These are the words I would use to describe our lives right now.
Busy
Our lives are crazy- and we like it that way. Here is a little bit of what we have been up to:
Last Weekend: I was in Kentucky for a work conference on Thurs-Sat. This was a great conference that was mostly just fun and games. Lots of live entertainment (music and comedy). Lots of good food. Lots of new friends. Very little work.
Last Sun: Church- Rachel went early to prep and then interpreted the service. Later, we brought out our projector and watched the CFP championship game between Oregon and Ohio. It was a disappointing game, even though the right team won. We topped the night off with our family dance and dessert night.
Mon: Addy and Jack Preschool. Rachel worked. Family Night.
Tues: Rachel had a 'Momma morning' with the kids. Rachel and I worked. Potluck party at our house with friends that night. Lots of people and good conversation.
Wednesday: I worked. Addy and Jack had preschool. Play-date day for Maren/Lindsey. That evening we went to a party at Rachel's work and met her co-workers/friends there. Rachel got to reconnect with her first interpreting teacher from Utah. Date night afterwords at my favorite Mexican restaurant.
Thursday: I worked. Thursdays are Kroc Center nights where I meet up with a group of climbers to set/work on new routes while Rachel works out. Kids have fun at the play place.
Friday: I worked (I placed an implant that day. I like doing implants). As soon as we got home, Rachel and I went on a double date with some new friends and had a great 3-hour conversation that we would have continued if we hadn't had to get back for the babysitter. We are definitely getting together with them again.
Saturday: In the morning we went to the "Family Fun Fair" at the high school- but it wasn't very fun so we went to the play place at the mall instead. When we got back we babysat our friend's 3 kids for the rest of the day so that they could spend time together for her birthday.
Sunday: Church- Rachel went early to prep, and then interpreted the service. Rachel was asked if she would be an interpreting mentor for her colleague. That afternoon we went out to watch the Seahawks game. Definitely one of the best football games I have ever watched. We are already looking forward to the super-bowl party. We finished up the evening with hide and seek in the dark and family dessert night.
Balance
I think that Rachel is going to do a blog post about this in more depth. Suffice it to say that we not only have a lot going on, but we have a lot of diversity.
Physical: We both work out at a gym 3-4 days/week. Besides this, I have my climbing night which moves outdoors as soon as weather permits, and Rachel does afternoon yoga during the kid's quiet time.
Mental/Personal Development: I practice the guitar an hour each morning before anyone wakes up and this is my "creative time" for myself. Rachel is part of a book club. We also both read and listen to A LOT of material (current events, fiction, and non-fiction) and have A LOT of great in-depth conversations about a broad range of topics. Those who know us won't be surprised to find recurring themes in politics and philosophy.
Social: The above list of events should demonstrate this better than anything. Rarely a week goes by that we don't have a very full social calendar. Rachel is part of a moms group that has a variety of weekly playdates, mom's nights, and date nights with the husbands. She is making a lot of friends there.
Professional: We are both thriving and at the top of our games in our different career tracks. We both work for great companies that we could stay with for a long time. We are both highly credentialed in our skill-sets and doing specialized work in our fields. We both feel like we are doing things that challenge us and that we absolutely love, and it is easy for us to enjoy our jobs.
Financial: This pretty much follows from the things mentioned above. We are very comfortable.
Family: I love our family traditions! From daily "morning message" and story time to weekly family nights, scheduled activities, dessert nights, mama days, and papa days- we do a lot together and I feel like we are all growing very close. Rachel has time set aside each afternoon to be specifically with the kids and nothing else, and this has been fun for everyone. The kids just seem to get awesomer and awesomer as they grow up.
Spiritual: This one is pretty personal, so I won't go too into depth. I think it's adequate to say though that in our own ways we both feel more at peace with ourselves and with the universe than we have for a very long time.
Fulfilling
It seems to me that a lot of people talk about being happy. And I am that. I am very happy. But more important to me, I feel that life is very fulfilling for us right now. Personal integrity means a lot to me, and I feel like we are both able to live very authentically right now. What's more, is that the authentic "us" is doing really well. I don't really want to dwell on this too much because it seems somewhat self-aggrandizing, but we are both very pleased with the things we have chosen to be involved with, the decisions we are making, and the direction things seem to be headed. Life really is pretty spectacular.
Fun
Like I said before- our lives are crazy and we like it that way! Sometimes, when we are all together I am afraid that we can give the impression that things are totally out of control. The truth is that this only happens about half of the time :). The other half though is full of good times and I treasure that. I realize that the big family lifestyle doesn't fit everyone, but it sure seems to suit us well. I genuinely look forward to doing things and having conversations with my kids. If I had to choose anyone to spend forever with then it would be Rachel and my family without any second thoughts whatsoever. I think Rachel and I are both glad that we have so much else to help round us out, but in the end our family is what it's all about.
Anyway- I could get all sappy and write a lot. I already feel like this whole post is too full of sunshine and rainbows (I chose those symbols on purpose), and it's not my intent to imply that things are absolutely perfect. Of course we have a lot of fighting and crying, and things that break and bills to pay and other struggles as well. We are, after all, just a normal big family living a pretty normal big-family life. Right now though, things honestly just seem really, really good. I'm lovin' it.
