A Whole Year!?!

Wow, I can't believe an entire year has passed since I last posted on my beloved little blog... we are just about to celebrate our 11th anniversary and my last post was going to celebrate our 10th. This year has been an absolute whirlwind, with so many changes, its hard to reflect on. For the first time since we've been married and started our little family I feel like I have time to myself and I even have moments where I am wondering what I should be doing? It is a different place to be and I have found myself questioning what my role and purpose is meant to be in this stage of life? I have had break downs of feeling like my life is mundane... doing the same things day in and day out, wake up at 6 am, do my devotions with coffee, make breakfast and lunches, get kids ready for school, clean, clean, clean, grocery shop, dog walks, pick up from preschool, come home make lunch for steve and Scott, Amara and myself, clean again, pick up from school, homework, playdates, after school snacks, make dinner, clean dinner, bathe girls, play with girls, sports or girls activities, read books, bedtime routine, collapse on the couch with Steve and zone out with a show, pass out by 10 pm, and hit repeat! With many things missed in between... reading that I wonder how I have time to be bored... or struggle with my purpose, but I have friends who work, have home businesses- get to be appreciated for some aspect of their lives. Blah. I love my life, I really do. I am thankful and grateful I get to stay home and be on the front lines of raising my girls.... but sometimes its just hard, you know?
What I really need to do is get back in shape... Im currently shaping the shape round in my mid section, and I am happiest when I am in a workout routine, but I have just felt to blah to even do that!
I am hoping to put Amara into some kind of longer program in the fall, as preschool is just a few hours in the morning... doesn't feel long enough to be purposeful. And the plan is to start working for Steve... doing administrative stuff and website updating. So hopefully I can find some passion for that.
My girls are all growing like crazy and lately I've been thinking about how things just end without really realizing it or giving it a milestone... we hit milestones the first time they walk, talk, potty train, sleep through the night, but we forget when things happen, like rocking Amara to sleep and singing to her, and calming my girls through the night (which I'm not saying I miss at all!) or them needing me for every little thing through the day. ITs a wonderful stage and I am loving it and the stages and ages of my girls. Amara stopped napping the same day we took her soother away, it was on our trip to Calgary at Christmas. We lost her soother and then naps went with it... that was sad. But she was almost 4 so I was spoiled.
Danika is almost 11 and is a very busy little lady. She is friends with everyone and is very involved in school. She is part of the high school musical, in the choir and she is very excited! She finished off soccer at the end of April, and I am glad to be done that. She improved so much and I had fun helping coach her team. We just had parent teacher interviews and Mr. Hollett was raving about how Danika is so confident, friends with everyone, kind to everyone and has a beautiful singing voice. She does struggle with writing and math, but they are not her strong points and I need to be supportive and helpful in those areas.
Adessa is my little 7.5 year old sunshine. She wakes up happy and is so eager to help with everything. She is excelling at school and she amazes me daily with the school knowledge she retains. She scores 100% on all her spelling tests, she is moving up all the time in her levels of reading group and she loves to read. I just heard her yesterday reciting the water cycle to my mom on the phone and I was amazed at how she remembers every single detail. She is friends with everyone and has playdates often. She is a creative little artist and loves to make messes... her latest idea with her little buddy was making a mud pit in the backyard and using it as "paint" to paint paper, the fences and the shed!
Amara is 4 and is so.full.of.life She is a pure delight to be around and brings smiles to everyone who meets her. Her voice is the cutest thing in the world, seriously. Everyone comments on it and I'm going to miss it dearly when she grows out of it! She is a tiny little pixie... 30 pounds and has been for the last couple years. But that doesn't slow her down, she keeps up with all her buddies, and her sisters, always wanting to do more, be faster and bigger. She still continually gets hurt, but is one tough little cookie. She also has an amazing memory and surprises us daily with little facts she remember or events that happened that we barely remember. She has many friends, constant playdates, loves preschool and is already asking for playdates... and very upset we say she's not old enough. She's my little buddy and helps me with all my errands.I currently have her in swim lessons to try and get her a bit more comfortable with the water before we open up the pool!

Steve is crazy busy.... like crazy busy. Like I don't know how he does it all. He has hired our old Paster Scott Carruthers as a sale person, who is currently working from our home until they get into the house they bought. It has been nice for Steve to have someone to share the burden of the company with. They are getting numerous calls a day for new work and have several homes lined up for the next year. I am so proud of him. WE are both currently feeling pretty burned out at the moment and are looking forward to going to the tighnamara in parksville for a night for our anniversary next weekend.