The 10-Year-Old Spy...And then Some

Oh, blog, how I have missed you!!! 

Wow!  I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted. 

21 months!!  

So much has happened...we moved, we have a yard now, a yard that requires lots of attention, one of my dearest friends became my neighbor ( I so need to blog about how AWESOME that was and how it was nothing short of the Lord being so sweet to me), Meem and Peep moved to Tennessee, they live 20-30 minutes away (depending on traffic),  I became an aunt...TWICE (yes, the blog definitely needs some Clay and Kayce pictures), the boys grew, Caleb got baptized, Seth accepted Christ as his savior and will be baptized, they still have boundless energy and bottomless stomachs, They both play flag football, basketball and tennis (but not at the same time), Caleb still loves to read, Seth now will admit that he likes to read,  I stopped working from home, I started working at our church, I stopped working at our church, Eric got even more handsome (didn't think that was possible), we celebrated 11 and 12 years of marriage, we got a boat...well, not really, but we do house Peep's boat here during the summer and now that they are here, get to take more trips to the lake on the weekends, UK had a really bad season (2013) and then they had a really awesome season (2014) and almost won the National championship,  Eric and I had one of our most favorite trips ever to Atlanta for the 2014 SEC tournament, we went to Disney again, we climbed the side of a building in Chattannooga,  we got a pet, her name is Jawsette and she is a guinea pig (Yep, the blog needs some of her, too), Eric and I moved up to teaching 2/3rd graders at church, we try to rest more,  did I mention we mow the yard a lot?  Oh yeah, and Caleb enjoys making movie trailers now.  See above.

So much.  Much joy. Much fun. Definitely some rocky spots. Many tears.  Growth. Regression. Regrowth.  Grace. Forgiveness. Lots of forgiveness.  Thankfulness that we serve a great God who is always faithful, even when we falter. Change. New seasons. Lots of love.  A lot of life.

I have certainly missed writing about and chronically all of our adventures.  I am not quite sure what happened.  Oh, yeah, first, blogger switched format (a little) and it overwhelmed me for a time. I am not good with change, which is no surprise to anyone. And my lack of technological savvy makes me run and hide behind the bed to avoid the intimidation. Then our old lap top got funky and wouldn't allow me to upload pictures easily.  Again, I hid behind the bed. Then I forgot my blogger password. In the midst, my free time got less and less, as did my time at home.  My boys grew and got busier. They started going to school all day, Eric started working more, and when we were all home together, I found typing on a computer less appealing. We were in a new season of life, and the once desperately needed outlet was not quite so necessary anymore.  It lost its pizzazz and took a back seat.  Actually, the poor blog ended up in the trunk.  Buried under an old blanket.

Also, I think I just got a tad bit over always feeling burdened to capture ever moment on camera and writing about it.  I think I got sucked into the notion that if I didn't blog about it, it DIDN'T REALLY HAPPEN.  So much that I sometimes didn't even enjoy being in the moment, because I was so distracted by making sure I posted about it.  And then I would miss another moment, because I was obsessed with getting it on the blog. It was like I thought I had some big deadline to meet and would actually get stressed if it took me too long to upload my most recent photos.  Crazy, right? So, I gave up.

This was self-induced pressure, of course, and took away the true joy that I experience when I write. And the true pleasure that I get from journaling about our family and going back and reliving our sweet memories through this blog.  And the true joy I get from just hanging out with my husband and boys without feeling like I have to have a computer in my lap. Such a thing should never be a burden, but I can over complicate anything. 

However, I have totally missed this blog, missed writing and posting, and wonder what might become of this blog from here on out.

Blog, you have a way of bringing out my words.  You were such a friend to me during the years when I was home all day with two very active boys and I needed an outlet. Oh, those years were precious and much shorter than I anticipated. BUT some of those days got REALLY long and I needed you. May I find balance and utilize you properly. No pressure posting.  May I not allow you to be a distraction.  And may I figure out how in the world to upload pictures successfully on our newer laptop.

  I totally didn't even plan to write a blog today.  I was really just looking to post Caleb and Seth's videos here, so that I can get them off of my phone, because they are eating up my memory.  So, enjoy!!!