PLAYING CATCH UP

I feel behind on most things in life right now, blog included.  I take that back - I'm actually caught up-ish on laundry, so there's that.  And that's a lot.  All is not lost.  But, I'm behind on stuff like email and paperwork and cookies and making meals for my family.  I did finally get the Christmas trees that I was calling Winter trees off of my porch.  🤦🏻‍♀️

Here are a few of the things that've made up our days, besides our Branson trip.  I shared brunch and my heart with these lovely ladies that I've been doing a Bible study with throughout this year.  We've had rich conversations that have led me closer to the Lord, and for that, I'm forever grateful.  I'll miss my Thursday mornings with each of these women!




One of my new favorite people had a birthday party where we painted signs which was SO MUCH FUN!  Happy Birthday, Marla!

John and I made room for a quick day date and took in Kent Walker's Artisan Cheese for lunch.  It is a definite must visit for Little Rock.  The cheese flights are on point, and there are views of the capitol from the dining room.  My salad was delicious, and John's sandwich left nothing to be desired.  They offer cheese tasting tours on Saturdays, so I think we'll schedule one of those soon!  Yum.

Dinner that same day was a little less original (Whole Hog, a favorite family standby), but we did get to see our children do this. 🤷🏻‍♀️



We are planning an international trip this summer that will require passports for all the peeps, which requires both parents and children to all go to a passport acceptance facility together with all the required paperwork.  There are a lot of requirements.  But, we got the job done at the library I grew up going to, which was a fun bonus.

(I still do this with my tongue when I write. 😜)

Three year olds sometimes still get mad even at libraries.  And they throw their shoes.

Later that same day we attended a wedding of a dear couple who met at and still works at one of our restaurants.  It was being translated from Spanish to English, so it took a little longer and most of my peeps could not hack it, though it was lovely.  We are so happy to celebrate with them - they make couple number 5 that has met and married from our restaurant! 🎉🎉🎉




The food was amazing, and someone made a surprise CFA cake for them - such a fun treat!

The beginning of spring break brought a couple of laid back-ish days.  The girls and I saw Beauty and the Beast which we LOVED.



The big girls also spent some time with grandparents planting things - can't wait to see what grows!



In other news, I got a call from John asking me randomly how my visit to Sam's was.  I was puzzled, because I had never told him about it.  Turns out, my wallet had fallen out of my purse, and they had managed to find his number and call him.  It had been turned in, and when I went to retrieve it, everything was there.  Praise the Lord.  The ladies at the desk said that most people never get their wallets back, so I am very thankful for the grace that I was shown that day.

BRANSON SPRING BREAK FUN

The past several years we have taken some quick spring break trips with friends.  This year, with very little pre-planning, we embarked on an adventure with the Head family for a couple of days spent in Branson.  Our party of 12 went on the road. 👊🏻



(the four adults in the CFA parking lot where we loaded up on chicken before the massive 3 hour drive. it seems that children are always always hungry until it is time to eat a meal when they seem to be never hungry. Maybe that's just my kids.)

We had several "firsts" this trip:

Our first time at a Hibachi grill (the kids mostly thought it was great, though the twins were particularly nervous about the fire, and at one point Bella was against the wall when the chef started throwing vegetables for us to catch in our mouths 🤣😮🥕)

Our first time at Fritz's Family Adventure - a super fun place that recently opened in Branson.  We all had a blast - though it made for a late night.

(They had a mini-ropes course for littles with harnesses and everything!)



(Bella rocked the big ropes course with John!)


Our first visit to the Sight and Sound Theatre to see Moses.  It was amazing - truly.  They use live animals and all kinds of other effects - the production level was unbelievable.  Talk about having the Bible come to life!  3 out of 4 of my children made it through the whole play, and Violet got to hang with John a lot in the lobby- so much so that they gave us a complimentary DVD and gave Violet a stuffed lamb. 👊🏻😂🐑

We had our first visit to Mel's Hard Luck Diner where the wait staff sings while serving you.  This was highly entertaining for everyone, though not all of the boys at our table enjoyed having their hair ruffled by a singing waitress.  William was so worn out from the fun that he slept through much of dinner, and because it was the night before my birthday, they sang to me.  After the singing, a man who introduced himself as Santa also came over to wish me a Happy Birthday.  Gosh I love Branson.

(Why Santa doesn't always dress this way is a mystery to me.)

Besides firsts, we also had several family trip standbys.  There were pancakes and cinnamon rolls for breakfast on our two mornings there.

There was fun downtime just playing with friends and going on "Nature Walks" near the golf course we were staying on.

