Year 5, Week 33-35: Back to Life

Hello! We are back! I am quite thrilled to say that we are mostly back to normal right now after our crazy time last report. 

Week 33: February 26th - March 3rd

We got together with the Henmans on Monday - which was a real treat! They brought pizza and we just relaxed, spent some time outside, it was a beautiful, pleasant day and we were thoroughly blessed by our time. Tuesday I worked and Jonathan and the kids had normal days.

On Wednesday I got a ton of stuff done. We went to the doctor for Baby William since he still had a little cough, then stopped at Mom and Dad's to get the rest of our pig. After that, we ran to the library for story time, came back, ate, did nap time, I made muffins and then we had small group! It was a bit of a whirlwind but all worthwhile stuff for sure! It was a day that felt productive for sure, I even got lasagna soup prepped for Thursday!

We had NAET on Thursday which is always a lot, but we got back in pretty good time this round! Jonathan and Dad had a work evening upstairs working on our master suite and we decided with Mom to see Grandma and on our way we swung in to get a new dryer because of course mine decided it was done working! Now I have a matching one for my washer! It ended up being an absolutely fantastic evening; the kids had a blast and seeing Grandma was great.

On Friday I worked a short day then we had leftovers for supper. These days always go really quickly! The weekend was a little crazy, we went to maple syrup then came back and put the babies down for nap. It was great to spend time together and get stuff done in the afternoon and evening. I made Polish meatballs, mashed potatoes and corn for supper, we enjoyed some time together in the evening and we enjoyed our time on Sunday as well! I finally got to go to church and spent a lot of time with the babies!

Week 34: March 4th - March 10th

This was the week that I worked long days Monday and Tuesday, so I missed out on seeing the Bakers, but thankfully the rest of my family got to go! Amelia was so excited and I heard all about it on Wednesday. They had a great time. It was a short visit given the timing but always good to see the people we love! Tuesday was normal and Jonathan brought them in to see me. Jonathan got some cleaning and packing done while I was at work after the kids went to bed.

Wednesday was our last small group, which was a bummer because we so enjoy spending time with all of them! We had pizza, hung out and enjoyed our time together! I got laundry done throughout the day, made some snacks and had a doctor's appointment in the afternoon. It was a crazy day, but we made the most of it and surely got a lot done! In the evening we got everything ready to pack up for the next day. This was ALSO the day the William decided he was going to walk...he hasn't stopped since! Little wild man!

Thursday was wild. I spent the morning getting myself and the kids packed up for our trip to Tennessee and Jonathan worked...it was a bit of a long trip, but we made it. We left around 12 and William napped a little bit, then we had lunch at 1:30 and they did great until we asked Amelia to nap, that was responded with a pretty quick no. Our last stop was Chipotle for supper, it was a great choice because everyone loved it and it was actually healthy! There were then some more sleep battles before we finally got them both to crash around 8:30, we arrived around 10...it was great to finally be there and the kids were glad to get to run around for a little while before bed and they slept great!

Our visit to TN was great! We went to the park on Friday morning and the kids had such a great time. Amelia was super adventurous and did a great job, they rode bikes and had a great time. We all slept for at least a little bit of nap time - the kids did great. For supper we had hibachi for take-out, which was delicious. We don't ever get it around here so it was such a treat for us! After the kids went to bed we played Sushi Go, which was on theme for the evening since we had hibachi!

We had so much fun at the park we wanted to go back, but it was rainy on Saturday, so we went shopping instead! They have some nice little thrift stores around their place so we had a great time and got some clothes for the babies. When we got home everyone took naps! It felt so wonderful and we were all ready to go when we got up. We relaxed for a minute and then we went in to Pigeon Forge to Old Mill for supper. It was such a cute little place to eat! Next time we got visit we are going to go explore the little village too! Once we got home we put the kids to bed and then played Vegas! It was great to play some easy, fun games so we could still chat. 

Sunday morning we headed out early, which worked a lot better then Friday did. We didn't stop until lunch at Arby's, then hopped back on the road and had a pretty good trip! We got home around 6, the kids both napped for at least a quick second and we didn't run into any big challenges.

Week 35: March 11th - 17th

Monday was wild, I had to do some grocery shopping but didn't want to take the kids anywhere, so I left during nap, got groceries and came back to William being awake and ready to roll! Now our fridge and freezer are both full! I made some creamy bacon mushroom pasta for supper and really nailed it this time - it's always been missing something, but I got everything in the right order this time and seemed to get the timing perfect.

It was another normal day on Tuesday, then we got to hang out with the Henman family on Wednesday after library time, so it was a great day! I got quite a few things done during nap time and finally felt a little bit caught up. Then we planted our first 2 fruit trees in the evening. It was a gorgeous day outside and we made the most of it. Thursday was a Yoder's for dinner night, then Jonathan went to band and we went to visit Mom and Dad for the evening. Then I worked on Friday, but I was off on Saturday!

On Saturday we got a lot done and enjoyed a whole day at home! Jonathan worked on the house in the morning, we walked, we had a great afternoon as a family, it was a fantastic day. For supper we had creamy sausage pasta, plus I made granola to get that restocked and then I made casserole for the next week. Sunday I did have to work and Jonathan played at church, then worked on the house. I brought supper home and we had a great night as a family. 

It has been a wild few weeks and we are thankful for the crazy and the calm. Hopefully headed for a little bit more home time in the next few weeks, lots of stuff going on with the house and so much more to do! Thanks for loving us and keeping up with our life.

Love,

Jonathan, Allison, Amelia and William