Parenthood | Amy Scott's Thoughts

Holiday Cheer November 6, 2020

Filed under: Coronavirus Chronicles,Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Parenthood — Amy Scott @ 2:06 pm

I’ve never held hard and fast rules for when it’s appropriate to start Christmas festivities. This year, the boys were super into Halloween (more than ever before). But a flip switched in their minds and now it’s on to Christmas. Owen especially keeps longing for it to be winter. I will admit that Christmas brings a cheer, joy, hope to the world. I can understand how more than ever we are craving the goodness of Christmas.

Yesterday, I sang “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” to Owen and he had completely forgotten that he sang it last year at his Veterans Day assembly at school. At this time last year, Jeremy and I grabbed red cups from Starbucks and showed up at Owen’s school so we could listen to 600+ kids sing patriotic songs. This memory and the fact that he had forgotten it made me sad. There are moments where what we have lost this year are acutely felt in my spirit. No songs being learned for performances, no assemblies to attend. And then there are moments like today when Owen tells me that he wants to be homeschooled forever. I realize that he isn’t hurting or lacking in his school experience. We are good. For every sad moment, I have so many things to be thankful for. Which is why Thanksgiving matters more than ever to me. It’s a time to reflect on our journey and how God has been good every step of the way. On our ride into town today, I pointed out the beautiful trees for that feels like the millionth time. I am going to vocalize my thankfulness as often as possible. I don’t want to take any moment for granted.

Which leads to the holiday cheer we experienced today. Anyone who has known me for more than a year knows that “Red Cup Day” is a holiday in my book. Starbucks has only made the day more special by offering free reusable cups. My whole family was jazzed to get our free cups today. We listened to Christmas music as we went around town. When we came home from running errands, the boys put on new Christmas pajamas and Jeremy went outside to put up our Christmas lights on the house. I hopped on to my computer and the boys filled our Operation Christmas Child boxes online. I changed the sheets to flannel in preparation for the return of colder nights this coming week.

I’m here for it. All the holiday cheer. Bring it on. I’m all in for celebrating the November holidays. All our crafts this month involve turkeys and thankfulness. We will focus on Veterans Day as part of school. We will give Thanksgiving it’s proper time and attention. But we will also anticipate the coming season with joy. We will talk about Christmas and prepare for it.

We have space in our life for both – Thanksgiving and Christmas. We have space in our life for both the sad moments and the joyful moments. Good and bad can co-exist and God is still there with each up and down. I’m learning to live at peace with the tension. It reminds me what we haven’t arrived yet. We are still looking ahead to a fully redeemed creation. Owen recently got a Bible and has focused in on the New Heaven and New Earth – the time when everything will be made right. I need that reminder. This isn’t it. We were made for more – and it is coming! Joy to the world!

Owen and his new Bible! Now that he is attending church again, we felt he needed an upgrade from his storybook Bible.

Launching rockets with some of our homeschool friends.

Don’t worry – autumn is still alive and well at our house!

I feel a little silly saying “Happy Red Cup Day” when my cup is green, but you get the idea!

Graham’s treat of choice today. He hugged this box the entire way home.

Using the online option to fill our Operation Christmas Child boxes this year. It was simple, easy, and fun. We love giving a gift and good news to children around the world!

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Halloween 2020 November 2, 2020

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Coronavirus Chronicles,Family Time,Parenthood,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 1:37 pm

This Halloween looked different than any other Halloween in our past. Thank you, 2020. Instead of our usual harvest, carnival style event at church, we offered a “Fall Fest To-Go” event for our community. The church offered a bag of candy, carnival game ideas to do at home, small prizes and a teddy bear to each child that drove through our parking lot.

It’s been a while since I volunteered on-site for a church event. The boys and I have been sticking close to home these days. The nice thing about this event was our family wore our masks and our exposure to the community was as quick as passing a bag through the window of a car. I felt fairly safe with this ministry opportunity. I had a friend question me about the boys being at the event for the entire time (about three hours). I told her that my kiddos are pastor’s kids and they haven’t had to fill that PK role in a while. We could all step up for the night.

