Week 24: A Peek Into This Past Week + what I’m reading, watching, and listening to

Someone asked me how on earth I love travel ball so much. Here’s the “secret” I live by…

First, let me be honest about what travel ball actually looks like.

A car-load of things to pack. Long hot days. Rain and storms. Three younger kids at the fields for hours, 3-5 days a week. Coming home exhausted.

I can definitely focus on all of that.

On how challenging it is to have three younger kids — one with significant needs — at the ball fields for hours every week.

On lugging so much stuff because the weather is always unpredictable and we often don’t know how long we’ll be at the fields.

On making sure we have everything we need for every variable.

OR…

I can choose to see it as a fun adventure.

We get to go to new towns. We get to cheer Silas and his teammates on. We get to build relationships with the other families. The younger kids get to come up with creative ways to entertain themselves for hours outside. We get so much fresh air and exercise. We make so many memories as a family.

With almost anything in life, we can choose to focus on the challenges or we can choose to see the blessings.

It’s our choice.

The biggest practical thing we do is prep for the unexpected.

We pack lots of snacks and drinks, changes of clothes, expecting it to be super hot AND that it will downpour. When it doesn’t, it feels like such a gift!!

We also keep Thursday through Sunday completely open on our calendar since games can change or get delayed.

This past weekend, two of Silas’s games were in Murfreesboro — where Kathrynne lives. She was in a wedding so I didn’t even mention it to her. She checked our location, saw we were there, and she and her boyfriend walked up and surprised us at the game after the wedding!! We got to hang out with them at Chick-fil-A afterward. It was so special.

We also had so many great conversations and laughs with the families on our team this past weekend, despite the rain and the boys losing the championship game.

An unexpected and fun bonus: Chick-fil-A accidentally made our order twice and gave us all the extra food… so we had food for Sunday, too!! It felt like the icing on the cake of a really special weekend!

It’s not always easy to choose the right attitude.

It’s something I’ve worked on learning and practicing for years and continue to. Some days are hard and kids are whiny and I’m tired, but when I choose to look for the good…

I see beauty and gifts and goodness all around me. We get to choose what we focus on.

We can’t always choose our circumstances, but we can always choose our attitude.

We also found the most amazing coffee shop and bakery in Smyrna when Silas had two games there this past weekend, too. They had the best croissants!! Viva La Fresa — a must-try if you’re in the area!!

David’s obsessions right now are his Daddy, his Daddy’s beard, plastic sacks, this swing, and being on the screened in porch. When he has all those things at the same time, he’s living his best life!

(We laugh so hard at him always looking for sacks and getting SO excited about finding them and then carrying them around for hours!!)

These are the days I will forever treasure in my heart. So many precious moments happening all around me.

We were watching baby girl earlier this week and I was going to take the younger three kids to classes at the gym (we get two hours of classes every day for them with our membership.) Kaitlynn wanted to join us.

I was pushing David in the stroller and looked back to see this…

Kaitlynn holding baby girl, Micah holding Kaitlynn’s hand, and carrying diapers and wipes for baby girl. ❤️ So many people write in saying they are nervous about age gap parenting. Let this picture encourage you that you have nothing to be worried about!

When you change how you view things, often it changes your whole attitude!

I read this quote a few years ago and it has convicted me over and over again since then. And I’m sharing it again this morning because I need the reminder — and maybe you do, too!

Gratitude reframes our perspective.

Who am I? I don’t even know anymore… Not only am I training for a half marathon in October (and we’re planning to do a Spartan then, too), but Jesse and I decided this week we’re going to sign up for the doubles Hyrox in December and I’m thinking of doing another half marathon in December.

Earlier this week, I was supposed to do 400m sprints for my training and it was HOT – and I went out there and killed them! Hitting sub 9 miles on some of them!

I’m realizing I’m not only so much more mentally strong than I realized, but I’m also so much more physically strong, too!

You never know what you’re capable of unless you just go out there and try. And then keep showing up!

Go do the thing that scares you. Start really slow. But don’t let the belief you can’t hold you back anymore!

I’ve got a funny story for you…

Me and technology are just not friends these days. I went to do an IG live with @sarahsundinauthor earlier this week that had been rescheduled from last month because IG wouldn’t work for us last time.

