Wednesday, August 30, 2017

RANDOM AUGUST FUN

Here are a few things I didn't want the blog to miss out on.  August has been chock full of fun, and these are some of the highlights that haven't made it here yet.  I'll run through them pretty quickly with lots of pics - one of my favorite kinds of blog posts!

Adorable Tea Party for Taylor: There were cute dresses, make up, friends and a delightful tea.  Lily and Bella super loved it!

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John got to go to a couple of Dodger games while he was in Atlanta and take a couple of our team members.  You better believe there are CFA cows in that stadium.

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The big girls got lots of time with Grandma (and Grandpa) this summer!

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We've had fun with SnapChat filters.

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There was a lovely morning spent on a friends' creek.  This August has largely been cooler, and we enjoyed the shade and playing and picnicking and wearing Chacos.  Thanks, Livers - it was a blast!

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Immerse (the organization that I serve on the board of) launched a new ministry called Immerse Families to help support adoptive and foster families.  The first event was this month with dinner and inflatables and live music, and our family LOVED it!

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All in all, August has treated us well, and it's hard to believe that it's almost over!

Sunday, August 27, 2017

PARENTING: LIFE'S HARDEST JOB EVER.

Back in May, John and I had a Spenst Summit which yielded some helpful long-term changes - especially around the way we do dinner time.  I am pleased to report that while dinner does not happen perfectly every night, we are achieving more dinner success on a more regular basis, so that feels like a win.  It's nice to make changes and see results.  We are still working to make Sundays our day of rest, though with the amount of traveling we did this summer, as well as certain activities that fell on Sundays, this has been more hit or miss than we might have liked.  But, today, John and I slept on the couch for almost 3 hours while we were awoken by our children only a few times. 😴🙌🏻

One of the other things that I have been slowly coming to grips with is that parenting takes an ENORMOUS amount of time and energy.  See, all of my children are now in school, and I really think I believed that I would magically have all this new-found free time.  hahahahahahahahaha.

I do get a lot more quiet time in our home, which I appreciate so much - especially in light of just having a summer with very little quiet.  And, I am able to organize time more efficiently and not go to the grocery store with children and finish laundry (*on a good week), when they are not here.  

HOWEVER.  

Parenting is so intense that I need those full 35 hours a week to recover from the hours that we spend together.  Some of this is the season that we are in, the personality make-up and ages of our kids, some of the unique challenges that we have and the fact that we are all, every last one of us, sinful people trying to live together and serve God and make it in this world.  We all have our own agendas, and *sometimes* they do not line up.

As I become ever so slightly more seasoned as a parent, I realize how little I really know and how very little I control.  I grow in humility - not necessarily as a result of increased spirituality, but instead as a function of humiliating experiences in public with one or more of my children acting like a crazy.  

Case in point: the twins had their four year check up at the doctor's office last week (only five months late and only because they had to have it for school paperwork, otherwise, I never would have realized that we didn't do it 🤦🏻‍♀️)  They needed to take their picture to have on file, and from that moment on, William screamed/yelled/cried about 2/3 of the entire experience.  Violet chimed in whenever she thought he needed help protesting, though on the whole, she was pretty sweet.  But, neither wanted vaccines (who does?), and William managed to tense his legs so much that he bent the needles. 😱 

Everyone in that office gave me sympathetic looks, and I heard "bless your heart" more than once.  By the time we got home, I was done.  D - O - N - E.  I called John, and he graciously agreed to meet the kids and I at our usual Mexican restaurant where the staff knows us by name and take care of us very quickly.  We ate dinner starting at 5, and the kids were in bed by 6:45 p.m., and I still felt like I needed days to recover.  But instead, I started it all again the next day.

I do know enough to know that this will pass - both the bad and the good things of this season are fleeting.  I've had other strong-willed four year olds - though I've never had two at a time, and I can't say I highly recommend that particular experience.  Now the others are strong-willed six and eight year olds, and while we have new challenges, they are often a little easier to reason with.  Until they aren't, or until they kick a hole in the wall. (that happened a couple of weeks ago 😳)

Basically, I've come to understand that during this season, I actually don't have a lot of extra time.  It takes an enormous amount of energy and intentionality to parent well.  And, the stakes are high.  I'm the only mom that Lily, Bella, William and Violet have right now, and I want to do it well.  I'm asking the Lord to help me use the time he's given me in ways that glorify him and serve my family well.  I've continued to cut back on some of the extra things I've been involved in, simply because I only have so much energy.  It will not always feel like this.  But right now, it does.

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All of that said, we do have a lot of sweet moments right now, and I'm not looking forward to those passing.  We get a lot of "I love yous" and cuddles and hugs.  Parenting is the hardest job ever, but it is so worth it.

