Sleep has not taken me over yet, so I thought I'd write a few things that were on my mind.
Three years ago I was a brand new mother to adorable twin boys. I was a diligent, patient, tired mom. I gave it 110% of my heart and physical body. Days were exhausting; Matt would be at work from Tuesday-Friday on a trip and I longed for his return. I felt home bound since leaving our little apartment was such a chore. I found sanity in our double stroller and going on walks, over to Busch's grocery store, the pet store, and Great Harvest all of which were right across our parking lot in the strip mall and a do-able distance away with infants. Dad was so, so sick and gave us a huge scare being in the ICU and septic. He pulled through, miraculously, and the details of that summer are kind of a blurr, but the feelings were vivid. I felt joy with my new little family and oh-so-tired at the same time.
Two years ago those newborns turned one! We had just bought our first house in Saline, Michigan and could not wait to nestle in there. We spent hours outside in our new backyard on the swing set and running around in the grass. I was taking an intense summer school class and trying to finish up my BSN online program. I made a big effort to get my body back in shape and work out regularly. We took an awesome vacation to Hilton Head and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Life was settling in for us and I was enjoying it. We talked about our future and what we saw ahead. What we didn't see was another pregnancy....
One year ago Eli joined our family! He has been a blessing every day since. We adore him. Jake and James were starting to talk and we loved hearing the catchy 'mo' meat, back seat' from Jake. It felt like I had 3 babies (ok, so we did) and I was so stressed at times. Eli lived in the baby bjorn for the first 4 months of his life and didn't make a peep about it! Too many needs, not enough hands. We knew leaving the country was coming up soon but I had my hands so full at home that I didn't do much about
it. It would just happen when it happened. And so it did. We were all heart broken to leave our utopian
home and life in Saline. The Middle East was calling and we were up for the adventure and hoped it would live up to our expectations.
Today we dropped Matt off at the airport, ate dates, applied sunscreen (twice), and played at the indoor compound jungle gym. Doha has been good to us. It was a hard move to make but Matt and I both feel confident that we made the right decision. Eli is one year old and absolutely perfect! Runs everywhere and gets into drawers and cupboards all day long. Jake and James are 3 and potty training is nearly complete. They are happy, friendly, smart, affectionate little boys. I love to just be around them, observe, and play along. I have enjoyed finding new things to go see and do in the region and
beyond. Travel makes me giddy. Matt is happy professionally and flies to exotic places and comes back with funny stories and awesome pictures. My patience and temper is tried often with
disciplining Jake and James, but always with undertones of love. I worry about the crazy driving, quality of the water, acceptance into private schools, and pool safety. One of these days I will sleep through the night again.
Until then, I'm trying to appreciate my ordinary, blessed, happy, healthy life that I call mine.
Three years ago I was a brand new mother to adorable twin boys. I was a diligent, patient, tired mom. I gave it 110% of my heart and physical body. Days were exhausting; Matt would be at work from Tuesday-Friday on a trip and I longed for his return. I felt home bound since leaving our little apartment was such a chore. I found sanity in our double stroller and going on walks, over to Busch's grocery store, the pet store, and Great Harvest all of which were right across our parking lot in the strip mall and a do-able distance away with infants. Dad was so, so sick and gave us a huge scare being in the ICU and septic. He pulled through, miraculously, and the details of that summer are kind of a blurr, but the feelings were vivid. I felt joy with my new little family and oh-so-tired at the same time.
Two years ago those newborns turned one! We had just bought our first house in Saline, Michigan and could not wait to nestle in there. We spent hours outside in our new backyard on the swing set and running around in the grass. I was taking an intense summer school class and trying to finish up my BSN online program. I made a big effort to get my body back in shape and work out regularly. We took an awesome vacation to Hilton Head and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Life was settling in for us and I was enjoying it. We talked about our future and what we saw ahead. What we didn't see was another pregnancy....
One year ago Eli joined our family! He has been a blessing every day since. We adore him. Jake and James were starting to talk and we loved hearing the catchy 'mo' meat, back seat' from Jake. It felt like I had 3 babies (ok, so we did) and I was so stressed at times. Eli lived in the baby bjorn for the first 4 months of his life and didn't make a peep about it! Too many needs, not enough hands. We knew leaving the country was coming up soon but I had my hands so full at home that I didn't do much about
it. It would just happen when it happened. And so it did. We were all heart broken to leave our utopian
home and life in Saline. The Middle East was calling and we were up for the adventure and hoped it would live up to our expectations.
Today we dropped Matt off at the airport, ate dates, applied sunscreen (twice), and played at the indoor compound jungle gym. Doha has been good to us. It was a hard move to make but Matt and I both feel confident that we made the right decision. Eli is one year old and absolutely perfect! Runs everywhere and gets into drawers and cupboards all day long. Jake and James are 3 and potty training is nearly complete. They are happy, friendly, smart, affectionate little boys. I love to just be around them, observe, and play along. I have enjoyed finding new things to go see and do in the region and
beyond. Travel makes me giddy. Matt is happy professionally and flies to exotic places and comes back with funny stories and awesome pictures. My patience and temper is tried often with
disciplining Jake and James, but always with undertones of love. I worry about the crazy driving, quality of the water, acceptance into private schools, and pool safety. One of these days I will sleep through the night again.
Until then, I'm trying to appreciate my ordinary, blessed, happy, healthy life that I call mine.
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