I left the choice for picture retakes up to Grant and he decided to do it because he wanted a picture with his new haircut. I had no idea what to expect when I opened up my email but my heart nearly melted into a puddle. Just LOOK at him! I cannot get over his cuteness. Goodness Grant you are so cute. I'm kind of happy that I get to keep both digital copies of his kindergarten portraits. I love them both for separate reasons.
Tickets have been bought! We're officially flying to Utah. It will be the first time for four of the kids and also the first time that Danny and I will be flying with each other. We've flown apart but never together. We haven't told the kids yet, as we honestly didn't even know it would be an option until after they were already in bed last night. Danny had a missed call from his dad so once we got the kids in bed and he had a quiet moment to breathe and sit down he called him back. Dave brought up a lot of costs from driving that Danny and I haven't fully looked into and together we all decided that flying would be the cheaper route to go. He also offered to help pay for the tickets and already had a list of flights for us to consider. Turns out that Marie was behind this and surely did her thorough research. She found flights for half the price that I first found when I played with the idea of flying. Neither Marie or Dave thought driving for three to four days in the middle of winter should be the way we go and they had it all planned out before even calling Danny last night. We're truly blessed with incredible people in our corner. Danny and I looked at the dates they proposed and took the plunge. We bought seven tickets for a ten day trip in Utah. The kids are going to be so excited! A part of me questioned if Danny and I probably should have slept on it to think about it more late last night when I couldn't sleep after this big purchase, but the way I feel about it now is just excitement and no regrets. The prices of the flights we booked actually nearly doubled today and is nearly sold out as well. Also when are we going to have this opportunity to fly out as a full family of seven in the near future?? Probably not soon. I'm betting that this Christmas season will be one the kids will cherish for a very long time. I can't wait. I feel full. Happy and full.
Managing the schedule for three kids having their school's Thanksgiving Feast can be a little tricky when you still have two young ones at home. Luckily two of the kids had theirs back to back and I figured the twins would do alright for an hour having to sit still in the school cafeteria but I was a little worried for the third one. Luckily I have a friend who was at the kindergarten feast and she offered her place for the twins to play at during Addie's school feast. I'm so grateful she did because the twins were able to have a lot of fun with friends and I was able to be there for each of my school aged kids. It turned out to be a really smooth morning. I had been a little stressed leading up to it because I can't ask Danny to take any time away from work for this and I wasn't sure if I would be asking too much of the twins to sit there through three lunches. It all turned out great, as they usually do. I just need to stress less and trust that we've got this handled. Happy early Thanksgiving!
We survived having two kids in two different sports! They're already talking about playing again next season. Grant is also showing some interest in trying out some kind of activity. We will probably never go back to just one kid on a sport's team for many many more years. It's been a fun season.
Not the outcome they hoped for but still so fun and a great first experience with their toes being dipped in the more competitive nature of tournaments. It was supposed to be a two day tournament however the relentless rain changed all that. It rained so much that Addie's team was the only team in the whole tournament to play two games. Each team was supposed to play a minimum of three games with the best of those games moving on to a championship game. Addie's Sunday game was forfeited by the other team so they went into the weekend with an automatic first win. If they won one of the back to back two Saturday games they would go on to the championship game the next day. The first game they were up against was one that they honestly thought would be a given win. They beat this same team 4-0 this season. They were feeling really good thinking they were already in the championship round because one team forfeited and now their first team they were up against was going to be an easy win. It didn't exactly go that way. That team showed up as a very different determined team. They knew they needed to beat Addie's team to advance and they sure did put up a fight. I think it caught our girls by surprise. In the end the other girls pulled out a win.
Too many thoughts, not enough words. I miss her. It's the one year anniversary of her passing which brings mixed emotions. I've found that this kind of grief is complicated because I can't even be mad that she passed. If she could comprehend everything the disease took away from her she would have hated it. So instead I have to direct any anger I have associated with it with the fact that she got to endure that trial in the first place. I hate that her memory was wiped, her body became wheelchair bound and she was trapped with a sufferable incurable disease so rare it almost sounds made up.
I am grateful she's no longer in pain and her mind and body are free to move in ways they couldn't while here. I'm also glad her passing was as peaceful as possible. That's a blessing I keep coming back to. It's been a year of gratitude and a year of grief and not one day passed where I did not think of her. I doubt a day will ever pass where she won't be in my thoughts in some way and that's okay with me. I'll carry her forever. Hope heaven is everything and more. 💛
