This week was filled with hours and hours of baseball! Which I absolutely love! Watching Silas out there playing his heart out is one of my favorite things as a mom!
Friday night’s game was long and COLD — I was so glad I had brought extra jackets for everyone + three super warm blankets. We needed all of it!
One of the highlights of the week for the younger kids was this deal I got on Kinder Joy Eggs (no longer available). You should have heard the squeals that came from our house when they saw the package!!
They get to have one every day after school if they’ve had good attitudes and done their chores. Let’s just say it’s been a HUGE motivation!!
I am loving this little area in my closet — I didn’t know that organizing it was going to make me SO happy!! (I got a book embroidery wall-hanging that I’m going to create to go up on the wall – you can see it sitting on top of the plant!) See some before and after pictures here.
It was Mismatch Day at school for Kierstyn and she was so excited to put together a rainbow and cowgirl outfit. The unicorn and shoes were rainbow and the dress and hat were cowgirl – she came up with the idea on her own and executed it all by herself!
I signed up to do a 10k on May 30 with Kathrynne and some of her friends. This is a whole new world for me and I quickly realized I needed to get outfitted properly — so David, Jesse, and I went to Fleet Feet on Thursday to get my feet scanned and get fitted for a running shoe that works well with my feet.
I was SO impressed with Fleet Feet!! Their free appointment was so educational and the scans of my feet and walking were fascinating! Plus, they helped find socks, shoes, and insoles perfect for my feet!
David was REALLY into the whole experience and wanted to be right next to me!
For a girl who couldn’t ever run more than a half mile as a teen, I’m so excited that I was able to run over two miles multiple times this week without stopping — and it encourages me that all my workouts at the gym are definitely helping me get stronger and build endurance!
My plan – as of now – is to run on Mon/Wed/Fri mornings and go to the gym for the strength- training class I love on Tues/Thurs and then do a longer outdoor run on Sundays. And then Saturday will be a rest day. I may tweak that, but that’s what I’m going with for now!
Micah doesn’t have preschool on Wednesdays and I don’t have any Wednesday interviews this week (I usually do interviews on Wednesdays but did them Tuesday instead) so I got to hang out with this guy watching a truck show and knocking out some work. I love slow mornings like this!
6 years ago this week, we brought a tiny medically fragile baby boy home from the NICU — when I was 35 weeks pregnant with Kierstyn!
That sweet baby boy would change our lives forever. Getting to foster him and walk with his mama and love and care for him on her behalf for 8 1/2 months was one of the hardest best things I’ve ever done.
It broke me. It marked me. And I will never be the same again.
Giving him back to his mama after 8 1/2 months of loving him on her behalf was truly the most heartbreakingly beautiful thing I’ve ever experienced. It wrecked me and I cried so many tears for so many months over it.
And yet… I look back and see God’s hand in all of it. If we hadn’t said yes to fostering him and then gotten the privilege (and heartbreak) of seeing him reunified with his mom, I truly believe we never would have said yes to David.
The little baby boy from the NICU prepared our hearts and gave us so much experience in learning how the medical and foster system work — how to navigate the state insurance system, what is covered, who to call, and how to advocate. It’s a pretty complex world and I got months of practice and experience that would be a massive help when we were thrust into the world of severe disabilities and malnutrition with David and needed to get him immediate medical help from a multitude of providers as soon as he was dropped off at our door.
Not only that, but the little baby boy from the NICU ignited a desire in us to tell DCS that we would like to say yes to caring for a child with significant disabilities or medical needs. This wasn’t even on our radar before. And it’s the reason DCS thought to call us when David needed a foster family.
In addition, that little boy from the NICU opened our hearts to loving birth mamas in a brand-new way – which allowed us to walk alongside David’s mom in a completely different way – to go to bat for her, fight for her, and do all we could to make sure she is seen, cared for, and honored.
That little baby boy from the NICU is now six years old and thriving with his mama – we are so proud of both of them and honored to have been a little part of their story!
