Bits: Holding it Loosely

I am a planner and, yet, I am a fly by the seat of my pants-er.  For example.

When I know people are coming to visit, I happily set about planning out our time together.  When some of our dearest made the big trip from Tennessee to see us, I spent several hours the day before their arrival in my kitchen.  Joe took the girls out and about while I chopped up lots of fresh fruit and veggies, put together kid-friendly casseroles, prepped desserts and batter for breakfast treats, etc.  I looked up the fun stuff in our area that I thought all the families would enjoy and shot a copy of this to my friends so they would know how to pack according to what sounded good.  We made little signs and shopped for small surprises-- bubbles, kites, coloring books-- that tiny hands might enjoy.  And I loved every minute of it.

However.

When they arrived, we scratched and adapted according to what real life gave us.  We spent some of our time being adventurous, like hitting up Liberty Mountain.  Then we spent much more of it around the house, just letting the kids play and be-- catching up and taking note of when we and our kiddos needed something different.  This balance thing is proving to be one of the most valuable skills I can fine tune in this life.

This past year has been a lot about living in the moment, taking what comes-- enjoying or sometimes surviving the unscripted moments and, yet, fitting in the opportunities to plan and dream.  To take a small seed of an idea and turn it into reality by hard work and determined vision.  I am not always perfect in figuring out when to be which, but I am working on it as life rolls along.

Getting back into our groove this week proved that planning can be fruitful, but holding those plans loosely-- making way for chances to stretch and grow from the unexpected-- can be divine.  Or, at the least, teach me what I'm made of-- strong stuff, I've learned, by the grace of God.
*****

:: Girls, girls.  Some of the sisters were actually brought to tears by a heated discussion of whether or not the Brown Barbaloots are boys or girls.  During this the littlest one kept repeatedly calling, "Mama! MA-MA!"  Until finally I said, "Yes, Alysse??"

"I dwess up!"  Which cracked us all up at precisely the right moment.


Sure enough, Leesie.  You are so good for anchoring us in humor and kindness... often asking, "You o'tay?" or "What'sa madder?" when one of us is upset.  Thanks, baby girl.

:: Broccoli muscles are funny.  We're thinking cantaloupe grins might be even funnier.  Laughter, being an essential key, to weathering the unexpected and life in general.


:: This swing is a joyful spot in our home.  I think porch swings make for good therapy; they give you happy just by looking at 'em.


:: Calvin and Hobbes with Daddy.  They love it.


 :: Dancing with Mama caught by Daddy. I love it.
 :: I used to sometimes feel successful depending on how many things occupied my schedule.  It's a good place in life when you realize that sometimes leaving schedules empty has just as much, if not often more, lovely benefits.  Like being able to oblige tiny toenails, a plan inspired by our blond babe.


:: Joe and I have been given the opportunity to share our testimonies these past few weeks, some planned and others quite unexpected. So humbled when the hard, or good,  in my life is used to help someone else.  I need to look for more opportunities to do this, yet I need to sometimes just let those opportunities come right to me.

::So, our girls had their first ever recital!  They gathered their courage to dance their hearts out on the big stage in a production called "Yahweh."  At one point Maddie stopped to twirl to the onstage flowers and Hope stopped a little early to run up and tell her teacher, "You are so pretty!"  Perfect.


:: After many not-so-fun surprises in the last weeks, we planned out some super cool ones this past weekend.  The recital memories made sweeter by small flower bouquets at the end and ballerina cupcakes, toppers found ages ago and saved for just that night.


Maddie likes small things, so we made her flowers tiny enough to fit in a requested tiniest of vases.

:: Sunday, we saved the news of two more surprises.  Tickets to see a long loved story "Peter Pan."  And Ms. Amanda, a most favorite law student, staying for dinner since she came to watch over Alysse napping while the rest of us were at the play.  This was a good, good day!


:: And that good day has inspired many, many reenactments.

 
Fun memories of the play:
Hope: "Will you come someday to watch all MY plays, Mama?"
Maddie: "If that fairy dust reaches us, think we'll fly?"

