THIS & THAT

The topsy turvy nature of the last couple of weeks has left me spinning a bit.  We are beyond out of routine and in unchartered territory.  I'm asking myself questions like, "If a child is screaming, but the mom is in the shower and can't really hear it, then is that child really screaming?"  Deep thoughts at our house.

Lots of things are rolling around my mind that I would love to write about, but I haven't found the wherewithal and mental energy to get those thoughts out.  It's about all I can do to keep things afloat around here, and I feel like I'm not doing great at that as I glance around my living room that is a bit disastrous.  I have my back turned to the kitchen, so I can sort of pretend its okay, though you and I both know that is not the case.  However, the laundry is all folded - so that feels like a victory.  Let's celebrate the small things, shall we?

Re-entry from trips is always a challenge.  We have gotten better at managing our expectations for the kind of "rest" or "recharge" that we will get when we go away.  This has helped us as we return still a bit tired.  Our life is so full of really wonderful things, truly.  We have nothing to complain about, and hear me say - I am not complaining.  I've come to grips with the fact that we will just be tired at this stage in life.  There are certain demands that we signed up for that make it like this.  As we keep saying to ourselves, "All of our dreams came true.  All at one time."

Since I can't formulate any real meaningful thoughts at this moment, I'm going to share pics of what the kiddos did while we were gone.  They had a blast with Grandma and Grandpa, and I'm so thankful that it seemed to be good for everyone!  The were here on actual Valentine's Day bearing Valentines with this photo.  How cute are they?



Those glasses also look pretty good on the twinsies.

There was cookie making fun and the first round of ice and playing with ponies and eating mac n' cheese.  All in all, a pretty great time.

I can't say enough how grateful I am to have parents that will care for our children when we are gone.  It is a huge blessing, and I do not take it for granted.

Today was a wild day, and it's sort of funny, because I decided this morning to document it on the hour, so I'll write that post tomorrow.  But - here are a few pictures with the big camera from the snow day.  It really is beautiful.

The girls lasted about five minutes at a time outside, since neither parent was willing/available to play with them today.  But, they loved it.  Hope that you are staying warm - wherever you are!

A NIGHT AT THE RANCH WITH BFFS

As soon as our last session wrapped at CFA Next, we bolted to our car.  We did manage to get out of Dallas without hitting too much rush hour traffic, which felt like nothing less than a miracle.  We had a place to be - a good place with dear friends - Still Waters Ranch.



Steph's family has had this property for many years now, and we've gotten to see the evolution of it, which has been so fun.  Around 9 years ago, they built a cabin by the big creek, and we've had the pleasure of staying there on several occasions.  Even so, it had been four years since the last time we went, so it was really fun to be back there.  We arrived at the perfectly golden hour of sunset.

I love the hills and the trees of where we live, but there is something about big sky that is quite taking.  God certainly shows off there so often.  We did a quick tour of the property with the boys on a four-wheeler and us girls on a golf cart.




Brian and Steph had a delicious dinner ready for us, and we talked and talked and talked.  Then we woke up and talked some more.  It's amazing that most of us have now known each other for 16 years - how is that possible?  Being with them is always such a rich time, and I'm so thankful for this friendship that we cherish.



We had to say goodbye right before lunch time, because real life was calling.  Don't worry, Still Waters - we'll be back!

John and I did make one more fun stop for lunch at In N' Out, since we do not have them anywhere near us.  He even had his fries "Animal Style" for the novelty of it.




All in all, our Dallas trip was really amazing.  We feel refreshed in many ways, though also a bit exhausted in other ways.  We stayed up until midnight almost every night talking with someone, and the early morning wake up calls to ice storm issues were a bit brutal.  However, having the time together was such a treasure and definitely a needed break.  Our children were in the excellent hands of John's parents who not only survived, but even say they thrived, at having all four kiddos home for three days straight of the time we were gone.  The other wonderful news on this front is that none of our children ended up in the ER - thank the Lord!

CFA NEXT IN THE BIG D & ICE STORM IN THE ROCK

Every year, CFA takes us someplace in February for our annual conference.  For the first time, this year we did it by regions instead of having everyone together.  At first, I was super bummed about this, because it meant that I wouldn't get to see dear friends that I usually get to connect with.  And, while that was still a bummer, having a smaller/slightly less overwhelming event was a pleasant change.  It was always easy to find John in the crowd, because there was only one massive dining room instead of 4-5.  It was all just simpler.

We stayed in the Omni downtown and had a view of Reunion Tower from the terrace off of our room.

Early Monday morning (like 4:30 a.m.), we woke up to news that an ice storm had accosted our hometown.  This meant several things for us.  One - we had decisions to make about the business right off the bat.  Ice storms are fairly miserable for us on that front.  Two - we started praying immediately that the power would stay on at our house for John's parents and our children.  Then, we argued for quite a while about what threshold it would take for us to have to leave Dallas early.  I started continuously checking the power outage maps on my phone hoping for the best and dreading the worse.

I'm pleased to say that our home never lost power, praise King Jesus.  Things were a bit crazy at the restaurant including having our supply truck jack-knife in front of the restaurant and be stuck for 3.5 hours before a tow truck was able to rescue it.  This managed to make the local news in a pretty funny way - click here to watch the video of a local kid getting a chance to report this urgent news.

Our days at CFA Next were completely packed.  It included lots of food at every turn.  Each break brought a whole new set of snacks to choose from.



There was a fair amount of time sitting in sessions while eating snacks.  That bug doodle was actually part of the talk.

Good times were had with good friends and funny operator photo-bombers.



One afternoon brought massages for Kristen and I.  We were so excited.

We celebrated the great year in many ways, including Dan Cathy joining a local high school marching band to parade through the room.  During a different session, Dan randomly joined our table.  You can bet we all straightened up and engaged a little more as soon as he sat down.  He talked to us for a bit after it was over, and I am always amazed by his gentle kindness and humility.



John and I also snuck away one night to see a great friend from college at the Meddlesome Moth - a really cool restaurant.



I love our annual CFA pep rally.  CFA is my favorite company, and I am so thankful to be in partnership with them.  While they do not get everything right at every moment, they are doing their absolute best, and their hearts are in the right place.  Looking forward to next year when we will be back together with the whole company in Orlando again!



Past CFA Seminars

{2014}  {2013}  {2012}  {2011}

DAY IN DALLAS

Yesterday, John and I had an almost perfect day.  We slept in, which was divine.  When I say slept in, I mean that John did not rouse until 11:20 - an unheard of hour.  We decided to try to find a brunch location.  Since we had all of Dallas at our fingertips, the search online was a bit overwhelming.  I ended up looking at a list a friend had sent and picking the second one and hoping for the best.

We were thrilled with our brunch choice called Henry's Majestic.  We enjoyed the Sparkle Bar, which was a create your own mimosa adventure, featuring such delicacies as grilled nectarines and prickly pear juice.  So fun.

John ordered some breakfast tostadas, and I ordered steak and eggs.  Both were incredible.




After gorging ourselves on brunch, we decided that walking around could do us some good, and we stumbled upon the Dallas Arboretum.  Even though it is obviously off-season, it was beautiful, well-maintained and so peaceful.  We relished walking through the gardens, drinking in the calm.  It was like taking a deep breath with both body and soul.  So refreshing and beautiful.

I love beauty, and the natural order of gardens is something that makes my heart soar.  We soaked it up and enjoyed every moment.  So thankful for this time together.