Girl Date

A few weeks ago I promised our girls I would take them out on a girls-only date to pick out new bathing suits for the summer and buy a little friend of theirs a birthday present.

Friday was the day and we were all really excited for it.
In the days leading up to it I had to field a bunch of their ideas of what else we could also do on our date: buy a dog, see a movie, is Maddie coming with us?, eat at taco bell, eat at Chick-fil-a, eat at Olive Garden,....

The list goes on :)

The three of us decided that Kenna and I would pick Larissa up from school, then we would eat lunch and play at Chick-fil-a, shop for bathing suits and a few summer clothes at Once Upon a Child, then end it with a needed stop at Walmart (in my mind I also added buy them a treat at Walmart and visit the local humane shelter).

I might be the only person in America who isn't crazy about Chick-fil-a.

It is ALWAYS crazy busy, packed, and chaotic with kids and I'm not a huge fan of chicken honestly. 

But this visit we got there a bit after 11 beating the lunch rush (yay!) and I ordered the grilled chicken sandwich which I never had before and loved. 

So it was a win-win for me this time and the girls just always love it.

88 cent pineapple?!

I grabbed several and I wish I had grabbed more. 

After Walmart, the girls thought we were headed home but I surprised them with a long awaited trip to our humane shelter. 

I've been wanting to bring them there for a long time but I knew as soon as we saw some of those babies we'd want to take one home. 

Willing to take that risk, I pulled into the parking lot to see what we could see.

This was one of the dog areas and it was LOUD LOUD LOUD!

Between the smells, sounds, close quarters, and imposing number 

of pitbull breeds it was a pretty overwhelming area. 

Larissa pretty much walked with her hands over her ears the entire time. 

We did come across this adorable little long haired dachshund 

though who I wanted to run out with immediately.  

So timid and lovey. 

I may actually go back and get this baby though.

Like for real. 

I love her.

She was so sweet and affectionate.

Plus a cat for a pet has been on our mind for a bit now. 

Wanted attention....

....wanted nothing to do with us. 

I love my girls. 

They say and do the funniest/weirdest/sweetest/oddest things and it was good for me to take a minute with just them and see that afresh. 

They're at an age where the questions (good ones and also many many many unnecessary ones) are pretty much endless. 

That wears me out. 

I get impatient and snappy and just plain sour. 

During our date, I made a huge effort to engage with them fully. 

I wanted to stay patient with the flood of questions and comments that pour out of their young, hungry brains. 

I don't know if I was 100% successful but we had fun, made a memory or two, and found some pretty adorable bathing suits to wear all summer. 

Spring is for watercolors

There's no medium that says spring like watercolor.
The lightness and transparency is what the season is made of.

I treated myself to a big piece of expensive paper the other day to stretch my dormant skills and do some experimental dabbling.

Give me all the neutrals.

A hair dryer speeds up the process...

This was a smaller, side experiment.

Once in college, our design professor had us create a grid of shapes

and each one had to be different. 

This was a good little exercise to loosen up with. 

I think these look like the tops of cappuccinos from a fancy shop. 

While pulling out my paints, I came across what was left of a tablet of water color paper.
I knew the girls would love to make something of their own.

I've always really loved watercolors. 

They can be complicated but if you just keep it simple, you can end up with something really beautiful. 

One more perk of water color: it's a snap to set up and clean up.

It was spring....and then it wasn't

Easter weekend was fullfullfull!

So full we decided to let the kids have their Easter baskets on Saturday afternoon because having a pastor daddy makes Sunday a work day, Good Friday a work day, and Easter Sunday a *packed* workday. 

Giving the kids Easter baskets the day before might actually be what we do from now on.

It was such a calm and relaxed time together. 

It gave us plenty of time to enjoy each other and the kids, their surprises.

We didn't feel rushed to make the meaning of the weekend clear to them and share again what Jesus did for us. 

