Hello Fri-YAY: Week 2

Welcome to another edition of "Hello Fri-yay!" Another week has flown by.  Last week when I first put this idea "out there", to just check in once a week, I wondered at first if the days would seem empty, the blog vacant.  Now here it is and Friday snuck up on me.  The days are bursting at the seams with gardening, cooking, my girls, travel prep, and more.  I admit, it is such a good feeling when I realize I haven't even touched my fingers to the keyboard all day.  It sure makes this space feel a bit more sacred and special come Friday, just like it's been waiting for me to come sit and have a conversation all week long. 
I'll start by saying the theme of these first few photos and all of life really, is that things aren't always as they seem.  If I only showed you the picturesque coffee shop window, the succulents nestled in by a perfectly painted turquoise frame, you'd get a totally different understanding and view of my life than what is truly honest and real-life.  Last weekend Brett had a work obligation Saturday morning so the girls woke early (so early) and off we went to a favorite bakery in town, followed by a trip to the Farmer's Market afterwards. 




The girls dined on delicious pastries and we sat in the early morning light, enjoying the beauty of the patio. I just knew the day would be magical. 


On we traveled to the farmer's market, where the day wasn't magical but actually quite hard.  Nothing major, just some too tired girls which resulted in emotional, dramatic behavior.  Plus it seemed like every other family we saw had a perfectly loaded basket full of pretty things, smiles from ear-to-ear, practically glowing from the excitement of a spring market day. 

But let's be honest.  Out of the hundreds of people at the market, underneath all those smiles, I know I wasn't the only one having a less than perfect day.  My whole motto of life is to find the rosy in the routine, even when the routine feels a bit "off."  So that's just what we did for a bit.  And then my mama wisdom kicked in and I knew we needed to head home for a re-start!


So for us although we shortened our stay at the market, there were little snippets of beauty to behold, like this lovely, talented lady who showed the girls how she carved spoons.

I watched Anna Ruth purchase her own tiny succulent with confidence.  
Then we did the grocery shopping and went home for a re-start.  As soon as we walked in our home I felt more relaxed and at peace. The girls got some rest while I put the groceries away, then we had the nicest lady over from church. She was bringing us a church directory, a loaf of bread, an Easter basket for girls, and mostly there to say welcome and she was glad we're a part of the church.   The day felt new and recharged.


The next day we woke early for church and then enjoyed family lunch.  Afterwards we spent the day in the yard, flying this awesome kite Brett got the girls! I could hardly contain it when all the string was let loose!  It would go really high and all I could think of was the Mary Poppins song "Let's go Fly a Kite!" The girls named the kite "Sky Light" and spoke to it as if it were real.  Naturally.
Spring,  you are so, so good to me. 
 As we moved on into the week spring reminded me how it feels both like a shuffle and a sprint.  My exercise comes quite naturally this time of year because there is simply so much to do in the yard and garden.  I like that.  Isn't there something just so satisfying about having your hands in the dirt?  I know the girls sure do enjoy it.  Actually, make that hands AND toes in the dirt, that's what they prefer!  This day Anna Ruth joined me for the weeding, little snippets of conversation happening in between the satisfying sound of pulling weeds.  


 Of course with all the yard and garden work, there are also times that feel like a slow-down shuffle.  Moments like when we find a toad! We found two of them in the garden this week and had to stop and say "hello".  We caught the smaller one in our bug-catcher to get a better look and when it was time to let it loose we figured we should put it right back where we found it.  Perhaps the bigger toad was its mama! She'd be wondering where this one went.
 The carrots are continuing to grow well, or the tops are at least!  
Anybody have any knowledge in this area? We're wondering if we should thin them out so that they'll actually grow big.

 We continue to really enjoy salad from the garden for dinner. 
Often times (like tonight!) this will be our whole meal. 
I'll add protein, like a boiled egg, tuna, or salmon, to the top. 
We also like olives, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds, chickpeas, peppers, capers, a little bit of everything on top really.  Or it's even good to just drizzle some olive oil and vinegar on top of a plain bed of lettuce.  

 My sweet Betsy with her blankie.  All who know us well know about the blankie. It's literally like a full-sized blanket, brown and fleece.  Betsy used to sleep on this when she was a baby because she was a winter baby.  She's now four and still extremely attached.  At least with it being so big we're not likely to lose it!

I adore her little hair buns here!
 Brett and I are taking a trip together, just the two of us. 
So I stopped in Barnes and Noble to grab a magazine and was delighted to see all the art made by children hung up!
 This week I also finished up a photography project for Jerusalem's new book coming out this summer! I cannot wait for you to see the photos and her book quotes combined! 

These quilts even make an appearance. 
You can purchase the photo prints in my Etsy shop soon!
A random tip for you: 
One HUGE way I have improved my neck/ear/back pain is by putting the computer up high when I type or edit photos.  This is a game-changer for me.  

I recently looked around at the library at everyone hunched down over their computers and just cringed.  Then I thought I should make a mini, foldable desk that is portable. 
 Adding an umbrella to our outside play this week has been fun!
Anna requested this photo and this is the face she wanted to make. 
:)
 We had a few movie gift cards so I took the girls to see Smurfs. 
I thought it was "meh", just ok. 
Anna really liked it. 
It reminded me a lot of Trolls, but without all the wonderful singing and silliness! 

By the way when we want to check out how appropriate a movie is we go to a website called Plugged In.  It breaks any movie down by categories like language, etc.  I highly recommend it!

 Beautiful, early morning light.
 Homemade hot chocolate for the win! 
In a favorite mug of mine from Grandma and Papaw.
 Brett and the girls worked on this puzzle for weeks and finally finished it last week!
 Sweet girls had their Easter egg hunt and party at school last week! 

And I get asked EVERYWHERE, "Are they twins?" !
 And this is our current favorite hairstyle. 

Now we're looking at a busy weekend celebrating Jesus and Easter! 
We are hosting for the third year in a row. 
Then next week Brett and I head off to Florida. 

We celebrate 9 years this summer. 
We're jumping and plunging deep into the waters of foster care, come June. 
But first we're taking a pause for us. 

What are you up to? What are you reading/watching/dreaming about? 
Any travel plans in the works? 

6 comments:

  1. I like your weekly wrap ups. The photos are so engaging!

    Regarding your carrots, you will need to thin them to about one carrot every two inches apart. Thin again if they start to look crowded. Spacing depends a bit on variety.

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    1. Hi Tiffany! :) Better late than never for my reply, huh. (lol)
      I took your advice and thinned out the carrots and they are doing better!! Thanks for sharing the tip!

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  2. Sara, I'm really liking your weekly updates! It's such a great idea, I'm thinking about doing the same. Love all the pictures, of course.

    Happy Easter and have a great trip with your honey :)

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    1. Hi Debbie! Thanks so much for the encouragement about the blog! I thought the days would drag until it was time to write a blog post again, but here I find myself scrambling on a Thursday again to get a post up for the next day. :)

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  3. A hint for the blankie, if Betsy would allow: each of my four kiddos had a blankie--three of them were BIG too. I had my mom, an expert seamstress, cut and bind them into smaller pieces so we had lots of little blankies to go around! Happy Easter to you and your sweet family!

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    1. I love this blankie idea!! Now I'm wondering how to convince my sweet daughter that her blankie can be smaller, lol.

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