BIG News for the K's!!

It's been awhile! Take that as a sign that we have had a LOT going on in our lives. And I mean a LOT. As you know, the kids and I moved from Oklahoma to Ohio in 2013 to be closer to my parents. The kids' dad (my ex) stayed behind. But as of January of this year, after 4 years of separation, he decided to make the move to Ohio to be closer to the kids. So now we're the K's+J (sort of). I have to say, it has gone better than I expected. But it was definitely a life-changing move for all of us. As luck would have it, he and I have both grown up quite a bit from our 20-something selves. Thank God.

I'm not going to be posting much on specifics of him, or our past relationship, to respect his privacy. But, I will be posting some on co-parenting, what it means for our family and how we do it. From the outside, we've been making it look pretty easy (I think). It's not. It's been a lot of really, really hard work, which I'm kind of impressed we both attempted. We attended about 3 months worth of counseling together to get us through the transition. Sometimes it's good to have a third party there to confirm neither of you is crazy (or that one or both of you are!). At least all the cards are out on the table.

We also survived a season of him coaching our daughter's soccer team. He is an extremely talented player and coach, and is amazing with kids. Our daughter, on the other hand, could not wait for the season to be over so she could get on with her life (the love-for-soccer gene was not passed down to her evidently).

In June, we took the kids to Hocking Hills State Park for four days. IT WAS AMAZING. It was also a wake-up call to me (and him I think) that we need to take more vacations and spend as much time outdoors as possible. The kids went ziplining, we went canoeing, hiking, and stayed in a perfect cabin with a hot tub (and two bedrooms). We have vowed to take more adventures like that as a family, since it is nearly impossible to consider either of us taking both kids on trips like that alone.

If you had asked me even a year ago if blogging on co-parenting would ever be something I could add to my repertoire, I would have said you were crazy. But life has a way of smacking us upside the head and surprising us with the totally unexpected.

I'm not really sure what the future holds or if this positive co-parenting moment will last forever. But I do know that I am enjoying it right now. We all are.

Love, k.