Sketchy on the Details

It’s been a minute.  Well, to be fair, it’s been A LOTTA minutes. 

I know.  {hear the faint sound of defeat in that}  You guys were all laughing at me when I decided to start a blog a mere two months before another Gleaton was added to our ranks. And to be honest, I don’t recall a single one of you warning me. Not that I would have listened, but at least I wouldn’t have been quite so surprised {read: bamboozled} when I failed to post ONE – a measely peasly ONE blog in the entire 364 days that followed January 1^st. 

In any case, here’s the abridged memoir that was 2015, although, I’ll admit, I’m sketchy on some of the details.

January 1, 2015-I wrote a blog.

This is when everything gets a little fuzzy.  Just a few weeks after that blog, I had our third baby, a daughter we named Addison.  She was born four weeks early via emergency c-section.  Maybe someday I will write a blog about all that, but suffice to say, that’s when things got just a tad hairy.  Simple things, like diapering became major things – all of a sudden, it was two hineys instead of one.  Major things became monstrous-mammoths-of-misery things.  Like laundry and personal hygiene.  Both because of time constraints, not ability. 

… … …

Sigh. 

… … …

BUT!  That’s also when our life seemed to grow…exponentially grow, y’all. She was and is such a wonderful addition to our family that I can’t even remember life before she was born. 

Shortly after her arrival, Sawyer got a bad case of whooping cough and daddy had to take him to the hospital.  He was in and out and with the right medical support, he was back to normal in no time.  Keeping him away from the new baby, though, was a whole ‘nother challenge.  Anyway, thankfully, my mom was here most of the month of February to help with all the adjusting.  She kept Sawyer the day I took Addison for her very FIRST newborn appointment.  The one where, when the nurse called us back saying “ADDISON”…and I just sat there…blank stare combination of sleep deprivation and hunger…in a room full of other parents.  After the nurse disappeared behind the door, I realized what had just happened.  I was waiting for them to call “SAWYER” … in my defense, Addison was a new name I wasn’t familiar with listening for…  So, you can imagine the horror when the nurse returned just a few minutes later, all those same parents STILL sitting in the lobby, and the nurse calls again “ADDISON.”  In front of all those people who had witnessed the first call where I'd failed to respond, I now had to scoop her up, along with the diaper bag, and awkwardly waddle back, taking care not to stand too upright and hurt my c-section incision.  Ahhh…the humility of parenting… 

The month of March was pretty much a blur.  {Read: mom went home and the diapers, spit up, and laundry started to overtake my life.}  I somehow missed major news stories, like I had just slept through entire weeks and months without much notice.  Except, I hadn’t slept.  Regardless, I did catch wind of the blue/black or white/gold dress controversy long enough to wonder if people really had nothing else to do. 

Somewhere around April, I pulled it all together…sort of.  I cleaned the house, stopped giving the toddler fruit snacks before 10am, and learned how to French braid.  I think that’s when I started cooking again, too.  The internet was none-the-wiser, though, because I was pinning recipes like a champ throughout that whole time.  In the midst of *finally* doing some laundry, I realized Sawyer had started stuffing his pockets with rocks.  So, there was that.  Also, in April, we had some enormous spiders that gained entry into our house/garage.  It.Was.Terrible.  Really!  It was horrible.  We named one Edward in an attempt to make him less menacing.  It didn’t work.

 

Mother’s Day, Adam’s birthday, family visits, Father’s Day, zoo trips, my mom’s birthday, Vacation Bible School, and my birthday all happened over the months of May and June but the biggest news was that I became a great aunt when my beautiful niece had their first baby.  He.Is.So.Handsom.Y’all!!!  Love that sweet boy. 

The other thing that happened in June was Joel Osteen.  I’ll just leave this here but if you’ve got questions, email me, I’ll give you specifics on that heretic.

July I learned that Sawyer cannot tolerate broken food such as muffins, graham crackers, or waffles.  I also think this was the last month that Addison slept through the night.  Sigh.  We got to celebrate my best friend’s youngest’s birthday, the Fourth of July, and I learned that adult coloring books were a real thing!  I also tried {operative word, TRIED} to potty train the toddler.  I thought he was a genius and then I realized, nope…nope.  We weren’t gonna’ do that.  I figured my time was better spent coloring.

August began on a high note with a bathroom remodel.  I took the kids to Red River with me, because, well, because Sawyer.  Adam’s work was cRaZy busy and I accepted a quasi-part-time position helping with a foster care agency while one of their employees was on maternity leave.  Our family got together to remember Parker’s birthday.  He would’ve been three on August 19^th.

Also, in August, Addison had her 6-month well child check and I didn’t miss a beat when the nurse called her name that time!  Finally, the month went out much like it came in, on a high note, as Adam, along with three other men, were ordained in our church.

September came and went quick…a 4Him concert, Addison’s pneumonia, and the bloodmoon were it’s highlights.  But as for me, I was already working on October.  SAWYER’S BIRTHDAY!  My little boy was growing up.  Two seemed impossible but here it was, his birthday!  There were days…DAYS (as in plural)…where I didn’t know if I could do this parenting gig another minute. It may have been because of all the refluxing or perhaps it was the fits, but the real story of surviving two under two is all the love, y’all.  So much love.  ...  And tears.  ...  But mainly, love.

November happened.  Most of us were sick; we pulled ourselves together for like, an hour, to take a couple of family portraits (which never happened on a Christmas card because I had to feed the children. Apparently, when they’re hungry, they want food and that somehow takes priority over spending time searching for the perfect Christmas-picture-card).   We went home to Red River for Thanksgiving and enjoyed several days of reprieve.  And then December.

December…well, it was a crazy month of appointments.  Sawyer had a scope, I had my appendix out, and there seemed to be never-ending trips to Lubbock for doctors.  There was also caroling, Christmas-tree-decorating, and a nighttime trip to the zoo to see Christmas lights and giraffes.  Sawyer lost a glove…Adam saw the new Star Wars movie…Addison started eating table food…and I?  I got to savor the blessing that is my family.  What a year!?!?!  

~ From the Fullness of His Grace ~