photoblog

catch the moment: wk 27

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

Last week’s post ended in a rather sad way, with me sharing that my aunt had passed away and we that were preparing for her funeral.

183/365: Thursday, July 2nd. Getting through the day at work on Wednesday was difficult as my mind was anywhere but on my job duties. I spent Thursday with my mother and grandmother, remembering my Aunt Sandy and other relatives we’d lost. I had not yet seen my grandfather’s grave so we visited the cemetery where so many family members I never met are buried. It was some much needed, rare, and very therapeutic family time. I learned that my grandpa’s brother had died after getting hit by a train at age 22. How have I lived 35 years and never heard that story? It’s strange, walking through a cemetery. You can literally feel pain there. Every stone, every name represents so many stories and such sorrow. With my already sad mood, it was a somber experience that wasn’t taken lightly.07-02-2015

184/365: Friday, July 3rd. Just before the viewing and funeral. None of us wanted to go in there, but we did. It was a beautiful tribute to a beautiful person.  We stayed the night at a hotel since the burial was early the next morning.07-03-2015

185/365: Saturday, July 4th. After the burial, we ate lunch with family and then headed an hour and a half or so west back to my house. My sister and her family came to stay with us Saturday night. We grilled out, walked to the park, and later stood in the driveway watching the neighbors shooting off fireworks from side. I love watching fireworks, but it shocks me how much people spend on them. Oh well – we appreciated the show!07-04-2015 186/365: Sunday, July 5th. Since my family ended up in Indiana instead of us being in TN for the 4th like we’d planned, we tried to make the most of it. We got the inflatable water slide out on Sunday. The kids had a blast. I couldn’t have kept count of how many times my nephew Malachi went down if I wanted to. I love having my family here. I love them being in my house. I love cooking for them. I hate that we live 6 hours apart. Oh, this day was also our 12th wedding anniversary! See day 187…07-05-2015

187/365: Monday, July 6th. Ryan had told me Sunday that his parents were coming up Monday night so that we could go out for a nice dinner. I was so excited! We don’t get many date nights so they really are special times that I look forward to when we are able to talk and reconnect without distractions. I was so thankful for the surprise and for my in-laws agreeing to come up and watch the boys for a few hours. After dinner we went to a couple of furniture stores and the mall.07-06-2015

188/365: Tuesday, July 7th. Seeing this beautiful old house turned schoolhouse when I drop off and pick up the boys at summer camp never gets old. Still decked out for the 4th of July. 07-07-2015

189/365: Wednesday, July 8th. Typical array of toys strewn through the house while big imaginations are running wild with make-believe play.07-08-2015My mood has definitely improved again as the week has gone on, despite having a constant ache in my heart for my uncle and my cousins who lost their wife/mom last week. Grief is such a hard journey that we all go through at some point but I’d never wish on anyone.

Which photo is your favorite this week? They are all special to me.

xo,

~C~

Linking up with Mindi,Stephanie, and Carrie for week 27 of Catch the Moment 365.

catch the moment: wk 26|halfway point

Gallery posted on by mommyinthemidwest

It’s official – 2015 is halfway over. Hard to believe.

This week has, if I’m being honest, sucked. It’s had some positive moments that you will see below but for the most part, it’s been stressful and sad. I lost my Aunt Sandy to cancer. She had been receiving treatments for a few months but suddenly took a turn for the worst and passed away Tuesday. Additionally, Dexter has a new skin rash. He is on a strong antibiotic that isn’t working, which tells me he probably shouldn’t be on it. But here it is, the holiday weekend, and I feel stuck. I want to stop giving it to him but don’t want to compromise his healing if it is actually doing something. I’m frustrated with Dexter’s skin for giving him so much trouble. I’m frustrated with doctors for not trying harder to figure out what’s going on. I’m tired of worrying about him all the time. I was able to spend the day with my mom and grandma today, which was greatly needed and appreciated. This weekend will be hard as we say our final goodbyes to Aunt Sandy. Death is never easy, but this solemn reminder of how short life is has hit me hard. I shared some of our visits with her and her alpacas in previous posts like THIS ONE.

Linking up with Mindi,Stephanie, and Carrie for week 26 of Catch the Moment 365.