When our family pulled into the church over an hour before the event, we already had cars waiting in the parking lot. We knew that our social media posts had received a lot attention, so we weren’t shocked, but it was still a surprise. We quickly got our materials ready and we started handing out bags an hour before the event was set to start.

Jeremy planned for 300 pre-prepared bags. This was on par with our usual Fall Fest kid attendance in the past. However, this is 2020. Our community was desperate to make Halloween special and safe. Jeremy quickly asked me to move from passing out bags to creating more bags. We were handing out bags as quickly as we were making them. At one point, we ran out of candy and sent team members to buy more. When the event wrapped up at 8:00pm, we had handed out a 1,000 bags to kids in our community. It was truly mind blowing. My Fit Bit said I had been “swimming” for and hour and a half due to the pace and movement of my gift bag filling.

The number of kids we saw was shocking, but what really impressed me on Halloween was Owen and Graham. Our boys showed up to volunteer at the event and they took that role seriously. They transported bags for us, they filled bags, they handed out bags. They were little worker bees. It was truly an honor to serve together as a family. My mama heart was so blessed to see my kids buy into the idea of giving to others.

Jeremy and I came home tired from the hopping pace of the night, but also amped up from the results. We definitely didn’t expect this drive-thru event to explode the way it did. 2020 is so unpredictable. You plan the best you can and make the most of what you’ve got. We saw major success with this event and it left us with questions of what does mean for next year? Was this a special one-time thing? Is this the new way events should look? It’s impossible to answer those questions right now, but we are mulling them over and taking notes.

This Halloween was memorable to say the least. We had fun, we served our community, we worked together as a family. Halloween 2020 was one of the record books. It was certainly a special way to wrap up such a special month.

Panda Amy! I bundled up because I thought I would be out in the cold all night. Turns out I worked up a sweat filling gifts bags indoors!

Graham is helping to fill bags and Jeremy (on his dinosaur) is coming to pick up more bags to take out! It was fast paced evening!

Owen’s orange helmet blends with the orange bags on the table. Owen helped Papa hand out bags to vehicles.

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On Tuesdays… October 27, 2020

Filed under: Coronavirus Chronicles,Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Parenthood — Amy Scott @ 2:21 pm

On Tuesday, I have less words (which will probably be a benefit to you). I use them up on Monday and Tuesday is a recovery day. Mondays are marathons and Tuesdays are tranquil. I am thankful for Tuesdays. We all need Tuesdays. A day to reflect, to slow down, to recover, to give yourself grace, a buffer, margin.

Our schedule this October has been vastly different than years past. Even with a slower October, I’ve been surprised at how full our month has become. We’ve celebrated Graham and Owen’s birthdays. Each boy got to chose their own adventures on their birthday. We had two special birthday meals – one with each side of the family. That’s a total of four birthday celebrations (just for our kids alone). We’ve celebrated family birthdays and we’ve celebrated a few friends’ birthdays, too. The amount of dessert I’ve eaten this month is impressive!

The Fall Family Scavenger Hunt has filled in a large amount of our time as we race to complete missions and earn points. This hunt has included many of our favorite autumn traditions, but it’s also inspired us to visit places we probably wouldn’t have gone to this month (Rainbow Falls State Park & Mt. St. Helens to name a few).

These October days have been full of celebration, tradition, friends, and family. Everything has been on a smaller scale this year. I’ve appreciated the smaller gatherings. There is less pressure to make things big and impressive. The focus is on spending time with loved ones and doing things we enjoy. October is always my favorite month of the year and this October has been no exception. 2020 can’t take the autumn magic away!

Sunday morning hot cocoa with Owen. This week Owen asked to go back to church and attend Jeremy’s elementary class. I dropped Owen off with Jeremy for the 2nd gathering. Graham and I spent some one-on-one time together. This will be our new Sunday morning normal until Graham’s class reopens.

