when it rains...

You know the saying, right?
When it rains it pours.  [Unless you are a farmer in the midwest and then it just rains…and stops after 3 minutes and you're like, "Whyyyyyy?!?!" But, I digress…]

I know I've been absent on this here blog of mine, and can I just say, I miss it terribly. If my daughters would just realize they need to BOTH. SLEEP. AT. THE.SAME.TIME and if my body would just realize it can function on fewer hours of sleep and not close my eyes every time the aforementioned gloriousness happens, I could blog more! Some day, my friends…some day.

But for now I just have to update a little to keep things real. This blog is, in part, a journal of our family's life, dating back to when Brent and I were just wee pups, thinking we could survive on LOVEY LOVE LOVE… oh, wait, I think we are still foolish enough to believe that [speaking of which, happy 6 years, Brent-- this is the best blog post you're getting for this anniversary. I'm sorry. But I do love you more now than then. I plan on telling our daughters on their wedding day, "I pray you love him the least you will ever love him today." Because I did. And it's been glorious]. So, in order to make sure this past month's chapter is not missing from our story, here it goes [in bullet form because, people, my time is limited and my coffee cup is only so big]:

\ We had a baby. Translation: we no longer sleep much, which means decision making is, like, the worst thing ever for me right now. What kind of toilet paper should I buy? What should I fix Blythe for lunch? How in the heck do I handle Blythe's meltdown right now? How do I get this blasted onesie on over Becks' arms that are frozen stiff? Throw in actual BIG decisions, and you've lost me forever. Just ask Brent.

\ Our air conditioner went out. Ka-poot. Stopped working. Blythe was rosey cheeked. I was crabbier than all get out. Poor Becks was even sweating a bit. [3 weeks, one billion phone calls to get someone here, and 3 service visits later we are thankfully in a nice, cool home now].

oh but wait…

\ Our car stopped working. Brent tried to come home for lunch one day and…na-da. So he jumped it. And the jumper cables literally MELTED. Lesson: don't buy cheap jumper cables. Lesson: don't buy used vehicles from your parents [I kid, I kid. We like our car. But it is USED.] So he walked home. Then later we jumped it, it chugged along. He started charging the battery…and then we decided we needed to take the girls and stay at my parents' for the night because our AC situation, so he decided to bring it out there to finish charging…and it broke down about a 1/4th of a mile from their house…of course. We bought a battery… still not good. We had it towed to our car guy. It is still there. We have one vehicle.

\ Our fridge/freezer started leaking…which in turn is ruining our floor [that we put in 4 years ago]. Sa la vie. [On an up note, my new dishwasher I was generously gifted by my in-laws is working BEAUTIFULLY].

\ In the midst of all of this, Brent decided to go out on a bike ride to get some fresh air. When someone says bike ride in your family, they may mean a nice leisurely jaunt around town; when someone in my family says bike ride, think spandex and Tour de France. Brent and my dad took off. Brent got a flat 10 miles out of town, in the rain. It was at this point we started calling him Bad Luck Chuck [seriously, I blame him because last week at work the power went out…just in his office and the rooms directly around him].

…at this point my mom said to us, "Don't worry, it has to almost be over…"

\ Did I mention we have a newborn?

Don't let this picture fool you, she rarely sleeps this sweetly ;) 

\Blythe is currently working on ALL FOUR of her eye teeth. Want to know what it is like to have your eye teeth come in? I don't remember, but just watching Blythe, I think it is similar to smashing your hand in a tailgate. So that's been fun.

\ Bills are coming in. Lesson: Kidney stones and over night stays in the hospital are expensive. As are babies. Lesson: Babies are worth it. Kidney stones are not.

\ Ants in my kitchen. I've never had ants since we moved here. Of course, I wake up [I use the term "wake up" loosely because, really, I'm not fully awake these days…] but, I wake up this weekend and…everywhere. Little suckers. My dad brought me the goods though and they are all dead now.

\ Brent was mowing and the mower stopped. He got off and did some other things before returning to it. Luckily it started because he told me later had it not he would have picked it up, "hulk style", and thrown it in the ditch. We're at that point, people!

\ Saturday I called my mom to see if she wanted to go for a walk with the girls and me. About 2 miles in the tire on Blythe's stroller went flat. We had to call Brent to come rescue us with the compressor. We finish the last half mile, only to get caught in the rain right as my house came into view. She should have known better than to go on a walk with me. 

So in summation:
\ air conditioner: broke
\ car: broke
\ fridge: broke
\ bills: due
\ Blythe: adorable but teething
\ Becks: adorable but a newborn…so not sleeping
\ ants: errrrrrywhere
\ tires: all going flat

Oh, and our town is having new water lines installed [YAY!], which means we are perpetually on a boil order and frequently have bouts with no water throughout the day. Awesome for the toilet situation up in here.

BUT… we are all healthy, and we have a joy that the things of this world can't touch [even if we need reminded of that]. I am currently working with Blythe on learning the meaning behind the traits we've prayed for her, one of which is JOY. If you ask her what joy means she will say, "Happy you can't take away." [Or she will get it confused with one of her other traits and tell you a different meaning, but still…].

Happy you can't take away.
Even when life is happening all around us.

From "Jesus Calling": I go before you, as well as with you, into each day.