companions

As of right now, I have no idea if Zach survived his last exam. I hope so! I'm excited to have him home for his little break. I'm shocked and excited that we actually got through this semester... we must be building our academic/life balance endurance, because we're DOING THIS! We haven't completely depleted our savings, and the kids are happy and healthy. It's a miracle. Dude. Seriously. Deep Breathes!

I'm incredibly thankful for our neighbors. All the way out here in the country on a lot of land, we live right next to an amazing family (and I'm serious- amazing- healthy boundaries, kind, similar ways of raising a family- it has blessed me more than I could ever describe). Their three kids are sweet companions for my kids. The amount of running and playing and exploring is awesome. Each child is a great example of kindness, patience, and true friendship to each one of my children. It's the best gift I could've been given in living here.

"M" is an amazing older friend for Leah... she's a few years older and completely inclusive and wonderful with Leah. She's the type of child I want Leah to learn from and be around... added bonus? they look JUST like sisters and have the same hair. It's pretty eerie, actually. 

"P" is a spunky and fun friend for all my kids! 

"T" is a young teenager, always willing to mentor my kids, and is especially helpful with Pete. He's patient and will help guide Pete away from bad/annoying behaviors, and Pete listens to him because he's cool and older. Pete NEEDS good examples... trust me :). 

Here's another kind of companion all the kids are loving right now... and unfortunately brining into my kitchen to show me... grossssss

In completely unrelated news, here's Sam practicing his whistle, with blue lips. Not sure where this picture even came from but it cracks me up! 

Anyway, I'm to the end of this post and still haven't heard from Zach... yikes... poor dude. We're having dinner with friends tonight, and I'm just hoping he can stay awake to eat! Many all-nighters in a row to study equals pure exhaustion.

Happy weekend to you all... I'll be running and eating yummy food. Also, confession time: I keep tearing up every time I read an article about anyone who ran the Boston Marathon. Are you kidding me... I'm turning into a crazy runner person! Those were the people who used to annoy the crap out of me! I HAVE BECOME THEM! All for the better, I guess :). Maybe someday I'll run a marathon...