emotional
e⋅mo⋅tion⋅al [i-moh-shuh-nl]
–adjective
1. pertaining to or involving emotion or the emotions.
2. subject to or easily affected by emotion.
3. appealing to the emotions.
4. showing or revealing very strong emotions.
5. actuated, effected, or determined by emotion rather than reason.
6. governed by emotion.

uptight
up⋅tight  [uhp-tahyt]
–adjective Slang.
1. tense, nervous, or jittery.
2. annoyed or angry.
3. stiffly conventional in manner or attitudes.

These two words encompass everything that I have been this past week. I can't really explain the reasoning, but everything about me has been emotional and uptight! As I write this I have tears streaming down my cheeks because I know that it's true. I know I'm not perfect, but gosh oh gee, this week I have been as close to EVIL STEP MOTHER as I have ever been! No, I'm not forcing all of my children to do all the chores and locking them in our tower while my hubby and I go to the ball! It's just that our "To Do" list is so enormous and it seems that the time frame we have given ourselves in which to do it is so limited. With preparation for school, for listing our house on the market, for Colin's first year in preschool .. with all of that on our schedule, it seems that we have lost time in which to just be a family! I have lost the ability to control my emotions, but instead they are breaking out like a floodgate's release! I know that this season of crazy emotions will pass, though I was recently reminded of the last time I felt this emotional and the reason for it. To my knowledge, that is not the case!

So, I've been keeping my distance from my blog because I feel like I cannot be an encouragement to others right now, and if I'm not encouraging with my words, why put them up here?! However, I am a real human (despite the fact that my husband thinks I came from another planet!), and I have many human moments. Today, this past week, all of this is one of them.

Please have mercy on me for my lack of blogging. This, too, shall pass :)

I absolutely guarantee you that nobody in the world has in-laws as amazing as mine! Meet Woody and Marion:


Monte's parents who have been so amazing since the moment I met them on Monte's birthday last year (July 24, 2008). They have been kind and loving, they have welcomed me into the family, they have watched our kids so that we could go on a honeymoon as well as a separate vacation to Florida. They invited Colin and I down to their home in Arizona this past March when the transition into being a wife and step-mom on top of just having miscarried my baby was proving to be overwhelming. They continually call to check in on how things are going. They are happy to have me drop by spontaniously when I'm in the neighborhood (did I mention that they live in Minnesota during the summers?).

Why, you might ask, am I telling you all of this? Well, that is because Woody and Marion have topped the charts of amazing in-laws yet again! They graciously showed up at our house today and helped with huge amounts of yard work: lawn mowing, weed pulling (in MASSIVE flower gardens), dock-fixing, and apple orchard cleaning to name a few! They have helped with a huge portion of our fixing-up-to-sell project and I am so grateful for their generosity! I understand that they're family, and in some people's lives family is just "supposed to" do things like that. Not in my life. I don't believe in passing my work off on my family unless they have volunteered themselves. Marion had previously volunteered to help me weed the flower gardens (because, let's be honest, I really don't enjoy flower gardening!), so I decided to take her up on the offer. They came out today so that Woody could come along and offer some additional help. So, during the moments of almost-sunshine and times of pouring rain, they worked side-by-side with me and the kids and accomplished far more than I ever expected!

I write this post entirely to say that I am so grateful for my in-laws and I wouldn't trade my relationship with them for anything. With all of the in-law horror stories you hear prior to being married, I was a little nervous to meet Monte's parents. I can honestly say, though, that they are on the complete opposite end of that spectrum - they are completely phenomenal in-laws!

Woody and Marion, thank you so much for everything you do for our family. You are greatly appreciated and unconditionally loved!

Do you ever feel like you have too much going on, but know that if you don't wait out your busy schedule it's just going to get busier? I'm there. While my family has enjoyed more than our fair share of down time and vacationing, we are also finding that we are in hyper overload to get a lot of things done. When I say a lot, I mean a lot. Wanna see our list? Too bad, you're gonna!

We have to: weed all of our flower gardens (and they're BIG flower gardens that haven't been touched yet this summer), sweep and seal coat our driveway (we do this ourselves - WAY less expensive), clean all of the apples from the ground in the orchard (to prevent making applesauce when I mow), stain the deck, clean the garage (a project three years in the making), paint our back patio, clean all of our windows, seal the sidewalk and back patio, paint our columns, paint the living room, paint the family room ceiling, power wash the house (I attempted this, but our power washer is currently BROKEN), trim the hedge, clean the shed, organize our laundry room (it is currently the unorganized storage room for all the kids art and play projects), clean the hillside down to the lake, fix our dock, fix the path down to the dock, repaint and caulk our master bathroom, super clean and organize our kids' rooms, paint Colin's room, and paint our basement doors.

