We're Still Here!

It's been a B-U-S-Y past few months!

In case you haven't heard from us, but are certain we aren't dead since we occasionally still post on FB, here's a little update for you on the lives of the Lindstedts... just so you don't think we're intentionally ignoring you :)

We're having a baby!  
Yeah yeah yeah, old news :)  But if you know anything about how pregnancy affects me, this is pretty all-encompassing for 10 months.  I was pretty bed-ridden for the first 20 weeks, fine for a few, and am now back to the super fun nausea, which will likely last until the end (only 5 more weeks until we're full term!!!).  This is certainly not to complain, we are so blessed to have #2 on his way to our hearts and home, but it has presented a considerable opportunity for growth (as Ryan calls it :)) while parenting an ever-growing toddler, prepping a new space for this new cutie, and all of the other stuff you'll see below.  But we are so stoked!  So, dude, in October we will officially be the proud owners of two tiny humans, wooo hooo!  We hope know this lil' guy is totally worth all of the work!

We're remodeling!
I did joke about this before, but sers, it's like "Hey, we're preggo, and if that isn't crazy enough, we should totally throw our house into total and utter chaos by starting a major construction project, because that sounds like fun!"  Ok, so the conversation didn't go exactly like that, but f'real, I feel like we have a disease, gluttons for punishment or something, because we did this exact same thing when I was pregs with Axel and we swore on our war-torn brains and bodies that we WOULD NOT do it again.  But we did.  So there's that.  We really do have a good reason for this though - as we are "losing" an upstairs bedroom for the new babe, we really needed more space.  And when I say needed, what I really mean is, I was tired of tripping over laundry and dog toys and hunting gear EVERY TIME I MOVED IN OUR HOUSE.  And, since, as far as I know, you can't magically grow more space, our only option was to fix up the two back rooms and hallway currently in our basement.  This has meant that literally half of our house has been inhabitable for the most part for the past several months.  It's been a huuuuuuuuge undertaking since we (of course I mean Ryan) have been doing it all ourselves (Ryan), with some help from our friends and fam of course!  But this has meant that every free second that we've had since May has involved Ryan working on our house and me trying to help in my inconveniently-timed state of being with child.  As a side note, have you ever seen a 20+ week preggo use a radial arm saw?  Because it looks pretty hilarious, just sayin'...

We've gained some family (back)!
Most of you already know this too, but I just can't help but mention it every single time I get the chance because it puts such a huge smile on my face... Jordan, Kristen, Judah, and Joy have all moved back home to Minnesota!!!  Annnnnnnnnd Colin is home for the next several months in preparation for his next missions adventure in Brazil!  So, for the first time in about 5 years the entire Lindstedt clan (this gen) is in the same place - HUGE!

Ryan is a boss (but not really)!
Ryan has been working like a madman to finish up some certs before the end of the year and has been knocking them out like a boss!  It's been pretty crazy to watch actually, he really is a machine :)  With everything that we've had going on it is nothing short of a miracle that he's been able to accomplish this, and I am a pretty proud wifey!  He likely has one more to complete before the end of the year, so we're not there yet, but we're on the home stretch.

Birthdays, weddings, and bears, oh my!
Ok, not really "bears", but pretty much everything else under the sun has been happening this summer.  We've had the usual barrage of birthdays, weddings, and other social events.  But in addition to all of that, we've had a lot of unexpected/unplanned things as well: moving parties, new babies and showers, work events, concerts, and unfortunately, funerals.

So, those are the "big" things.  Obviously, in the midst of all of this we've been trying to be a family, working, still figuring out this whole toddler thing, and manage to keep our heads above water (and our house clean habitable).  As you can imagine, this has meant some really good days, and some not so great ones.  It's been a very busy season for us, especially socially, and while we are so grateful to have a fantastic community to rejoice (and mourn) with, I think we're also looking forward to a quieter fall.  And to be honest with you, the introvert in me is DYYYYING to have just a few days in a row without something going on!

I think that wraps up our update and gives you a little insight into our lives the last few months.  Just know that we are still here, we still have smiles on our faces, we still love you, we're just maybe a little less sane right now :)