Family walk for the scavenger hunt – I love the amount of colors and patterns in this photo!

I snapped this photo on a chilly evening walk. I’m still trying to get outside everyday and get my exercise. Super cold, but worth it!

Lunch date with my forever friend, Maggie! We finally could meet up now that you can eat indoors with people outside of your household.

October has been a waterfall month! Winston Creek Falls makes waterfall #7!

Spur of the moment trip to Mt. St. Helens to get points for the Fall Family Scavenger Hunt. Such a cold adventure, but beautiful!

Dressed up in a costume for MOPS & MOMSnext last night. Chef Amy!

Making clouds in school this morning. Owen always picks science as his first subject of the day.

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Pumpkin Day October 21, 2020

Filed under: Coronavirus Chronicles,Family Time,Parenthood,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 11:00 am

Pumpkins have to be my favorite thing about fall. They are my favorite way to decorate, my favorite flavor, and my favorite scent. I look forward to the pumpkin patch every year. In fact, most years you will find our family at the pumpkin patch multiple times in October. We go with friends, family, school, MOPS & MOMSnext… if there is a pumpkin patch outing, we’re there.

Because of COVID-19, we only visited one pumpkin patch this year. In a way, this created some pressure. Which pumpkin patch? We usually go to a variety of pumpkin patches and usually the location is determined by who we are going with. This time it was completely up to us. We finally settled on a pumpkin patch right down the road from us. We pass it every year and the boys always ask about it, but it’s never on the list of scheduled patches to visit. It was important to Jeremy and I to support a local pumpkin patch, so the one closest to our house seemed like a great choice.

In his need for independence, Owen grabbed the wagon and pulled it for almost the entirety of our visit. Graham (true to his nature) took the longest to select his pumpkin. I picked a pumpkin and Jeremy carved it. We did a “Team Parent” pumpkin this year. There were three challenges involving pumpkins for the Fall Family Scavenger Hunt, so we were able to accomplish those during our pumpkin day. Graham scrubbed the pumpkins clean when we got home and helped set them in the sun to dry.

Graham wanted a jack-o-lantern with a big nose this year. Jeremy made a traditional jack-o-lantern for our pumpkin. Owen wanted a spooky pumpkin. He decided to make his pumpkin look like it was saying “Boo!” I’m thankful that is his idea of spooky at this point. Owen did all the cutting of his pumpkin with supervision and guidance this year.

Every year, I am thankful for pumpkins! They make me happy. They bring joy to my world. Little things can make a big difference. For me that means pumpkins! Pumpkin day was a good day. Pumpkin season is a good season.

Taking his time to find the perfect pumpkin

Fall Family Scavenger Hunt: Visit a pumpkin patch

Fall Family Scavenger Hunt: Carve pumpkins

Fall Family Scavenger Hunt: Take a picture of the inside of a pumpkin

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Graham turns 5! October 20, 2020

Filed under: Family Time,Parenthood — Amy Scott @ 1:10 pm

Yesterday my youngest, Graham, turned 5! I am now a mama of a five and seven year old and it blows my mind. How did they get so big? I love who these big kids are becoming and it eases the sorrow that they didn’t stay little forever. But let’s be real, the little days were hard work. I have fond memories from the little days, but I am thankful for each new season. Big kids are cool, too!

Birthdays this year were a pick-your-own-adventure kind of a celebration. Graham decided he wanted to go to a new waterfall, so we selected Snoqualmie Falls to visit. The waterfall was impressive and the boys loved watching the powerful water. We even felt the mist from the falls spray over us. We went to lunch in Bellevue and then Graham went birthday shopping. We enjoyed our time in The LEGO Store and The Disney Store. Graham’s original birthday request was to go to a playground, so we stopped in Olympia on the way home for some park playtime. We grabbed pizza and cake for dinner. Spur of the moment, we invited Nana, Papa, Grandma, and Grandpa to join us for dinner. Having his grandparents end the day with him was the perfect birthday wrap-up for Graham.

