Veggie Wrap

Making healthy decisions is such an adult struggle. While I have the power to make and eat whatever I want, I feel better when I put those good, colorful veggies in my body. 

My doctor told me that it's not just about cutting down the calories. Instead, I need to focus on getting in the much needed nutrients that come from plants. I finally decided to focus on a healthy lunch that tasted good and made me happy. 

Right now, I'm loving my veggies wraps:

hummus

matchstick carrots

sprouts

chopped kale

tomatoes

half an avocado

cucumbers

No dressing is needed because the avocado and hummus offer enough creaminess. My kids call it The Monster Burrito. Paired with an orange, this lunch is as almost as good as nachos. Sometimes self discipline tastes the best-and sometimes dreams are filled with chocolate. 

Ice Cream Chaos Makes Us Serious

Every year in April, Ben & Jerry's has a free scoop day. The lines are long, they have face painting and balloon animals, the staff is extra excited, and the music is loud. It's chaos on overload. This year, we swung by after I picked up carpool. (Carpool kid not photographed because she was taking the picture.)

Everyone got a free scoop-even Lark. They were excited-best after school snack ever! John joked last time that we went as a family, "let's say I buy everyone their own pint and we don't fool with the lines." 

Where's the fun in that? We want the hype too, no matter how much it makes me sweat in the process. I do it for me, and I do it for the kids. Just look at those cute, not-smiling, ice cream concentrating faces!

Lark's First Sink Bath

The day before I took these pictures I had an awful realization! Lark had never taken a kitchen sink bath! Oh, the depravity!

When Lark was itty-bitty little, there was always another child in the bathtub and we threw him in there for a quick dip and rinse. He was the fourth child, so any corners we could cut, we cut!

For fun, I gave him a sink bath. He loves running his hands under the faucet, so I thought he would love it. I put him in there and we was very unsure of what or why he was in there. Is this punishment? Is she going to leave me in here? Should I be scared? I see some fun stuff, but am I ALLOWED to play? WHAT IS GOING ON? I pushed him a little to play and he eventually started playing, but things really ramped up when Ridge saw and had to join!

With those two in there, fun was had. I went through three towels just for the water splashed on the floor. Man, I love their sink baths and them being small enough to fit in there.

(For fun, go back 8 years when my pictures were worse and Burl was all alone in there.)

Messianic Passover

We've made some new friends this year and we love them! Jessica, the mom, is a first generation American on her mother's side. She is part Jewish, and I've loved learning more about her mom's family and culture.

For Easter, Jessica and Mark did a messianic Passover with my family and my parents. 

It was her first Passover since her mom passed away three and a half years ago. She came with excitement, eagerness, and was very laid back with the seven kids between us as they ran wild! She spoke Hebrew, which I haven't heard in years! It was such a gift to know more about what I read in the Bible. Her mom must be so proud! Thank you Jessica!

Master Bedroom: Before & (almost) After

When flight attendants give instructions on the plane about oxygen mask, we learn a life lesson that I always love to bring up to my friends. "If traveling with a child, put on your mask first, then the child's." Why? Because ain't no mama good to their babies if they aren't breathing. Meaning, we are better able to help people if we are doing well ourselves. Before getting into theology about God working through weakness (because that's the truth too), let's talk about the master bedroom.

I put the master bedroom high on the priority list when it comes to decorating my home. It's good for me to have a place that feels quiet and calm. I like it to feel stress-less, because, Mama has to have her oxygen before I can help anyone else. I want my master bedroom to recharge me. It wasn't for a long time until I figured out what I wanted. 

Here is my before:

For about a year, I've wanted something different and thought about something new. 

Here is my after:

I have been making these changes throughout the rest of the house. I'm going from muted, colorful walls and white furniture and white accessories. Now I want white walls, and bold and neutral furniture and small pops of colorful accessories. It's been so fun! I'm having a fun time with it while trying to spend as little money as I can. 

I saved money to buy new lamps. At the store, I decided to use what I got. I spray painted the base gold and added a new shade, then had money leftover for new frames. One of my plants has already died. I'm the most neglectful plant lady every. 

There's a lot of blank space, free of clutter and dustables. Oh how dustables annoy me always sitting there collecting dust, reminding me that I hate to dust! Wide open surfaces are what really make my heart pitter-patter.

We call that rope thing over the bed, our Disciples' Fishing Net. My mom surprised me with it for my birthday and I absolutely love it. It's so cool. It's so big. It's so awesome. 

The after has already changed though! John and I upgraded to a king bed (best decision ever!), so I'm somewhat in the middle of a change now. We loved this room while it lasted, and now we're working on the latest after. Along with 4,000 other projects. We are thankful for this house that we're living in and somewhat taking care of. 

Cades Cove Group Camping

We got a taste of heaven this weekend, and it's only made us hungry for more. Our camping trip was a perfect combination for John and me. While I got my people fix of camping with over 30 of our friends, John got to be in his favorite place on earth, Cades Cove.  

We haven't been camping since fall break in October. It was then that we camped with a huge group as well, and had a great time setting our kids free with their friends in the woods. As we all went back to our homes, we started dreaming about our next big camping trip. We landed on Cades Cove. John grew up going there as a child, and he introduced me to it when we used to walk the loop. We started taking Burl when he was a few months old then Fern when she came along-we never made it after we had Ridge. Needless to say, the trip was an immediate yes from John!

Enthusiasm usually has a way of quieting cynicism. Usually in our relationship, I'm the one who plays that role. "Let's do it! Let's go! It will work itself out-don't worry," I'll say to boost morale when all the doubts start surfacing. "IT WILL BE FUN" is sometimes what people need to hear. I see it as my personal job to get people moving in the happy direction. This trip, however, that was John. If we didn't have matches to start the fire, I'm sure John could have shot jolly missiles out of his fingertips and set the whole campground ablaze. 

When the weather turned bad and everyone started complaining, John was there to pick everyone up from their self-imposed misery. He did all the things and helped in all the ways. He was ready, and that didn't stop once we were there. We opened the car doors, all the kids spilled out, and we got going on our things. Burl and Fern were off with friends, Ridge and Lark toddled around playing with sticks, rocks, dirt, and better-than-toys entertainment, John set up our tent, and I chatted with people and nested in our new spot. We were all happy. 

As more families showed up, we would all run over, hug, and yell, "Isn't this amazing?" Then, we would help each other unload. It was great. 

After dinner on the first night, John and I were itching to drive the 11 mile, one way loop. It's beauty is unmatched and often we found ourselves completely surrounded by nature (besides the paved road we drove on). Seeing their homes and churches always reminds me that I'm the happiest when things are slow and simple. Of course putting down the smart phone is always a good decision, but I'm looking for something more than that. I think about errands, schedules, food, chores, hobbies. What can I eliminate to make things simple for my family of six?

Unfortunately, the next day called for freezing rain and low temperatures, so everyone bailed. We left after lunch. Before we left, we had our slow morning with just one more cup of hot coffee as checked in with each other. 

We also went on a hike with two other families. The hike was 5 miles out-and-back, but we cut it short and made it a 3 mile hike. 

Our turn around point was the bear. We heard that there was a bear asleep in a tree, so we hoofed it until we found it. We stood amazed at this bear so snug in a tree, then we took the pulse of the group and realized that our crew did not have the longevity to do the whole hike. 

We made it back to the cars for lunch right before the wheels came off of everyone. Sandwiches, chips, carrots, and cookies really turned things around. 

After the hike, we returned to our campsite and everyone had left but us. We packed up our things and wished that we could stay longer. What a great time we had, and what a great time we will have again. We will definitely be returning! 

SaveSaveSaveSave