Mon: Addy and Jack Preschool. Rachel worked. Family Night.
Tues: Rachel had a 'Momma morning' with the kids. Rachel and I worked. Potluck party at our house with friends that night. Lots of people and good conversation.
Wednesday: I worked. Addy and Jack had preschool. Play-date day for Maren/Lindsey. That evening we went to a party at Rachel's work and met her co-workers/friends there. Rachel got to reconnect with her first interpreting teacher from Utah. Date night afterwords at my favorite Mexican restaurant.
Thursday: I worked. Thursdays are Kroc Center nights where I meet up with a group of climbers to set/work on new routes while Rachel works out. Kids have fun at the play place.
Friday: I worked (I placed an implant that day. I like doing implants). As soon as we got home, Rachel and I went on a double date with some new friends and had a great 3-hour conversation that we would have continued if we hadn't had to get back for the babysitter. We are definitely getting together with them again.
Saturday: In the morning we went to the "Family Fun Fair" at the high school- but it wasn't very fun so we went to the play place at the mall instead. When we got back we babysat our friend's 3 kids for the rest of the day so that they could spend time together for her birthday.
Sunday: Church- Rachel went early to prep, and then interpreted the service. Rachel was asked if she would be an interpreting mentor for her colleague. That afternoon we went out to watch the Seahawks game. Definitely one of the best football games I have ever watched. We are already looking forward to the super-bowl party. We finished up the evening with hide and seek in the dark and family dessert night.
Balance
I think that Rachel is going to do a blog post about this in more depth. Suffice it to say that we not only have a lot going on, but we have a lot of diversity.
Physical: We both work out at a gym 3-4 days/week. Besides this, I have my climbing night which moves outdoors as soon as weather permits, and Rachel does afternoon yoga during the kid's quiet time.
Mental/Personal Development: I practice the guitar an hour each morning before anyone wakes up and this is my "creative time" for myself. Rachel is part of a book club. We also both read and listen to A LOT of material (current events, fiction, and non-fiction) and have A LOT of great in-depth conversations about a broad range of topics. Those who know us won't be surprised to find recurring themes in politics and philosophy.
Social: The above list of events should demonstrate this better than anything. Rarely a week goes by that we don't have a very full social calendar. Rachel is part of a moms group that has a variety of weekly playdates, mom's nights, and date nights with the husbands. She is making a lot of friends there.
Professional: We are both thriving and at the top of our games in our different career tracks. We both work for great companies that we could stay with for a long time. We are both highly credentialed in our skill-sets and doing specialized work in our fields. We both feel like we are doing things that challenge us and that we absolutely love, and it is easy for us to enjoy our jobs.
Financial: This pretty much follows from the things mentioned above. We are very comfortable.
Family: I love our family traditions! From daily "morning message" and story time to weekly family nights, scheduled activities, dessert nights, mama days, and papa days- we do a lot together and I feel like we are all growing very close. Rachel has time set aside each afternoon to be specifically with the kids and nothing else, and this has been fun for everyone. The kids just seem to get awesomer and awesomer as they grow up.
Spiritual: This one is pretty personal, so I won't go too into depth. I think it's adequate to say though that in our own ways we both feel more at peace with ourselves and with the universe than we have for a very long time.
Fulfilling
It seems to me that a lot of people talk about being happy. And I am that. I am very happy. But more important to me, I feel that life is very fulfilling for us right now. Personal integrity means a lot to me, and I feel like we are both able to live very authentically right now. What's more, is that the authentic "us" is doing really well. I don't really want to dwell on this too much because it seems somewhat self-aggrandizing, but we are both very pleased with the things we have chosen to be involved with, the decisions we are making, and the direction things seem to be headed. Life really is pretty spectacular.
Fun
Like I said before- our lives are crazy and we like it that way! Sometimes, when we are all together I am afraid that we can give the impression that things are totally out of control. The truth is that this only happens about half of the time :). The other half though is full of good times and I treasure that. I realize that the big family lifestyle doesn't fit everyone, but it sure seems to suit us well. I genuinely look forward to doing things and having conversations with my kids. If I had to choose anyone to spend forever with then it would be Rachel and my family without any second thoughts whatsoever. I think Rachel and I are both glad that we have so much else to help round us out, but in the end our family is what it's all about.
Anyway- I could get all sappy and write a lot. I already feel like this whole post is too full of sunshine and rainbows (I chose those symbols on purpose), and it's not my intent to imply that things are absolutely perfect. Of course we have a lot of fighting and crying, and things that break and bills to pay and other struggles as well. We are, after all, just a normal big family living a pretty normal big-family life. Right now though, things honestly just seem really, really good. I'm lovin' it.
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| This is the only picture I have to share. This morning, Evelyn got up early and made these stick puppets for everyone as a morning surprise (all totally her own idea). Each person has a White person and a Black person on a stick, and they are all smiling. She explained to us that they were all playing together. I think she has been learning about MLK in her class :) |
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