Milestones of Marriage

I think this week is going by too slowly. Surprisingly, my days haven't been filled to the brim with endless things to do. Correction: there is ALWAYS endless things to do! I suppose there's nothing pressing for me to do...so I've been sitting around...procrastinating. You know that feeling you get when life slows down a bit? Instead of doing the things that you've been meaning to do, you do nothing? Well, that's me this week. Synnove and Soren are out of school. Adam, though he was scheduled to take the entire week off, had to go to work yesterday and today. He will also be gone for most of tomorrow and the next day as well...doing things away from us. It all depresses me a bit.

My dear Adam...he's been so busy. Hunting, trapping, fixing, working, traveling, sleeping. *sigh*...I've been sitting here for the last 15 minutes thinking on what I want to say next. All I can come up with is this: Life is constant compromise. Adam is forever being pulled, and he does the best he can to balance the tugs.

Adam and I both reached 30 this year, and next month we will have been "together" for 11 years. We have established a rhythm...a cycle of give and take. It works for us. But, in the last year, our lives have changed dramatically. Maybe Adam doesn't feel it as much as I do, but it is undeniably different. Both of us have started new adventures. In the last year, Adam has started his own trapping business and has become a "rookie" Honda/Mitsubishi mechanic. And I have successfully established my business, and become the busy mom of a preschooler and kindergartner. As a result, dad, mom, husband, and wife duties have become exponentially more challenging. And, when posed with a choice of who comes first...the answer is always the same: the kids.

Weekends are full. They have been full since last March. We don't get a break. Adam and I tried to go on a date over the summer...lol! It never happened. Last Saturday we had a relatively plan-free day and sleeping in sounded divine. The kids got up at 7:00 and "snuggle time" was completely eliminated...let alone sleeping in. I know that there will come a day when I will miss the kids barging into our room screaming that one is chasing the other and that they need our help to save them. Today is not that day.

The last time Adam and I had some alone time together was the night before we picked up our "new" car in October. We arranged for the kids to stay at my parent's house because we had to get up early the next morning. I remember thinking it would be fun to go out that night, but we were both so pooped that we decided to pick up some groceries and spend the evening at home. We turned in early so that we could get up at 5AM to make the long drive to Salem. Fortunately, we made a fun day of it before rushing home to pick up the kids.

Heh...we take what we can get!

Marriage is a perfectly planned-out journey. If you do it the right way,after you get married, you spend all of your free time together and build a trust. You live together and learn that life can be blissful and challenging. Then, you have kids. You fall in love again and discover the balance between spouse and child. As your kids mature, the marriage should mature. You learn sacrifice, compromise, and the importance of communication. Your lives begin to separate and trials seem endless, but your marriage grows stronger because of the strong foundation you have established. You realize that your spouse is your constant and the love you have for them flourishes into a realm that no other person could fully understand. You grow old...you've found your soul mate...one of the greatest, if not the greatest, gifts you could ever receive.

Quite honestly, I love my life. I love my husband. I love my kids. And though I wish that Adam and I could spend more time together, I know that our relationship continues to grow. We get on each other's nerves, we wish things that aren't possible, we pursue, we pull away, and we doubt. But without those things, the moments of laughter, appreciation, love, and forgiveness wouldn't be as wonderful.

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. I Corinthians 13:7

Only 9 Days Left!

I couldn't believe it when Thanksgiving came and went, and I only had two Christmas gifts purchased. I didn't have a plan either. I was at a loss as to what to get for everyone and I was starting to panic! Fortunately, I got the Christmas card ordered before Thanksgiving! Last year we didn't send one out, so I had to get one out this year. By the time I paid for all the postage, I was wishing I had skipped this year as well! I started looking for blocks of time where I could get out without the kids. The weekends were full, Adam was busy, and I was starting to brainstorm other options. My Mom was in a bit of a panic as well, as she often relies on me to help her figure out gifts. Somehow we found a block of time to run to Longview for a quick trip. But, before we left, I had to take the kids over to the local church to meet Santa. Synnove had been begging to go! It ended up being a bust because neither of the kids wanted to get within 6 feet of Santa...

In about a weeks time, I finished my Christmas shopping. Online shopping is great!! I could finally breathe a bit...but the house still wasn't decorated. Synnove was soooo excited to decorate, and asked me several times a day..."when are we going to get the decorations out!?", and my response was always.."not until we get our tree." Getting the tree was proving to be difficult. We were busy...constantly busy. And when we weren't busy, it was either dark or raining. We were looking forward to cutting our own tree out at the dairy, but I was beginning to wonder if we were going to have to pay an arm and a leg to the boy scouts down the road for one of theirs. BUT, the weather cleared one day after Synnove got out of school, and we raced to Brownsmead just in time to be home by dusk.