176/365: Thursday, June 25th. Ryan’s beard sure was getting long. And I didn’t love it. So scratchy. The boys didn’t seem to mind.06-25-2015

177/365: Friday, June 26th. All that growing out for this….he agreed to do this along with another Tough Mudder teammate of his. He completed the course the next day and shaved his face on Sunday! Win – win. This is his “you’re not gonna put this on your blog, are you?” face. YEP!06-26-2015

178/365: Saturday, June 27th. We went to this little cutie’s 2nd birthday party while daddy was in Kentucky getting all muddy. I’ll take treats and sparkles over getting electrocuted (on purpose…what?) any day. 06-27-2015

179/365: Sunday, June 28th. We’d had nothing but rain, rain, rain for what felt like all summer but the sun finally came out and Sunday was a perfect day to take the boys to a baseball game with some friends. 06-28-2015

180/365: Monday, June 29th. Dexter at the doctor after I picked him up from camp and noticed the new rash on his arms and legs.06-29-2015

181/365: Tuesday, June 30th. After receiving the news that my aunt had taken her final breaths, I just wanted to be alone. I’d felt irritable and sad all week and needed some time to walk and think and just be. 06-30-2015

182/365: Wednesday, July 1st. The buddies whispering about the Lego creations they dream of building while looking through a Lego ideas book they picked out at the library. These two. 07-01-2015I hope you have a good 4th.

xo,

~C~

 

 

catch the moment: Wk.24

Posted on by mommyinthemidwest

What a week! It’s been a blur of nonstop activity; a balanced mix of fun and obligation. But another week has flown by, nonetheless, and we’re almost to the halfway point of 2015 already. This week I finished up my series of recaps from our Walt Disney World vacation last month, including how we celebrated Dexter’s birthday and our last couple of days. I’m glad to be caught up on the posts but it’s just made me want to plan our next trip!! I love distracting myself with thoughts of my family making even more fun memories and having new adventures. Oh, daydreams. Back to reality – this summer (which technically has not even started as I write this post) is zipping by. We have plans almost every weekend in the foreseeable future, despite my attempts to keep some of our time free. That’s okay – it will just take us a little longer to get those pesky household projects done.

162/365: Thursday, June 11th. It was a hot, humid afternoon so I was surprised that the boys wanted to go out into the backyard and “hunt bugs,” but we did. We were only out there 5 minutes before Theo asked if we could explore the trails at a nearby park. So we walked to the park and took our time, tossing rocks in the creek and looking for bugs. It was a really fun nature walk and they didn’t complain at all about walking so far. P.S. I made sure to let Ryan know he’d be picking us up at the park before we made the long-for-little-legs journey. My Fitbit loved it and so did I.06-11-2015

163/365: Friday, June 12th. We had a quick and ferocious storm blow through our town Friday night and at about 7pm, we went outside to check out the damage. We had a few large tree limbs snap in the wind and zillions of sticks on the driveway and in the yard. We felt extremely lucky that none of it damaged our home. 06-12-2015

164/365: Saturday, June 13th. We met up with friends at Children’s Museum Indianapolis. I think I posted a picture of one or both of them playing in this sand the last time we went, but the light in this room is so nice that I couldn’t resist. And look at these bros, they are so cute – when they’re getting along. 06-13-2015

165/365: Sunday, June 14th. I was too busy having fun floating around on a raft with a drink in my hand to worry about taking pictures at the lake but this was the aftermath around 6pm. I felt very much the same! Being in the sun all day zapped the whole family.06-14-2015

166/365: Monday, June 15th. Cue the “it’s late, I forgot to take a picture, and I don’t care” photo. But seriously. This deserves to be documented. That get well soon balloon is from Dexter’s hospital stay April 29th – 30th. 7 weeks later and still going strong! The rest are from our little birthday celebration for Dexter on 5/30. Good thing I paid extra for “high float” so they’d last up to 48 hours. 06-15-2015

167/365: Tuesday, June 16th. Random, yes, but I just love the door to the building where we drop off the boys for summer camp. It’s a charming and stunning old house. I especially love the character of the chipped, layered red paint.06-16-2015

168/365: Wednesday, June 17th. The McDan Fam just upped the ante on our home fitness! These Bowflex weights are adjustable from 5 to 52.5 pounds apiece. They arrived today and they are awesome! 06-17-2015

This week, my favorite photos are the ones of Theo and Dexter playing in the sand and the doorknob. What’s your favorite?

I’m linking up with Mindi,Stephanie, and Carrie for week 24 of Catch the Moment.

xo,

~C~