BIG VALENTINE'S SURPRISE

John and I are not big gift givers.  Most of the time, for most major events, we decide on something we want together, ahead of time - and often, that thing would be an experience.  Or, each of us picks out something very specific for the other one to purchase.  There's not often a lot of surprising going on.  So, let me just say, that yesterday brought a total shock to me.

We were headed to Dallas (more on that later), and John had said he wanted to take back roads to get there.  He wanted to "take our time," and "make it feel like when we were in college and used to drive around together when I had convinced him to skip a class."  Honestly, this totally seemed like something he would request, and it sounded fun (since we would have no children with us!), so I never questioned it.

I also never questioned his insistence that we leave our house by noon.  He kept saying that he was ready to get out of town without our precious littles, and I was too, so it never dawned on me that there would be any other reason to have a leave-by time.

I thought it was a bit odd that he seemed hurried at our Sonic Drive through lunch, but again, our life has been a sort of wild lately and anything is possible.  Here we are waiting for our food.  Does he look a little nervous?



About 45 minutes later, we pulled into Mena, AR.  I said, "Oh!  Mena!  This is where The Rage, that store that I really like online is actually located."  He said, "Which store?"  But, he was grinning.  At that point, I sort of figured out that something was up.  Flash back to a couple of weeks ago - John had been asking me about clothing and where I liked to shop.  He posed the question of where I would go if I could only go to one place.  It was an easy answer for me.  In the last year, I have done a good majority of my shopping at The Rage online.  I have the app.  I get the texts.  I love their style, and the prices are extremely reasonable for what you are getting.  I have even mentioned it in the blog before.

We pulled up to The Rage about 5 minutes later, because Mena is a very small town - think around 5,000 people small.

John told me to open the glove compartment, where I found a very sweet Valentine's card that was filled with cash.  As we walked into the store, I immediately spotted a bouquet of flowers with my name on it!

We met sweet Kailyn who had helped John set up this surprise.

And then, we got down to shopping.  John looked around and said, "I really like these clothes."  He then proceeded to help me shop, give opinions as I tried things on and narrow down my selection.  He also pulled out champagne glasses and my favorite champagne while we shopped.

I ended up with several really fun things, and it was such a treat to see the store in person.  It is so cute!  I felt totally at home there.

All in all, John pulled off a fabulous surprise that was such a treat.  I've made no secret of the fact that the last six months have held their fair share of challenges and intense moments.  Having a moment of all fun, all love was such a blessing and not one I take for granted.  He totally nailed it, and I am so grateful.

And, just so you don't think that every aspect of our day yesterday was the *most romantic ever*, please note that we ate dinner at a Panda Express in a mall food court.  We had our reasons, and since we don't have that restaurant in The Rock, we always enjoy it.  But, life is not all flowers and champagne.

THIS WEEK'S HIGHS & LOWS

This week has held its fair share of crazy, but that is just the stage we are in.  Add in to that a minor holiday that I tend to turn into a major one, and there are a lot of little things to do.  But, they are mostly fun things that I opted into, so I am learning to remember that I am often "busy" with things I want to do - which is better than the alternative.  I'm thankful.

High:  Having an awesome husband who graciously cared for our kiddos while I was at the IF conference.  I DO NOT take this for granted.  They all *mostly* had a blast.

Low:  Because of all that was going on, it continually felt like our house was more chaotic than usual.  It felt like random stuff was breeding and taking itself hither and yon throughout our home.  Me thinks that some things were carried on the wings of certain twins who like to roam . . . and who are never empty handed.




High:  Seeing Lily's joy over addressing her own Valentine's.  She took this task quite seriously and insisted on the boys and girls getting "different" cards.  I convinced her that changing the font color would do the trick, and she readily assented, to my relief.



Low:  Violet had several bad breathing spells, one of which involved me having to run up to MDO to give her a breathing treatment.  Thankfully, we have so far avoided the ER this week!



Low:  William is getting molars.  He hates it.  So do I.



High:  We've had some great family moments interspersed into our week, and I always try to remember to thank God when everyone is enjoying one another.  It really is a blessing.

(Family froyo date for the win!)

Low:  We had this birthday plate from Lily's butterfly party for less than 24 hours before it got broken by our cat.  Bummer.



