Highlighting 2018 --

Perhaps the hardest, most time-consuming, and my most favorite blog post to do all year long...

Highlighting the ending of 365 days.

I pour through the pictures I've taken each month, choosing one (or four!) to represent each... pictures that capture what life was like at that snapshot in time, pictures that embody where I was mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually... what my world looked like and felt like and sounded like...

So now, without further ado, here is how I choose to remember each month of 2018 --

 January:

We began.  It was a month in which my trio and I embraced newness, a second chance, a fresh start, a clean slate.  An ending creating a beginning, laying a foundation on which we were bound and determined to build our new joy while stepping toward the sunshine.

February:

And when I started feeling alone and scared and overwhelmed... my brother and his wife showed up, fixing things and cooking things and cleaning things and arranging things and wrapping their arms around us in all the ways we needed.  This - this is how I remember February.

March:

Because my three little superheroes gave me the strength I needed to find my own superhero powers to be who they needed me to be, day in and day out. #thankyoucoffee #andhappyhour

April:

One of the most memorable months of the year (and of my life) included (my first!) tattoo to represent my choice to keep going, keep living, keep believing, keep hoping... during a girls' trip that restored my soul more than they'll ever know. <3

May:

Splashing into and welcoming a summer that promised to be full of lots of fun and lots of less-scheduled, unplanned days.

June:

I painted my front door yellow, and I spent more time away from my babies than I ever have in their entire lives.  I cried and prayed and hurt and worried and felt allllll the emotions... and honestly my heart ached until they were back in my arms, in front of that hope-filled, joy-promising, yellow front door.

July:

My favorite place, with my favorite people.  No other words needed.

August:

 A new school year for my first-grader, a new job for me (back in my very own third grade classroom!), a new preschool for the boys, a new feeling in my once-shattered soul for a man who completely caught me and my heart off guard...

September:

Survival.  That's how I remember September.  See: extracurricular sports.  See also:  Vegas trip with my family.  Again... survival.  But also?  SO good.

October:

The first of what will likely be many casts for my wild, life-loving caboose.  Trying to find any available minute in my nonstop days to snuggle my trio.  And falling absolutely, head-over-heels in love with my work wife.  Who truly does inspire me to make lemonade out of lemons. #seewhatididthere

November:

My most favorite month, because it holds my most favorite holiday. #thankful

December:

And finally, the month full of holiday magic.  A month during which I found time to be still, to breathe in my family, my blessings, my wild and crazy trio, and my broken yet beautiful life...

"See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:19

Goodbye to a year that was full of pain and stress and times I wasn't sure how to keep taking steps forward... but a year that was also full of surprises and hope and a heart that began to feel things it never thought it would feel again... a year during which I grew in my faith and in my ability to be brave... a year during which I dug deep into my soul to learn about and accept and love myself for just exactly who I am, who God intended me to be. <3  Because maybe -- just maybe -- heartbreak and disappointment happen so that we can find our way home? --

Happy New Year!!

Merry Christmas to You and Yours, from Me and Mine

 "He has made everything beautiful in its time."

Ecclesiastes 3:11

  Merry, Merry Christmas!!

So much to catch up on and SIX SLEEPS!

Good gracious it's been a MONTH since I visited my little corner of the internet universe -- the longest pause in quite awhile... because I've been living the busiest, most nonstop, most chaotic, most overwhelming season of life ever ever in the history of ever.

And because I know everyone misses my posts (#humorme), but mostly because I use and keep up this blog for my trio and me, I'm popping back in for a little update of randoms amidst the joyful busy-ness of the holi-busy-days --

We got our house all Christmas'd up after Thanksgiving came and went.  And y'all know Thanksgiving is my jam, so I cannot accept the holiday spirit into my heart until the turkey is good and digested and Black Friday Bloody Marys have been consumed.  And then?  Give me alllllll the Christmas...

And yes, we even partake in the dang Elf on the Shelf, but not until December 1st.  Because there are far too many 3am panic moments... like, shoot-up-straight-in-my-bed-in-the-middle-of-the-night-moments because I FORGOT TO MOVE THE ELF.  Don't even get me started on how I have one in my classroom, too, that I have to keep up with!!

We picked out an awesome tree this year at my most favorite tree lot, and got it decorated in rainbow lights as promised to CK this time last year ("Mama, next Christmas, can we PUHLEASE have rainbow lights on the tree and all over the house?")  Yes, yes we can.

And then, I sat back and admired my single-mama masteripiece of a rainbow-lit-and-kid-ornament-covered-tree.  And then all but two strands of brand new lights went out. #pourmeanother

But you other type-A-souls will be happy to know it was less than 24 hours before I replaced the duds and had it all back up and running, thankyouverymuch.

