Thank God for Vacations :)

Y’all it has been a crazy couple of months!  Almost 8wks ago Kevin had the Doctors re-break his leg.  That lovely leg that he broke almost 20 years ago.  The one that snapped straight in half on a basketball court in Arizona, that was likely the driving factor that brought him home to Michigan and ultimately had our paths cross several years after that.   I love that leg for making our paths cross, but its not my favorite recently.   He rolled his ankle a year ago at a trampoline park, endured growing pain for a year, and finally made the appointment to have it officially reset it.

Kevins leg

For the first 2-3wks I would say I was a model nurse/wife.  Managing his meds, attending to his needs, doing everything I could to keep four kids ‘peaceful’  (as if that’s even remotely possible).  The original plan was for the cast to be on for 2-3 wks then he would transition to a walking boot.  Imagine our surprise when he came back from that initial follow-up with a full on cast for the following 7wks, which would just so happen to overlap with our previously planned BEACH vacation.  I rallied pretty well.  When there is nothing that can be done, I’m usually fairly quick to see that whining/complaining isn’t going to help.

We are now one week out from that next follow up.   Praise Jesus.  My house is DESTROYED.  Going to work was a trick to manage on crutches, so Kevin has been working from home basically everyday.  With the rest of us.   ALL of us.  Six people, together, everyday, in just over 2000 sq. feet.   When only one of those 6 individuals is capable of cleaning up after the other 5, 4 of whom could qualify as professional mess makers, the odds are seriously stacked against me.  Oh, and did I mention that our babysitter has been out sick for almost the last month.   I basically had a nervous breakdown on the phone with my little sister last week.  I was trying to answer a few emails that had piled up as a result of being out on vacation, and when I lifted my eyes, there was no clean surface for them to fall on.   I got up to get a glass of water, and crunched 2-3 Cheerios to dust in the 10 steps to the sink, which was overflowing with dishes…. again.    I was dramatically under-prepared for how proficient my children would prove at mess making.

Thankfully, back in September, I stumbled across this event that occurred this past weekend.  Jen Hatmaker, one of my all time favorite writers/bloggers/best friends that hasn’t met me yet, happened to be coming to my area for a mom’s conference.  Naturally I bought a ticket, given I was convinced this would be the event at which she realized what kindred spirits we were, and I would promptly be invited to the subsequent Supper Club.  The event couldn’t have come at a better time, it provided visual relief from the onslaught of destruction that is my home, with the bonus kicker of not having a child hang off me or anyone ask me for something for a solid 36hrs!  The fatal flaw to my original plan of convincing her we were destined besties, is that when I was finally face to face with her I was so star struck, I basically forgot my own name.

Julie and Jen

I’m not kidding y’all, it was bad.  For someone that generally doesn’t struggle in the least with an abundance of words, I couldn’t find any.  I had a big ‘ol goofy grin, and basically said something to the effect of, ‘Hi, I think you’re awesome.  I used to live in Austin too.  I like your house, it’s cool.  The finale of Parenthood made me cry too.’   Yep…. Terrible.  There were two opportunities to meet her.   Friday night was the photo op, and I realized other people were giving her little trinkets; a bottle of wine, the DVD season of Gilmore girls, cards, etc.   At first while watching them hand them to her in line, I was all Judgy McJudgerton….. Until it was my turn for the picture and my claim to fame was the aforementioned TERRIBLE sentence.   Fast forward to the book signing on Saturday, and I had drafted my own little card to give her, which turned out to be fortunate because as soon as I stood in front of her again, despite rehearsing what I wanted to say, all that came out was “I’m kinda star struck by you, so here”, and I thrust the card at her, and continued to smile like a total goob.  You know its bad when the person’s response is, “Don’t worry, I’ve acted a total fool in book signing lines before too, you’re not the only one.”   On the plus side, Jen and I retain our kindred spirits in that we’re both capable of acting like a total fool, the downside…. Fool —–> Me…. right in front of my destined bestie?!?   It might take longer than I had originally imagined for her to realize how perfect we are for each other 🙂

The only other things you have missed is pictures, and there were some beauties in Florida.  We had a great time.  Perfect weather, I got to catch up with so many fun friends that have moved out of the area, and one of my best friends from High School lives in Florida now as well, so we got a chance to catch up on afternoon as well.  We also got a chance to spend a few days with my Dad and Grandparents, which was REALLY special having four generations at the beach, and getting to hog them ALL to ourselves, which is rare given our living further away.  Basically the synopsis of the pictures is my boys are turning into men, and I have NO idea how this is happening right under my nose, and Selah couldn’t be any cuter if she tried?!?FLA2

Not a terrible view for a week 😉

 

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My friend Kate and her family moved to FLA last year, they joined us for a pool day our first day down there

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Seriously…. Baby girl bathing suits might be the cutest thing EVER?!?

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If only I could bottle the combination of sun and water….. I’d be a millionaire!

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Boogie Boarding with Crazy Papi
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Grammie Summers…  I’ve got some pretty fabulous genes to grow into!FLA9

AJ….. There just aren’t words for that one 🙂FLA10

Four Generations of beach lovers!  Such an amazing memory!!FLA11

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Seven years and one week between these two…. I blinked and he’s holding her, how does that happen?!?
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One of my besties from H.S., Carrie and I catching up poolside on our last day of vacay.FLA15

An epic thunder/lighting storm was our departing gift from Ft. Lauderdale, so beautiful and powerful.
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The Provo family, friends from the DC Metro area that moved to Charelston, SC last year hosted us for an overnight stop on the way down and back, allowing us to break up the drive and catch up with them.  So fun reconnecting and meeting their sweet new love, Baby Mae!

Things don’t stop moving round here though, so we’re busy with the boys in soccer now…. which somehow I got finagled into coaching, don’t ask me how…. There was some confusion around roles/responsibilities and a broken leg messing up the timing of everything.  Their end of year testing was last week, to prove proof of progress to the district, so we’re waiting on those results while we finish up a few weeks of math, reading, and writing.  We’re looking forward to a fun summer, and hope to make many of you part of it!!!   LOVE!!!

Whatcha think???? I'd love to know!