August 2021

 At the beginning of  August, Daniel had his surgery. It went well, and his recovery was so much better than we thought it would be. He had almost no pain. So the crying and irritability that we experience after every surgery he and Peter had as babies was nonexistent!

Mary turned 12 this month. The most exciting things that she got to do that day were sitting in the front seat to go to get her first dose of the vaccine!

We started school on August 17. We are doing online school again, and while it is still not ideal, it is much better than last year. The teachers are much more organized, and we are familiar with all the programs, so it does not feel so overwhelming. Mary and Daniel are loving their middle school experience. The school just has one teacher for each subject, so they mostly have all the same teachers, and even have one class together- creative coding. They have at least weekly interaction with their teachers, and thus feel more accountable to them, which is such an improvement over last year. Even Anna and Peter are able to be a lot more independent. They are on a zoom from 8:20 - 12:00 each day, and I mostly don't have to help them, other than to remind them to stay on task and listen to their teachers. Then they have a few assignments to finish and submit. 

We had a big disappointment this month, as we realized that our plan to buy before we sell our house will not work. Even though we know we have the money, lenders only look at the past 2 years of tax returns to determine how much you can afford. Since Scott was just starting his business in 2019, and last year was slow because of the pandemic, we cannot qualify for a second mortgage, even though this year is 2/3 over and we will make more this year than in 2019 and 2020 combined. So, we are working to get our house ready to sell, but also trying to accept that we most likely will not be able to move this year. It's so hard to have been in this limbo state for so long.

before

We're making very slow progress on finishing our bathrooms. Then the upstairs will be done. We have a few things we need to do downstairs as well. Outside, we replaced the front porch, which is something that has needed to be done sine we moved in. I'm sure you've noticed the sinking stairs and rotting railing. So that is super exciting. Hopefully, we'll be able to get a new railing soon, and that project will be done. It also involved removing a couple of bushes and moving a couple of sprinkler lines, which we still need to complete. We are also getting a new swamp cooler tomorrow! So we're making lots of progress. There's just also a lot still to do.

I am 24 weeks pregnant, and feeling a lot better. My back is so much improved. I still have to be careful and do my stretches and exercises every day, but I can do almost everything I need to without pain! I also feel like I have more energy, even though I am also always tired. I feel our sweet bundle moving and dancing and stretching every day, which is fun. I went to the doctor today, and he said he could tell that I am feeling better both physically and emotionally.

This is at the hospital on the day of Daniel's surgery.

Scott also had a birthday this month. He is such a hard worker. He works into the wee morning hours at his job, so that during the day, he can help me with housework, the kids with school, and do all the house projects. He is carrying such a heavy load right now.