My darling girl, my oldest child is 12 years old! How the years have flown. Holly is a kind and nurturing young girl. She's responsible and dependable. Holly loves to listen to an audio book while crafting - she could do that all the time! Holly loves the water and she's a strong swimmer. This past year, Holly has done a lot of new things like virtual school, Nordic skiing and mountain biking! I really like the person she is and I'm grateful I've been able to watch her grow into a really wonderful 12 year old!

For Holly's birthday, we were on our vacation in Loon Lake. Holly's a pretty easy kiddo to please. She chose all the meals and I made an ice cream cake. I really, really enjoyed celebrating her this year.

We spent 5 nights out at Loon Lake, just north of Spokane and it was really nice! It was a pretty chill vacation with lots of TV, treats, swimming, chess and sleeping in. I'm glad my big girls are strong swimmers and that Maeve is happy to wear her life jacket. That was really convenient in terms of balancing babies and older kids. Conor and I took turns playing and it all worked out really well!

The lake was so warm... almost too warm. Our hosts were delightful and friendly. We had a great time!

I picked a perfect partner.
He fathers like a farmer.

He has plowed the fields of his mind
and culled the noxious weeds.
The ground in which he plants
he first enriches with the compost of love.
Throughout the rainy seasons and droughts
he coaxes his seedlings, encouraging
them to grow straight and tall
and true to who they are.
He looks forward with hope in the harvest
that he may gather honest fruit,
pluck the vine of kindness,
and glean integrity under a full moon.

I picked a perfect partner.
He fathers like a farmer.
His crop of children - they are delectable.

My brown-eyed baby, I balance on one hip
With his chubby legs, my body he grips

The blue eyed son is scooped and rolled
Close to my soft stomach, him I hold

Unmistakably my arms are about to burst
But hidden within is a new heart, birthed

All my doubts are buried in yesteryear
My love is profound, permanent, here.

Notes: In this poem, I wanted to capture the feeling of holding two beautiful baby boys in my arms. Often, I'm changing one diaper and then the other and carrying both children down the stairs to play or eat. Neither can walk and carrying them both is a delightful feeling of abundance. It is a physical experience as well as a heart experience. I worried endlessly about having two babies so close together in age and have found myself in wonder of the ways my heart has grown and changed to encompass and hold both of my babies individually and collectively. One of my favorite ideas from the book "Forever Or A Long, Long Time," is that love is never divided only multiplied. That is my lived experience and an immense gift as our family has experienced so many changes.

For our 4th of July, we spent the weekend with some of our oldest friends. We've known the Blodgetts for 14 years. We had an awesome weekend filled with treats, swimming, playtime, movies, late nights and babies. I came home feeling really grateful for long standing relationships and looking forward to more fun memories! The kids all got along so well and they played so hard!