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What March Taught Me

    I’m keeping up with this year’s goal to document a few of the things each month has taught me. You can read about what I learned in January here and February here.

    Now for March.

    March has not traditionally been my favorite month because it usually just rains every day. But this year was a little different – the sun came out more than not and gave us all a very spring-y happiness that is typically missing in the Seattle area this time of year. So now I’m all for March!

     

    My high school cheer skirt was really short (and tight)

    My brother-in-law turned 40 and threw himself a #glorydays birthday party. We were encouraged to wear something that represented what our glory days were – or maybe something still to come. I thought about a couple of ideas, but then my little sister found all of our high school cheerleading uniforms and that sealed the deal. High school cheerleading days would be the Jones Girls’ representation of #glorydays.

    My sisters and I squeezed ourselves into those tiny skirts and shells and wore them proudly for about half the night (when we could no longer handle the tightness – or the shortness – and changed into real clothes).

    I wouldn’t necessarily call my high school days my glory days (see #2), but it was so much fun to dress up and laugh and do a stunt (photo evidence here) and celebrate Eric.

     

    THEY GROW UP REALLY FAST

    If I really had to choose when my glory days were, I think I say about 8 years ago when my babies were all babies. Ethan was 6, Brady 4, Mason 2, Audrey newborn. Goodness, I miss those days. I mean, don’t get me wrong: I was tired. That is a lot of kids to care for. But now that I’m 8 years removed, I can look back with such fondness for those sweet faces. Just look at them:

    Easter 2010

    Those same four babies are getting all big on me. Now look at them:

    Easter 2018

    My daughter comes up to my shoulder, Mason has the same size shoe as me and I took Ethan to HIGH SCHOOL ORIENTATION last week. I don’t know about this.

    As much as I adored having toddlers, these kids are at a really fun age. I like being their mom now, just as much as back then.

    So mama of little ones who can’t get a second to yourself … it gets easier. And the fruits of all your early efforts will pay off. Just keep loving them, ask for help and find a group of girlfriends who you can talk honestly with :)

    OUR EASTER OUTFIT SOURCES:

    on Brady: Suit Jacket | Suit Pants | Dress Shirt | Shoes

    on Me: Dress (boo, no longer available. Here’s the shorter version) | Jacket (similar)

    on Audrey: Dress | Socks | Shoes

    on Ethan: Shirt | Pants | Shoes

    on Mason: Suit Coat | Shirt (similar) | Suit Pants | Shoes

    on Ryan: Blazer (similar) | Shirt | Pants (similar)

     

    Putting on a new roof is the most annoying way to spend lots of money

    It had to be done, but UGH! replacing a roof is an expensive thing.

    When we bought the house, the inspector told us the roof maybe had five more years in it. I wasn’t bummed about that because I figured we would just replace the composition roofing material with my favorite – a metal roof (just like this).

    Then this winter we had someone come look at the roof and realized that it was in worse shape than we thought. A little afraid that it would start leaking and cause all kinds of damage, we opted to just replace the whole thing now. Ryan had eight or nine roofing companies come out to give us bids. We were SHOCKED at the price. We knew our roof was big and steep with lots of dormers (7 in all), but we were not expecting bids to come in so high. And that wasn’t even for my beloved metal roof! That would have run an extra $20k.

    All to say, we went with a very nice composition material in a dark gray and while the change is very unremarkable, it does look nice and will keep our house nice and dry for 30 years.

     

    I FORGOT HOW MUCH I LOVE WATERCOLORS

    Actually, I forgot how much I love creating, in general.

    2016 for me was all about our family road trip and 2017 was all about our new house. Since our big project to the house this year was putting on that fancy new roof (#4) and I had nothing to do with it, I have been free to play around in my craft stuff and remember how much I like creating.

    I’ve been meaning to create a watercolor class for a few years now and finally decided to figure out just what I would want to include in the class. I set up a little table in the studio with all my watercolor supplies and it is amazing how just leaving it out and available draws me in. One Sunday morning I woke up earlier than normal and felt the urge to paint … and these springy flowers are what came out.