The kids took a bath before dinner (they were filthy and wet) and I made homemade pizza. When dinner was over, I turned on the Christmas music and the decorating began. The kids had such a great time. I think this is the first year that I felt the kids could handle decorating the tree on their own (less the lights and garland)...and they did. Adam helped, while I decorated elsewhere. It really was a fun, no-stress, Christmassy time!

Soren loved all the ornaments...and was constantly coming up to me saying "look at this one!"

Synnove was my grown-up helper girl...she's got this whole Christmas tree thing down pat.

That night I was exhausted, but determined to wrap a few gifts. I ended up wrapping every single one! I still had a few that hadn't come in the mail yet, but, for the most part, I was done! I went to bed well after midnight and was dragging the next day. The kids were surprised to see all the gifts under the tree the next morning and started checking the tags for their names. Synnove was pretty disappointed that there was only one gift with her name on it...ha ha.

We still haven't put any lights outside, and I haven't done any baking...but it feels good to be almost ready for Christmas!

Lucy Lately

We've had our Lucy-girl for a little over three months now (7 1/2 months old)...and, like all puppies, she's a ball of mischief. We've tried our best to stick to the no-hitting plan, and so far it's been alright. Although, there have been a couple of recent situations that warranted a good scolding. She's very lovable and sweet (in her own puppy way) and has adjusted well to her new home. After only a couple of weeks of having her, we decided to let her loose. After doing more research, we realized that she would stay in "her" territory as long as she knew her bounds. In the first couple of weeks we walked her every morning around the perimeter of the property with a leash so she would understand where she lived. Yes, she does her fair share of exploration to the neighbors. Two of our three neighbors don't have any animals, and I haven't heard any complaints yet. She has gotten into the neighbor's garbage a few times...but we have done our best to catch it and clean it up ourselves. Our other neighbor has no reason to complain if our dog ends up on her property...lol (see blog on that)!



As she has gotten older and into the "teenage years" she has discovered her bark. She rarely barks during the day...but she can be quite a nuisance at night. There is no doubt...she's barking at something, but she won't quit until the "threat" is gone. I say "threat" because I swear that sometimes she barks at falling leaves! Scolding her does no good, and we have become more creative in finding ways to contain her on such loud nights. The previous owners of our house already set up a fantastic kennel, but we have to put her in the garage when she barks. There is a sectioned off area in the garage that has a doggie door to the outer kennel, but there is no way to seal her inside...so we've been screwing plywood on the door. It's a temporary solution until Adam makes her a lockable doggie door (hopefully in the next week!) She's started to figure it out though...when we come outside to get her, she won't come to us, and trying to get her through the doggie door can be quite difficult. She fights it!

She really is true to her breed. She guards her territory, only comes to you on HER terms (she can be very difficult to catch!), loves her family, is highly intelligent, very independent, and is a good judge of character.

Here are a few Lucy antics we've come to love and hate:

• It took her about a month to stop chewing on the house every chance she got. Fortunately, the house is in need of a new paint job next summer! She has also destroyed the back-up lights on the truck, pulled wires and insulation off the heat pump, gotten in the truck (kids' fault) and chewed up the registrations for both the truck and the trailer, chewed up several bike helmets and two bike seats, and, of course, has done a number on the fencing in the kennel.

• She rarely comes to you if you call her, but when she does come to you, her excitement towards Adam and I comes in the form of a sort-of submission. She puts her head down and to the side for you to pet her. Once you pet her, she's a ball of excitement and she jumps on you. She's getting better at not jumping...but not good enough. Once she calms a bit, she's a joy to love. She gets down on her back and wants you to rub her belly...if you stop, she gently paws you till you do. She also loves to be hugged close and doesn't pull away.

• She loves garbage. I've cleaned up entire trashcans full at least 4 times.

• Lucy and Charlie are hilarious to watch! Lucy chases Charlie at every opportunity. She's not aggressive...but playful. Charlie mostly hates Lucy...but he has become a LOT more tolerant. Adam has even watched them touch noses...twice!

• She likes to steal Adam's tools and hide them...among other things. Our neighbor likes to burn all the stuff he wants to get rid of and often leaves it outside to pile up. Lucy has brought home many many interesting items to play with. She has also found the spine of an elk to chew on. It's currently sitting in the back yard along with the elk leg bones that Adam brought home from this years elk harvest. It's a regular smorgasbord for Lucy!

• Synnove and Soren are Lucy's "sheep." She paws and mouths them (herding instinct) and is waaay too playful. There are times when Lucy plays nice, but about 70% of the time, I've got to put her in the kennel if the kids are outside.

We didn't get much snow the week of Thanksgiving, but the kids loved playing in it anyway. I can't help but laugh at these pictures I caught of Lucy "loving on" the kids...

Synnove's face is priceless in this picture.

Soren has just gotten the thrill of sliding down the slide, and Lucy is right on his tail.

Again, Soren has just gone down the slide, and Lucy is making sure he gets up ok?? LOL! Soren...the live dog bone :)

A couple of minutes after that last picture, I had to put Lucy away...go figure.