I remember back to Christmas this past year.  We had some friends over for a playdate and we were discussing our holiday travel plans.  Boy, I had it all worked out-- we were going to fit in all the family from NC to DC, with our own family unit time to spare.  As I recounted all this to my mama friend I remember saying, "You know?  I hold all this loosely, especially when I have it planned out like this."

We laughed and then.

I held it all loosely.

I'm learning, hoping for the chance to savor as many good surprises as we can.
~Katrina

Bits: Simple Joys

Our few days back home have had their inevitable bumps.  I mean, we haven't been in our own quarters-- specifically in our own beds-- in about six weeks.  There have been some tears and yet some fantastic laughs.  We'll get that groove thing back as the week goes on and outweigh the laughs to tears ratio, I'm certain of it. 

In true bits fashion, our handful of hours back home are still a reminder of the pleasure in simple joys. Any day that gets to be ordinary is actually something pretty extraordinary.  Sometimes it takes not having things before you realize just how much they mean.

Weighing in and tipping that ratio scale:

:: Another Easter photo or two.  The dresses, the bows, the shoes... ahh, the sisters. My family.


:: Dandelions in the rain.  Ooh and hats.


:: Due to this unpredictable weather, our flowers went almost as quickly as they came.  But, they came up!  Hopefully we'll see them again next year.


:: Really.  Probably the cutest exercise partners in the world.


I see your game face, Maddie Girl.

:: Library books and windy sunshine.


 :: Why not?


:: Never underestimating what some loud jams and watercolors can do for a case of the ho-hums. I hope my girls learn to take out their frustrations on things productive, like being creative.


:: Showing off broccoli muscles... and a fistful of fettuccine.


:: This little girl who reminds me of other little girls who have all gone through their fascinating, "Wash hans!  Bwush teef!" stage.


:: Packing a picnic for the big stroller ride to the church park.  Or, "THE CHURCH PARK!!!" if you happen to be one of my kids.


:: Serious, or not so serious, snacktime conversations.


And adorable pot bellies.


Groove Thing, I feel a comeback. 
~Katrina

Easter Break Magic

With an emphasis mostly on that fine little word: break.

Like we finished our last vaccination, hit up some frozen yogurt to celebrate, and made it to Nana and Pop Pop's in record time.  Even with the seven thousand rounds of "Wheels on a Bus" it took to get there.  Which, actually, turns out to be a lot of fun with our wildcard song contributor Alysse Maribeth. She one-uped us by using her turn to finally put something other than a baby on the bus.  For the record "Pinkerbell" goes "Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!" and gets loads of applause afterwards.
*****

::I love this Sunday a lot. Truly.

  :: No lie, we veged a lot. :: Rounded out by playing outside a lot.


:: We have proven a lot of things to ourselves in the last few weeks. Among them is the important fact that encore egg hunts are pretty much as fun as the ones done on actual Easter Sunday.  I also caught a lot of shows, tea parties, and stuffed animal playdates while I recovered from being sick.  Not that it needed any proving, but it sure was nice to have easy access to my Mama during one of the rare times I am out for the count.

  :: We found a lot of flowers. My Mom used to call me Buttercup, so this field next to the barn pretty much begged for photos of our little buds. :: We ate a lot of good food. Alysse's favorite somewhere between fruity popsicles and her request of "lotion" (aka whipped cream) on her morning waffles or pancakes.   

:: One thing we didn't do a lot of was visiting around. Instead of our usual here-to-there, this trip showed us we needed to rest and get ourselves strong. That meant we layed low and spent most all of our time with uncles who gladly take over bedtime stories, aunts who help make fantastic picture collages, pop pops who play waitress or wedding, and nanas who splurge for a fabulous cake and a last pitcher of homemade lemonade on our last night in town. "Prince Caspian" and frequently doled out bananas and clementines were our companions for the return trip to someone we missed a whole lot. We got into town, scooped him up, and headed for some late night burritoes. As a happy accident on the way back we caught a surprise fireworks display which I think the girls are convinced their Daddy arranged for our homecoming. It was pretty awesome, reunited and sitting on the side of the road while huge bursts of light and color filled the sky. Alysse must have agreed because we all heard her whisper from the backseat, "That's magic." For the record, that too gets loads of applause.

