Lately--

Working on my thesis down in Paducah. Those are long days.

Our new local farmers market. It's right next to a park.

(blue eggs)

Father's day

First birthdays celebrated with good friends

And weddings too

It's been a crazy busy summer so far, but in looking at these pictures, I'm reminded of how good it's been. How blessed we are to have all these lovely people so close to us.

(Some of these pictures have been taken by others-- the last three from the farmers market by Brandon Macier, and Josiah's birthday picture by Omar and Mayumi Trinidad. More birthday pictures to follow.)

busy summer days

Isn't it supposed to be "lazy" summer days?

Well, if it's supposed to be, it hasn't been. I've had a couple more items on my plate lately: the local farmers market that I get to help with, Josiah's first birthday party (pictures soon!), Father's Day (also pictures forthcoming!), and more work than normal with organizing our little raw milk co-op. But mostly, it's been working on my thesis. I'm feeling totally overwhelmed/sick to my stomach/more hopeful about it lately, and I've been getting time to work on it when I go down to Paducah, KY to have my mother-in-law watch the kids. I have my first meeting with my thesis director next week for the first time in years, which is good and bad. Good because it means progress is being made. Bad because I have to meet with her in person, and there won't be time to look up in the dictionary the words and theories she brings up in conversation. She is crazy smart, and I feel like I can barely keep up with her email messages, much less an informed (supposedly, on my part) conversation face-to-face.

It was nice to be busy, at first. It made me feel a little more important than usual. Now I'm just tired. Is this how other people live during the entire year? Goodness. No thanks. I'll take a season, and that'll be plenty.

How are your summers progressing? It's going to be the 4th of July before we know it...

Friday, already? And a wedding.

How on earth is it already Friday afternoon?

I've been wanting to write since Monday but haven't been able to get a chance to get to it. I started working on my thesis this week, which is totally overwhelming and horrible and great, all at the same time. It's made for a busy week. And Jeremy is in a wedding tonight, a groomsman for a friend of ours we've loved for a very long time.

I remember at our wedding coming across one of my mom's friends who was there alone. When I asked where her husband was, she told me that they were separated. "Marriage can be hard," she said. What a thing to hear at our wedding reception! I'm so thankful that I can go to weddings, and this one in particular, and say "Congratulations! Marriage is awesome!" with my husband right beside me, agreeing. Marriage is hard, but it's so, so good, and I can't wait to celebrate that fact with some of my closest friends tonight.

Our weekend will be full of our kids, and farmers markets, and more strawberries, but I can't even see that far ahead right now. I'm only thinking about getting all dressed up with my love and getting to go to a great party :)

end of the week

So this has been a hard week, a little more than usual. Jeremy had to work nights and days, going to work at 8, coming home at 5, going back in around 8, coming home at midnight or 2, or even 5 a.m. Of course, he's now sick and still not finished with the project, so he's still running a bit. And I've had the boys all to myself, which I realize is much easier than Jeremy's had it, but exhausting nonetheless. So I'm running on empty with the boys--especially Elias, who is fulfilling the prophecy of the 2 1/2 year mark being a particularly rough one. And I haven't spent time with my husband since last weekend, a weekend that was especially beautiful-- but one that seems so far away now.

So, I'm brushing off the hardships of the week and looking forward to the weekend. What in particular?

Elias is spending the night at my parents' place, so tonight should feel a little easier. They got two chickens yesterday, which E will find pretty awesome.

I have little snap peas that are ready for eating, which is just what Elias and I did yesterday, picking them off the vine, stringing them, and popping them in our mouths without so much a rinse. Love having the opportunity to have a garden in our backyard.

Local strawberries are ready! I missed them last week, but I plan on being at the farmers market in time to get them tomorrow. Maybe I can bring the boys out to the U-pick farm this next week and get a flat, which means I get to dust off the canner and find some pretty recipes for those pretty berries.

I'm helping organize a farmers market in our community! Pretty exciting stuff, and a lot of of fun to look forward to for the summer. (How much do you love that logo?? The same artist that did our beautiful wedding invitations also created this one for the market.)

One of my friends is back from Japan and the other is done with her school for a couple of weeks, which means that I get some girl time, which is badly needed. BADLY NEEDED.

And the last thing? My mother-in-law has committed to watching the boys twice weekly so that I can work on my thesis. I'm dreading it with the same intensity that I'm looking forward to it. I so want my degree to be completed. This time starts next week, so the boys and I will be traveling down to Paducah come Monday, and we'll get this party started.

I hope you guys have a fun weekend, one where you laugh and get to be silly with the ones you love most. And in the midst of family time, don't forget to seek out the One that loves you most.

yogurt face

 No, Josiah didn't actually eat any of this yogurt, for those of you keeping up with his continuing refusal of all solid foods (sigh). But he did enjoy playing with it.

His smile is so sweet, but this boy smelled so sour afterwards :)

big boy, in his own room

We finally moved Josiah out of our room. He's been sleeping through the night for a little while now, and it seemed like a good time to give him his own space. It's been going really well, although I really miss having him close by.

I may have cried myself to sleep that first night, fyi. This babies-growing-up business is hard stuff.

His smile is the sweetest.

Big brother vroom-vroomed in to say hi to little brother, which made Josiah super excited.

first of the season

When we get our weekly jug of raw milk, I usually skim the cream off the top and save it to make butter, but this time I decided to splurge and make ice cream instead. We ate it out back Sunday night, on a late Spring night (that felt a lot more like summer).

(By the way, Jeremy is going to kill me for posting these of him...but his handsome face isn't on this blog nearly enough. You can tell from these photos just how attentive he is to Elias; he's a great daddy.)