JBU HOMECOMING & A WEDDING: HIGHS & LOWS

This weekend so many things that we knew we would love were happening in NW Arkansas, and we just had to go.  So, despite the fact that things have already been a little nuts, we loaded up and made the three hour trek.  Armed with The Little Mermaid, the trip went quite well both ways.  Here's a high/low rundown.

High:  We stayed at Ellen and Luke's house (they weren't there - that's a low) with Brian and Steph, our friends that we just saw a few weeks ago in San Antonio.  It was so fun to see them again so soon!  Our kiddos picked right back up, and hanging with them after everyone was tucked in was a sweet treat.

Low:  We were pretty tired going in to the weekend, because there has just been a lot going on.  Plus, we have four kids, two of which sleep through the night only sometimes.  It's all pretty tiring.

High:  Seeing our JBU peeps.  On our way home, we marveled at what a wonderful college experience we each had.  We didn't start dating until after I graduated, but because of the size of the school, we know all of each other's friends quite well.  It makes it so fun to go back and see people who knew us back when.  I've hypothesized that many people are the most extreme version of themselves in college, which makes it an interesting time to form friendships.  But - you get to see these people day in and day out.  You get to spend 3-4 years living up close life with people, learning, growing, dating, playing, changing.  That is a bonding experience.  Going back and catching up is a real joy.  I spent so much time talking that I took very few pictures.  That, and I was chasing children a lot.  Because the fact of the matter is that many of us have several kiddos now, which definitely makes it crazier.

Low:  The weather.  Friday night it was in the 80s.  Saturday the temperature took a chilly plunge to the high 40s, and the sky started throwing water at us intermittently.  Just what you want when you are planning to wander around outside all day with all of your children and friends.  We fled indoors when it really starting raining while we were watching the rugby game.  The girls kept telling us they were "Freezing!"



High:  We went to a dear family friend's wedding.  Though it made me feel a bit old to see the wedding of someone I remember best from his middle school days, it was a special time to get to be a part of.  Congratulations, Seth and Stephanie!

High:  Our kiddos all did really well in the wedding, though we did sit in the very back ready to leave at a moment's notice.  You never know what to expect.



Low:  After being with people all the live long day, the girls did start to melt down at the reception.  Which is understandable - we had certainly asked a lot of them that day.  They did enjoy the chocolate cake, and Lily did tell me that before we left, we needed to "get our picture taken with the princess."  Sweet girl.  We didn't get a chance to do that, because of the aforementioned melt downs, but it was great to be able to see more people we love dearly.

High:  We ate a delicious dinner with our wonderful Becci at 28 Springs in Siloam.  I had the roasted beet and goat cheese salad, which was beautiful.



Low:  I discovered that I do not like roasted beets at all.  You live, you learn, you order salads that you pick apart to avoid the beets.

High:  We wrapped up our time with a delicious breakfast at a local place we love - Cathy's Corner.  Lily ate 6 little pancakes and half of my huge one.

Low:  As absolutely much as we loved seeing and catching up with so many wonderful people that we adore, it was tiring.  John and I are both right on the line of introvert/extrovert, and a weekend full of extreme extraversion combined with continued lack of sleep - partially our fault, partially the babies' fault - left us pretty exhausted.  John graciously allowed me to walk straight into our bedroom for a nap when we got home this afternoon while we unpacked the kids and the car - so kind of him.

So, as we look into another full week, we are strategizing ways to prioritize and manage the things that need to happen.  Also, we are praying for wisdom on things we should keep doing and things we should pull back on.  Clearly, we are doing a little more than is healthy right now.  Finding a balance is sure difficult, especially when there are so many good things to do.  But - I know that God has plans for us that do no include utter exhaustion as a key component, so swinging back that direction will be helpful.

THIS WEIRD WEEK BY THE NUMBERS

This has been sort of a wacky week packed full of activity. Here's a brief snapshot of it through the stats.

Average hours of sleep per night: 6

Number of cookies I made this week: 97


Number of bottles that I made this week: 84. That's a lot of bottles, ya'll.

Gallons of milk that were put away incorrectly: 1. #lilywashere


Number of mornings that Bella asked if she could use the Hello Kitty cake pan as her cereal bowl: 3.

Number of cinnamon rolls that I ate on Tuesday: 3.5

Number of evenings we had to ourselves at home: 1.

Number of Dodger Dogs that were consumed Thursday night while cheering the Dodgers to their first playoff game this year: 5


Number of times a baby needed their paci in the night on average: 3.5

Number of meals I actually cooked: 1, and it was breakfast at that.

Number of times we ate CFA this week: 4

Number of paper piles on the playroom floor: I didn't feel like counting.


Number of sweet babies around while I was getting us packed: 2


Number of cookie cutters needed to prepare Lily's sandwich: 2.


Number of babies who fell asleep in the Bumbo: 1.


Number of stores we went to in search of The Little Mermaid on our way out of town today: 3

Number of times the girls have watched it in the car so far: 1.75

Number of sweet little blessings living in our home whom I truly love no matter the work: 4.


We are now gearing up for a weekend of fun in NW Arkansas! Game on.

FRIENDS ALL THE WAY FROM ASIA

So, if you've been reading here for quite a while, you might recall our trip to South East Asia back in April of 2012.  It was an amazing time that we got to spend with some very special people - the Benno family.  They've been in the States for a while - though they head back next week, and they were gracious enough to pay us a visit, which was such a treat!

They drove straight in to meet us at CFA for lunch.  Showing them our world after seeing all of their's was so fun.  John gave them all a Backstage Tour.

They then took a ride around the parking lot in our cow car, which thrilled the children and certain adults.



We wanted to give them a taste of some of our favorite things in Little Rock, so we hit Flying Fish for dinner and then walked around by the river.