It can be hard to single out Graham’s specific interests. True to his little brother role, so many of his interests follow Owen. He wants to be like his brother and keep up with his brother. Graham’s favorite toys right now would be LEGO sets and Hot Wheel cars. He asks to pull out board games often. He likes to take the pieces and play his own imaginative games with them. Frequently, the Candyland characters are dancing around the house on their own mission apart from the actual game. Graham loves time outside – it might be jumping on the trampoline, following a new trail, or playing sneaky-spy in the yard. He is also our most adventurous eater. I’m fairly sure he can handle spicy food better than me!

Jeremy asked Owen to describe Graham in five words yesterday. Owen wasn’t sure so we turned it into an activity for the whole family. Jeremy said fun, Owen said brother and friend, I said smart, and Graham said silly. These are all accurate! I’ve been surprised by how smart Graham is as I’ve had a chance to be his schoolteacher since March. He knows way more than I realized. I enjoy being a part of his education so much. Having extra time at home with him for his last year of preschool has been a blessing. Owen and Graham are best friends right now. It’s so sweet to watch their brother-friendship unfold. Graham is fun and silly. His goofy ways add so much joy to our family!

Showing off his new color changing Hot Wheels car

It was so cute watching Graham walk around the mall with Wall-E in hand!

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Autumn at It’s Best October 15, 2020

Filed under: Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Parenthood,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 3:04 pm

October is autumn at it’s best (in my humble opinion). In October, the chill is a novelty and I bundle up in layers and with blankets. In October, the rainy days are a welcome excuse to snuggle in and be cozy at home. October leaves are brilliant shades of yellow, orange, and red. While leaves are actively falling, the trees aren’t bare yet. October sunshine is my favorite of all. It washes the world in warm light, but doesn’t carry the heat of summer. October activities are some of my favorite traditions. October foods are some of my favorite flavors. October is simply the best. In the words of Anne of Green Gables – “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” Overquoted, yes. True, also yes.

We had a minor wind event this weekend. We lost power briefly on Sunday night. This happened about 15 minutes after we put the boys to bed, so of course, the power outage completely derailed the boys’ ability to fall asleep. Graham was scared, despite having a lantern light up his bedroom. We moved him into Owen’s room for the buddy system approach, but that also led to extra excitement. The power outage became a grand adventure at that point. The power returned around 10:15pm. The kiddos were still awake at that point. Needless to say, no one fell asleep early on Sunday night.

Monday morning was a tired one. We did a pajama day for school (which is becoming a tradition on nights when we go to bed late the day before). Instead of going to forest school on Monday, both kids took long afternoon naps. My biggest hardship with forest school is Monday is marathon day. Between school in the morning, forest school in the afternoon, and MOPS & MOMSnext in the evening, it’s a big day. I’m finding that I would prefer Mondays to a mellow transition back into our weekday routine, instead of a marathon. When the kids asked for rest on Monday, I listened and we made it a mellow Monday. To make up for missing forest school, we took a family walk on the property behind our house (we have permission to explore this land). We followed our favorite trail to the local beaver dam and explored animal dens looking for signs of activity. We talked about the sights, sounds, and smells as we wondered in the woods. It was a lovely day for exploration as the cool, crisp sunshine filtered through the half-bare trees.

Our family is keeping busy with the Fall Family Scavenger Hunt with our church. One of the challenges we completed this week was to visit a local state park – Rainbow Falls. The boys had never been there, so it was fun to let them run and explore a new place. Our family has a thing for waterfalls which made this outing even better. The drive out to the falls was beautiful. Blue sky, sunshine, fall color all around. The boys loved seeing a new waterfall and throwing rocks into the river. We rounded out the outing by following a trail by the river for a short walk.

I know at some point the weather will turn and we’ll feel “stuck” inside. I know at some point all the leaves will fall and the trees will be bare. I know at some point pumpkin season will be over. But we aren’t there yet. I intend to revel in every blue sky, every crisp walk, every seasonal treat. My joy for this season is amplified as I share my favorite things with my family and see them enjoy them too. This is autumn at it’s best!

