has been so faithful and I am much happier!
We went to the fair with friends this year and it was probably the best fair trip ever. We also went on a Monday night so it wasn’t crowded at all. We just had so much fun. I didn’t ride a single ride but had a blast watching my kiddo. Turns out we have somehow managed to go to the fair on the same night for the last four years. I thought that was pretty cool.
Praise Jesus that college football is back and we’ve been having regular get togethers with friends to watch each other’s games. I even broke my no cable rule to sign up for Sling TV so that we can have the sports channels. It’s not full cable but it’s a good compromise to get us through January. Bama isn’t looking to hot this year and neither is Auburn but I will always love the SEC. Plus, getting together with friends means good food and that’s what football season is really about. Haha! All of our children love football too so we are raising them right!
Homeschool is going well. We are really in a good grove now and things are getting faster and easier. We school in the morning and I have “office hours” in the afternoon. We also had an opportunity to help campaign for a friend of ours running for council, which was a blast and really helped tLG become even more interested in politics. Plus, she’s got some legit sign flipping skills.
My Redneck Garden is coming right along. I still have a few things growing but we are starting to prepare for fall & winter. Notable moments this month included our swallowtail butterflies hatching and gigantic carrots. I’m also quite tickled to report that a beautiful garden spider has finally joined us again. I had one last year and enjoyed her so. They make beautiful webs!
I’ve been reading For The Love by Jen Hatmaker on my Kindle. This book is totally rocking my world. This is my kind of parenting. My kind of relationships. My kind of life living. And I am soaking up every word. It’s also hilarious (the audioversion, OMG!). I now want to buy the hard copy and basically highlight the entire thing. It’s helping me to simplify and make some good, but hard, choices about what’s important. Not just important, but life-giving and vital for me. Okay, okay. I just convinced myself that this book needs a blog post all on it’s own. If you haven’t read it yet, put it on your list right now.
Speaking of simplifying and life-giving, I am in LOVE with Hello Fresh. This service has changed my world. I’ve written about it twice already (here and here) and probably will again. It has freed up so much space in my brain and there are no words to explain how beneficial that is.
Last night Skylar got to experience her first Pred’s game. Mike loves hockey so our girl already knew many of the players just by listening and watching on TV with him. We had a blast!
That’s it for this month. Check back in October. We have a camping trip planned and tLG is going on a week-long adventure with Mike’s parents. Until next time you can view more September photos here.
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