There IS light at the end of the tunnel

Wow, so are you ready? Ready for a smashing putting together of activities to catch you up on that have been keeping me so busy that I haven’t been blogging much?

First, to answer all of your sweet questions, I am starting to feel better. The fatigue has not totally lifted, and I still feel pretty nauseous, especially in the evenings (a.k.a. my sewing time). However, I am getting bursts of energy here and there this last week, which is a welcome relief from the last couple months, and I feel like my appetite is slowly returning as well…which in turn brings about more energy. Sometime this next week I’ll be passing into the second trimester, and as always, I welcome it with wide open arms.

I went through my photos of when Knut’s brother and company were in town, and found out I had none of the twins. You see, my sister in law, Kristin, has an awesome Canon Rebel (which I’m saving up for with Nerdy Gerdy funds) and when we were with them, I took every opportunity to snap away with that thing. I got some awesome pictures…but they went back home with them.

I do have a picture of the day we went to the zoo near here. It was fun for all of us to get out of the house, and we ended the morning with a carousel ride, which all of my kids enjoyed except Elias. He was terrified of that thing.

He did like the animals though.

Silje, in normal fashion, read every sign about the animals before studying them. She needed to know there name, where they were from, what they ate, etc. In case you didn’t know, she’s pretty particular about opening birthday cards and reading every single word carefully before proceeding to the present. Drives David nuts.

Here’s Knut’s two brothers…Jon and Lars. Aren’t they silly?

There’s my cutie again.

Here’s my 2 of my nephews…two other cuties.

It was inevitable, I suppose, that the event we all gathered for would come to pass.

Lars graduating from high school. Now I suppose that most high school students don’t graduate with 8 nieces/nephews already notched in their belt, but this guy did. We love you Uncle Lars! He graduated with honors, and several awards. Knut and I are so excited for him to experience his first year of college this fall, as we know he will thrive there.

Knut was finishing planting about the whole time Jon and Kristin were in town, and it was all done just as they left. It was disappointing to him that he didn’t get to spend more time with them. We’re planning on visiting them for the first time this summer for our family road trip, so it shouldn’t be too long before we see them, and our 2 beautiful nephews again. Knut has been enjoying being home a little more, and sleeping a lot more! The whole week that Jon and Kristin were here, he was on a 20 hour day, and would come home to sleep for his 4 hour shift every night. He was able to have his meals at his mom’s house, where we were all gathered, so that did help.

Now Knut is spending time with us more, even though there still is work to be done during the day. He took this, and several other pictures of Silje the other day. What he really liked was when she insisted on a prop.

Yup. This photo could not be complete without a basketball.

When Jon and Kristin were in town, I tried to bring the kids over to my mother in law’s house about every day so we could spend time with them. However, that left very little time for me to get housework done, as well as tend to my sprouting garden. The entire week I only washed diapers, so by the time the week was done, I had mountains to climb. So did a bizillion loads, and finished up their diaper order as best I could. It was very slow because I was just so tired all the time! I mean extreme fatigue!

This weekend, my mom was in town for her high school reunion, and seeing my struggle to catch up, she and Knut weeded my whole garden (well, I helped a bit) and she and I (mostly her) folded the mountain of clothes, and then she watched the kids so I could put them away in peace. A dirty dish never sat in my kitchen for more than 10 minutes without being cleaned while she was here, and I feel so caught up! I don’t even know if she even grasps what a huge gift she gave me.

It was too short of a visit, and my Papa didn’t come this time, as they saved their money so that he could go to Thailand with my mom next week. She works for an international charity, and they find it’s cheaper, and easier for many of their workers, (many who are citizens in the countries they work in) to have their international meetings in Thailand rather than the U.S. She doesn’t go there every year, but as she’s approaching retirement and unsure how many more times she’ll go, she thought she’d take Papa with her this time. He’s always wanted to go with her.

So with the house not completely clean, but caught up, and a hot sticky day, Knut filled the little pool for the kids and we enjoyed the beautiful hot day.

We discovered the pool has a leak. So out came the hose.

So to sum up: I’ve been tired. And busy. And behind. Now I’m caught up, I’m starting to get some energy back, and we are enjoying life returning to normal. Sweet, sweet, normal.