Keeping up with the Lunds: March 2019

March started off with my lover coming home from his horrid cruise. And me feeling invigorated and recharged and ready for anything.... honestly, March was the most low-key month we have had in LONG time. We didn't do much at all. And it felt really good.

We signed our contract and started the building process and it felt so wonderful to be back in the present with nothing but good things ahead.

March at work was for lack of better words... Out. Of. Control. My work-life over the past 30 days is a complete blur. It was just as busy as the holiday season, but so much more pleasant and do-able. I don't know what the difference was. But, as chaotic as it was, we were able to keep up and things just flowed. I didn't feel the stress as much. My parents are a huge part of that. They are the best inspectors. I think it really helps to know that they are doing a really good job. I don't have to think about the homes that they inspect at all because I just know they are perfect. That has been huge. Besides, it is so fun to see them every day and to have things in common. I love it.

Peyton spent some of her Christmas money on a super cool soccer ball. She loves sports more than life itself. Peyton doesn't give two hoots about anything other than soccer, basketball and football. I can't say anything to her about her outfits or her hair. If I even hint like I am going to say anything about not being happy about what she has chosen to wear, there are words. I don't care what the temperature is outside, she wears the same thing. A sports shirt, soccer shorts, long black socks and indoor cleats. It's like pulling teeth to get her to wear a coat. If I am lucky, she'll wear a zip up hoodie. And her hair.... sigh..... it's either in a straight, low pony tail or straight down and wet.
I don't know where she came from. But, she is the world's easiest girl/boy to raise. Low maintenance if you just leave her alone and let her, do her.

My parent's ward did a youth activity at the mall and various members of the ward were asked to dress up in disguises so see if the kids would recognize them as someone they knew. My dad dressed up as a mall custodian. No one knew who he was. They best part is security harassed him twice because they thought he was a creeper.

My big kids went to California/Disneyland for Spring Break. They stopped by the house I grew up in and took a photo of the front of the house and sent it to me. The lady who lives there now saw them and asked them if they wanted to come in and look around. They said YES. They sent me pictures of all of the rooms which look nothing like it did when I lived there. But it was still fun to see what it looks like now.

When we lived there, the carpet was rose pink and the walls were robin's egg blue. Our couch was navy floral and we had two polka dot wing back chairs. It was SO darling. But the atrocious fireplace looked the same. No one has bothered to change that up unfortunately.

While they were in the garage, they saw this sign. It was still there from when my parents lived there 20 years ago. I have NO idea why 2 different owners following them would have ever kept this monstrosity. But, they did. The lady gave it to my girls to bring home. What a fun thing to feel connected to me as a teenager.

I finally got my new business cards. Only this time, I had to submit a photo to put on the front of them. I was supposed to go have them professionally done.... with me turned sideways, with my arms folded, standing by a stream or something, in some sort of ridiculous business suit. But, the thought of that made me want to vomit... not only physically doing it, but then having to look at it and re-live the experience every time I passed out one of the cards. So instead, I had Raleigh crop and edit one of our family photos. Who cares that there is a window in the background and that I have 100s of wrinkles. This is as professional as I will ever be able to get.

I am in the process of writing Kori's book. Well...... I am going to try at least. It's a story that needs to be told and heard. And I don't know what I am doing or where to begin or how to get it published or any of that. So, Mom heard that Richard Paul Evans was doing a seminar at the Dixie Center and she signed us up to attend. I will keep my opinions of him to myself, but I think that he really knows what he is doing. Anyway, his assistant called me a couple of days following the seminar and asked me to attend his writers camp for a week in June. If I did that, "I would walk away with a published book". And as tempting as that sounds, I just couldn't do it. For several reasons. Which I will also keep to myself. I will probably regret it forever. It's going to be a really good book, even if only my family reads it.

St. Patricks Day was on a Sunday. I don't know the purpose of St. Patrick's day. But my kids were DEAD SET on dressing up. The problem is that we don't have very many green dresses. KK settled for green accessories. And Peyton.... I mean you know something is up when she wears a NECKLACE to church. What???????

Raleigh insisted we take pictures by our popcorn tree.
He loves our stinky popcorn tree

This was taken right before Allie came down with the world's worse case of strep throat, which manifested in a antibiotic reaction rash. 4 missed school days, 4 missed work days, lots of tears and the biggest set of tonsils I have ever seen in all my days. Poor little girl.

The neighborhood kiddies decided to have a lemonade stand to earn money for Coach Stender's wife, who is battling cancer. They are a cute group of sweet children who all love and accept each other. I love this non judgmental age group.

Sam is my assistant and is literally the biggest help to me and also is the greatest friend.

We got to go to a Tourism Summit in Cedar City. We had fun and got a ton of swag.
It sure is a blessing to work with people you love.

Raleigh continued his Saturday projects. This day it was three sets of shutters for the front of the house. He is meticulous and they are going to look so cute. I can't wait until they are painted. He is waiting for just the right time to buy his painter. He has 20 paint projects lined up ready to be completed. But, he is buying a professional painter and he doesn't want to paint anything until he can use that. He is going to bust open when he gets that, there will be no stopping him. I predict that he just might paint every single thing we own

So every single night since we signed the contract on March 2nd, we drive out to the lot. Just in case something had been started. For 22 days, we drove away sad and I can't lie, I was getting super nervous. Well, one night, we drove out there at 5:30, not expecting anything of course. And there was a burly man in a little tiny trench digging tractor thing digging trenches for the footings, marking the beginning. I grabbed Raleigh's hand as we drove up. It was the greatest sight of the month.

I was SO excited. It was all I could think about the next day. I don't care what mayhem was happening at work, I didn't care, I was like "none of this crap matters, my house is being built." And that has been my feeling about everything since. Nothing is more exciting than this adventure to me. And the testimony building experience that it has been. I could talk for hours about the straight miracles that have occurred for us during this process. If I ever doubted (which I NEVER have) but if I had ever forgotten my Heavenly Father's love for me, I for sure have been reminded of that love over and over, the past 5 months. One by one, the steps have been laid out before us as we cautiously put one foot in front of the other and walked with faith.

We truly marvel at how blessed we are.