It is well, with my soul

I love that old hymn.  It is one of my all time favorites.  We are in such a happy place in our lives right now.  Our family is healthy and thriving.  Our new schedule is so much better and we are so much happier.  Our finances are in good order with promise of even more financial security down the road.  I am in a happy place in my job.  I feel like I have a firm footing in what I do and get better and better with each passing day.  I'm in that part of the school year where I'm really seeing the fruits of my hard labor from earlier.  Being able to see growth in your students is so rewarding, mostly because you see how it changes them.  They become confident.  They become excited about learning and show their appreciation to you.  The littles especially have been full of hugs for me this year and have been telling me they love me randomly quite often.  One even raised his hand and declared he loved me in the middle of a lesson when my boss was in the room evaluating me.  I guess she knows they like me.  How can you not love them right back?

The girls are just awesome right now.  Wonderful ages!  Kadyn goes through waves of being difficult.  Now she's in a good phase.  The kids really enjoy their piano lessons with me and I really enjoy doing it for them.  It has kind of ignited a music passion for the whole family.  Jeff recently bought a new electric guitar and is now reteaching himself how to play again.  Kadyn, pulled out her pink ukulele and has started playing it every single day for the past week.  After I introduced her to chord charts a whole new world opened up for her and she can't seem to get enough.  She has asked me to play along with her for the past three nights.  We sing together, laugh together, play together.  It is just so lovely.  She has requested to take her uke to school tomorrow and play for her friends during share time at her gifted class.  I'm a just tickled pink that she is excited about playing an instrument.  Dare I even say I have been daydreaming about a family band down the road?  Probably will stay a dream, but it's funny to imagine.  Just tonight Brennan decided she wanted in on the family band fun and thinks she wants to save her allowance for a tambourine.

My free time is spent doing chores, playing the piano, playing my uke, and doing home improvement projects.  Laundry has actually been enjoyable since we redid our laundry room.  I feel like I'm in someone else's house just walking into the room.  Jeff made this beautiful wooden accent wall in the room.  I just love it!

The chore charts I wrote about in an earlier post are still in full swing and have helped tremendously as long as we remember to check them.  Christmas break threw us off a little so it's taking a little while to get back into the routine of checking the chore chart, but when they do, our days run smoothly and it's nice not having to remind the kids to do this or that all the time.  It just gets done.

We are all longing for a snow day around here.  It's not that we really need a break, we just want a chance to use our new snow boots!   Seriously, the only year I actually have full snow gear for the kids and it doesn't snow.  I know there's still winter left, but it's not looking promising for flakes any time soon.  Such a bummer!

We have things to look forward too.  We are going to go on a minivaca to KC for Spring break and stay at the Great Wolf Lodge.  It has an indoor water park that is supposed to be really cool.  My parents are coming home with us for a couple days that week too.  The girls have big plans to have a recital for Grandma and Grandpa when they arrive.  We are in the beginning stages of setting up a big beach vacation with good friends of ours this summer.  I will be making a trip to CO to visit family this summer.  Of course there are long days at the local beach this summer to look forward too.
The kids got a trampoline this Christmas so we are looking forward to setting that up when the weather starts warming up.

We've had some unseasonably warm days this winter.  The kids have actually started playing in their tree house and back wooded area we made for them last summer.  (About time they used it).  I think the little girl across the street finally feels more comfortable around us and away from her mother to actually come over and play in it so I'm hoping this is the start of our kids playing at our house with their friends a lot more.  They get along so fabulously and can whittle away hours just paling around together, just the three of them.  In and out of the house, at the tree house, riding their bikes around the culdesac, riding their scooters, playing downstairs.  Meanwhile, I get a lot of time to just do things I like while they are playing with their friend.  Just lovely.

Goodness, I am just so blessed right now.  I really want to freeze time and stay in our happy place forever.  I know life goes through highs and low.  Thankful for the high we find ourselves in now. Know it won't last forever.  Thankful anyhow.  It is well with my soul.