Amelia
I have been feeling quite a bit of guilt at my neglect over your letters and blog these last few months. All I can say is that I will keep trying to do better and that I promise- all my energy went into how crazy our life has been and keeping up with your darling (and spirited!) 4 year old self :)
June brought all kinds of changes as we prepared to leave our home in Washington. We lived in the same duplex for three years and it was the only home you really knew. While I feel like you've taken the move as best you could, I have seen some emotional ups and downs as you try to handle these new feelings of losing your place of comfort, your friends, and your school. Life there was different for us...while we saw less of each other we had fallen into our own kind of rhythm and I can see that you miss that familiarity. I am proud of you for working through your feelings and when they become intense, you tell me you miss _____ and we are able to talk about it. I marvel at your tenacity and continue to have much to learn from you, sweetheart. Goodness, I love you so much!
The end of June brought Daddy's graduation from residency which represented 12 years of higher education and training. It felt surreal to have it all end in one day. Daddy gave a speech at graduation and talked about how much he loves his girls and how he couldn't have done all this hard work without our support. It's true, you know. So many times he would have to leave for work and you were gracious about him having to leave and yet made him look forward to the moment he could come home. We had family and friends come: Papa, Grandma Kathy, Dan Holly and Ev, Grandma Willie and Grandpa Andy DeKorte, and Uncle Ken and Aunt Sheryl. We felt surrounded by love and support! You looked lovely in your shimmering linen dress and the only pair of matching shoes I could find in the entire city. Literally. haha. You twirled and had a wonderful time running around with Ev as the ceremony was held outside. It was quite hot- I think 100 degrees- but you didn't let that stop you. You adore the outdoors and are at the door begging to go outside every single day. Unless it's freezing rain or a tornado or similar, I'm right there with you and I am grateful we have this in common!
Once the ceremony was over it was all business and we got the truck loaded and as friends and family left they took our things south with them to the city we are moving to. We were left with a mostly empty house for about three weeks while we finished up work and said goodbye to friends. I tried to give you extra time with friends and scheduled two or three play dates each week even though it was a lot to juggle with my working a lot at the end and having to finish organizing and packing. You are quite social and have made many friends and while I know you are only 4, I hope some of these endure over the years as we make an effort to return and visit. You were working to understand your geography and how far we were really moving. About the time I was pretty sure we had gotten it down, we were at the grocery store and you asked if we were in Oregon. No....remember hunny it's really far away. Oh, okay. Then we went across the street to the library and again you asked if now we were in Oregon. I had to laugh although I did feel kind of bad because it truly is a big world and it's tough sometimes, I think even for adults, to think of how small each of us are on this world, in this universe.
July brought saying goodbye to Yakima and hello to Southern Oregon. We stayed about a week and then we were off for 10 days to go out to Idaho and Utah where we camped at Bear Lake with dear friends, saw friends from our medical school days in Iowa, stayed with friends from home that Daddy has known since high school (who bought a home while we were there, that was cool!), friends I worked with at the U of U, and friends Mommy has had since I was 7(where you got your first salon mani/pedi! You were nervous about them touching your legs and I was beyond proud of you for telling me that. Your body is YOURS and it's important you know that! We talked about it and you decided to go ahead but if you didn't like it you could say stop. They gave you a princess crown and gosh you were so stinking adorable!). It was a big big trip with lots of planning and moving parts but it was amazing and you loved so many things about it. You enjoyed Bear Lake and you were a great little camper- that was a surprise! We didn't think you'd sleep all that well in the tent but you did 100x better than last year and it was amazing to actually get pretty close to the rest we needed! We camped three nights and I honestly think you could've gone longer and still done great. Next summer we will continue to push those days out...I'd love to spend an entire week camping if possible! The lake was warm and you just ran up and down the shore splashing and playing with the sand. I had bought some new toys for this camping adventure and you had a little bit of a hard time sharing them but we worked through it. Since you most likely will not have any siblings, this is something we will probably keep working on, and that's okay. You grow a little each day and continually amaze me with your grace and intelligence!
When we got back to Southern Oregon from Utah and 12.5 hours in the car in one day, we slept, repacked the car, and headed out another 7 hours to our annual coast trip with Dan Holly and Ev. It was such a great trip! You girls even shared a bed and there wasn't any biting like last year hahaha! You had a tendency to wake everyone up verrrrrrry early due to your excitement but that's okay. It was awesome having a little house all to ourselves and getting to go play at the various beaches each day. We roasted s'mores (and even tried the new mint chocolate chip marshmallows), stayed up late, played games, ran on the beach for actual hours, explored tide pools, finally found a sand dollar then lost it, tried to hear each other over the wind that was so strong it snapped our wind-breaking tent's fiberglass pole, built sandcastles, hiked a beautiful forest and did a scavenger hunt (as a prize for not walking everyone up that morning at 4am lol), ate ice cream, and just enjoyed being together for our 4 night stay. I already can't wait to go back!
August has been interesting...we have had about a week between coming back from the coast and leaving on our big trip. We have mostly been hanging out and getting ready to leave again, seeing family and friends and trying to relax a tiny bit. I think we are all feeling pretty ready for a normal, scheduled life to start up but we also know how short and precious this time is. We are so grateful to be able to take these 14 weeks off from work. It has been much needed for our little family.
Sweetheart, I love you so much. Dad and I can't get over how sweet and intelligent you are. Sometimes sassy...and sometimes stubborn, but aren't we all at times :) You're confident, even in the face of adults telling you to do something you don't want to do (and don't have to). Seeing your power gives me strength and makes me want to be better. You're funny and hearing the jokes you come up with on a daily basis always have Dad and I laughing. You still eat pretty much everything although you were a little suspicious of the hard taco shell we tried to give you last night lol you weren't really buying the whole "it's like a chip burrito" persuasion. Fruit is your thing and you're in heaven with all the blackberries here. You eat tomatoes off the plant and always beg for more. I love seeing you growing so healthy and strong- you have quite the little athletic body. Next summer we will try sports and I'm sure you will excel as you still love to run and run and run. I keep thinking one of these times I'll see you get tired or out of breath and not want to run, but that hasn't happened yet!
I am the luckiest, most blessed woman in the whole world because I get to be married to Daddy and be your Mommy. I never forget it. My heart is grateful for you and our little family each and every day. I am grateful for your birthmom and her family as well and they are never far from my immediate thoughts. It's been such a blessing to have gotten to know them as now I see pieces of them in you and can recognize it. It's a beautiful thing. Sometimes you still say you wish you had come from my tummy, and that's okay. Someday I'm sure you will look and see all the wonderful things we have been blessed with and know how stunningly amazing Gods plan for you has been and continues to be.
I love you,
oxoxox
Mommy
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