The Suits Sisters

Items Needed: -1 stick of butter softened on the counter, waiting to be spread on garlic bread for the church lunch -1 step stool -1 distracted mom Step 1  Wait until mom is upstairs getting ready, then push step stool from the dining room to the kitchen  Step 2 Unwrap the butter and start to spread it all over the counter. Be sure to get it in between every finger and on the back of both hands for an overall soft feeling Step 3 Enjoy your DIY hand cream until your older sister finds you and squeals on you

Today we had a couple over after church. We fed them barbecue and homemade browned butter chocolate chip cookies and talked for three hours. Last Sunday I was back in my jammie shorts by 12:30 and fed my kids bologna sandwiches on leftover hamburger buns.  There's grace and space for both  Last Sunday my kids read books while I got ready for church. This Sunday they watched a lengthy Sesame Street episode. Last Sunday they picked out their outfits and this Sunday I had them in smocked dresses. Grace and space. (Also, their hoarding tendnacies surface on Sunday mornings- they all gather bags and purses and stuff them full of treasures. In this picture there's an untold amount of books, fairies, necklaces, barbies and other trinkets under the blanket)   Unrelated::Happy 9th birthday Patch!  (Notice the dog shirts on Caris and Liza for the occasion-  that was their idea and it made this festive Mama PROUD) He celebrated with a donut shaped dog bone t...

Never am I more convinced of spiritual warfare than on Sunday morning between the hours of 8 and 10 AM. And I'm writing this on a Sunday where the morning went relatively smoothly- I was ready extra early and the big girls got along well. Regardless of how well the morning goes, there are always a few bumps in the road. I'm thankful to have a fellow pastor's wife nearby that can encourage me with Sunday morning spiritual text messages Today I got another text from a dear friend and I sent her a live action shot. Also to be noted:: me, alone in a church pew sans kids thanks to child care.  After church I snuggled a kid that I neglected earlier in the day. I think the exchange today was,  "Mommy, can you play Too Many Monkeys with me?" "No, sorry, hunny. What are Sunday mornings for for Mommy?...Getting ready. But I'll play with you in the afternoon"  I tried to shoo away both the feeling of Too Many Monkeys guilt  and the fact that ...

On this Sunday we give thanks for 1. The tissues that were sacrificed (unbeknownst to me) while I got ready for church 2. Nursery workers from a sister church that come to help us 3. Other kids to play in the nursery with our kids 4. A personal success- I made no comments on Kent's outfit or appearance before he left for church 5. Singing this song (in a much slower and piano-artsy-ish way) The weight of guilt I bear no more 6. 37 people in church today! The week after Easter! 7. People sticking around afterwards to chit chat  8. Spaghetti sauce in the slow cooker 9. Rest time and a second cup of coffee 10. The girls' anticipation of movie night tonight

After one year of "laying low" as a church, I brought up the idea of a Spring Break Kids Camp. And brought it up. And brought it up again. The pastor was on board with one condition- I plan it all. Easy enough!  Shocker... spewing out ideas and suggestions from your living room recliner is easier than actually making plans, buying supplies and sending emails, but it all came together and in the end, Pastor Kent helped a lot winkyface It was a four day camp that ran from 9am-12pm.  Saying our memory verse, Romans 10:9 (and a peek at the church's indoor makeover: paint, carpet and screens ) Sweet Li wearing our kids camp t-shirt!  The 2019 Group! On Wednesday we had a group set up a table at the town's Easter Egg Hunt and one church member, Angie M. made this awesome photo prop.  People dressed as the Easter Bunny will forever be the creepiest thing to me. I can't believe my kids wanted to get a picture with it and Audrey stayed still/didn...