catching up on photo challenge...

Yes, yes, I know.

I'm an awful blogger. I can't seem to keep a regular posting schedule. See, there's this thing called life, and it's pulling me at so many different directions. And I guess "blog" direction just needs a little more pull to keep up with the others.

No worries. It'll be alright...

Shall we catch up on the photo challenge?

Day 8 "sleep": this pup up to her hiding antics...just muffles her snore

Day 9 "holidays": can I just say, as much as I'm not ready for the full on holiday
marathon that we are about to embark on, I am getting pretty excited
about all the family we will see this year, including a trip back to Kansas... :)

Day 10 "kindness": finally got around to watching this movie...despite the tears
and harsh realities that can come in life, I just want to savor this kind of love:
"There are infinite numbers between 0 and 1. There's .1 and .12 and .112 and an infinite collection of others.
Of course, there is a bigger infinite set of numbers between 0 and 2, or between 0 and a million. Some infinities are bigger
than other infinities. A writer we used to like taught us that. There are days, many of them, when I resent the sir of my unbounded set. I want more numbers than I'm likely to get, and God, I want more numbers for Augustus Waters than he got. But, Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn't trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful."

Day 11 "friendship": I will never forget meeting Sasha in nursing school. We were practicing bed changes and transfers in our first semester....and we were the only ones that could not stop laughing. Fast forward through the early morning car rides to clinical sites and library days spent studying side effects of Dilantin. That began a special, unique friendship that endured the emotional roller coaster that is nursing. I am so thankful to call her friend...and though I can't stand the miles that separate us, I know that we will always be the best of friends...kindred spirits...always :)

Day 12 "music": with more time that passes, the more I have come to appreciate indie music. I get to a point that I can't stand the cliche tunes on the radio that get over played and idolized. Why should I let other people decide what my favorite song/s are? I like to go out and hunt. Back in the day I'd buy CD's or a cassette tape of a band and would find some hidden song in there that no radio station ever played and it got to be my own. I loved that. Now I'm a loyal Indie fan, thankful for Pandora to help me discover hidden sounds and lyrics with select "Indie" stations. Pixies, The Shins, Punch Brothers, Beta Radio, Ratatat, Vampire Weekend, Iron & Wine...Don't get me wrong, I still have a place in my heart for Katy Perry, Fall Out Boy, Kenny Chesney...and maybe I was bringing it back to the 90s with some Beck today. I guess when it comes to music I'm versatile, but damn do I like a stray tune...

Day 13 "time": I always struggle with this...trying to make more hours in the day. I guess what I'm finding out is that time is what we make it. Quality over quantity...like making salt dough ornaments on a Monday night to see your kid's smile the next morning when they're done...

Day 14 "creativity": I've always tried to light the creativity fire to keep the flame going...if I feel it's starting to dwindle to embers I panic, gather more supplies and become engrossed in a pyro fantasy with higher flames, and hotter coals. If I'm not creating within some part of myself I'm unsettled and uneasy...it's the cycle that keeps the heart warm, and the night less dark

Day 15 "family": I've always considered myself a very lucky person when it comes to family. Parents that loved and gave all they had, a brother and sister who always make me laugh, and not to mention the fantastic grandparents and now my extended family-Mark's family-who opened their arms to me and invited me into their hearts. But when I think of family, I can't help but mention this little crew that Mark and I have. Caleb and Katelynn: you have made this life for us an undeniable heaven. In my wildest dreams I could not have pictured the beauty of cinnamon roll breakfasts, fridge art masterpieces, living room break dance contests, paper sack puppet shows, bedtime stories, car ride sing-a-longs, playground imaginations, and earth-shatering I love you'd. I am humbled and grateful for it all...

Day 16 "inspiration": sometimes when I get frustrated with opposing schedules, one income, and weeks that "stress" can't describe, I look at this to remember that we are on a grand adventure....and we will look back on these days and smile

Day 17 "weather": working today did not lend itself to an opportunity to snap a picture of the outside world....however, I will share one of my favorite quotes

Day 18 "change": one of my favorite quotes...we are capable of our own changes and therefor our mark on the world...

Day 19 "laughter": when you have kids you have so much laughter living in your home...Like this bag Katelynn created, "get it! Just kitten', just kidding!"

That's all for now! Hope everyone's week is starting out well :)

midterms

I have a paper to write.

A puppy to be walked.

Dishes are pilling. Laundry is wrinkled. Errands are striking. To-do list is retreating.

All coming to a head, otherwise known as midterm. When survival mode meets "get by"and when all seems like it will be lost. Otherwise known as "I'm losing my mind!" Except I'm not. Because I have a paper to write...

In all seriousness, it may seem like a lot, but we are doing well. Taking it one day at a time...

Caleb is killing it on the soccer field...

look at that face!! goalie mode 

Katelynn is finding her sassy side...we've had a fire ant go immune reaction that she's recovering from. But seems like she's back to herself these days...

I am sure every one of my faithful blog readers can tell you that once a year (about this time) I start my 30 day photo challenge. Why should this year be any different, right? This time around I will be doing weekly posts on the blog, and my daily posts are on Instagram under #ahainphotochallenge
Just a little way to cut down on the daily posting, because well... the dishes are pilling, laundry is wrinkled....... you get the picture.

Day 1 "words": Sometimes I get overwhelmed with the weekly cycle of laundry, grocery carts,
work, appointments, and kids' activities...the moments when I can just breathe feel few
and far between. The word "perseverance" first came to into my conscienceless when
I was working for a doctor and getting ready to start nursing school. I asked him: with two kids and a husband working nights how I was ever going to make it through the challenging road path ahead. "Perseverance," he said. And it stuck. Soon that handwritten motivational reminder was hanging above my desk. And it took one day at a time and the finish line was before me. The same motivation comes to me with the word "perseverance" in this mad cycle of life. Perhaps we don't always have those moments to breath and take in, but I hope I will always remember to put one foot in front of the other and keep going forward... (See also synonymous words: persistence, tenacity, steadfast) How about you? What words inspire you?

Day 2 "technology": you have no idea, nor would I ever want you to find out, what I am without this fantastic piece of technology. Some very unfortunate people (and a pup) almost found out today when I didn't drink my first cup until almost 11 this morning. No worries, we're good now. I know people go through stages saying "I'm cutting back," or "I'll drink tea." Not me, I wave my coffee-holic freak flag proudly.

Day 3 "nature": I love this picture we took on a hike about a year ago. I really do call nature our sanctuary. HD Thoreau had a valid point when he said, "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."

Day 4 "clothing": my favorite "camp/cabin" shirt.
LL Bean fully lined soft and warm for those fires under the starry night...

Day 5 "knowledge": "Every part of the earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect. All are holy in the memory and experience of my people. We know the sap which courses through trees as we know the blood that courses through our veins. We are part of the earth and it is a part of us." -Chief Seattle

Day 6 "memories": I think of my childhood as another life. Where super heroes lived down the hall, riding bikes passed the time, and getting muddy was always worth it. I remember TGIF, pet rocks and tadpole fishing. But what I appreciate the most about my former life, are the two people who showed me what love can be.

Day 7 "innovation": I don't think it's a surprise to anyone how much I love to go antiquing....
but looking at old print ads....priceless

Tune in next week for "post midterm" thoughts...otherwise known as "brain is mush" :)