Well, it’s been more than a year since I’ve written here.
And a lot happened in the last year.
WHAT WE DID, BETWEEN JUNE 2017 & JUNE 2018:
Through our extended family, we’ve experienced some life-changing pain– the death of two grandparents, and my brother went through an unexpected divorce. They married the same year we did, and though we weren’t able to see them as often as we’d have liked, for 17 years, I expected that we’d grow old– celebrating holidays and graduations and weddings and welcoming grandchildren– together. Having not experienced divorce before, it really knocked me sideways to suddenly have something that seemed solid evaporate overnight.
Between these unexpected challenges, the demands of normal life, and other difficulties we’ve faced, I’ve experienced a lasting sorrow and heaviness unlike anything I’ve felt before.
We also found out we were pregnant with baby #9 last fall, and had our 8th precious son, Gus, in June. {more pictures below} It’s been a harder recovery than any of the others, but I love love love him and am glad he’s ours!
Some highlights:
- Last summer, since we couldn’t do a full circuit of Mount Rainier, as we had done in 2016, we day-hiked a 17-mile section of the Wonderland Trail and it was (of course) majestic, invigorating, and lovely.
- We went on a 5,000-mile road trip with our 8 kids, ages 15 – 10 months. On that road trip, we saw family in Texas and Kansas, attended a Biblical counseling conference, and visited Bryce Canyon NP, Lake Powell/Lone Rock State Park, Grand Canyon NP, Horseshoe Bend Trail in AZ, Waterholes Hike in AZ, Slide Rock State Park, Crater of Diamonds (none of us found a diamond; bummer!), and Mesa Verde NP. It was a whirlwind– really memorable, really tiring, and a wonderful time together as a family.
- Doug & I did a 30-day Keto cleanse. (