And speaking of running - I'm currently trying to fix some knee injury woes via therapy and orthopoedists and custom-made shoe inserts.  BUT.  The other day I kicked butt through EIGHT solid miles of 8-9 minute miles and IT FELT SO GOOD.  It's the longest I've run since my half-marathon many moons ago, pre-babies... and I'd be lying if I said it didn't give me the feels to get back into a half-marathon (and possibly marathon!) state-of-mind...

Have y'all seen the show A Million Little Things?  So so SO good.  SO many emotions with this one.  Probably because SO many of the story lines hit too close to home.  But, I cannot.stop.watching.  And I basically watched it all in one fell swoop because...

I GOT THE FLU!  I still can't believe I fell victim to it.  I had been feeling bad for days, but chalked it up to being nonstop and exhausted and spread too thin.  I finally convinced myself I had a sinus infection.  Went to work one morning, got someone to watch my class so I could run over to the ENT real quick for a steroid shot and a Zpack and then BAM -- I tested positive for the flu.  Y'all.  I was sick.  And, didn't realize how bad I really was until I finally, finally, finally let myself crawl into bed and close my eyes and then woke up almost 24 hours later.  And honestly, it took me almost a solid two weeks to completely bounce back.  It was awful.  And while my kids' dad took them for a couple days after my initial diagnosis, I had to take them back about 48 hours later and I think it caused a relapse because I was waving allllll the white flags (and shedding quite a few miserable tears) for many more days than I had anticipated.

BUT, I do have to give a huge thank you to all the people who offered a helping hand during it all.  There was soup on my doorstep and a bag full of survive-the-flu goodies and so many texts and messages checking in on me. <3  It definitely made me feel a lot less lonely during a time when I found myself feeling quite alone.  (And for inquiring minds?  YES, I got the flu shot...)

You guys, we can't keep fish alive.  I can keep three tiny humans alive, but we've lost two plants and five fish in the past two months.  We lost our first three, and then I took CK to pick out two new ones since she's doing so well in school.  Well, Comet and Goldy lived a happy, but short life in casa de Peele.  RIP.

And oh my CK.  Can we please look at how grown up she is now that she's missing yet ANOTHER tooth?!  #alliwantforchristmas

Speaking of grown-ups, let's talk about my Gram.  My kids' G Gram.  I pretty much believe she hung the moon.  She is my spirit animal, who I want to be when I grow up, who I look up to and admire, whose marriage I always wanted to emulate.  She is the definition of woman and family and love and loyalty and faith.  And she turned NINETY FIVE last week, you guys.  NINETY FIVE.  She never misses Sunday mass or happy hour.  And when I called her on her birthday, I asked her if she was excited that she was so close to being one hundred years old.  "Heavens no!" she said. "I'd better not live THAT long!"  God I love her so.

Who else do I love?  Brene Brown.  Go look up her TED talks.  And thank me.  And then thank my sister, Lu, because she told me to listen to them... <3


And while we're on things I'm loving - is there anything more precious than a preschool program?  I think not...

Y'all, that stinker above.  Everette continues to challenge every bit of parenting knowledge I've ever had.  But last week he wrote his name all by himself and goodness my exhausted mama heart was so very proud of him.

And you guys, I think my caboose is going to be another character who challenges me on the daily.  Just last week I got a frantic call from preschool because he was being his wild little self and fell just perfectly into the corner of a table and there was so.much.blood and within 45 minutes there was an emergency trip to the dentist and a self-imposted frenectomy and then milkshakes for dinner.  Whew.

And I know that wild little caboose doesn't understand Christmas just yet, but he does understand that something special and fun and exciting is going on, and I pretty much almost tear up every single time he yells CHIFMAS!!!!!!! every time he sees anything - anything that has to do with the holidays.  The holidays as a mama sure are magical, aren't they?

What else is magical?  BLOMPSmas.  We had our family Christmas weekend this past weekend, and it did a heart good.  Lately I've had several people ask - WHAT THE HECK DOES BLOMPS EVEN MEAN.  And y'all, it's nothing special... it's just the first letter of all of our last names put together.  But what is special?  Us.  And as chaotic and insane as it was last weekend having 13 adults and 14 children under the age of 10 in my parents' house (bless you Bammy & Digby)... it was also just us.  And during a time of year that will now probably always will be hard for me -- so many painful memories and learned truths and PTSD triggers and realizations -- it felt so good to be surrounded by my forevers.... <3

And now, I settle into Christmas break with my trio!  I had an amazing last couple of days with my school kiddos, who honestly have no clue just how much joy they gave my heart over the past week.  I am a lucky, lucky teacher...

...and a teacher who is now able to transition into being a lucky, lucky, joy-filled mama who gets to soak in some much needed time with her own kiddos... <3

Six sleeps!!!!!