Multitude Monday 1.25.2021

Thankful this week that our crazy teacher's union has our backs! And the return to in person teaching keeps getting pushed back. All. the. praise. hands. Although Matt & I both adore our students, and families, and the fun staff we work with - teaching our students remote has worked so far and is working and since only 39% of the school are going back in person, that would be an ideal socially distanced work place- but ... of course there is a but... and it involves our own personal kids... and at this point with our 3 oldest having opted in for virtual til June.. and no chance of Lulu leaving momma's side... let us keep doin what we do how we do it... Thank you CTU! 

Thank you AJs for having the best iced teas and best florals. Because of this little reprieve, mom's keep their sanity. Strolling the aisles aimlessly, sipping and browsing since their selection is that fun, breathing out the days stresses and tensions ( read above. The CTU stuff is heavy and all we hear, until we purposefully tune it out. ) 

Thankful for the inspiring inauguration! Amanda Gorman! Lady Gaga! JLo! Get it girls!

Thankful that next week we can look forward to learning and working at a resort! The week long residency for my school project is happening at our fave local resort, and you better believe we come in a pack of 6... so add another room and watch out GCU! I am secretly freaking out! But hoping it's not as scary as it sounds! And thankful for my crazy awesome tribe for doing this with me! 

Thankful for my mom's anticipated surgery today - her cancer is contained, and the Dr was optimistic she should be good with just surgery, no radiation. Would you pray for her please? She has been hit hard with health issues over the last few months. (**Update- she had a successful surgery and is now in recovery!**)

Thankful for my brother's successful graduation from Pacific Garden Mission. Such a great program, and he did a great job sticking with it, and learning and growing from what they shared. 

Thankful for our fave QB making his way along with a new to us team to the Super Bowl! Tampa trip anyone? ;) 

 

Lulu was not able to sleep due to some loud cheering so she happily stole all the mozzarella sticks

Thankful for fun desert toys!

Harrison got dropped off, just as the truck was delivering the toys! His friends were excited too! 

Thankful that Harrison passed his permit test and has that magical paper that all of a sudden means we can let him drive our truck!? Um. Houston. We . Have. A. Problem.  ( He is really careful - but STILL!) You know drivers ed has these little baby Prius cars.... and then his real life car is a Yukon XL. Yeah. But pray for us, this is our 1st rodeo with a new driver, and we all know my patience level ... 

Thankful for farm to table yumminess! We have been meaning to get to the cutest farm by our house, but the hours are 8-1 Saturdays only! But this week. with big H needing taxi service early to permit training, Hannah & I got to explore the farm! The bunny had escaped its pen and was hopping everywhere. Beyond adorable. The pigs were massive and oh so fat and grunted at us as we fed them kernels. We both left wanting both a pig and a bunny. But for now, we will just keep that date open on Saturdays, and leave the smells, mud and mess there ;) 

Biggest grapefruit! We used 4 of those babies to make a whole mason jar full of juice! YUM

The worlds largest and bumpiest lemon!

Thankful every single week, if not multiple times a week, for Amazon Fresh. Game changer. Time saver. And although I buy random things too often, I do also think it saves money from all the gimmees that shopping with 4 kids would provoke! 

Thankful for Friday Fam night. Our weeks are hectic. Yes we all learn and work at home, but that doesn't mean we are present for each other like we need to be. Fridays are the glue. The beginning of the weekend. The closure to the week. It just is perfect. Our nights are not perfect, but ending together, is perfect. This Friday's movie choice, was Robin Hood. Awesome action, yet a little intense. Finding a movie for all age groups is our current limbo situation. This time, it did not really work in all our favor, Lulu lasted 10 minutes before bed ( she loves her routine!)  and Hudson lasted a few minutes and then tearfully asked to go watch Storybots since the scenes were too intense. Sigh. Win some, lose some! 

Thankful for being blessed by Hannah's beauty parlor. She is nailing her braid styles! Not pictured is the bright orange eye shadow to match my sweater, and bright red lips.

Thankful for that random Amazon purchase the other month : Mickey Waffle Maker... 

