Sometimes we just light our hair on fire

 

Lochlan was anxiously awaiting dinner and decided to lean in too close to the candle on the counter top. He proceeded to light his mop of hair fully on fire on the top of his head. I was outside at that moment. We had a large group of friends over to eat dinner at our house and everyone noticed it at basically the same second. One of our friends smacked at Lochlan's hair and was able to put the fire out before it escalated. GRATEFUL for quick acting kindness! Lochlan thought the whole thing was hair-sterical and couldn't stop laughing. I'm so thankful he wasn't burned, but I wish, sometimes, that he understood the gravity of some situations/actions. It could have been a devastating event, but for God's mercy. 

These little doses of pure chaos feel extremely commonplace in our life most of the time. I mean, we're not always starting our hair on fire, but there is frequently a level of unbelievable always at play in some form or another. Especially with our dear Lochlan James. I think perhaps I'm desensitized to a large degree because I'm definitely not as alarmed as others outside our family by the natural state of emergency we seem to live in. 

In spite of the condition of our circus, we are surrounded by things that bring levity, inspire me, fill me with awe and restore my hope and anticipation for each and every new day. We have too many dogs, too many horses, too many chickens, and not enough cats, but I wouldn't change a thing. We are rich in love and these creatures bring us laughter and challenges. We experience life at a pace that is often staggering, but when I reach the close of each day, I find myself filled with gratitude for what I have been given. FILLED WITH GRATITUDE! 

Declan got duckling eggs which he's working on hatching out in his incubator. So, yes... we'll soon have too many ducks, too. Hopefully. :-) 

I don't know where you're sitting (in life) as your read this. Maybe you're setting your hair on fire (figuratively or literally). Maybe you're overwhelmed because the chaos has quite a little too much rein (reign). Maybe you're feeling obliterated by all that is impossible. 

To the mountains of tomorrow, I've got my hiking shoes on. We are, none of us, alone. 

Our heavy metal "playlist"

 In the past couple of weeks, we have wrangled some of our biggest projects. We have a list which we've been plugging away at for the past 6 months, and we have a deadline for a few things on that list since we're hosting Kaysee and Max's wedding on our property in June. The deadline is healthy because it pushes us to complete some things we might not otherwise want to even start. Some things on our list don't have to be completed by the wedding, so it's also forcing us to prioritize, which is good when the list feels as long as Santa's sleigh list. 

I've been watching the boys push past some genuine fatigue and there hasn't been a single bad attitude. We've been pretty intentional about taking rest days, but that somehow hasn't felt sufficient to overcome the tired and sore bodies. And then there's the normal expectations and schedule still ever present upon us. Sometimes, it feels like I'm on a tightrope, pushing a wheelbarrow of dirt and rocks and carrying a backpacking pack full to the top with expectations and responsibilities. 

We still have so much residue from the flooding of 2022. Our flagstone pathway disappeared underneath the flow of mud that came down and we are only now restoring it. Mark dug out the first chunk of it in late 2022, but the rest has remained buried since then. About 100 feet had to be removed because the rocks were too damaged. This past week, Madigan, Declan and I replaced that portion of the pathway, and added a sitting area underneath the aspens as well as a new area in front of the house where we will put my fountain (made from the stump we retrieved from my hill). In addition, Madigan and Kelton have been chipping away at the mud covered pathway that has not been uncovered yet. I'm working on the back side of the house and they're working around the other side so that we will, hopefully, meet in the middle soon! We're very excited with how it has come together! 

We also completed the outside fence of our pasture! This has been a burr up my booty for quite some time! It was compromised post-flooding, but it was literally the one fence that managed to remain standing. Devany, and the other horses decided to do their part and progressively destroy it over time. The grass is always greener on the other side, as we know, and that fence really didn't stand a chance. Austin helped me find and bring home a very heavy load of the fence panels a guy was getting rid of online. We installed cement posts into the ground, cut the posts down, bolted them to the cement and then Austin welded the whole thing together, coaching Declan through the process. The finished fence is a work of art! And good luck Devany and crew! 

The current mammoth project we are attempting to complete is the roof for our underground greenhouse. We've made good progress so far and the ideas for how we are going to use it are percolating again! Those beams are probably 1000 lbs each, and we manipulated them into place using Kelton's ingenuity/genius ideas and sheer human willpower. :-) 

Declan and I decided to get away and go hike up a pretty mountain on Saturday and even though it was a challenge we were both rejuvenated by the hike. Declan even found a square root for Aunt Debbie (who is teaching Declan to love Math!), made out of the root of a tree! 

We might work hard, but we still have time for all the delicious things in life.