Another weekend, another birthday celebration. The boys got to have dinner with my side of the family.

Uncle Andrew came through for us when we needed a real sword for a scavenger hunt challenge. Auntie April also let us photograph her VCR and record player!

Supporting the Seahawks (for a challenge)

Checking out one of the many beaver dams

Always ready to follow a new trail. Also, this picture is blurry because it was an “action” shot.

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Owen turns 7! October 9, 2020

Filed under: Family Time,Homeschool Adventures,Parenthood,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 2:21 pm

Yesterday, our oldest son, Owen, turned 7! My youngest, Graham, will be 5 in a little over a week and I’m truly shocked to have “big” kids these days. It seems like the days of little “littles” are behind us. Each year I love to see who they are becoming. Every new season of development comes with so much joy and excitement.

For Owen’s 7th birthday, we had an epic day full of adventure and celebration. Our day started at Top Golf (which was first for all us, but Jeremy). It was fun to get out of the area and try something new. We had a special lunch at The Cheesecake Factory before exploring the historic waterfall highway at the Columbia Gorge. The whole day was full of yummy treats and awesome adventures. It’s been a long time since we had a full day of outings away from home. We are all super tired today after the big celebration, but we all had such a great time yesterday. It was worth it!

What can I say about Owen to document this moment in his childhood? The first thing that comes to mind is that he loves science. It’s the first subject he decides to do at school everyday. He is always asking me if we can do extra science experiments. He loves space, geology, nature, and geography. His birthday gifts this year included LEGO sets, STEM kits, and a globe.

Owen is creative and imaginative. He is often drawing pictures or diagrams and explaining them to us. He loves to keep tabs on the weather and is often updating us on the forecast – even if it’s for a city in Alaska or Iceland. He is getting old enough that he is requesting more independence. It might be with a chore, a school lesson, or assembling a LEGO set – he wants the chance to do it on his own.

One of my biggest blessings right now is extra time with Owen during his first grade year. I never set out to be a homeschool mom, but now I find myself sitting at the table with him each morning working through our schoolwork. I love learning/teaching alongside him. I love getting to see what makes him excited. He is growing up so much, but he also still brings stuffed animals to snuggle at the table during school or on a drive into town. He also still calls me for extra snuggles at bedtime. He is getting so tall! The taller he grows, the more comical our snuggles become, but I am thankful for all the snuggles I can get!

Owen is a big brother who includes Graham in his play and the two of them are often running wild together. My boys are blessed with a father who includes them in his hobbies. The boys are often outside with Jeremy doing activities such as golfing, hunting, or gardening. On rainy days, you might find them inside playing LEGO video games together for a minutes. I love this little family of ours and for the friendship that we share.

Some of Owen’s favorite things include: Papa Murphy’s cheese pizza, Swedish fish, and the color yellow. He is the reason we are always buying a gallon of milk at the store. He would wear pajamas all day, everyday if we let him. We love this 7 year old so much and we can’t to see what the next year ahead holds for him!

The official birthday morning photograph

Top Golf gave Owen this super yummy sundae with a special birthday message!

Chocolate cake at The Cheesecake Factory

Jumping from rock to rock at Horse Tail Falls

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We have a foundation & a septic system! September 27, 2017

Filed under: Family Time,Parenthood,Selling, Building, Moving,Usborne Books & More,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 2:51 pm

I figured I would start off with my building update. Our foundation is fully finished. Our septic system was put in this week. The back fill should be pushed in around the foundation this week. I’m under the impression that once the back fill is in, Adair will take things over again and move forward with actually building something on the foundation. I long for sub floors and then walls and then a roof. I want our property to go from being “the property” which would imply a piece of land to “the house” – a standing structure that resembles and promises to be a home. Each week we take baby steps forward. Rome and houses aren’t built in a day. Oh, how Jesus has taught me patience.