Blurry pictures because kids = constant movement

Easter morning, I had every intention of hopping up out bed and baking some cinnamon rolls for the kids and myself. 

I didn't. 

I overslept.

We rushed to get dressed and make it in time to our church's first service. 

I did have the mental capacity though to station the kids together for a quick pic before the bows fell out and the boy was covered in cheerio crumbs from the nursery.

1st try...

2nd try...

3rd try....good enough!

❤❤❤

After church, we hightailed it to Meemaw's house for 

ham, cake, and an Easter egg hunt with cousins!

So yea, you would think after a lovely spring-y Easter like that it would just stay spring, right?

Not so fast.

This morning we woke up to a freshly frosted neighborhood. 

Lots of people have crossed over to full on rage. 

Kenna asked me if we could go get a Christmas tree.

I said no. 

But I did plug in some Christmas lights. 

We might as well make the most of it and set up another indoor Easter egg hunt.

Life Update

Winter is starting to fade and we're feeling the little touches of spring here and there.

In our family, things are chugging right a long.
I feel know we are on the cusp of a very busy season that spans spring all the way into September.
It's kicking off with the mad rush to renew our foster care license which is a yearly beast of a process.

I am also planning events for my sister who is getting married.
I'm her maid of honor and more than happy to be planning bachelorette stuff (going camping!!), wedding shower stuff, and getting my own dress and things lined up.

Speaking of weddings, we have so many young couples that have gone through our ministry who are getting married. Adam will be busy completing marriage counseling. We like to take each couple out on a double date at some point too. Plus the actual weddings.

Our kids all have birthdays during the warm months.
Birthdays are an on going challenge for me because I would prefer a more minimalist way of celebrating. I would prefer taking the kids on a outing they choose or just eating somewhere they like plus a surprise. It's just very hard to celebrate anything in a minimalist way when there are so many people who want to love on the birthday kid. Parties tend to stress me out and bring so much waste and clutter. But I totally want to give my kids a special day and to take a moment to celebrate that God brought them into this world. This is the back in forth my mind goes through. Birthdays are something that will probably just be tweaked from one to the next depending on what the family needs and what the birthday kid desires.

The girls and I are also planning a little gardening project. Our neighbors are always generous with their vegetable garden. The girls have LOVED being able to pick off a few tomatoes or an egg plant or zucchini. Inspired by their enjoyment of that, we are going to make our own garden. The plan is to grow a salad. I think a tomato plant or two and a few lettuce and spinach plants are all we will tackle this year. I'm excited for the girls to help with the work, care for the plants, pick what grows, and eat it with something Daddy grills up. I'm looking forward to savoring every minute.

We are going on a family vacation in June which is something I am really looking forward to.
Traveling with the kids is becoming something that is easier and easier to do and I hope to do lots of it with them.

Traveling is also becoming more doable since soon our ADOPTION should be complete!!!
Wooo hoooo!
Our son's adoption should be final within these next few months.
Speaking of parties, somewhere in there we'll be planning and throwing an open house to celebrate!

There will be a few more times here and there that either Adam or I will be traveling on our own.

Given all that and knowing it is all soon to start has made these last few weeks of winter very enjoyable.
The slow pace is about to fade with the snow.
I've used the tail end of winter to make lists and plans, streamline our house so it's easier to maintain, and read up homemaking wisdom for busy seasons.

It all comes down to I just love this life.
I love the slow and quick rhythms and seasons.
I love caring for and meeting my family members' needs through the changing times.
I love making a plan that has their best interest at heart.
I love growing our family, celebrating, working on things with them, partnering with my husband through everything, and enjoying the rich life the comes out of it all.

Taking this time to reflect and look forward has me all excited for whatever comes.
It is all for the glory of God.
I'm praying for God's joy, wisdom and peace.
I pray that He would give us discernment for times we need to take rest.
I pray that we won't be too busy to spend time with Him and to look outside ourselves to see the needs of others.

