I Do Now

 Today, I set Minnie on a blanket while I tied the September

 ribbons on my new swing.  Then together we swung while the ribbons

 fluttered in the wind, and she loved it, just as I suspected she would.

We lay together on a blanket in the grass, listening to our cows mooing 

in the nearby pasture where Christian was putting new ear tags in their ears.

Today the weather was September-worthy.

The last few September days have been so hot; it's been bad news.

But today was cool and crisp.  A perfect Labor Day.

Later, Christian held Minnie while I made dinner.

We love this child so much.

She brings immense joy to our home and lives.

God knew what He was doing when He sent her to us.

I didn't always see the vision, but I do now!

Inkling

 

Last year, when I was pregnant with Minnie, I felt intense pain

in my right pinkie finger.

Then I noticed my finger was super crooked,

which was weird because I'd never really noticed it before.

I think my body was in survival mode all the time since 

I was so sick with Minnie that

honestly, my pinkie didn't even phase me.

I was barely living back then.

I visited a hand surgeon today who informed me that I had broken my finger, 

(who knows when)

and it has since fused improperly, which is now causing me constant pain. 

My hands are always in pain anyway, but this is way worse.

He presented several treatment options, but ultimately, 

all of them lead to the same conclusion: amputation.

This is not great news.

I remember months ago, as I was driving in the car

I had a little "inkling" that I'd probably at some point need to get

my pinkie amputated.

It was such a strange thought, but I think that inkling was preparing me.

My fingers are all little soldiers.

I'm so grateful for them, and the little movement I do have.

Is It Possible?

This evening, I went to the studio to take a class, connect with clients,

and celebrate a new instructor joining our team.

Being a business owner is super stressful, especially since

I'm trying to balance motherhood and work.

I'm not good at that balance.

I love teaching classes and being in the studio,

but when I'm home with Minnie, I never want to leave.

I am so thankful for so much support from my family, especially

Christian, who is so supportive and attentive to my goals

with work and instructing while also honoring my desire to be

home with Minnie, like I have been with the previous five Nies.

I only teach twice a week right now and

Minnie comes with me to the studio, and he watches her there.

Tonight, when we got home, I got her ready for bed, but she was not ready

to fall asleep.  She wanted to snuggle up to me and stare at me.

Is it possible to love a child as much as I love her?

Minnie And Me

 Minnie and I spend all day snuggling and nursing.

I don't mind it.

I mean, I don't get much, if anything, else done.

This pic of me pretty much sums up my life:

I have mastered the art of nursing while walking.

Minnie doesn't mind.

Kitty and I are in the same boat these days.

Sometimes I see her wandering around the porch with her two babies

attached to her. Sucking on to dear life.

  It makes me laugh.

Today I found the cat trio in our cooler, nursing.

Kitty's babies don't care where she is; they just want her.

Just like Minnie and me.

This truly has been the summer of babies.

Kitty Tickles

 This morning felt like....I'm going to say it....FALL!  

It was a little cooler than usual. 

I'm all for it.
 I know we are a little way off from fall, but it still felt nice.
I took Minnie to our back porch where the kittens live 

and placed her in her bouncer seat,

and let them tickle and lick her little feet. 

It was adorable.

Minnie loved it and laughed and laughed.

These kitties are making us all so happy.

The Job At Hand

 This afternoon, I decided to take the kitties, Otis and Carmel, on an adventure

to the front yard.  They've been living on our back porch where I can close 

the door and they are protected from who knows what.

One night, when they were literally three days old, a stray cat (probably their father)

came by, and Kitty made the worst sound I've ever heard, so I ran outside

and chased him off the porch.  Then I got worried because we've seen skunks,

raccoons, and groundhogs in our backyard, and I once found a possum chillin 

by the garbage sack on the porch.

Anyway, Otis and Carmel were adorable and loved the grass.

Then it started to rain, so we brought them back in.

Lately, Angus has been camping out under the porch, and I think 

he feels protective of them.

Then I sent Lottie upstairs with Minnie to go through her clothes

 because we are planning our back-to-school shopping next week.

Can anyone focus while holding Minnie?

I think not.

So I went upstairs and got her so Lottie could focus

on the job at hand.

I brought Minnie downstairs where she took a 

nap on the porch swing with Christian.  

Then the rain turned into a full-blown

thunderstorm.  Lottie, who needed an excuse to leave her job,

came downstairs and ran around in the rain like she was 8 again.

I loved it.

The clothes will have to wait.

What's A Sister For?

 Minnie and I spent the morning on the porch swing.

It rained all night, and this morning we woke up to humidity

and sun.   

The house feels quiet and sad.

I miss our visitors.

I think Minnie does too.

Lottie and I began sorting through her clothes in preparation 

for our back-to-school shopping next week. However, 

Lottie has a short attention span of only 60 seconds for activities like this.

So she did this with Minnie instead:

What's a sister for?

Goodbye

 This morning we attended church together, and I cried 

during the opening song, thinking about all my kids sitting

with me on the same bench.

Oh, how I will miss filling the pew up!

We came home and packed everyone up, and then, just like that,

everyone was gone.

Minnie took a long nap, and I cleaned up.

I think cleaning up was therapeutic for me.

Until it wasn't.

Because Minnie woke up, and I changed her pants and 

broke down because Claire was the last to change her before

her nap.  That made me really sad.

Whyyyy do we have to live so far away?

(Mom, I know how you feel!) 

FOMO

Today, on our last full day together, we:

 Had lunch at Merritt's- a Chapel Hill favorite.

Minnie got climbing lessons from Ollie.

Ate Jenni's ice cream.

Enjoyed trampoline snuggles.

Had backyard pizza for dinner with a thunderstorm outside.

One of my favorite parts of our family time together is our evening 

devotionals.  We each had an opportunity to share a spiritual thought

about Jesus Christ and His gospel.

We used scriptures, talks, and the Come, Follow Me 

manual in our personal studies to share.

Tonight, Christian led our last family devotional.

I was feeling super emotional thinking about the family breaking up

and going back to our daily lives.  

These last few days have been some of the happiest I've known.

Minnie has the worst FOMO of her life, getting a total

of two minutes of daily naps, and going to bed at 11:00.

Once everyone leaves tomorrow (NOOOOO), we are sleep training.