Life is always full and in a way, I’m grateful for that pace. I’m glad that I started to sell books because it’s given me a good distraction and something to work on while I wait for our home. The book business has been great in September. I think I’ve found my balance with about 6 parties a month. With all of my church and home commitments, I’ve accepted that I won’t be the busiest book lady on the planet, but I enjoy being consistent. I’ve even gotten to a place where if the business fizzled, I would be fine with that. My October and November are full so I don’t anticipate that it will fizzle, but if it did, no worries on my part. I made some money, I grew our home library and I was able to keep busy in a season of waiting.

MOPS is going super well. We had our second meeting on Monday and it was just as splendid as the first! Moms are enjoying themselves and our numbers are fantastic! The childcare situation has started off strong and I’m hoping it will only improve once the learning center is fully up and running. I am grateful and beyond blessed. This last meeting didn’t drain me as much as the first which I am relieved by. After the first meeting and going 150% all in to make MOPS amazing, I was scared that I wouldn’t enjoy attending anymore if it meant I came home dead each time and feeling like I had a hang over the next day. I think it will only get better from here as we settle into our tables and grow that sense of community. Things will become routine. This will all feel normal eventually. God is good and we are seeing the fruits of our labor.

The boys! It’s almost birthday month! Woo hoo! We are less than 2 weeks away from Owen turning 4 and less than a month away from Graham turning 2. Oh my! We are gearing up for a Paw Patrol themed party at the beginning of October. We are adapting to the new schedule of Owen being at preschool three mornings a week and Graham being home with me. Graham is great on his own and plays so nicely. If he isn’t feeling good, he can get a bit clingy, but for the most part, Graham is an easy kiddo on his own. Graham is using all kinds of words now. I was concerned a few months back about his verbal skills, but I’m not anymore. He is getting to be such a “big” boy in what he can say and do. Even though you can tell he is growing, I still expect him to be low on the charts for height and weight. Owen is loving preschool and loving life. It’s one great big adventure for that boy. He sings often and remains very loud in all he does. Owen is constant talker and is full of questions. The last month has held many firsts for him with the big boy bed and starting school. He will move up to a new classroom at church soon and be reunited with one of his best buds, Maci. He can’t wait.

Jeremy has had a full month as well. September is hunting season, so he had a couple of adventures out in the woods. He also had Man Camp at church two weeks ago. He often spends his free time checking on things at the property and doing projects up there. He has assembled his new greenhouse and added gutters to the well house. His next big project is to insulate the well house.

And you’ve already heard about me… boys, MOPS, books. Keeping busy. I chopped off my hair yesterday. It’s the shortest I’ve ever cut it. I’m in a less is more phase and I wanted to spend less time doing my hair during this busy season. My hair stylist was so proud of me for bringing in a picture example (I’ve never done that before) and getting a big girl hair cut. I guess I’ve graduated into adulthood, finally. I’m not usually super brave with my hair, but I decided to try something new. I gave myself the it’s only hair and it will grow back if I don’t like it pep talk. I do like it and I’m glad I forced myself out of my comfort zone.

And there you have it! Life with Scott at the close of September! See you in October!

Visits to the property usually require baths right after them.

Park play date

Park play date

Movie night in Mama’s bed while Daddy was at Man Camp

Movie night in Mama’s bed while Daddy was at Man Camp

Bounce house fun at a family birthday party

Hugs!

Snuggling with Papa and hanging with Keegan (cousin)

Hands On Children’s Museum on the first rainy day of September

Hands On Children’s Museum on the first rainy day of September

Auntie’s first time at the HOCM

While Daddy is out hunting, we make mega-track.

The perk of visiting Daddy at work while Mommy has a meeting.

First official day of fall, collecting leaves!

Bed time snack?

Visit to the zoo with my boys!

Target shenanigans

Exploring the new Taco Bell by the church with friends!

The boys were ready for a very important meeting.

Septic installation! THRILLING!

Another Monday of full tables and wonderful conversation at MOPS! This week we talked about de-cluttering our lives and the peace that brings.

