the time of year for boquets of freshly sharpened pencils

I'm a Yankee- plain and simple. I tell you this because as such there are certain things I hold dear as absolute truths I believe one should live by. One of them is that children shouldn't have to go back to school until after Labor day. When the summers begun its surrender and fall is making its first appearances in all it's glorious shifts in weather and leaves that are giving in and showing us their true colors. Instead---while we are in the south we are greeted with early back to school dates. This year the yellow school buses came to cart our children away far to early. When you ask? The first week of August. That's right, you heard me, August.

There's no stopping it though so we are just going to buck up and get on with it. While growing up we had this tradition of getting a back to school blessing, or as some might call it a fathers blessing the night/weekend before school started. This is a tradition that we have carried on in our own family.

 ^^ Chaz and Royal.

 

 ^^Richie and Royal. 

 

 ^^  I don't mean to gush {don't I always} but I love these guys!

 



 ^^Rise and shine gentlemen.

The lunches are packed, breakfast is ready, and the bus is on its way.



 ^^ I'm ready mom!!

 ^^ Group shot @ the bus stop. GO MUSTANGS!!

 

 

 Life been changing pretty fast around here but that's the way we like it. If the wind isn't whipping through our hair we aren't having enough fun!!

 

xO- Etheline



follow up::

For the past few weeks I've had this nagging in the back of my head-- you need to blog, just sit down and do it!! I kept putting it off and putting it off until finally I had to ask myself-- why didn't I want to do it? A few more days crept by until finally a light bulb popped on; maybe if you give your space a facelift that will erase the urge to drag ones feet. The next thing I had to tackle was what exactly should go there?

^ Something Autumn related?
^ Just some words?
^ An illustration? {btw I'm completely in love with illustrations right now}

 I wasn't exactly sure, until I hoped on board my latest train of thought that was pulling out of the station, so to speak. It went a little something like this; I love autumn, autumn makes me think of cold weather and cold weather makes me think of Christmas and instead of listening to holiday music in September and October I listen to classical music. Which brought me of my love of Tchaikovsky and his ballets where I finally ended up at Degas. Oh how I love Degas. His dancers are some of my all time favorite pieces of art. When we went to The Met {# 7 on my favorite place of all time list} one cold rainy February afternoon I stood in front of several of Edgar's pieces for... for what I'm sure Royal thought was to long. It couldn't be helped though, they are so beautiful. And so now his dancers are at rehearsals on my blog perfecting the art of grace and beauty.


Now where was I, oh yes--- lets keep the follow up from my last post brief shall we??

I woke up that next morning and mustered the courage to make the call and to my amazing surprise/relief they were able to fit me that morning. I dropped off Margot and Richie around the corner at my girlfriends house(bless her) and took off for the doctors. After a thorough exam there were no warning flags or red lights of any kind, but because of my family history she wanted me to schedule a sonogram "just to be sure" for the following week. My initial appointment with her was enough however to get me through the weekend without multiple panic attacks ensuing.

That following Wednesday I drove downtown and was told by a very nice woman after my exam that there were absolutely no nodules, cysts, lumps, or irregularities of any kind.  It was defiantly a huge relief to have the ease and calm I felt throughout the weekend confirmed.

So long story short:: I quote the great Judy Garland:: "Happy days are here to stay."

{via}

And now that I've shook off the old and established the new I'm excited to dive into the blogosphere.

xO- Etheline

in which i spill to have a better night sleep

as you could probably tell I took a break from blogging over the summer. I love it, but it was just on the bottom of the list.

but with school starting back up and new schedules and routines popping up like quizzes I figured it was about time to dive back in. I have things to say and photos to share and the whole nine yards I do, but before I start there I am feeling something tonight and think the only way Im going to be able to stop stressing is to get it off my chest and put it out there--


Im 27 years old, the exact age my fathers mother died of breast cancer. Its a weird feeling for me. this whole year has just haunted me in one way another and I just want to turn 28 already(77days!!) I bring this up because Ive noticed a soreness in the same area over the past few weeks. Its really only sensitive to touch and on a scale of 1 to 10 Id say its a 2 in discomfort/pain but one never knows how these things really start and don't even get me on why. Nonetheless Im still going to call the doctors and have a check up.

This is what I told myself last week and I still haven't called to make an appointment.

Im scared.

Im terrified to do it because once I make the appointment I have to go, and then I have to talk about it, and then they have to figure out if its really something or not.

Now lets take a breath, because the chances of it being nothing are high in my favor...but theres that small chance that my world could change. Right now Im walking around in this absolute blissful state of unawareness, yet some life changing event could be just beyond the horizon.

