Lately

Well holy cow, has it been a while or what? Can we talk about how these last few weeks have been insanely busy? Life has been flying by at 100 miles an hour. Russ and I are sitting in a dark room on our bed watching the lightening light up the room as the storm of the century slams our little blue house. I'm feeling so exhausted, finally calm, and extremely grateful for the last few weeks we have just experienced. Let me try to do a little re-cap.

1. Celebrated the life of Lisa and attended her funeral. As is to be expected, it was very, very sad and my head hurt from crying so much, but at the same time the whole weekend was such a beautiful tribute to such an amazing mother, daughter, wife, aunt, and friend. We were with family, and family makes everything better, doesn't it?

2. Attended girls night with some of my favorite people -- my own mother, my mother-in-law, and my two amazing sister-in-laws -- eating burgers at In-N-Out and seeing The Help. It doesn't get much better than that. And just for the record, I absolutely loved the movie. After reading the book you never know how it will compare, but it did. Go see it, you won't regret it :)

3. Helped throw a bridal shower for my cousin Megan (daughter of Lisa) who's due in just 5 weeks! She's such a cute little pregnant woman and I can't wait to meet her little son, Lincoln. We also got to play with the daughter of my other cousin named Megan, Frankie Jane, who's just a few months old. Oh my, that little girl is adorable. Look at those big blues.

 4. Did yard work in practically every free second we could find. We pulled more weeds than I thought possible. We got bit by more mosquitos than I've ever been bitten by. And we dug more trenches for sprinklers than I hope to ever dig again. Let's just put it this way -- we will really appreciate the yard once we have it. :) Thank goodness for the ditch-witch and those amazing friends and family who helped us out. You know who you are -- we really appreciate it.

 5. Successfully found the perfect "greige" paint color for my living room and finally painted an outcome I love. I know, you were all worried. Pictures are soon to come.

6. Attended my other cousin Melissa's mission farewell (another daughter of Lisa). She leaves to serve for our church in Warsaw, Poland in just a week and a half. She will be amazing. Oh wait, she already is. This is my "little" brother Jace next to Melissa. He's really tall, and she's really short. He just got home from his mission, she's just leaving. Precious, no?

7. Hung out with my family. Lots. And loved every second of it.

Point of the story? Life has been insanely busy, and honestly, I can't wait till summer winds itself down and we can settle into our routine. But I am grateful for the memories that have been made, and I couldn't have gotten through these last few weeks without the amazing family, friends, and husband I have been blessed with. Sometimes life throws you some curve balls, but the people you are surrounded by can really make everything just a little brighter.

The storm is ending, and it is now time to sleep. Goodnight to you all.