New hair

Pledge leader!

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So Many Things August 22, 2017

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Family Time,Parenthood,Selling, Building, Moving,Simply Me,Travels,Usborne Books & More — Amy Scott @ 1:50 pm

I was just welcoming you to August. Now it’s almost over. Yikes. So this blogging thing. It’s getting harder. I’ve added a lot to my plate the last few months. It makes me sad that my blog isn’t as frequent as before. I love writing. It’s not even an option to give this up. For the few of you that read this blog, I’ll keep at it. I apologize for the gaps and delays.

Our week in Bend with the Scott Clan was fun. The kids had a great time playing together and all being under one roof. My kid didn’t sleep so awesome the first two nights, but the last night was amazing! Graham slept on the air mattress the whole night and didn’t end up in bed with us! Praise the Lord!!! Graham really enjoyed sharing a bed with his brother on this trip and when we came home he kept trying to go down for naps in Owen’s room. It was funny and sweet! The guys got a chance to go golfing together. The girls got a chance to get pedicures, do some window shopping and get lunch on the river. It was a refreshing time!

I’ve been working away on MOPS stuff. I’m feeling good about things. The ducks seem to be coming into a row. nicely I’m praising Jesus and believing for good things. We have one more MOPS summer park play date left. We already have ladies registering for the fall. YAY!

Books have been slower for me this month. When I took the first two weeks of August off, I knew it would mean a slower month. Truthfully, I’ve loved the lacked back pace. I’ve had two parties and did two shifts at a book booth at the SWW Fair. I’ve spent a lot of time building up my September, October, November calendar. It hasn’t been a wasted month by any means.

With less parties to prepare for I’ve been able to focus on other projects. I’ve been slowly collecting items to redecorate the boys’ bedrooms. I’ve happily snagged some great deals over the last few weeks and I feel like a complete plan is coming together for the bedrooms. Now to daydream about bathrooms and the master bedroom. We are supposed to see some action up at the property toward the end of this week or beginning of next week. I’m am anxiously awaiting the foundation being poured. I would do it myself if I could. I want to get going!!! Jeremy and I fully painted the well house and it looks awesome! Jeremy filled in all of the ditches we had dug for water and power. Here’s hoping my next update has pictures of the foundation! Let it be so, Jesus!

We’re also less than two months away from the boys’ birthdays, so I’ve been working on getting party invitations ordered and birthday details nailed down. I’m a planner. Don’t judge. I also started the boys’ yearly photo books last week. I have them up to date through August and formulated so I can easily add the last few pictures needed to complete the year. The books always end with the great birthday celebrations, so I’ll be able to print them soon enough. Just like blogging, making photo books makes my heart happy. Last year I did a little bit each month so it wasn’t too much work. This year I just did it all at one time. I had the time then and there so I thought why not get it done.

And that is about it… We watched the solar eclipse at Bethel with the staff. I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t darker because the sun was 96% covered in Chehalis. On the flip side, I’m totally amazed that 4% of the sun could provide so much light. The temperature did drop. Owen got cold and asked for a coat. It was a neat experience, but not as strange as I thought it was going to be. I’m not a huge fan of crowds, but if I ever get a chance to see a total eclipse in the future, I might take it…

Oh and the Lucy Maud Montgomery summer continues! I read the Pat of Silver Bush series this month. I liked Pat more than I liked Emily Starr. I’ve enjoyed re-reading some of my favorite books, but also reading new ones this summer. I’m trying to decided if I will re-read A Tangled Web next or read for the first time Magic for Marigold. Or I might break from my Canadian friends and go down south with Jen Hatmaker to read her new release, Of Mess and Moxie. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

I think that about sums up life. Vacation. MOPS. UBAM. House. Party Prep. Photo Books. Eclipse. Summer of LM Montgomery. Yep. Keeping the kids alive. Keeping up with my hubby. That’s my life! God is good and we keep moving forward and looking ahead!

