We're still here

In more ways than one. It's hard to believe it's been two months since I've posted! In the meantime, we've been through a variety of challenges as a family and had to make some major decisions. Perhaps the most visible of those is that we've decided to stay put for the time being. Thinking it over carefully, alternating parenting round the clock just so we could pay our rent didn't feel like the right thing for our family or the best thing for our girls at this point in our lives. We feel really lucky to have a branch of the family that is happy to have us and our girls camp out with them as long as needed--as well as another branch within a few hours' drive that love us and are happy to lend whatever reinforcements we need as well. We've spent several days this summer with three and four grandparents on deck, and I have to say it's been a lot of fun and very gratifying to see how well everyone works and gets along together. We're grateful and humbled by all the love and support everyone shows us on a daily basis, and it's really reaffirmed for us that there's nothing more important than our family.

So for the foreseeable future, we're going to continue to function as one, big, happy, multigenerational, four-pet, two-business household. (Sounds a little crazy put like that, doesn't it?) One that note, midwifery is starting to take off, which is a little overwhelming but extremely exciting. I remember doing my training in Pennsylvania and spending beautiful fall days with my favorite midwife, driving around the countryside and visiting expectant families in their homes, and thinking "This is the life." Well, it's now at least partially my life as well. And while there are definitely things we miss about the various towns and landscapes we've occupied in the past, being near family is definitely right, and Iowa is starting to feel like home.

Eden is definitely moving into a more settled phase of being as well. She's definitely still intense and energetic, we're all finding our way together and learning to relax and enjoy one another more in the process. She's also learning to channel her energy and focus for longer periods of time. We spend lots of time playing and climbing outside, building with Duplos, and playing with Play-Doh. She's now potty trained and continues to be a spectacular big sister to Eve--who's morphed from a sleepy sack of a newborn into a curious, smiley and easygoing baby who loves watching Eden's adventures from the safety of the sling or Bumbo.

Matt and I are feeling like we're really beginning to hit our stride, in our marriage and as parents. Much of this is due to deliberate reflection and effort on each our parts, and I think it's also helpful to feel like we're finally in a settled spot for awhile. As opposed to our various moves in the past few years, we can make friends or find a restaurant we like without thinking that it's too bad we'll be leaving soon. Even if we don't live at Belmont Hill forever, we feel like we've found the region we'll be calling home, and that's a tremendous relief for everybody.