UP UP & AWAY, A BABY GIRL IS ON THE WAY

After spending most of the week in Orlando, I had a quick turnaround and headed to Wichita to celebrate my baby sister's impending arrival.  We are so excited to welcome this very anticipated little lady and get a girl cousin on this side of the family!  We used her nursery colors, and my other sister Ellen coordinated our rather large hostess group to come up with a sweet, hot-air balloon themed shower.



As always, its so fun to see things all come together - thanks for giving us a great vision to execute, Ellen!

(Laura made the quilt behind the gift table for baby girl's nursery, because of course she did.)

Each person contributed unique, creative details to make the shower special, and the effect was quite lovely.  (I can say that without bragging, because I had very little to do with it - I only brought cookies.)

This shower had a large invite list, but we weren't really sure how many people would come.  Almost everybody did, and they were also surprisingly prompt.  The gift table was loaded down by 2:06 p.m., and Laura spent an hour and a half straight opening presents.  She was showered with so many wonderful things ranging from the practical to the adorable and everything in between.  Plus enough books for several mini-libraries.

Clearly, this shower had some of the best guests around, and it was a blessing just to see how many people love Laura, her husband Ryan, and their new baby on the way.  

And, it was a great excuse to be with the ladies of my family - I love you all dearly and wish we got to hang out all the time.



My girls got to help with the present opening and organizing and balloon wrangling, and they ate cookies to their heart's delight - a great day in their books.



We can't wait to meet baby McElroy come April!  

HARRY POTTER WORLD & THE REST OF THE STORY

Here's the deal, I am a Harry Potter nerd in my very core. I can’t help it. I love the books and movies, and the heart wants what it wants and all that. So, when we knew we’d be in Orlando and could have just a bit of extra time after the conference, we made plans to go to the newest portion of Harry Potter World that opened just last year.

We checked into our hotel at Universal (Loew's Royal Pacific) and were quite impressed with our digs. Despite my love of Harry Potter, I’m actually a Disney snob, so I had pretty low expectations for staying on Universal property. I was pleased to discover these were all misplaced.   It was beautiful and well-appointed and a lovely respite.

Wednesday afternoon took us to Harry Potter World (which shall hence be referred to as HPW), and with the combination of it being a weekday afternoon in February on a day that had seen rain, there were virtually no wait times for any attraction and low crowd levels in general - definitely how I prefer my theme parks. We had visited HPW when it first opened (in conjunction with another CFA trip) four years ago, and it was great fun to see the new section and ride the Hogwart’s Express between the parks. I love the immersive nature of it all, and they certainly did an excellent job of capturing the feel of the books and movies.

The rest of our time we spent eating in delicious restaurants on our hotel property and sleeping, which was a gift. I wish that all had been quiet on the home front, but while we were away and starting while we were with CFA, John’s dad ended up with some health issues that required several doctors visits and culminated in a surgery on Thursday.  It meant we fielded many phone calls during the week and needed to find alternate childcare for our children from Orlando - no easy feat. However, between John’s sister and our dear and wonderful friends, our kids were taken care of so
that John’s mom could take care of John’s dad.




It’s a good reminder that there are almost always two tracks running simultaneously in our lives. There is the fun track that includes vacation and a respite from routine, and there is the stressful track that is also always running. There are health emergencies and business questions and four children, and we exist at the center of those webs whether we are home or not. We cannot and should not dodge those responsibilities. I tried to really take in and enjoy the moment when we got to relax by the fountains at our hotel, even while knowing that a friend was at my house with three of my kids and three of hers trying to get some of them down for naps.



I am grateful for so many things about this time away - the fun of seeing HPW, the joy of being with John, the health of the kiddos, the great doctors to care for my FIL, and the chance to see once again what great friends we have. It takes a village, and I’m so glad and humbled that we’re surrounded by such a great village to help when we desperately needed them to.

CFA NEXT 2016

We’ve spent the better part of the last week in Orlando, FL with CFA - my most favorite company in the whole world. Every year, they bring all Owner/Operators (John’s official title), their spouses and all corporate staff and their spouses together. It’s like a giant CFA pep rally, and they take the time to pour into us with many opportunities to learn and fun events as well.

Every year is slightly different, but I always appreciate the time and effort that goes into planning an event of this magnitude. It is work, but it is such a valuable getaway, and I’m so thankful for the ways that CFA takes care of us. Here are my favorite things from this year in no particular order.

1.  Time with John. Without our children.

 
I love our children dearly, but it is invaluable to have time away from them for John and I to be able to see one another more clearly. We can complete sentences and eat meals all without interruption.

2.  Time with CFA friends.

Being part of CFA is being part of a giant family 5,000 people strong. The setting can be overwhelming, because the company is growing quickly, and there seem to be people everywhere you turn. But, NEXT serves as such a great time to reconnect with friends we’ve made along the way. Our lives have so many parallels because of the unique roles we have, and it is life-giving and encouraging to spend time with people who completely understand the pressures, challenges and joys that our normal life contains. We got to compare notes with so many people walking similar journeys, and that is truly a blessing. Plus, we laughed a ton. I didn’t take nearly enough pictures of people this year, because I was usually too busy running my mouth.

3.  The content.

I’ve had a hand in planning events, and I know that getting good content that pleases a wide range of people is a near impossible task. While not everything that I heard was pertinent to me (or even necessarily to John), I have so many great takeaways. I got to hear Lysa TerKeurst and Rebeckah Lyons, both of whom were excellent and inspiring. On the last day, a violinist who has played with Shania Twain and Celine Dion spoke and reminded me that “This is What I Signed Up For.” Sometimes it’s easy to get bogged down in the mundane minutia of my little life, but I willingly signed up for all of it. I signed on for four kids and two restaurants, and not only do I believe that I signed up for it, I believe that God has placed those things in front of us as gifts and callings. It means that there are a great deal of challenges, but to do motherhood and wifehood well, I need to be obedient to the Lord in all of the things that I signed up for while following him. He will give me the strength. And as Louie Giglio reminded us the first morning - he doesn’t call people that have it all together. He calls people that are insufficient and need him. I can raise all my hands for that.

4.  The food everywhere.

Y’all. CFA knows how to keep us well fed. Everywhere you looked there were new treats to be had. You just finished a large dinner that included a giant edible chocolate tree in the middle of your table? Great - here’s some swiss chocolate as you head back to your room. Breakfast was 1.5 hours ago? You must be hungry again - here are some hard-boiled eggs, 5 kinds of donuts and a sampling of fruits. You just finished lunch? Make sure you grab some candy/granola bars/any drink you might possibly want on your way to the bus!

5.  The vulnerability.

This year, perhaps more than others, I found a lot of vulnerability that I truly appreciated. Both from the stage and from friends, people were honest about the struggles they face professionally and personally. Knowing you are not alone matters. Knowing that other people don’t have it all together helps me breathe a sigh of relief. There was a genuine lack of pretense that was so refreshing, and I’m so thankful to be in business with people striving to do their best while admitting that some days are really hard. Just like in our life.

CFA Next 2016 was a three day gift that will last much longer as we head back into our normal lives.