Weekend Adventures

It was a beautiful weekend here in Luray. Saturday was sunny and warm, while Sunday was cool and rainy. We took advantage of both. We started the weekend with Elliot's first soccer game of the season. I love watching that sweet boy play soccer. This is the first year that the team is really learning to play the game. There are many great players on his team and they all have wonderful attitudes. As a bonus, one of my good friends and her husband are coaching the team. It was an exciting game, and the perfect start to our family weekend.

After soccer, Andrew's dad called and invited us to lunch at Dominicos, a local pizza restaurant. It turned out to be a family event, with my brother in law and his family joining us as well. We filled up with pizza, laughter and conversation. After lunch, we said our goodbyes, and Andrew and I packed up the kids and headed to the greenway for an Earth Day Celebration! This was definitely a highlight of our weekend! There was live music, tons of booths, face painting, kid's yoga and even a duck race! Kadence and Elliot swam in the creek while Andrew and I visited with friends and jammed out to the rocking bands! Even Amelia enjoyed the fun and danced around on the grass. It was an awesome event and I am so thankful to the all of the people who worked so hard to put it together! I love our little town.

Duck Race

Face Painting

Marcus Brown & the Sugartones

Sunday morning, we woke up to the sound of rain beating down on our roof. I love a good rainy day. We sat around for a while and sipped hot coffee before getting ready for church. I have never in my life looked forward to going to church, in the way I do now. I'm sure in part, it's due to my growing relationship with Christ and the love I have for being in his house with his people. But, also I look forward to the challenge, conviction and encouragement that our new pastor brings every single week. I feel God's presence in that sanctuary in a way I have never experienced. I love my church, and my church family.

The rest of the afternoon we spent inside our cozy home. We built a fort, played spies, made movies, put on puppet shows, read stories, and laughed until our sides were sore. These are the days, I feel my heart may explode with love and thankfulness. These are the moments that bind us and define us as a family. These are the memories we will share for a lifetime.



Pierced Ears!

Last week, Kadence finally reached her long awaited, hard earned goal of 50 points! This meant she could choose to do something special. After sifting through many ideas, and brainstorming all the possible ways to spend her points, she finally made a decision. She wanted to get her ears pierced!

And boy was this girl excited about it! Lately, Kadence has been working hard on facing her fears and self empowerment, so I was especially proud of her for wanting to do something, that in the past she said she would, "never ever EVER EVER do".

We decided to make it a family night out. So we piled into the car and drove to the Mall. I was nervous. I got my ears pierced when I was 16 and I remember it hurting. And Kadence was SO fearless and brave, it was unnerving. Well, I had nothing to worry about. She picked out her cute little flower earrings.....held my hand.....and VOILA! Beautiful pierced ears. No tears. All smiles!

Before

After

Pierced Ears!

Toting her, "I just go my ears pierced" bag.

We went out to dinner and she ate two plates of shrimp (her favorite) to celebrate!

It was a wonderful day and a special memory for us to share as a family!

And now, my husband has one more girl to buy jewelry for. :)

Sick of Sickness

Every year it feels like there are more and more icky colds and nasty flues floating around, infecting and interrupting our happy home. In our house, we all manage sickness differently. My husband is the least likely to catch something (must be nice to have a superhuman immune system). But, when he does, it never seems to really bring him down. He will still go to work, take care of kids and go about his daily tasks without so much as a grumble. It is remarkable, really.

I on the other hand, in the face of illness am rendered completely and utterly useless. I am always in, "the worst possible pain anyone has ever been in", and I am, "not sure if I am going to make it". Dramatic, I know. But at least I own up to it. No amount of medicine, chicken noodle soup or back rubs, will ever be enough to pry me from death's grip, when I am sick.

When my oldest daughter is sick, she usually spikes a very high fever. In fact, she has probably taken more trips to the ER than anyone, because of alarming 104+ degree fevers. Over time, I have learned that it is just the way her body reacts to fight off the illness and she has a higher resting temp than average. But still, it always makes me nervous.

Any sickness our son has usually ends up in his respiratory system. He is the one who is prone to bronchitis and has even ended up in the hospital with pneumonia. He also has allergies and spends many nights coughing with no relief. The humidifier is his friend.



Last but not least, there is our baby girl, who I swear, has had a runny nose since the day she was born. And of course, when she gets sick, it becomes uncontrollable. She is a leaky faucet of ooey gooey unpleasantness. Also, because of her congestion and runny nose, she can't sleep, which means no one can sleep.



Our current sicky

So there you have it. More information than you ever wanted to know about my family's cold/flu issues. But, I have a feeling that we are not the only ones who succumb to illness in these ways. So what about you? How does your family handle cold/flu season?