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.

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!