This summer we had our family pictures taken again but the same photographer we have used 4 years in a row. This was probably our final session with her as she is moving and starting her first "real" job.
It's crazy to think that the first time she took our photo Brooks was only about 7 months old.
At that time we were just starting our life here in Spirit Lake...and to be honest, it felt overwhelming.
It took time adjusting to life in a small town again. I was home with the kids, trying to make this house of ours a home while also volunteering and forcing myself out of my comfort zone so I could make a few friends.
Work was busy for Andy, he was building his practice, learning about the community, learning about the hospital, meeting new staff, going to community events, fixing up the house, and then in his free time take care of his wife and family.
But even though we were a little unsettled, we made an effort to have as many meals at the table as possible...all of us.
Making a meal that my kids love is one of the best feelings in the world to me. I love it when the kids walk into the kitchen and say, "oooh that smells good Mom, what are we having?"
No matter how busy or stressful the day, those dinners make me feel better.
This fall I began working part time at the hospital as a pediatric speech pathologist. This is a new clinic I am starting and it is scary and exciting all at the same time. At first, I was over the moon about it...then set in the doubts. (insert every imaginable problem we will face here and trust me, I thought of them all)
The kids were a little skeptical as well. With my new position, Brooks is at a preschool/daycare 2 1/2 days and we will need a babysitter/nanny 2 days in the summer. This did not make them happy to think about at first, and to be honest, it was pretty disappointing and defeating for me as well.
But one night the kids and Andy came with me to the clinic and helped me move in all my materials. It was truly a family job and it was so helpful and rewarding for them to be there with me as I set my room up. After all their work that night, Marie apologized for her initial reaction to my job. She said she was nervous but very excited for me to do the job I love and help kids. This was a complete answer to prayer...something I didn't even know I needed to hear.
So, here we are in the beginning of a new life change again.
This time Brooks is in preschool, Bennett is in Kindergarten, and Marie is in 3rd grade.
Andy is set in his practice but continues to be very busy while facing the challenges of rural medicine. I am working, volunteering, and meal planning around flag football, church night, dance, piano lessons, and ER shifts.
We are happy, we are tired, we are busy, we are here doing our best, but most of all, we are a family sitting down around the table at the end of the day connecting as often as possible.
The nourishment of that dinner is not only for their growing bodies, but for my soul too.