Tuesday morning brought sweet back scratching from the kiddos.  They rotated themselves after counting to 30.



We did a massive breakfast of cinnamon rolls, eggs with goat cheese, bacon, and fruit salad.  I would be about a million pounds if all breakfasts were that good.  Then, we did a picnic lunch at Pinnacle to spend some time in the great Natural State's outdoors.  The kiddos played so well together that we really got a chance to catch up - as much as is possible when you only have one day.

The time was so good and far too short, as usual.  It was great to hear about their work and be encouraged by all the Lord is doing.  I don't know the next time we will make it to SE Asia, but we certainly are excited about that far off day!



We love you, Bennos!

DATE NIGHT GONE WRONG

Life comes at us fast.  I feel like I have a million things that I want to write about right now and too little time to write, but I am choosing to just go in order.  John and I have talked about this post, and I got his permission to share about our evening.  So - let me tell you about one of our worst date nights ever.  It doesn't take the cake, as John reminded me even during it.  But, it was pretty bad, especially since he was comparing it to our worst date ever, which was before we were officially dating when he was having serious questions about whether he wanted to be in a long term relationship with me.  It played out a bit dramatically that night, though we did start officially dating a few days later.  But that's a whole nother story that I don't have time to write.  Moving on.

This weekend had us running to and fro, as fall weekends are apt to do - but - we had a date night planned (loosely planned, since we concocted it sometime on Saturday. . . these are the perks of having a live-in sitter who has some flexibility) for Sunday night.  I was really looking forward to it, because we had had enough things going on, and the fact of the matter is that having four kiddos can be a bit wearing, so any time away with just John feels like a sweet treat.

Sunday evening arrived with a little bit of drama.  The reality is that Bella had been dramatic "all the day," as she would put it.  She was continuing her total lack of wanting to do what I asked and her propensity towards wailing and flailing.  Lily was "picking up" the playroom where she "naps," but it was going very slowly.  As John and I were about to head out the door, ready to go, John decides to head downstairs to help motivate Lily to finish picking up, so that we would not leave a mess for Aunt Rachel.

Things went downhill from there.  What he found is the deep down mess that I have been glossing over for weeks and months.  Lily has gotten into some bad habits down there, which have led to her putting stuff in random places all over the room.  Cleaning it up has sort of meant piling it into slightly neater heaps that are not on the floor.

Now, you must understand that John detests messes.  I don't like them either, but since there are limited time and energy resources, I have let this continue unchecked, to the overall detriment of the playroom's functionality.  However, I was ready to walk out the door.  I was hungry.  I was tired.  I was not hoping to sort through all of our playroom toys and find the best spots for them.

John got a little tunnel visioned, and we spent the next hour picking through randomness, throwing things away and organizing toys.

Ya'll.  By the end of it, I was close to tears.  I was angry with John, I was irritated with Lily and I really didn't want to mess with any of it.  I was done.

So, then we left for our date.  Perfect start to the evening.  The tension was pretty thick once we got into the car.  He asked, "What do we need to do to be able to move forward and enjoy some of our evening?"  I wasn't sure.

And then, it all started coming out.  We had been ready to go.  Having four kids is hard work.  I feel like a failure when you come behind me to clean up the messes our kids make, because I want for things to be clean, but I clearly haven't prioritized it.  I can't do everything I want to do.  I can't do everything I should do.  I feel overwhelmed.  I am hungry.

By the time we got to the restaurant parking lot, I was sobbing.  Which actually felt pretty good, and I think it was just what I needed.  John graciously apologized for the poor timing of the playroom pickup.  I kept crying.  I cried for quite a while in the Mellow Mushroom parking lot.  I did manage to pull it together, because, as I mentioned before, I was hungry.  It was 7:20 by this time, and I do not function well with low blood sugar.

The hostess looked a little askance at me as if to say, "That poor bedraggled girl.  She looks like she's been crying in the parking lot.  I should seat her in a low light section."  We got food.  We started laughing about it all.  We had serious talks about priorities and what I can and cannot do in life right now.  We enjoyed being together.  My pizza was really good.  We headed to Target (cause we are super cool), and I got a new purse that has never been filled with Diet Dr. Pepper or had CFA sauce bust open in it.  It turned out all right.



It all got me thinking.  Our playroom really was rather disastrous underneath it all.  We had given our girls the good gifts of a place to play and toys, and they had made a serious mess of things.  They were not taking care of the gifts or using them in the ways we intended.  Since I had an angry hour to think while sorting through stuff, and I didn't trust myself to say nice things if I spoke, I did realize in the midst of all of it that this is exactly what we have done to the things God gives us.

He gives us good gifts all the time, and things are intended to be used a certain way, but we are always and forever distorting those things.  He gave us drugs to help heal our bodies - we made meth.  He gave us sex to connect us to our spouses - we made porn.  He gave us money and resources - we made them into idols of materialism.  We are constantly using things inappropriately and hoping for the best.  Hoping that we get an a-okay to just continue on in the mess.

And while I would never ever not ever even a little bit want to use another date night to pick up our playroom, I hope that I don't let things go as long in my heart and life without addressing them.  It's so easy for me to create idols that I don't even realize are there until something happens to reveal them.  I didn't realize the ways all the stresses that I have (some healthy, some not as much so) were affecting me.  I've made idols out of productivity and achievement, and I needed to have a breaking point to be able to talk through with John what things I need to re-evaluate and wait for the Lord's timing and direction on.

Our night that had a very rocky start and a great middle ended with John helping me to finish sorting out all the kids clothing.  Because he really does love me, and I desperately needed the moral support.  And I am pleased to report that all clothing has found its new seasonal home.  I am also pleased to report that our playroom is in much better shape than it has been, and I think my heart is close behind.