10 Years Later

 Woah. So much has happened in 10 years, where do I start?!

We lost someone very dear to us on Sept 1st, 2019, our loving, larger than life Aunt Theresa. She left a huge mark on us all and we miss her so so much, it doesn’t seem real that she’s gone. 

Uncle Bill Murphy passed away in July 2020. Another ‘giant’ gone too soon. I’ll never forget his hugs. He was a character, always making people laugh and loved his family fiercely. 

Mara gave birth to August in August 2016 and he passed away from SIDS in September. It was horrific. A mother should never have to bury their child. I never got to meet him but I know he’ll be in heaven waiting for us with the rest of our family. 

Just this summer, in July, Leilani and Nami’s dad passed away tragically and unexpectedly. Mary’s partner and her best friend. I can’t describe the sadness I feel for them, but Mary has been on a mission to show her girls the proper way to grieve and I am so unbelievably proud of her.

Micah is in the 4th grade, getting straight A’s. He loves soccer RC cars, movie nights and technology. 

Caiden is in 7th grade, working hard to get into the Beta Club at his school and plays football - he’s one of the two kickers on the team and is KILLING it! He also learned how to slalom ski this summer, picked it up like a champ!

This is my 17th year with Veterans United and Jered’s 10th year. We’re moving into a new building in a few short months and we can’t wait to see what opportunities open up with the new community we’ll be a part of. 

In March 2020, the COVID pandemic spread and everyone in the world (pretty much) had to quarantine. Schools shut down, kids did e-learning at home and they ended up not going back to school at all after March. It was awful. Work was crazy, rates were super low and it was our busiest year to date. Looking back I have no idea how we made it through. 

We purchased a fixer upper on the lake and rehabbed it top to bottom. Initially it was supposed to be a rental property but we love it so much, we just kept it as our second home. It truly is our happy place and we try to get down there at least every other weekend if not more.

My journey with endometriosis has been awful. Even today I’m still in pain almost all the time. I am dealing with complications from surgery last December and kind of at a crossroads with what to do next. The thought of another surgery gives me major anxiety and the thought of continuing to live like this almost puts me into a panic attack. It’s a lose lose situation. I’m just trying to get through my days with a smile on my face. 

My favorite thing to do is watch my boys do things they love and watching them play sports. I love spending time with all my nieces and nephews, there’s no better feeling in the world. 

My days are mostly the same - school, work, grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning, organizing, watering flowers, bedtime and then wake up and do it all over again. Days at home are still the best, despite the boys arguing pretty much constantly : /

I’ve read a lot of books lately; 28 Summers, Where the Crawdads Sing, Love and Other Words, Verity, Winter in Paradise, One for the Murphy’s,The Great Alone, Spilled Milk, Last House on Needles Street Definitely and Reminders of Him. Reading is definitely my favorite pastime and I always take a piece of each book with me in some way. 

I have so many hopeful and dreams, things I want to create and do, I’m just waiting for the right time. 

Until next time,

K