Hey, friends! It's been such a busy month so far, and we're not even halfway through it. Lots of fun events and birthdays, along with some hard moments. Last week was unusually busy at work, and I was working on an important creative project at night... and my whole body was feeling the tension as I was very worried for my friend whose brother had gone missing (he was found on the 11th, but was basically presumed dead before that, and it was all very emotionally intense - being in limbo is one of the worst feelings, especially as good news feels more and more unlikely, so I'm very grateful for this outcome for her and her family!)
Anyway, I'm gonna try and catch up a bit on blogging tonight, so here goes...
I went to Tate's 4th birthday party yesterday, a fun time with good friends and the cutest fire truck cake!! ❤
Karli made this balloon-filled "4" -- impressive!
I'm never sure about age-appropriate toys with kids, but I got him this random squashy stuffed animal, and I'm happy to report that it was a hit!
That night, I took T-man driving and we had a good talk... then we grabbed Olive Garden to-go and joined the fam for dinner at Mom and Dad's! That included watching Jace do several rows of Mountain Dew shots...
And watching Kyndal try to shock Rach by blasting her music really loud when she put the headphones on! lol
Friday was Rachael's 36th birthday! I posted this epic fashion-forward sister pic of us from yesteryear... lol
The 11th was also the 1st birthday of Miss Waverly Jean - so much cuteness! ❤
The 12th was the birthday of Eddie Kaufholz (from Annie and Eddie Keep Talking). I wrote him a long email detailing how much I admire and appreciate him, and how much I've enjoyed that podcast and hope they might bring it back someday. Fingers crossed that he actually reads it at some point, but I'm glad I wrote it either way! ❤
Two "birthday gifts" from me to me = this awesomesauce Peloton quote board (all Robin Arzon quotes) which is now hanging in my kitchen... and this $10 iPhone cover that makes me happy! ❤
Adding to the list of February birthdays is Wesson and Nash, who turned 5 on the 6th... I made this happy collage for Kristin for their birthday! ❤
And Tuesday will be their oldest brother Anthony's 10th birthday, so I made this canvas for Kristin in honor of that milestone... trying to include lots of details that would be meaningful for her family. I really enjoyed working on this one, and it was a good reminder of our firm and secure hope through Christ!
I gave it to her today after our lunch at Oliveto... and without planning it out, this was exactly one year to the day after giving Lindsay a similar family portrait sketch the day they brought Wavy J home from the hospital! (Today = two days after her birth and two days before Anthony's).
In much lighter and more random news, Dad got breakfast biscuits for us today, and they were in the shape of a heart... yay, Valentinesy cuteness! lol I want all my food to be heart-shaped, please.
The Miss K is learning cursive this year and wrote our names for me to prove her new skills. ❤
It was a fun night with the fam + the Parrishes + Bill & Jill + Rick and Michelle + an exciting Halftime show with a surprise appearance from 50 Cent (I still laugh at the memory of reading his autobiography thanks to a deal I made with Rach many years ago)!
This week also included some baking... Pioneer Woman's banana bread (I added chocolate chips and might skip that part next time). This was also my first time baking anything in a bundt pan! =) And the Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake using Heath instead of pecans - yum!!
Another thing that made me full-on cry = this cheesy commercial, the first one they played in Craig's 30 Second Theology sermon today. He paused it in between the destruction and restoration scene to talk about how painful it is when we face the unexpected loss of something we really valued and worked hard to save... but how God is a God of restoration and He knows how to rebuild things (or people or dreams) that have been crushed. Between that and everyone around her pitching in to help her make something new and the year-long timeline before this fragile thing she worked to build and tried so hard to save was irreparably shattered, it was all such a freaking perfect metaphor for my friendships. And in the end, we can always build something new... and it's the connections with the people who were beside her through every season that mattered, not the imagined connection with something that was incapable of giving much back. It spoke a lot of things to my heart in a very brief time, one of those "a picture is worth a thousand words" moments. Then I felt emotional through the rest of the sermon, but such is life sometimes. ❤
Aaaand that's all I've got for this happy Sunday! Good night!!
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