Makes it feel like we are in Aulani for breakfast! And please note the choice apparel Hudson is donning. 

Thankful for fun AZ weather! We are getting a little glimpse of winter! Clouds, rain, wind and hail! 

Thankful for a good friend reminding me to take the Enneagram test... I had bought the book months ago... and yet it sat barely read! I did the test. I got #7 with a few others. Here is the highlights of 7, although I am quite sure you already knew this. 

"In a nutshell, Sevens are defined by their desire to experience everything good and pleasure-able, while avoiding pain, boredom and limitations. Although sevens appear enthusiastic and fun loving, deep down they have a fear of getting stuck in negative emotions. Sevens aim to fill every minute with an activity. They approach life as an endless roller coaster of fun, joyous experiences and if not fun at least not sad bored anxious depressed or painful." 

Thankfully Matt & I are not the same number ( although he is 76% match with 7s, he is more a 1-3 kinda guy, shocking in some areas TBH ) Big H is a 3, no surprise that he & Matt are similar as 3s. Interesting to know ones self! Take the test and lmk your number or numbers! No doubt you are a beautiful blend. 

Also, crazy crazy timing, was the online sermon from the local church! 

Here it is : https://ccv.church/watch/message?MessageId=7542

Yes! The author of the above book is their guest!! 

XO 

Have the best last week of January 2021 ever! 

This girly sure is! 

1.18.2021

Thankful to have a long weekend! 

Thankful to have had a full week, little glimpses of "normal" life mixed in with lots of caution. 

Thankful for a movie date with friends!

Thankful for Lulu learning lots and for Hannah being an ever patient teacher. 

Thankful for the clean out all the veggies egg scramble! 

Thankful for fun hair dos for little miss!

Thankful for Lulu's new place space. She now has 1/2 the living room to explore while we all work / school. She is a master climber, but thankfully learned how to get off the couch safely. The 2nd video monitor works wonders, and so far, she has not catapulted over this taller gate. Yay! 

She does seem to use her cat like reflexes to stretch out in the sun

Thankful for a yummy crunchy snacks!

Thankful for the neighborhood ice cream man, who always knows when our kids "need" ice cream. 

You guys, these are so good! Love finding new GF foods!

Thankful for for history and inspo we can take from some of the greats.. 

Thankful for recess breaks when we get play with this cutie. 

Thankful for Hudson's creativity. 

Thankful for the furniture company coming to replace 1 table and bringing a replacement that we fell in love with and kept! 

Thankful for Harrison's chill vibes.

Thankful for a spontaneous mall adventure! Matt had a Saturday morning meeting, so we drove to Chandler to scope out the mall there. Spoiler alert, malls have changed so much! 1/2 the stores were not even open! And the crowds- what crowds? We had the place to ourselves! It was a nice outing and everyone scored some treats. 

The Crayola Experience, the fun part was closed but the crayon "buffet" was open and oh the joy! 

New to us yummy cookies! 

Saturday evening quiet time had us enjoying CCV's online message yet again. That H word tho! 

Lulu is a trip- especially at bed time. She loves using the crib as a trampoline as a way to tire herself out? Who even knows! But she loves naptime and we love being the papparazzi! 

Thankful for playdates! A couple from church had just moved into a new place, so all the guys went over to unload and unpack, and we were blessed with an extra girl for the day! Such a love! And of course sugar and slime were involved, and at the end they were "candy unicorns".

It's not all fun & games, but that smell of clean clothes tho! 

Thankful for the feet up, hot coffee, clean floor, still and quiet time. Rare! But when it's there, it's golden!

Trying to capture all 11 hot air balloons!

Monday, oh that beautiful extra day, we spent it at the dentist, eating, resting and exploring. 

Let this post end, with the reminder to be YOU and do YOU. You want to wear jammies, from 2 different sets, with your mom's mask? Go for it. And Moms, if you find goodwill bargains like that adorable horse and ridiculous hat, just buy it. Life's too short. If you need me, I will be playing all things Toy Story as Jessie with my new favorite Sheriff Woody. 

Yeehaw! 

XO