    It feels good to create.


    And that is what the month of March taught me.

    What did you learn in March?

    27 thoughts on “What March Taught Me”

    1. LOVE your posts, Emily. And thank you for the reminder that these are my glory days. I’m exactly where you were eight years ago, except my “fourth baby” is twins. ;) I’m truly trying to be as present with those precious little ones as possible. AND, now I want to pull out my watercolors, too!

    2. Pay attention and savor the high school years – they go by the quickest. It seems like just yesterday, my son was a freshman, and I blinked and he will be going to college next year!

    3. I love metal roofs too but I think your house looks even better with your new composite roof. Something about the individual shingles and the dormers and style of your roof fits with that look. It looks fabulous!

    4. Love the photos of the family. It goes by so quickly, doesn’t it. We had to replace our septic tank and drain field this year – so can sure sympathize about the roof. Sounds like your year is off to a wonderful start. May God continue to bless you and yours.

    5. Emily dear, I loved seeing your sweet kiddos all grown up!!! How did that happen??? They are all so good looking!! We miss you all!

    6. I love seeing your babies! I have a newborn baby girl and 3 boys that are 2, 4, and 6 and love hearing the reminder to soak these days in and the encouragement that they’re still fun when they grow up ☺️

    7. I’m in the midst of the glory days. With a 5 yr old, 3 yr old and 1 yr old, life is constant movement and requests and “hold me please”. Trying to simultaneously treasure it and not hide away for peace and quiet. Love your insights! Thanks for sharing your gifts, your flowers are beautiful.

    8. I needed this post to know I’m not alone. Although I’m not having to replace my roof, I need to replace my 110 year old terra-cotta sewer pipe to prevent a total collapse, putting updating my kitchen on the back burner—literally. Not something fun, but definitely necessary (kinda do like a root canal) :-).

    9. GloryDays instantly takes me back to one day when my older son was in high school and on the baseball team. He was talking to me through the fence before a game and his coach yelled at him to stop talking to his girlfriend and get over there with the team. Coach thought I was my son’s girlfriend!!! Oh Hallelujah!!! Gone are those days…:(

      I too would be interested in the watercolor class!

    10. I have LOVED having teenagers, until I sent my oldest to COLLEGE this past fall! That was seriously NO fun and I don’t know if I will ever get used to it. It’s inevitable and really the bittersweet of motherhood. High school goes so fast so hold on tight momma!

      xo~Jill

      1. Second all of this. My oldest is a freshman in college as well. Senior year was the worst …. cried all the time. But parenting the older kids is like a getting a new set of best friends and I’ve joy this new phase as well. Don’t blink.

    11. Love the watercolor! The first thing I thought was, “I’d love to have a tablecloth in that print”. You should have fabric made!

      This March I learned that 31 days of March seem much longer than 31 days of December. Here in the South, we got your rainy weather for much of March. At least in December we were distracted by the holidays, and possibly a flake or two of snow. ;-)

    12. I would be interested in a Watercolor Class. Love your post on the #glorydays.
      Agreed the younger age is priceless, I miss it I miss the teenage years too, I must be 10 years ahead of you. Also live in the Pacific Northwest and March was a BIG Tease !! We had snow yesterday, just a dusting.

    13. It’s a shame about the metal roof, but life isn’t materially affected by not having it and it’s a good piece of work to have done and out of the way.
      The watercolour looks great!
      Can’t believe the children are so grown up. Next thing you know they’ll be squeezing into the high school uniforms for a party 😉

    14. Very interested in the watercolors class! I bought watercolor pencils a few years ago but haven’t learned to use them yet so maybe a class would get me going!

    15. You are just the cutest & I love that your babies are your #glorydays.. I’m in the midst of my #glorydays as well. I’m about 10 years behind you but loving this sweet life.

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