It joins a long list of other items that met their tragic demise at our house this week - earrings, a pencil sharpener, several board books and other things I can't bring to mind right this second.  Breakable objects: BEWARE.  TURN BACK DOWN NOW.  DANGER AHEAD.  You've been warned.

High:  Lily and Bella had a fantastic time at Lily's class party Friday afternoon.  Kindergartners are awesome.  Truly.


(So are four year olds, for that matter.)

High:  Finding our cat lounging on $20.  #andthenshefound20dollars

High:  Yesterday I shared the kiddos' Valentines - here are a few of the outtakes.  I love these little people!






Happy Valentine's Day - hope it's a good one!

VALENTINE'S DAY FUN 2015

I love Valentine's Day.  I always have and probably always will.  I love the pink and the red and the celebration of love.  We can make it what we want, and I love that part, too.  (This blog post is a great defense for a beautiful kind of real Valentine's Day.)  So I decorate our house and make the kids matching shirts and cover heart cookies with sprinkles until the sprinkle wells have run dry.

We do Valentine mail boxes.  (here's a bit more about them.)



Our mantle is festive.  This year, as an act of love, John did something to the letters to make them stand perfectly.  I haven't even inspected it up close, but I really appreciate his thoughtfulness!  No more leaning letters.  (Here's a bit more about the mantel.)



I did a few Valentine's cookies this year, and I loved the way they turned out.  These pictures make me happy.




I have a bizarre compulsion to hand make Valentine's for the kiddos classes.  This year was no different, and I took pictures last week.  I could explain why they are not displaying the same size, but it isn't worth the time to explain or to fix it.  Some things have got to slide, and I guess this is one of them.

I attached them to little treat bags with Hugs and Kisses in them, and John actually helped with the assembly both nights before they were due.  He really does love me.

(Also, I have been enjoying my V-day themed Jamberry mani all week!  I love this holiday.)

Lastly, I tried to get a festive picture of all my children.  This was quite the ordeal, but I got a couple of cute ones.  (For a laugh - you can check out last year's Valentine's pictures with the murderer of love.) (Also cute, V-Day pics from 2013 and also 2012 and even 2011.  I have quite the tradition.)




Happy early Valentine's Day!  I truly hope your day is filled with love.  ❤️

ALL THE DEAD HORSES

This past weekend I attended an IF:Local Gathering.  It was excellent.  Refreshing.  Fun.  Filled with worship and great teaching.  So many women from our church attended, and it was encouraging to have real conversations about faith and what it looks like in our lives.  I feel as though I'm still trying to process it underneath everything else that is going on.



As a humorous side note, on Friday my friend and I accidentally dressed the same.  Good thing it was with a really subtle outfit.

John had the kiddos for much of the weekend, which veritably made him super-dad.  He spent most of Saturday out of the house.  Here's the crew enjoying the massage chairs at the mall.



By Saturday night, we were all quite spent.  Sunday brought church and Sunday School and screaming children, because quite frankly, the twins are in a very screamy stage.  I felt like I wanted to process through all that God was trying to teach me, and instead, I kept hitting walls.  As John and I discussed life, it felt like we were going in circles with things that we should be better at by now.  We were beating dead horses.  Our conversation felt littered with them, and we couldn't take a step without hitting another one.

It makes me tired just thinking about it.  I'm sick of trudging through issues that have been thoroughly plowed already, but, unfortunately, that is part of the human experience.  I am my own worst enemy, and in this world, we will have trouble.  Dead horses come with the territory.

But, even as I sat on the couch, wishing that certain things could be different, God gave me a great visual image of what he can do with our dead horses.  He can breathe life.

It made me think of the passage in Ezekiel 37 in the Valley of the Dry Bones.

"Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’”  Ezekiel 37: 5-6

God breathes life into the bones, and they rise up to become an exceedingly great army.  What if God breathes life into our struggles and makes them a beautiful part of our story?  What if all of our dead horses come to life, and we ride them into the sunset?  It seems too much to hope for, but I believe in a big God.  

The whole premise of the IF: Gathering is - "IF God is real, then what?"  One of the speakers said that he is not the God "I Was."  He's the God "I AM."  He's presently working inside of us for our good and his glory.  What hope there is in him.  He makes things new.  He creates beauty from ashes. He moves walls and mountains and galaxies.  I can trust him with the details of my little world.

One day at a time.  One dead horse at a time.