GIRLS' NIGHT WITH LIZZIE

Spring really has been full of so many good things, one of my favorite being the arrival and adoption of baby Lizzie.  We wanted to celebrate her and shower Christy with a few more fun things, so we came up with a special night that was hosted this past Friday.  What a gift it is to walk through life and motherhood with these women - I am richly blessed!



My sis, Ellen was kind enough to design invites for us on the fly based on the nursery colors Christy is using.

We had a yummy spread full of sweet and savory treats and drinks.

(nobody ate the diaper cake, but it was a fun touch.)

Everyone passed Lizzie around who spent time being a delightfully cuddly baby, sleeping and eating.

The evening passed in a blur of talking, eating, laughing and Christy opening gifts.  (She's not expressive at all😂.)

I have not yet gotten over how trippy it is to see glimmers of my children in one of my bestie's kids.

Isn't she a doll?  So far, we see a lot of William with some hints of Violet and Maya and Quinn as well.  She is just precious!

We sent everyone on their way with donuts, though I didn't get a great pic of them wrapped up.



It was truly a wonderful night with some of nearest and dearest celebrating all that God has done!

WALK FOR THE WAITING 2017

Walk for the Waiting was this past Saturday morning, and it dawned crisp and clear and perfect for a large gathering.  This was the 5th year, and it just keeps getting bigger and better thanks foremost to God and also to an incredible organizational leader for the event this year in my friend Kandace.

(My girls with Kandace's new daughter who all came to help us set up the event! 😜 I've actually known Kandace my whole life, so it is a treat to get to work with her in this capacity and see our kiddos together.)




Did you know the stats in the pics above?  The fact of the matter is that even with people tirelessly working, there are still huge needs in our state in the child welfare system.  Children are falling through the gaps and never finding families or permanency or hope.  Just during the setup time on Friday, I interacted with a young man who will age out of the system before long who is still hoping to be adopted.  Can you imagine what that must feel like?  My heart broke all over again as the urgency of it all became clear.  Lives are at stake, and I am praying that the church in Arkansas is moved into action.

We enjoyed the walk (except for the child that spent time throwing a fit in the car before she recovered enough to join us. hint, this was not a twin. sometimes being a middle child is hard.)  The weather was truly gorgeous, and I am always so encouraged to look around and see so many families that look like ours.

This spring, I was in meetings for this event every week, and every week, we opened the meetings with an extended time of prayer and worship.  It is hard work to plan something of this scope and scale.  But - it is worth it.  Getting to see God work up close is truly such a privilege.  He shows up.  He moves.  He makes things happen.

So, even as I write this post, I continue to pray for hearts to be drawn to the orphan in our city and state.  I pray for homes to be opened up and for people to want to serve and get involved.  I fully understand that adoption and foster care are not the route for every family, but I firmly believe that most families have some role to play - whether that be donating or supporting those who are fostering/adopting or mentoring an older teen or praying for children to find families.

If you feel led to donate - we'll certainly still take your money even though the event is over for this year!  (Donate here!)

Past Walk for the Waiting Blog Posts
{2016} {2015} {2014} {2013}

DANCE RECITAL

The girls have all been taking dance classes this year with mostly successful results.  I say mostly, because Violet has not always been the easiest child in those classes, but she has been sweet enough that the staff all say they love her.  (Or at least, that is what they tell me, though I imagine they have good and bad moments together. 🤣)  We had our dress rehearsal last Monday night which was an adventure in and of itself.  It was also a chance to get professional dance photos, which I haven't gotten back yet, but I am sure will be hysterical since only two out of three of my darlings cooperated.

Bless it.

It was fun to see the girls all dolled up!

So fun to dance with friends!

I was so impressed with our studio and the way they run the recital.  It was a well-oiled machine with every little thing lined out from wardrobe to rehearsal to times.  Can you imagine trying to corral and entertain a bunch of dressed up little girls backstage and then usher them into a performance?

This past weekend was a doozie.  I'll be writing a separate post about Walk for the Waiting, but we attended that Saturday morning and then we all scurried our little selves to the 1st of two dance recitals that we witnessed on Saturday.  After a brief lunch break at home, we hurried ourselves back for the second recital.  But - the girls all performed beautifully and did the dances, and we were so proud.

Violet's class danced to "Isn't She Lovely?"

Bella's number was "I Want Candy," which included the fun lollipop prop.

Lily performed both a ballet and tap routine - "Once Upon a Dream" and "Tutti Fruity."

We attended 1.5 performances and left at intermission of the second recital, because Lily was done and the twins were way past done.  But, we mostly did well watching, and it was amazing to see all the routines - especially the older dancers.



As a super bonus - we had our in-town grandparents also in attendance, which is still a fun new treat for us.  Thanks for being amazing troopers all day Saturday with us, Lenny and Sharon!

So thankful for a great first dance experience!

WHAT DID WE DO IN APRIL?

My goodness.  I am not exactly keeping up with all the things right now.  Even as I type, I imagine all of the things that I haven't even remembered to do that need to be done, and yet, I want to be sitting on the couch. 😴 I decided to catch up on the littler moments that make up our life, and April was certainly packed with them.  Here are some of the highlights.

We had brunch at The Root where we got to eat outdoors and enjoy vegan pancakes for these little egg/milk free cuties and their cute sisters. 😍

We've had sweet moments all around.  (when we are not busy having sassy moments....😒)

We've had two separate zoo field trips - one that included a massive downpour 🌧 and one that didn't ☀️.  Both were good.

(She likes to push.  He likes to ride.)

We had a blast with Nana and Papa when they were here for the twins' birthday weekend. 🎉

We went to a roller-skating birthday party that turned out to be so much fun for everyone, though the twins' couldn't have the cake so they thoroughly enjoyed the Coke.

We also found a skin infection on this sweet child who then required a nasty pill three times a day for two weeks.  But we are done, and her skin looks so much better.  I'm so very thankful!

Looking through these pictures does fill my heart with gratitude.  Many things feel like they are spinning quickly, but our lives do have so much love and so many rich moments.  What a gift to live life with my people.  That's what we did in April.  You know, in between all the other stuff we did. 👊🏻