SUMMER 2018

Summer was rough. Not going to lie. Long long long hours for Russ, we (I) was paying interest on a now nearly tapped construction loan -- when you build your house you float the loan which not sure why, but we didn't factor into or savings plan or the number I knew I had to hit each month money wise. Townhouse rent, plus all our bills, there was truly nothing left to be had so the kids and I led very simple lives. We did what was free, we ate at home, and tried not to spend a dime. I worked so so hard to make ends meet, somehow with the kids in tow. Feeling guilty all the while. Truly never experienced anything like it, but it was a great teacher and a refining and defining moment of my life. It's a good lesson in what's important, what you need, forgiveness and flexibility and relying on faith that everything would work out. Bless these kids for being troopers! I have a whole file of free crafts Hayes made this Summer. He used his imagination wildly and it brought me a lot of joy to see him be industrious! I made a hashtag for it on Instagram #hayesmakes. He loves looking at it. ;)

I know how hard the Summer was for me, and I can't begin to guess how hard it must have been on Russ. We just sort of moved through life very quietly. We both assumed that our days were the worst and we tried to talk about light and happy things when we had time together. It honestly makes me choke up writing it even 6+ months later. Relying solely on each other and not really knowing who else would even get it or understand. I'm just glad we made it through!!

 4th of July

 Adventuring on hikes, to Bear Lake, a days at Deer Creek.

 Wallsburg in the Summer!

 Russ got a beehive before we moved in! My favorite story of the Summer was when Russ noticed the bees weren't as active as usual so he got his entire beekeeping garb on, helmet, netting etc, and went to the hive to open it. One solitary bee flew out. The Queen must have died because everyone else deserted the hive. But Russ in full gear for one bee makes me roll. We'll try again in the Summer!

Of course like any build we had a lot of hiccups, one big one being the stairs. We just kept striking out with who was going to fabricate the stringer, we wasted months on a guy who said he'd get it done but then just never made it happen and Russ just didn't have time. Mike Frame to the rescue. He bailed us out so hard, came and worked side by side with Russ I'm sure buoying him up in the hardest last push. So grateful!

We moved into the house long before we got our COO. Certificate of Occupancy. We just needed to get up there, stop paying for the townhouse, get them settled for school. I think we got our COO a month after we moved in. Ha! Luckily no one seemed to mind although I thought for sure we'd be kicked out and the house would be seized or something. Anxiety is fun! ;) We had a pretty good sized list of things that needed to be finished after we moved in and a deadline looming for a partnership I worked out for our tile. Looking back everything worked out just fine, but slowly over time. In the moments of it all I felt a lot of dread and even terror. Just not knowing or having any control was so hard for me!


Saying goodbye to August. I looked back and Hayes was tearing up. I was too. It wasn't really hard to leave anyone but the Johanssons. They were such a fixture of our daily life! Everyone else we see just about as much as we did in PG, but its been a hard transition not having them all at our fingertips!

MOVING DAY!

 Russ managed to take them fishing and they both caught a couple! I took them the next day and it was horrific, definitely leaving it to dad.

 One of the sweeter moments of moving was that I had it in my head that I was going to start my new life gardening, pickling, making bread, basically being super self sufficient. I actually had "make pickles" on my calendar. One of our ward members texted me out of the blue if I wanted to come get some produce. I got everything I needed from her to make pickles, down to the dill. We have had so many moments like this where it's just hard to deny that God isn't aware of us. Wanting us to know we made the right move. Comforting me when I needed it most.