Weekly Wind Down {Hard Week with Long Hours, Saturday Family, Broken Toe!?, Ear Infection} June 26-July 2

The week was a modge podge of Mike working an insane amount of hours, me at the end of my momming rope doing it alone for most of the week, everyone trying to make the best of it, and hot days meaning we spent the evenings outside after it cooled off a bit so bedtimes were repeatedly late.

Here are the highlights in pictures and video....

A long walk after everyone had chiropractic adjustments to help us from getting stiff.

We grabbed Domino's and had pizza at the park before Natalee's horse show on Monday evening.

The horse show was beautiful.  How we do love this girl.

I tried to get out of my feelings and be intentional with our time.  Snuggle up and read.  Playing catch and jumping on the trampoline.  Not just watching (though there isn't anything wrong with sittervising) but participating.  Sometimes that is hard when there are still meals to clean up and showers to give.

Some educational activities happened everyday.  Games, iPad fast facts, lots of reading.

This book has individual puzzles of every state.  Zayden took them out one by one and pieced all the states together.  It took him hours and equally as long to put back in the book.  So pleased with his attention!

Zayden has been having a terrible time with his allergies and has a nasty ear infection that we're not sure how long he's had.  We're working on getting him cleared up, but in the meantime his hearing is greatly diminished.  He used to be able to sit across the room and color or work a puzzle when I was doing read alouds but now he sits at my shoulder and reads the works on the pages while I read aloud.  If you wanted to declare a prayer for him to get better, we'd take that.  He's a trooper but we know God cares about little boy's ears.

Xavier banged up his toe this week.  We don't think it is broken after all (weren't sure initially) but it took several days of healing and he still has a limp.  He played sit down catch and read a lot of books.  It's been hard on him to be still and recover.

She called me in to wipe her one morning and when I got there she was looking at me exactly like this and I lost it.  She's hilarious and is the chuckle I need everyday if I just let myself appreciate her.  Her brother's old glasses....

Appointments this week included hippotherapy for Natalee and speech for Ameliya.

Evalynn and I read a chapter of Brambly Hedge and then she practiced on her balance bike during Natalee's session.

Ameliya is ready to go to every other week for speech.  Way to go, Mia!  She's working so hard.

Xavier got new Yankees bedding from Nannie & Vance and Lauren & Lance.  I've never seen a pre-teen boy so excited to make his bed!  He really does love it and I'm happy for him to have a bit more individualization.  I remind myself there's nothing wrong with sharing rooms, but it is bittersweet sometimes to not be able to give our kids their own space.  Having their own individual likes recognized eases that a bit.

Natalee made oobleck during her Friday zoom appointment.  She wasn't too sure about how it felt.

By Friday afternoon I was kind of fried and having a pity party.  Mike had worked until after I went to bed at midnight the night before and I knew he wasn't going to make it home this night either (he worked until I think 2:30) and so we turned on Little House on the Prairie and they watched four episodes straight in a row.  That's a lot of TV for the Beelers.  We did get outside for four hours later in the evening to counteract that sludge time.

On Saturday we went to Missouri.  I needed to drop off jars and things at mom's so we took lunch along out to her and then went over to my cousin Shayna's for the afternoon and evening.  We visited, the kids played hard, and I got to catch up with family, including my cousin Brooke.  It was a good day.  I offered to go alone and give Mike the day at home, but he had missed us and opted to come along.  He did get a cat nap in at mom's.

It smelled like my Grandma Mary's when I walked into mom's!  She was making pickles.  Papa Curtis was out picking up some equipment much to especially Evie's dismay.

Shayna has a pool!  Zayden didn't get out once he got in.  Hours of fun.  The others swam a long time but he lasted the longest of my kids.  Evalynn dipped her toe in and said nooooo way.

Eli, Brooke's oldest, and Zayden

Evie appreciated that she could charm anyone into giving her schnacks.  "I love schnacks, mom."

Aunt Joanna, Uncle Pat, Shayna.....anyone would give her exactly what she wanted.

Xavier, Landyn (Shayna's son), and Zander (Brooke's son)

My bravest mama friend.  So grateful Brooke is my cousin but more importantly that she chooses to be my friend.  She loves us exactly the way we are.  She chooses to bless us even in the face of her own sorrow and I hope she feels our love in the same way.

More food, Ev?  Uncle Pat gave you all the kinds of chips?  Shocking (wink).

Brooke's husband, Micah, was a dear to Evie.  After she'd worn her own parents about through, he took a turn meeting her demands.

Family and a view...

Thanks for a fun day, Shayna!

"Hey kids, get together with your cousins and let's take a picture."

One of the kids says, "who's our cousins?" 

LOL

All of you.  All of you are cousins.  Assemble.

Saturday was a really good ending to a loooonnnggg week.  Totally worth getting home at 11:30 and to bed after midnight.