Normalcy

Not so recently we moved to Idaho to pursue a better quality of life. This decision was hard and one we took years to finally take the leap due to our oldest and my step son Jordan. We realized our choice to move states would be hard but the fact of the matter is, it was and is the best thing for our WHOLE family. That was initially the hardest part of me to remember. That this choice is for the whole family and in a perfect would we would have things differently but the world is not perfect so we do what we have to do to create a better quality of life.

Now with our big move came the choice to live with my parents while we settled some debt and found our perfect house. (I’m writing all about the farm that we ended up buying and will share soon!) Living with my parents has been great, it’s not ideal and space is limited but extra hands to chase kids and wipe butts is nice. However recently my grandfather had a set back in life and had to move in with us as well. Yes that means there is a total of 5 adults and 3 kids living in one house. My parents built a wall and closed off the family room to create space for him and it hasn’t been to difficult adjusting to an extra body in the house, except when its time shower and there is no hot water.

Recently however I feel an ache for our old normal, little things like drinking from my favorite coffee cup and sitting in my old reading chair while listening to my records and watching the boys play. Trying desperately to keep our outside plants alive in the hot AZ sun. Being able to go into our bedroom without having to tip toe so I wouldn’t wake the sleeping baby who shares our room currently. Little things of knowing where all your belongings are and being able to access them easily. Right now the majority of our belongings are sitting in a storage container near our farm house while we remodel. And yes I hated how I had to have my records playing or the TV on to drown out our loud neighbors, I hated how no matter what I did our outside plants fried in the sun, I hated how our apartment was so tiny I couldn’t even put a coffee maker on the counter and had to lug it in and out of the cupboard daily but it was our normal.

Again I am whole heartily grateful my parents have helped us as much as they have and hope this post doesn’t not come across as me being ungrateful because I am not. We would still be in a cockroach infested tiny two bedroom apartment with paper thin walls without their help. I am however aching to see what our new normal will be.

Jordan, Rai and Ashton. Their bonnets are from an adorable shop called Darling Nightingale. They are currently closed for the summer months but you can find her on Etsy or Instagram to stay updated on when she opens up again.

These are the custom made shirts I helped create. I dyed the shirts with coffee and tea then sent them off to a dear friend of mine who just opened her vinyl shop. She helped create a perfect shirt for each of us with a symbolic meaning. Minus mine which is rutabaga which we picked because its always a fun word to say. You can follow her shop on Instagram here, she hasn’t launched her full shop on Etsy yet but takes orders through DM.