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, JOHN

Y'all know I love to make a big deal about birthdays around here.  However, I am married to someone who does not like to have a big fuss made over him.  Really and truly - that is not his thing. So, I don't throw big parties for him or usually go all out on a giant surprise gift.  Those things do not speak to him.  However, he is my very favorite person in the whole wide world, so I didn't want to let this occasion pass without saying anything.

Happy 36th to John!

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What can I say about this man?  He is the most hard-working and empathetic person that I have ever met.  He loves people well and considers others needs before his own.  He loves the Lord and strives to serve him in all things.  He holds himself to incredibly high (sometimes *impossibly* high) standards and is a person of utmost integrity.  Obviously, he's got plenty of faults like the rest of us, but since this is a celebratory post, we won't dwell on those. 😜

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It seems impossible to realize that we've been together over 14 years now.  This picture is actually the clone of a picture we took before we were even officially dating back in May of 2003.  I feel a little too lazy at this exact moment to dig it out of the attic, but trust me that he was just as tall then as he is now, my hair is now five times longer (at least), and we have a lot more wrinkles 14 years later.  But, I can still say that in every situation, he is still the person I want to have next to me.  He knows what to say and do to make things as right as possible, and I am forever grateful for this gift in my life.

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This summer has certainly been a whirlwind, which might show up in the fact that his birthday was August 5th, and I'm posting about it August 23rd. 🙈🙈🙈 I feel like we are still trying to recover from the level of activity as well as gear up for fall, though we are certainly continuing to be very selective about what we do.  

So, Happy Belated Birthday to my most favorite person of all time!

Monday, August 21, 2017

ECLIPSE WATCH PARTY

I love any excuse to party, so when it sort of dawned on me what a big deal this eclipse was, I knew I wanted to make a thing of it.  I checked the big girls out of school and invited us to a homeschool watch party.  Everything is more fun with friends.

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(Just call us "Five Blind Mice, See Where They Look" - you cannot see anything but the sun through those glasses, though they certainly kept our retinas nice and intact!)

Back on our family trip, my extremely thoughtful (and science-y) step-father hooked us up with glasses and info.

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I made some eclipse cookies last night in preparation, because every event requires cookies. #duh

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I also whipped up some "Galaxy Lemonade," which didn't change color nearly as much as I wanted, but still made for a nice cool drink to get us started.

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Everyone brought eclipse inspired food/drinks/snacks.

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It was both amazing and a *teensy* bit underwhelming where we were located with only a 90% coverage.  Turns out, 10% of the sun is still incredibly warm and bright.  It was incredible to see how God created our world and to feel everything moving and see the shadow of the moon.  Both kids and adults thoroughly enjoyed watching the crescent change throughout the eclipse.

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It didn't get dark enough to really appreciate glow sticks, but they are fun in any kind of light - especially weird eclipse partial light.

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The twins stayed in school, but enjoyed playing with the glasses during therapy and after school.  I enjoyed snuggling their half-sister Lizzie. 😍

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Thanks, Christy, for letting us party crash!  Now I'm super excited to know that Little Rock will be in the path of totality for the 2024 eclipse!  #holdingontomyglasses 😜

Monday, August 14, 2017

BACK TO SCHOOL

It's that time of year, and it snuck right up on me.  I'm sitting on a couch in my house by myself.  No one is asking me a million questions.  I don't have to get another round of Cheerios for anyone.  My house is not actively becoming messy.  I am not sad that these things will not make up a large chunk of my weekdays for the foreseeable future.

The end of our summer has shown me that it was time for school to start. 🤣 Summer has mostly been great, but it's time for more routine and a little bit of separation.  It really can make the heart grow fonder. 😜 Please know that I love and cherish my darling children.  But, for now in life, school is what God has for our family, and I'm thankful for the opportunities that it provides each of us.  Last year I was a crying mess, but this year feels like finding our feet on solid ground and knowing this is what's best for this time.  There are many years ahead where I will bawl my eyes out over some giant family landmark, but this is not that year. 🙌🏻 Instead, I feel more like taking a nap. 😴

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This morning was eerily smooth.  No one cried or screamed, and I can tell you from first-hand, recent experience that this is not currently the norm with our crew.  Our photo session was relatively painless and required very few Smarties to complete.

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We met the teachers on Friday night and Sunday afternoon.  I'm hoping and praying that they learn and grow and have fantastic years together!

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This morning, everyone walked into their classes, ready to start the new year.

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I did make Back to School cookies, though I didn't sell them.  I try to start off on the right foot at the beginning of the year, since there are many ways that I will fail as the year goes on.

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It is crazy to realize how quickly time passes.  I am so thankful for the times we've had together this summer.  Every year brings different challenges and joys, and it will be interesting to see what emerges as we press on.  I'm praying that God gives us strength and grace and kindness as we go through our days and looking forward to seeing what this school year will bring!

{FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL 2016}
{FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL 2015} {& HERE}
{FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL 2014} {& HERE}
{FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL 2013}
{FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL 2012}