Lizard

Sunday just seems to be the day creatures show up on our back porch. Ella and I chased two lizards around the back patio until we finally caught the little one. Ella put it in her butterfly cage and carried it around the house. She woke Brittney up from her nap when she tried to let "lizzie" get in bed with her. Then we released him back into the wild, just like the turtle and fish last week. Catch and release is our motto.

Brittney and the girls are off to Utah on Tuesday and I'll be taking national board exams on the 8th and 19th, wish us luck.

like daddy like daughters

watermelon is a favorite treat. just ask kyle or his girls.

a turtle and a fish

Easter is a perfect time

Easter is a perfect time for many things.

The best thing: Celebrating the Resurrection. Good article here.

A great thing: Cadbury chocolates that look like blue bird eggs.

And why not: A house for sale in demopolis: See it here.

Just spent the weekend helping cliff and becky (real names kathy and clay) lay new flooring in their home. Now that we're home, Kate fed Ella a bowl of beans and now their splashing in the tub. Should have some good pix of the kids tomorrow. Happy Easter, everyone!

Each picture, a thousand words

Warm, sunny, with small chance of rain

Butterflies

Some people have cats. Some have dogs.


We, on the other hand, raise butterflies.


Ella took a bath with her butterflies, rocked them to sleep, gave them a check-up, and named them (tina, buddy, grandma anne, grandpa dug, and cole). We let them loose in the house and Cole disappeared. When he returned, his new name was karin.

We even took them to Kyle's work. They were a hit.

Later in the day one of the butterflies flew away. Ella started crying and it was about the saddest thing in the whole world. I told her "Don't be sad. Now he's free." That was a new idea to her and it seemed to do the trick.

katie kate

She slices, she dices, she's almost ready to take on her sister.

Some use a chisel, kyle uses a weedwacker

Some fun highlights from Demopolis:

1. While working in the yard, a passing neighbor asked kyle if "his parents put him up to it?"

2. We've had 2 calls to "swap houses"

3. Ella had a hole in her pants. When I asked her about it, she said, "Well, at least everyone will know I'm a tree climber."

4. Kate can officially play duck, duck, goose. Or in our house, cacoon, cacoon, BUTTERFLY! (Dug, we know its a chrysalis, but they're just kids!)

5. Kyle used the weedwacker for approximately 3 hours today. All the flower beds, the edges, the low hedges . . . lookin' good.

6. kyle's put his volvo up for sale, for one day: "$3900 or partial trade for golf cart."

Part 2: He still has a wife

Thanks for all the calls since Kyle's last post. No, I am not leaving or going back to Utah. But here’s a little window into some things I’ve been thinking about lately.

When Kyle and I met we had an instant connection and fell madly in love. We knew he was going to be leaving on a mission, and so each moment counted. We rode singletrack, held hands, wrote love letters. We ate good food, watched the stars, walked the beach, and so much more.

Looking back, that year is priceless to me because it was a time when I felt really alive and happy. No burdens. No immediate cares. It just was what it was.

Kyle came home from his mission June 2 and we were married August 16. And somehow between then and now our relationship was hijacked. Our mantra has blurred from “I love you and will do anything for you” to “I love you but let’s be practical and responsible about it.”

Now, I’m all about being practical and responsible. But those two traits can grow into monsters capable of and suffocating the life, the aliveness, out of a marriage.

So essentially, I’ve had it. Not with Kyle, but with where we’re at and how I’ve been feeling lately. I’m not trading another bit of youth and health and passion and love for something that I won’t remember or will simply add another dollar to my bottom line.

And to be fair, Kyle has had it too. His main complaint is, “Whenever you have free time all you want to do is sleep.” And he’s right. I’m exhausted. The work, the moving, the kids, the school, the traveling . . . I just don’t have enough to go around.

So, together we’ve drawn our line in the sand. We’re selling the house. We’re downsizing. We’re simplifying. We’re going to live on less and do more.

I tell clients all the time: “If you want to keep your customers, you need to surprise and delight them.” It’s about the little things. The thoughtful things. The “I just did a little something to make your life better” things. Why should it be any different with marriage?

So speaking of clients, I officially stopped work with Dialect and American Express today in hopes of freeing up time to bring my marriage back to life. A hard decision, but I’ve been smiling all day.

Kyle and I have both put a lot on hold to get him through school debt free and to start a family. But we’re at the point where we’re not willing to put some things on hold any longer. Like time. Like passion. Like the little things.

Does any of this make sense?

Kyle, I love you babe. Here’s to the line in the sand and returning to our roots.