There were a few unpleasant instances, like when Lily got overheated and motion sickness kicked in and she vomited in the car around 10:00 pm on our way back to the condo after Fritz's.  She was so proud that she didn't get any on her new shoes, and she immediately felt better, thank goodness.  During one afternoon, it was reported that kids were playing with play dough on the carpet.  We did discover that by "kids," this mostly meant one kid, and it looked like she was giving hot pink play dough CPR when we got down there.  Nothing is more fun than cleaning hot pink play dough out of someone else's carpet. 😒

On our last morning, we headed to mini-golf and had a grand old time.  It is amazing to see how much more fun things get as our children get a little older.

(To speed things up, John created "Twin Golf" where they would hit their balls at the same time - this delighted them both, and they would giggle and giggle as they chased their balls down the green.  So cute.)

We rounded it all out with a quick picnic lunch before we hit the road and the storms blew in!

It was a great quick trip with great friends, and we are so thankful for the time away as a family.  Peace out, Branson.  I'm sure we'll be back!

Here's Court's take on the fun!

SPRING FEELS & FAITHFUL GOD

I've written about this before, but I seem to always feel things deeply in the spring.  So many of the hardest and best things in my life have come in the spring, and my whole being seems to remember that, even when I don't always consciously acknowledge it.  As the flowers bloom and weather turns moody, I find myself extra sad or glad for indiscernible reasons.  I'm a delight to be around, as you might imagine, especially when I don't understand why I'm having bonus feels.



Today has taken me on an extra emotional journey - one that is not yet over.  It's not my story to share, but I am connected and heavily invested in it.  I have hit my knees both literally and figuratively in prayer today.  There has been great rejoicing, and we have many reasons to hope for a miraculous outcome.

As I hope and pray, I've been going over God's incredible faithfulness in my heart and mind.  He is SO good and SO faithful - even when things do not turn out how we wish or hope they would.  Just this evening, I reread through my blog posts from this exact time four years ago.  Our adoption of the twins held far more questions than answers, and we walked a perilous tight rope of expectations and trusting God while also trying to keep up a tiny guard against the pain that could have come.

What I didn't realize at the time is that the pain would come no matter what.  There is no guarding yourself or avoiding it.  The pain is part and parcel and central to the experience.  It is entwined with the parenting and the joys and the love and the beauty.  In the end, the beauty is deeper, richer and truer because of the pain.  Isn't that always true in fairytales?  It has to get dark before the magic can make it lovely.

And come what may - God is faithful.  He has proven himself time and again in my life, and I can trust in him.  He is far more real than the magic in fairytales.  He wants me to lean on him.  He wants prayer to be my only resort.  He wants to remind me how little control I have and how much everything is always in his hands no matter what.

Today, this oft-quoted passage rings more true than ever.

Philippians 4:4-7 (NIV)

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We can and should be rejoicing. The Lord is near, and I am thankful, and God's peace does transcend all understanding - it will be my guard as we all walk forward.  Praying and hoping for God's best.

FYE: BECAUSE IT'S BEEN TOO LONG

Man, there is some funny stuff out there on the internets.  Here are a few things that have me laughing lately.

If you've ever tried to restrict your caloric intake for any reason, you'll appreciate this Instagram series by Chris Pratt who is slimming down for his role in Jurassic World 2.  It's titled "What's My Snack" and is really funny.

Next up: Church Hunters - a parody of House Hunters where a "young, energetic couple" is searching for the church that is right for them!  This is far too close to reality in our current church culture and spot on.



This guy also brought us the Sponsor a Millennial video, which is a fav of ours.



Also, if you are a mother and have ever watched The Bachelor, this parody will hit home.



In other mom news, Nordstrom came out with some Clear Knee Mom Jeans, which are head-scratching in and of themselves.  The reviews highlighted in this article are priceless.

I love laughing, and all of these things brought giggles - hope they can cheer up your post spring break life!

THIS IS US ALL CRYING

Unless you've been under a rock, you've probably heard about the show, This Is Us.  You've probably watched it, and if you haven't - let me just say that this blog post will contain some spoilers - you've been warned.  Each week, John and I have curled together on the couch to watch the next installment.  Some weeks it's been uplifting and funny and heart warming and other weeks have been heartbreaking.  Usually its a mixture of both, and just about every week I found myself crying.

The cast does apologize for all the tears in this funny video, in case you missed it's rounds on Facebook.