How do you prepare for life's busy times?
Especially when it comes to managing home and caring for the spiritual + emotional well-being of your family members?

The Weekend

Our weekend was pretty full.
We saw it coming so we're not in too bad of shape here on the other side.

Thursday
(Yes, our weekend started on Thursday night)

Adam's parents came into town to close on their old house and stayed overnight. 

We went to a local place called FiFi's for dinner.

Their slogan is comfort food with a twist. 

I had never been before but heard it was really good. 

Oh my gosh. 

Sooooo good!

If you live nearby, go. 

You will not regret it. 

Afterwards, we caught the tail end of the church softball game so Chris and Monique could see everyone. 

I love our church softball games. 

It's just quintessential summer time fun where I can talk with my friends while the kids run and play with theirs. 

Sometimes we end it with ice cream or getting dinner with everyone. 

So fun.  

Friday

Pumpkin had a doctor visit on Friday. 

He has some mysterious issues so our pediatrician referred us to a genetic specialist at Riley hospital to take a closer look.

After much talking, observing, blood sampling, and an x-ray, we should hear something back in a couple of weeks. 

It was just the two of us so after his appointment, I had some fun and stopped by Target (we don't have one where we live) and one of my favorite Goodwill stores. 

Of course.

I was so glad I stopped because I found: a wooden maze toy, a wooden matching game, 2 sleeping bags for the girls, a 70's patterned pillow case, shorts, H&M flats, and a top for $40!

I'm sorry.

You just can't beat that. 

Especially when everything I got for $40 were things we needed/really wanted and looked brand new!

Chris and Monique drove back to close on their new house. 

We can't wait to go see it!

Saturday

Pumpkin + Peanut playing. 

She is so sweet with him. 

She brings him all her favorite toys and just places them all around him. 

Peanut will pat him on the head and just grin. 

Lovey, lovey. 

A friend of mine organizes marathons, triathlons, and other sporting events. 

He had one Saturday morning and had all this pizza left over. 

He asked if I wanted some for our small group meeting that evening and I was like sure, maybe 5?

Before I know it, my kitchen table looks like this and our small group AND young adults group is covered for the foreseeable future. 

Small group time.

Talking and eating before we study the Word together. 

That's my Sweetums on the right. 

The other three girls love her and she LOVES them.

My husband. 

We don't see much of him on this blog.

That's him. 

That's what he looks like :)

And there's my son, rollin' around as he does these days. 

Sunday

Speaking of which.....

...8 months old. 

Crazy. 

It's been a blur. 

And he's just perfect. 

Not pictured, but we also went to a double birthday party Sunday afternoon. 

My friend's children were born 11 months apart.

So for a month the are the same year!

Isn't that fun?!

They shared a big birthday party at an indoor bounce place with a bunch of those blow up bounce houses. 

Wish I got a picture of the crazy fun. 

So Monday's are my catch-up days and that's what I've done today.  

I try to get to the store to restock our cupboards, find homes for the accumulated clutter, do a load of laundry, put away the clothing that has been scattered from top to bottom, eat a little more wholesome after all the party food.....

You know. 

Find some clarity after the hustle.

It's good and we're finding it.  

Birthday Baby

Our oldest baby had her third birthday this weekend. 

We celebrated on Saturday from dawn til dusk with sugar, family, and balloons.

Our big, little girl is growing so well!
She can be SOOOOO sassy but she serves it up with a spoonful of sugar and sloppy, wet kisses.
She wants to do so much herself and is quick to be a helper.
She loves running around the church, wearing dresses, riding her new tricycle, and trying to buckle her own seat belt.
Her Meemaw and Mamaw are a couple of her best friends.
She uses the potty all on her own.
Her favorite shoes are flip flops and boots.
She can't wait to go swimming with Uncle Anson, Aunt Rachel, and all the kids in June.
She's our snuggle bunny.

Our Sweetums is so loved and we pray that she will abide with Christ all the days of her life.