Did I also mention that we've given ourselves a two-week time limit to get all of this done? Because we have. Why on earth would we do all of that? Well, that would be entirely because we've made the decision to put our house on the market and see if we can sell it. I'm honestly not sure if we're discussing this with people yet, but somehow I feel confident in the fact that I can tell all of you :) The reasoning that we're looking to sell is because we want to live closer to family - to my family, to Monte's family and to Kelley's family. It's a transition that I have been longing for for a long time, but yet somehow I didn't know that it was what I wanted. While we both love this house, it's just not ideal for us if our family is to ever grow (and no, this is not my way to tell you I'm pregnant because I most definitely am not!). Our home has a lot of amazing features, but in the same sense I think we both know that it's time to take the greatness that our house holds and use that in our benefit to see if someone else cares to buy it.

So, if I'm gone from blogging for awhile, just know that it's because I am consumed in the preparation for listing our house on the market, I am consumed with caring for our family and am consumed with getting the kids ready for school.

But enough about me ... how are you?!

I'm back! Since I have absolutely no desire to recap all of the events of our vacation to you, I'm going to keep it short and sweet. The week away was marvelous! We swam, we fished, we went boating, we relaxed, we watched Magnum P.I. and The Andy Griffith Show, we cooked, we washed a LOT of dishes (there was no dishwasher there!), we played games, we had guests over ... basically, we vacationed!

Now that I'm home, I'm ready to jump back into the swing of things. That being said, here are the answers to the questions left in the comments of my last post!

Do you know how much we love you? (This question came from my dear friend, Jolaine)
I absolutely do! I have to say that it would make no sense to me as to why you would read my blog if you didn’t like me - that would be a huge waste of your time!

What clique were you in in High School?
I can honestly say I was never part of a specific clique. I got along with almost everybody. I was friends with the populars, the jocks, the preps, the nerds, the artists, etc. etc. I never found a specific group that fit me. I wasn’t athletic, I wasn’t preppy or popular, I wasn’t a total nerd (though I have always been a nerd at heart!). I was into theatre and drama, but never stuck with a specific group. Perhaps that has something to do with the reasoning as to why I skipped more class than I attended during my senior year of high school?!

What is your least favorite kind of food?
I’m generally not too picky about what I eat; I enjoy most things. I avoid fish/seafood at all costs, but entirely because I’m allergic to it, not necessarily because I don’t like it (though I really couldn’t tell you either way)! I would say that I dislike squash, sweet potatoes and peas. All three of those things are horrible in my mouth!!

Who would you most like to meet (living) and who would you most like to send to China?
I would most like to meet Joyce Meyer, as she is one of my favorite speakers. I had the privilege of hearing her live in St. Paul a couple of years ago and she had my attention from the moment she started speaking! I love her life story, I love her heart for God and I love the way she speaks directly about an issue. She’s an amazing vessel for God and I admire her greatly.

As far as sending someone to China, it would have to be my sister, Tanya, her husband, Martin, and their two kids, Breanna and Dawson. Though I must add that my reason for wanting to send them is not to get rid of them, but so that they can go there and bring home their beautiful (soon-to-be) adopted daughter, Khloe!

If you had $100 cash in your pocket, how would you spend it?
If I were spending it solely on myself, I would either head over to Maurices and get some really cute clothes, or I would call a friend and meet them for dinner at Benihana.

How long did you know you loved your husband before you told him?
Oh man, he would know the answer to this better than I would! Umm … I think it was less than a month. I can honestly say I fell in love with him on our first (non)date, but I didn’t realize it for a couple of weeks. Once I realized it, it took only about another week for me to tell him I wanted to marry him!!

What is your dream job??
I’m in it! My dream has always been to be a wife and a mother – I just love that I get to be the one at home taking care of the happenings in our home! Beyond that, I was born to be an assistant, whether it be an administrative assistant, a business manager, or an assistant to my sister, Tanya, at her business (Restyling Interiors). I’m insanely organized and love coordinating events, so I also thought it would be a blast to be a wedding planner. That being said, I really am good at a lot of things (and I don’t say that to brag, I’m just being honest) and love to be involved in lots of different roles. The best, however, is the one I’m in – I wouldn’t trade it for the world!!

What is your pet peeve and then what is the thing that makes you MOST excited?!
I have a few pet peeves including people who don’t use their turn signals while driving, people who ride your butt when they’re driving behind you, people who read your computer screen while you’re using it (Claire does this a LOT!) and people who are generally rude. However, on the opposite side of that, the thing that makes me most excited is being at home with my family. I just LOVE being at home; my house is the most comfortable place in the world (to me)! On top of that, it’s even better if my extended family is with us, too!!