The fact of the matter is - this show really does feel like US.
Here is the check-list of things we can relate to on this show.
 - a father who dies ✅ (it actually features two fathers who die for double the tears)
 - trans-racial adoptive family ✅
 - the stress of having multiples ✅ (though we only have twins, not triplets)
 - imperfect marriages ✅
 - anxiety/mental health issues ✅
 - child's birth-family drama ✅
 - kids who grew up in the 80s ✅ (the triplets are 36, and we are 35)
 - regular sibling highs and lows ✅
 - family who really truly loves each other and finds ways to make it through the tough issues that make up real, everyday life ✅

Obviously, we are not the Pearsons, and for that, I'm grateful.  We aren't quite as good-looking, and for the sake of TV world, they did get an extra helping on the drama front which we don't need. We also have God as our cornerstone, which I wouldn't trade for anything.  But we relate to enough of each episode to keep us hooked and hoping for more.  It's relatable and funny and has the crackle of reality to it.

During certain episodes, I have shed seemingly buckets of tears - please do not even get me started on William dying.  It was so beautifully written and poignant and tragic and stunning and heart-wrenching.  For me, the show has been a great outlet.  Real life is so full of ups and downs, and I don't always take the time to "feel" all of them.  This Is Us gives me a place to feel life, and for me, that has been helpful.  As a bonus, it's an entertaining show.

So - if you haven't watched it - take this as my recommendation.  It is by no means perfect - but it's good, and we thoroughly enjoy it.  I cry a lot and don't seem to be in the minority on that.  We are looking forward to season two!

HIGHS & LOWS OF LATELY

March is almost halfway over, and I realize that I'm just not keeping up with all the things (i.e. the blog).  Mostly, I feel okay about this.  I've been making an effort to sleep more, and other things just have to fall by the wayside.  Here's a sampling of our highs and lows from recently.

High: John's parents moved to Little Rock!  This has been a long time in the making, and we are thrilled to have more family in town.  The move went incredibly smoothly all the way from Colorado to Arkansas, and we thank the Lord for his help in all the details that went into it.  Our kiddos are super excited, and we "helped" them unpack when they got to town.

Low: The one downside to this was that John was gone for three days to help, so I was winging it here on the home front.  But - we all survived.  It does get easier the older the kiddos get - though I would still not call it easy.

High: Going dairy free is really helping Violet's skin, which is a huge blessing!  And, the less that she is uncomfortable, the more we are all enjoying life.  Here she is after attending all of dance class last week with the treat she earned for doing so.

High:  Flowers blooming everywhere.  I feel all 😍😍😍 about this.

Low:  I feel less excited about the sudden and drastic cold weather left turn this month has made.

Low:  I feel even worse about the way this change in the weather seems to be affecting my sensitive-to-everything children.  We are currently battling coughs with the twins, accompanied by a fever for one.  In other sick news at our house - last week I got the stomach bug, which was intense, though it was mercifully short lived.  And another child woke up with a crazy bad case of hives that had swollen one of her eyes almost shut.  She was most concerned about missing her teacher's birthday celebration at school, and after a little anti-histamine and a couple of hours, she was able to make the celebration after all.

(I'm really thankful that these two swallow any medicine with no fight whatsoever - it's a real gift - they think it's fun!)

High: Finding ways to bake without milk and eggs.  I guess this isn't necessarily a "high," but there is not a line-item for "Necessity" in this blog post, so I'll go ahead and put a positive spin on it.   I purchased "Vegan Buttery Sticks" (their actual name) at Kroger and managed to make donuts that were quite tasty - though a little strange texture wise.  I've got a ways to go on perfecting a donut recipe.  Three out of four children loved the donuts, and all four loved seeing Moana again while eating Moana inspired treats.




Low: Picky eaters.  I don't think anyone prepared me for how challenging family meals were going to be - even as children age.  Maybe especially as children age, because I expect more from them.  Unfortunately, I still have some underperformers in the eating area, with one being particularly difficult.  It did inspire this sign that is currently up in our breakfast nook.



High: Seeing Phantom of the Opera with friends.  I've always wanted to see this production, and while it is not my favorite musical, it really was amazing.  The music has been familiar to me for years, so I enjoyed putting a story with the classic.  We had a great night out!

High :  This Saturday, I was walking into the mall by myself.  I was carrying one twin and had another (crying) twin by the hand.  The girls were running ahead while I called out to them to slow down.  I actually had a guy hit on me in this exact moment.  Now - his sanity could *NO DOUBT* be questioned, but I realized that I am now to the age where I actually thought to myself - "Welp.  All is not lost.  I've still got it.  Whatever 'it' may be." 😂🤣😂🤣

Maybe I'll get around to writing more again soon - I've missed it!  I regularly compose blog posts in my mind while doing other things.  Hopefully, I'll get to writing more of those out.