The Mergenthaler Family

I made a goal a while ago to update the blog once a month. I hoped to have something interesting to share—some deep thought or funny story or inspiring lesson. Sometimes I can write those things, but lately it’s all I can do to throw some pictures on. We are still in survival mode here—have been for over a year. Still have contractors at our house every day. Still not making significant progress unpacking because every day life isn’t providing time to do the extra stuff. But we still have some good times. Gavin did a good job helping me clean paint dust off windows.  I got a few kids to join me on a Sunday morning walk. Klaus is healthy and growing and settling in well.  The big kitty who came with our house is learning to trust us. We can pet him now when he’s eating. He’s very old and very rough looking but nice and gentle with the kids.  We have plenty of wildlife sightings here—just not as dangerous as Arizona’s rattlesnakes, Javelina, or scorpions.  This is a sp...

Progress doesn’t come from stasis, and things here are far from steady. At the end of July, we moved into our house—a house that had one full working bathroom in the basement, no functioning laundry, no countertops or sinks or appliances. We had a microwave and a refrigerator in the garage. The first weeks were rough. We used a ton of paper plates, plastic utensils, and plastic water bottles. We carried in boxes that we couldn’t unpack because we didn’t have cabinets. We slept on mattresses on the floor. But as the weeks went by, things got a little better. A couple more toilets were installed. Then countertops and sinks and cabinetry. We now have three working showers. Each week we make a little more progress, but it’s slow.  As if moving in to a partially remodeled house wasn’t enough the second week of August tested our limits. While I was out of town with Makayla, Rick came down with a horrible cold. (Not Covid—just Misery). He struggled to keep the kids alive and fed while als...

At last Thursday night’s swim meet, I stood at the side of the pool in front of the trash can, looking at the chart I have on my phone call of the kids’ events in order. I felt worn out and overwhelmed. We had spent each evening that week at Picadilly moving furniture and boxes in preparation for the big move on the weekend. We were going to bed too late and getting up too early, and both Rick and I had a million ideas about how to prioritize our work in order to make the transition as smooth and chaos-free as possible. But moving is chaotic. And our house is only about 2/3 ready for us adding another dimension to the upheaval. We can’t simply unpack because we don’t have countertops or appliances or painting done. The bathrooms aren’t finished. The closets don’t have shelves. The garage needs to be available for the worker’s saws and tools and construction materials. As I flipped through the swim meet program,  an announcement came over the loud speaker. They needed another parent...

We left Tucson over three months ago, and when people ask "Are you getting settled?" I don't know how to answer. Yes and no. Because what does settled mean? If it weren't the upheaval of a big move across the country, there would be a different challenge. And moving isn't our only challenge. In fact, most of what keeps me up at night has very little to do with the work of remodeling and moving and more to do with the work of nurturing, loving, and teaching our children. It's less about where our stuff is and more about where our hearts are. And no matter what, it's hard. Physically, things are still very much in disarray. We are still living in a rental and will be until the third week of July. The work on our new house is going well. But it's work. We have completely gutted the place, the yard is overgrown, and even if it were beautifully manicured, the upkeep on five acres takes a lot of time. When we move into our house, we won't have countertop...