Well, after three tries, we got it to work, but then, when she joined via video, I was muted. So we tried again. Same thing. So we tried on her account. Same thing. However, it popped up and said it was connected to my headphones. It was at that moment I remembered…

I was pretty tired after my run that morning and not thinking straight and didn’t put my headphones back in the holder (which disconnects them from my phone) and left them in my shorts and threw them in the washing machine. 😱

Gratefully, I hadn’t started the laundry yet! But I ran upstairs while Sarah was still live and got the headphones out of my shorts and, sure enough, the audio for the live was playing in them. No wonder I was muted!!

A huge thank you to Sarah for being so gracious and patient while we sorted that all out! Watch our IG live here.

This is SUCH a good deal for electrolytes, so I ordered right away! I use one electrolyte packet in my water every day. If I don’t, I get ocular migraines due to dehydration. I’m grateful that a simple habit like this makes such a difference!

Amazon has this Sports Research Hydrate Electrolytes Powder Packets, 32-Count for only $14.56 shipped when you clip the 30% off coupon, use promo code DDVRGLBB at checkout, and check out through Subscribe & Save.

I also ordered this this past week. Amazon has this MAREE Deep Conditioning Hair Mask for just $14.97 shipped when you clip the $3 off e-coupon, use our exclusive promo code MARSAVING20 at checkout, and check out through Subscribe & Save (regularly $31.20)!

I was almost out of my hair mask so it was perfect timing!

Amazon has these Stelle Girls Flowy Shorts (3 pack) for just $24.97 when you save an extra 25% off automatically at checkout! Or you can get the single shorts for just $11.25 after savings.

Kierstyn has 4 pairs and loves them – she doesn’t like to wear shorts but since these feel like a skirt they are perfect.

What I’m Reading…

I finished reading Sarah, Plain and Tall with the younger kids this week. We all really enjoyed the book. It’s a short read with simple chapters but it was fun to imagine what it would be like to live in their shoes. It also brings up some good perspective for kids on what it would be like to lose one’s mother.

What I’m Watching…

Jesse and I finished watching both seasons of this show. It’s pretty clean – there’s just a little bit of language, but we found the gamesmanship to be so engaging! It also brings up a lot of thoughts on how people will lie, cheat, and back-stab to get rich. Which is really sad. It makes you think about what you would do if you were in their shoes.

I started watching All Creatures Great and Small during my afternoon work times when I have things I can do that I can multi-task. How long do you think it will take me to get through all six seasons??

And I’ve been watching Little House on the Prairie with the kids.

Note: Since working on resetting my nervous system, my tastes in movies and shows has completely changed — and it has shocked me!

I used to love really fast-paced, intense, high adrenaline sorts of movies and shows. Now, they feel too over-stimulating to me for the most part and I’m finding myself loving slower paced movies and shows.

What I would have thought was boring a year ago is now something I’m enjoying. This has been so surprising! Has this happened to anyone else??

What I’m Listening To…

I just recently found this song and have been listening to it on repeat. If you are going through a hard or discouraging season, I think it will encourage you!

In Case You Missed It – Links From This Week

French Toast Casserole and Baked Scrambled Eggs ($10 Dinner Idea) — This French Toast Casserole has a crunchy cinnamon topping that takes it completely over the top — and you’ll love how quick and easy it is to assemble. Baked scrambled eggs cook right alongside it at the same temperature and balance the casserole’s sweetness. 

Interview with Sarah Sundin – If you love wholesome, clean historical fiction, you do not want to miss this interview and you must check out @sarahsundinauthor — she has written 18 novels based upon World War II!! In this conversation, she shares her inspiration for some of her characters, we talk about how hard medical professionals had it during the war with limited supplies and medications, and we discuss what it looks like to trust God when it feels like your world is falling apart.

Free Summer Bucket List for Kids — Looking for fun activities to do this summer with your kids? (And, all on a budget?!) Download our FREE Summer Bucket List with 100 ideas for frugal fun!

I Had to Share This Huge Win! — David walked all the way to the car last Sunday! We’ve been working so hard with him on independently walking and not always wanting to be carried when we walk long distances and this was a huge victory for him!! Check out this video to see how fast he’s walking and how proud he is! (Also, that little side grin and giggle 😍!)

Amazon Prime Day is Coming Soon — June 23 – 26 will be Amazon Prime Days! If this is anything like last year’s Prime Days sale, we will see deals that are as good as or even better than Black Friday deals!