Bend 2017

Bend 2017

Bend 2017

Bend 2017

Bend 2017

Bend 2017

Painting the well house

Checking in on Domino!

Spray Park

Playing the piano with Nana

Brownie bakers!

Visiting the fair. Graham was too short for the rides. Poor kiddo.

Working up at the property!

Backyard BBQ with the young families

Watching the eclipse with Bethel Staff!

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Catching You Up! June 15, 2017

Filed under: Family Time,Parenthood,Selling, Building, Moving,Usborne Books & More,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 2:46 pm

Hey all! I will admit that it’s harder to find time to blog these days. The boys are wild and running full steam ahead every waking second. I’m blessed with snuggles and sweet moments in the midst of the boyhood chaos surrounding me. Things are happening at the property. I am giving 150% to my new Usborne book business. And then I have MOPS and friendships and family relationships that I’m trying to keep up with as well. I don’t like being busy. I am very tired. I was thinking today about how there just isn’t enough of me to go around or the age old saying of “there aren’t enough hours in the day.” Today was a day where I tried to multi-task working while the boys were awake and it was insanity. Often, I’m working when the boys are napping or at bedtime. Anytime my kids are asleep, I’m trying to get something done. It’s rewarding. I love the things I’m doing and people that I am investing in, but man, I could use a nap. Instead I’m blogging… naps and blogging are both therapeutic for me, but sadly I can only do one at a time. Maybe I can clone myself…

Okay, so the house. I know that you want house updates. I feel bad because we’re into building season and I would love to chronicle that process in detail here… but that might not happen. Sorry. As you can see I’m loosing my marbles a bit and I have some screws loose and whatever other saying will imply I lack mental clarity. While I get the basic just of building a house, there are parts of the process that I get confused about or don’t know the correct terms. This is not my skill set. Please, keep that in mind as you read my updates. They might include words like “thingamajig” from time to time. Last week we had the home site excavated, our driveway put in and gravel spread over the excavated site. Jeremy, my dad and brother-in-law, spent the weekend assembling the walls of our well houses. The concrete pads weren’t poured yet so the well houses couldn’t go up over the weekend, but they are now as assembled as possible. Once the pads are poured and set, the well houses will be officially assembled. Jeremy is also working on getting the temporary power set up. And our building permits have been submitted to the county. We are still in the site “prep” stage, but we are very close to being fully ready to build. We had a meeting with Adair last week and they were impressed with how far we were in the process and they seemed optimistic that things would move along quickly. I’ll keep you posted so I know more!

As I mentioned, our days have filled with Usborne, MOPS, play dates and zany kids. Things are going well with Usborne. I’m one recruit away from getting my Success Kit #2. I have a couple recruits possibly joining in June because Usborne is running a special where you can join for $50. It’s a fantastic deal and truly an awesome opportunity. MOPS wrapped up last week and I’m in the midst of meetings and reworking paperwork in preparation for the new year. It’s exciting to see it all come together and I am believing great things are in store for our group. This new role has stretched me and grown me. I seem to be in a season doing new things. It’s good, but again, tiring. I’m doing lots of learning and trying to keep up and on top of things.

I think back to the days when I was at home for maybe 2,3,4 days in a row. Maybe unshowered… just chilling with babies and wondering if I’m losing my mind. Now, I kind of miss that. I’ve been out of the house a lot more these days or I’m doing live videos for my business, so the endless days of no showering just aren’t an option… I’m sure it’s better for the world as a whole, but I miss the slower pace and the option of being presentable. Haha… it takes energy! As an introvert, these new roles have me connecting with people all day long and that is taking some getting used to. I’m very much drained by constant communication. This summer is probably going to be the hardest part (I hope). I’m learning new things, we’re building a house, I’m out of my comfort zone in a lot of areas. But new routines will form. I will adapt to the new schedules and new commitments. Everything won’t be “new” forever. I’m learning a new form of endurance. It’s good, but hard. It’s rewarding, but tiring. Doesn’t that sum up life in a nutshell?