Good afternoon, my friend!

I’m sitting perched at our desktop, which is in our kitchen, in our tiny country cottage.

Yes, we’re still here.

And while I’ll get back to the craziness of the market etc etc soon, I would like to say:

Hi!

I’ve missed you!

I hope this spring has brought you, already, many moments in the grass and sun, lingering moments with loved ones, lots of laughing, and lots of unexpected joys!

I’m having a rare moment at home with both babies sleeping, and I’m sipping an iced latte, praise be to Him who is on the throne.

Amen.

Well, since my last update, life has gone full speed ahead. It is all good stuff, the rich, powerful stuff of life that often pulls you away from other worthy endeavors (ahem, writing and generally any outward-facing communication) and towards where the energy is going, whether you like it or not.

Also, I’ve overhauled a few techy things (no more laptop and a different phone!) so that’s been a bit of a blogging detour.

The need, the energy, has been going towards my kids, my marriage, and our home.

Sicknesses

I feel like a doggone broken record, but it still needs to be said on behalf of all parents of young, young children — we’ve been sick. A lot. We go to anywhere one time, pick something up, and pass it around. Reset. Repeat.

Being sick stinks. It’s inconvenient at best, and takes a minute to bounce back from.

Being sick with kids is that too, and it’s also the inability to fully rest and recover oneself. Sick babies need constant hugging and changing and feeding and taking to the doctor, and they often don’t rest well. And home requires all it ever requires with cleaning and preparing food, even when you’re ill. It’s so many episodes of kids shows for survival that you pray you haven’t permanently damaged anything. It’s trying to get back up on the horse of life and that horse is NOT READY YET. It bucks you off again wildly, and kicks the dust in your face before galloping away to where all the got-it-together people are. Those people have clean houses and drink iced lattes. I want to be those people.

Life right now is micro movements that feel huge, and unimpressive victories, over and over.

It’s more than everything I hoped for, and it’s more selfless than I ever imagined.

In my 20’s I was like a really lovely house, a skinny condo let’s say, that looked beautiful and had fun but needed a lot of expensive work done on the inside, unseen stuff, you know — HVAC, plumbing, termite damage, etc. In my mid-30’s, I’m spending a lot of coin on the stuff no one sees so that I can be structurally sound, run efficiently, and stand strong for the long-term, but on the outside I look like a middle-aged woman. I mean, er, house.

You get it.

It’s good stuff.

Speaking of houses…

We do not have a new one yet! But we have been very actively looking. Our kind and patient agent has taken us into this gauntlet of a market bravely, and we’ve seen many homes, but are still waiting on the one. We have made one offer. We offered above listing price. The final sale price was 100k above our offer. Yeah.

Listen, y’all, if you’re not into buying homes this part will be boring. Skip ahead. But let me just say that in the Raleigh, NC area, like most of the US, what you can buy for a TON OF MONEY does not match the ton of money you will spend and then live with every month until kingdom come. Those prices have only gotten higher as we have searched, as well as interest rates, so we’ve had to have a few heart-to-hearts about what it is we really want and need right now. I’m thankful for that, not because we had stars in our eyes, but the extra time has afforded us the ability to let our wants come into laser-clear focus.

So, we’ve readjusted our budget, and we’ll still be looking, but in the meantime we’ll just be busting at the seams in our tiny cottage full of LOTS of life. Lots of spills, screams, belly laughs, wrestling matches, class-A toddler tantrums, and late-night convos with just me and John.

Griffin’s 2nd Bird-day Party

There are few things I love more than a good old fashioned themed party (click here to see my Pinterest inspo!) Yes, it’s a lot of work and planning and the execution always takes more than I think it will, but it is always worth it to have our close friends and family over to our house to celebrate. I’m also suspecting some very easy-button kid parties as the years progress but hey, for now, I’m gonna nerd out on celebration! I genuinely enjoy making great food for people to enjoy and setting a scene that will be the backdrop of fun memories.

Griffin and I have loved watching birds together, so I went with a bird theme, which is way more fun than it sounds! I made toilet paper roll binoculars for the kids, and we had crafts (a DIY pine cone peanut butter bird feeder, and a paint-your-own bird house, thanks to Dollar Tree!) to keep those little ones entertained. I made mud and worm cupcakes for the kids and a personal favorite, Hummingbird cake, for the adults.

We also welcomed everyone to either dress as a bird or a birdwatching explorer and it was so fun to see everyone dressed out! P.S. Griffin did not like her bird costume so, there we are. We’ve got an extra if anyone wants it!

A little travel

There wasn’t much in the way of travel except for a long weekend getaway to our family home in Beaufort for Easter. It was ourselves, my bro- and sis-in-law’s family, and my MIL. The weather was lovely and it was a delight to see how much Griffin loves being with her big cousins! She loved learning how to “scoot” on her cousin’s kid scooter so of course, that’s what we got her for her 2nd birthday! She is in love with what she calls her bike.

A little creativity

The biggest news here is that I’ve been in the recording studio! Songs have been cooking for quite some time, and I am so excited to be in the stage where it all gets fleshed out. Please send me lots of creative vibes and happy thoughts and prayers that I enjoy the ride, dip deep, and make great stuff!

I couldn’t be happier to partner with my SIL Jess and her husband Kyle for this one. So much of my life right now is unglamorous, very normal and inside of cozy homes with loved ones, so it feels fitting that this project is simply an extension of that. It’s just real, heartfelt music from my life to yours.

Speaking of Jess, I got to last-minute help creative direct a photoshoot for her new project and you guys. It’s gonna be so beautiful!!

It’s cool that my re-emergence into leading worship at church has coincided with making an album. It has helped me get my music sea-legs back again, from just singing in front of people to all the techy logistical stuff, and to stay connected to the heart of creativity in spite of that. I have struggled a ton with insecurity, stage fright, comparison, imposter syndrome, anxiety, et al. I’ve done a lot of inner work to siphon my identity out of notoriety from performing. I’ll never be “there” and I’m just enjoying saying, if I look or sound stupid, make a mistake, or trip up, that’s fine!

I unexpectedly had a chance to help with some songwriting input for my church’s new worship album — my first real flex at corporate worship — and that was SO fun!

And I’ve spent some of my weekends dabbling back into hair and makeup! Just for friends (for weddings and photoshoots) and assisting other artists in town. At this stage in my life, it’s been a great way to operate in a creative stream and make a little extra money.

Spring Fun Around Town

Now that the weather is pretty dependably warm (praise!) we’ve been trying to spend some more time out in nature. Sometimes I forget that we have a beautiful greenway that hugs the local river, and it has been so good to get under the trees, have some quiet time, and enjoy the beautiful river views. I also hope to spend more moments at parks, enjoying picnics, and hanging with my kids in the fresh air.

And now that G’s preschool is out for summer, we have LOTS of fun warm-weather things to do! More on that later.