Right now I am planning our spring break vacation and learning to French braid Margots hair and walking Chaz to the bus stop every morning and his first time at playing soccer is gearing up next week and back to school prek shopping with Richie and considering going back to school to get my degree in English (or history I haven't decided) and cheering Royal on while he's annihilating the IT certification circuit.

I have a life I am actively participating in and its pretty great. I am so thankful for the love that is in my home, but this one phone call could leave me standing at a precipice that changes all of that and Im having a hard time willing myself to take that step.

I just needed to say this "out loud" if you will. I needed to get it off my chest.

Tomorrows the day. The day I make the call.

Night--
xO- Etheline

hello friday

i can't get enough of this song right now------>

enjoy.

and have a happy Father's Day weekend.

xO-Etheline

words to live by

{via}

Just a little reminder we can all benefit from.

Have a wonderful Thursday.




xO-Etheline

i woke up with the birds::

good morning sun

 

for the past few weeks I've been taking advantage of living so close to  Stone Mountain. Three mornings a week; in the blissful quiet I run anywhere from 2 to 3 miles. I really love it, and knowing my babies are all home in bed asleep is an extra perk.

 



 

This morning I decided instead of my normal exercise route I'd spice it up a bit. So I climbed to the top and ran down. Be careful if you ever choose to do this. I wouldn't recommend doing it if you are unfamiliar with the terrain. I, however, absolutely love running down. It is the most exhilarating feeling ever.

 



 

For those of you who are unfamiliar, Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome monadnock, essentially a large rock. The base measures 5 miles around and the walk up trail to the top is 1.3 miles. I really recommend climbing it if you are ever in the area. The views are breathtaking, and if its a clear day you can even see Atlanta. If you aren't keen on a hike though there is a skyway rail that will bring you up and down...for a fee. 

 



See ya later. Time to run down.....

xO- Etheline

here we go::

Ya know, one of these days Ill get the hang of this whole regularly scheduled blogging thing.

Meanwhile....

We have a lot of going on right now. So much has happened and will be happening in the next few weeks. Some good-- some bad, but such is life.

You see I have this talent that allows me to ignore, put things out of my mind, put them on the back shelf...you get the idea. If its not something that I can fix or take care of at that time I dont let it stress me out. This usually has served me well over the years, but last month it caught up with me in a big way.

We have a decent savings, but when you have several things that could go up in flames at one time no amount of money makes a difference to me.  Uncertainty got the best of  me and I, as hard as it it to admit, had a panic attack. My first one ever-- sort of, the other one was when I had my eyebrows professionally dyed, but thats another story for another day.  Once recovered I had to lay all my cards on the table and come to terms with everything that I had been ignoring, no thats such a harsh word, everything I had been putting off dealing with.

Things like::

+I love my car, but will today be the day it dies on me?

+Should we sell the home we own, keep renting it out, up the price, stay the same?

+Do we use all of Royals vacation time and a chunk of our savings to go to New Hampshire and see his brother, his wife and their new baby?

+Do we homeschool Chaz again next year or send him to school with a great group of LDS kids from our ward thats ranked a 10?

+If we want Chaz to go to that school we need to move when our lease is up in July, but houses for rent in that area are few and far between.

+So if we cant find a house to rent that we will feel comfortable in for a few years do we just look to leave all together again??

+ Its been...{x years} since we've talked to Royals parents...should we try to reach out again. Have we healed enough for that yet? They are missing out on their grandchildrens lives.

+Speaking of children should we try for another one. Margot is already 2 which means at least a 3 year gap...our largest.

+Why am I so tired? I have no energy...oh thats right Im dealing with a bout of Anemia right now.

These are just some of the headliners--- but Im sure its enough to paint you a picture.

After some talks with Royal we formulated a game plan and he helped me get back on track. He's so patient with me and helps me back up in just the way I need-- 2 parts butt kicking to 1 part mushy husband. We dont have all the answers, but I know that God hears our prayers. I believe that the more we draw closer to him the more we will be blessed. That doesnt mean that its the easiest thing, turning to God. I am stubborn in this department, but the quicker I am to acknowledge him the better I feel; as a daughter of God, wife, and mother.

This past weekend we {Royal} found a home for rent. Not only in the school boundries we were hoping for, but in the development we only dreamt of living in. To top it all off its in our price range and a great house with excellent bones that make it easy to want stay a while; as opposed to moving every year when our lease is up. I love to meet new people and travel. I thrive off of it, but I realized Sunday while I was fasting that what we have here is good. We may long to be elsewhere with all of our hearts...so much so that it hurts sometimes. We are in a good place that will treat us well and we could make great friends if we let ourselves.

I am happy to receive understanding through the Holy Ghost. Its a testament to me that my savior really knows me personally and what I stand in need of. Everyday is a new day to practice relying on him instead of doing it alone and Im grateful that I get the chance to increase my faith.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend:)

xO-Etheline