Besides, I think she's on to something.

Looking forward to the every day magic of being home again.

~Katrina

Standing

There have been times in my life when I've been called to fight, to literally pray my head off and then hold it high. To keep myself looking up while I intercede on someone's behalf, while I refuse to give up until I have reached the finish line of a particular battle. These are times I have things to say, purposes to accomplish, trials that require certain efforts to be made, divine appointments to attend.

Then there are times like these:
"The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." ~Exodus 14:14

In the last bizarre weeks of bat bites, living with different friends, allergic reactions, and a stomach bug as the icing on the cake-- I have been sometimes at my wit's end with questions like... What am I doing wrong? What can I do to stop these, no doubt, spiritual attacks? {We are all doing MUCH better!}

The answer is my own exodus from such guilt ridden thoughts: Be still. Stand.

Though tonight does not mark the intended end of my blogging break, I am choosing to pound out my thoughts because it is the week before Easter. And all glory is to my Savior for giving me my assignment to stand when I finally came to the end of myself and my efforts. After all, this is what Jesus did for you and me when He gave His life on the cross.

He prayed, prayed so hard in fact that He sweated drops of blood as He considered the cross. His best friends deserted, betrayed, and denied Him. He was tortured, physically and spiritually. Worst of all, He was separated from His Heavenly Father while He took on every evil thing the world could dream up.

He could have prayed for angels at any moment to rescue Him from this bizarre nightmare. He could have lashed out, risen up His own army, fought with sword and with voice-- fought with nothing but a single command-- until all His enemies bowed at His feet. But God had not called Him to this. His Father instead asked that He obey and stand until He cried out, "It is finished." (John 19:30).

What a comfort to know that the risen Lord of Easter Sunday sees to my heart and gets-- really gets-- everything I am going through and long to do. He sees my kids, the great plans He has for their lives and He protects them from all the efforts that are being made to keep them from their destinies. I am grateful this week to know that we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses because He has endured it all. (Hebrews 4:15). I am grateful He chose to stand when it was brutally hard.

What a loving Warrior Friend we have on our side.

It's time for some bits, I do believe. Sweeter tasting than ever with a month's worth of picture overload.
***
:: Remember Dr. Seuss' birthday? Us too.

So silly! Cupcakes BEFORE dinner.

:: Before anything serious happened, we had probably the best spring break EVER! Kicked off by two dear friends and all six of their under five babies trekking from Tennessee to Virginia. All our kiddos have added a couple of months and inches since the last time we slumber partied, but it made no difference. Time is nothing to true friends.

Kids who spontaneously join hands, waiting for even the tiniest to be linked up, and are happy as clams to giggle in circles? Amazing. Seriously, there was barely a cross word as they all played with each other for the three days of little sleep. Yep, amazing.

:: Sisters caught sharing a story.

:: Us girls caught, exhausted, but sharing a precious moment while recovering from quite a day.

:: This girl. Stood on a stool the other day and spread her fingers into jazz hands while announcing, "I THE SHOW!"

:: Being the proud mama of the block's tiniest hopscotch. More proud of the little blond artist who loves to draw them; she's undergone a lot these days.

:: Hours of mud pie making under the bridge of a new to us park.

:: New trails to forge. New places to explore.

:: Spring Break Daddy being able to do things like eat Mexican downtown in the middle of the day and help make the hike to our favorite Children's Museum.

:: Fancy and FUN nights out with gracious friends who open their home to you like you are family. Later finding out the fact that they are related to Billy Graham, totally a bonus. Seriously *so* grateful for the generosity and compassion of big hearted people. We've really gotten to know a handful over the last few weeks.

Standing,
Katrina