The Swarrell Life

Happy New Year Everyone!!! For those that do not already know, Trinity have been living in Bozeman, Montana for the last three months. Trinity is attending a fantastic little school and we are getting settled in, except we have a problem. Half of our family is still in Oregon! Well, this holiday season has brought us one step closer to resolving that. We traveled back to Baker City for Christmas and when the dust had settled, I drove back to Bozeman with TWO kids! Arguably this is bittersweet as we left behind a wife and mother that we all miss terribly. The good news on that front is that Autumn is also moving forward as well, starting a new job in Minneapolis this week. Like I said, bittersweet for sure. But I didn't start this post to depress you or garner sympathy. We chose this path and are both content in the process. Sometimes the day to day stuff gets hard, but we expected that as well. No, this post is more about regular stuff. (No, not poop. That'd be gross!) ...

So, I happen to think this is a funny picture. But I really would rather talk about words today. Ha, thought you'd just get off easy with a few cute pictures didn't you? Well, you get that, but maybe a little more It is amazing how simple things bring so much jo Words are really powerful. Even I, as a self-proclaimed wordsmith, do not appreciate the power of expressed language. As we travel our chosen path, both Autumn are discovering the power of the words that we use to talk to those around us as well as ourselves. Scout is a trusty sleeping companion A post or two ago was titled "yes" and I still use that as a regular answer to questions about our journey. I also use it in response to our journey directly. It seems to me that so much of how our lives appears depends highly upon how we frame it. Autumn and I were talking about a book that she had listened to on her drive out to Minneapolis. I am not sure about who the author is but the gist of ...

Cutest mother of the three little pigs EVER! What the heck are we doing? Not sure if we can answer that question sometimes, so I'm open to suggestions! As things sit we are a family in two states, soon to be three. We knew going in that it would be an unusual year, but I don't know that we predicted this! Hard to argue with that smile! You'll forgive me if some of this sounds like a summary, because it is. There are two reasons for that. First it's to make sure that the actual plan is out there. We might be using the word "plan" a bit loosely as it is more of a direction with options than a set plan. The format of our transition looks (and sometimes feels) messy. I can only imagine what this can look like to someone not involved in the process. Sorry about all that! The second reason is much more selfish. Logistically speaking, it's just easier to put it out there in this format so that we (primarily Autumn at this point because I've been gon...

It is now November and Trin and I have been here almost two months. Crazy! It's certainly been an adventure, one that we won't forget. But more than that, there is a dreamlike quality to it, as if I am going to wake up back in Baker City. But no such thing will happen. The first couple of weeks were spent living in our travel trailer and it became clear that winter would be a miserable experience with two young children. One thing led to another and we had decided on an apartment to rent. We'd been on and off Craiglist and the local classifieds for weeks but hadn't really committed to a budget or location. I had checked out elementary schools in hopes that would help me decide location (Teagan will be attending public school here, where enrollment is shaped by geography).  With Autumn's help I contacted several people about places to stay and eventually set up times to see two different apartments. The first was a basement apartment in a downtown neighborhood, t...

Turns out Trin can use the camera... Just to be clear, this is not a blog post. This is series of ramblings that have not been edited since I first typed them. that means that they're random. Oh yeah, they were written over the course of about two weeks, with little thought given to connecting any of them. But it's me, so they're connected...sort of. Consider yourself warned. Yes A lot has happened in the last two months, even by our standards. We’ve decided, researched, planned a move so that Trinity can have the best opportunities that we can provide. This has entailed a great deal of thought, discussion and work. Autumn and I have spent hours, days even, weighing the options and trying to figure out the best path for our family. And now that plan, that path, is unfolding. Time to walk the path.   Yes Occasionally the weight of the decision that we have made threatens to weigh me down. Are we making the right decision? Now that we have made the decisio...