A bunch of you asked to see the Walmart dresses I had purchased to try out. You can check them out here — and there are links to all of them + a bunch of other dresses for less than $25 each here.
Here’s a quick and easy on-the-go meal we have made for years and years.
It’s official – we are now Costco members! We just went yesterday and got our membership using these hot deal! I’ll share more on Wednesday what we bought and some of our initial thoughts compared to Sam’s Club.
Picked up my library holds this week — The Bodyguard by Katherine Center and Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez. Have you read either of these?
Books I Finished This Past Week
I finished Discovering Your Communication Type by Jason Vanruler this week. I got to interview him for my podcast recently and it was such a personally powerful episode (it drops in two weeks!) and I can’t wait for you to hear it.
His book is a fantastic resource for anyone who wants to have better communication skills — especially with those closest to you. I found it really insightful for me to understand myself better and to improve the way I communicate with Jesse.
What I’m Watching
I’m continuing to watch When Calls the Heart and am on Season 11 — so getting close to the finish line! I think I will have finished it by the end of April!
I also introduced the kids to the movie UP this week and they loved it — all except for the part when, as Micah said, “The old lady dies.”
What I’m Listening To
My good friend, Olivia, sent me this podcast episode on friendship to listen to. While it felt a little all over the place at times, it had a lot of good nuggets in it regarding friendship and it made me think a lot about who I am investing in and how I am showing up for them.
Podcast Episode This Week: Jesse Chaperones a Trip to Denver
Although we inadvertently took a few weeks off from the podcast, we are back, and overall, the most accurate way to describe life lately is “full.” Between spring breaks, older kids popping in and out of the house, and multiple trips layered on top of one another, quiet moments have been pretty rare around here.
Listen in this week as Jesse and I do something we hadn’t actually had time to do yet: sit down and process everything that’s happened over the past few weeks. We talk about the whirlwind of travel – his father-son ski trip to Utah with Silas, my church retreat, and, the school trip to Denver that Jesse chaperoned, which he describes as “the most servant-oriented trip I’ve been on.”
Of course, though, life did not slow down when the trips ended. In fact, we walked straight from the airport into a memorial service for three men whose lives were tragically cut short. One of them had been very close to our family, and the loss really hit our girls – and all of us – deeply.
A big part of this episode, however, as previously mentioned, focuses on Jesse’s time serving alongside students at the Denver Dream Center. Hear how they spent their days hiking in the mountains and their evenings working in inner-city Denver, sharing meals with people experiencing homelessness and connecting with people who were rebuilding their lives after incarceration. Listen as Jesse shares and reflects on some stories about the conversations that happened there such as moments where the goal wasn’t to “fix” anyone but simply to listen, learn names, and recognize the humanity in front of you!
Jesse and I also discuss how even just small choices can shape the direction of a life (for better or worse) and how courage often looks like doing something that feels strange, risky, or unsupported. Sometimes, the most meaningful moments come when we step outside the safe little spaces we’ve built for ourselves and choose to do the thing that scares us most. I hope that you enjoy this heartfelt conversation with Jesse!
Listen to the podcast episode here.
In Case You Missed It – Posts From This Week
Easter Basket Ideas for Kids — Whether you’ve got a curious infant, a busy toddler, or a tween who’s harder to surprise, we’ve rounded up Easter basket ideas for kids that are thoughtful, fun, and actually worth tucking into that basket. Plus they’re easy and affordable for you!
Kielbasa Sheet Pan Dinner ($10 Family Dinner Idea) — This easy sheet pan dinner features kielbasa, potatoes, and your favorite veggies all roasted together on one pan — minimal prep, minimal cleanup! Pair it with a crusty loaf of whole wheat French bread for a complete, satisfying meal the whole family will love.
22 Easy Easter Dessert Ideas — These desserts are simple enough to whip up any day of the week but special enough to be celebration worthy.
And finally, if you need a laugh, please watch this.
