I wrote this post in June, and am now pushing the “Send to Blog” button without much of a look-over...

This past March marked one year since we lost our Molly-girl. That day is still fresh in my mind. I think of and miss her often; there will never be another dog like my Molly as she was one-of-a-kind and my baby. I am, however, thankful for this guy who has captured my heart and the hearts of all of us. He is a mammoth 80 pounder but thinks he’s still small enough to fit in your lap. He has a tail that is so long and loud as it thumps against a wall or on the floor that his presence is unmistakable. He greets everyone with enthusiasm except workmen, and he’s the best guard dog I’ve seen. He wrestles with Brennan; soaks up Kensie’s lovies; and will jump in the middle of any sort of tickle-fest we do with the kids in hopes to both protect them and also not miss out on the action. He annoyingly drags me on walks, trying desperately to get ahead of the children on their bikes. He’s scared of loud noises, namely the washing machine and when I try to swat a fly. Oddly, however, thunder and firecrackers don’t phase him one bit. He is lovable, adorable, and has brought more laughter into our home this past year than we could have ever mustered up ourselves. He’s our great Gatsby.

For the first time, our spring break didn’t mesh with my momma’s and the San Antonio school district, which was sad. But the upswing was that she and my daddy watched B&K for us for 3 nights while Matt and I went on our first getaway in a year and a half. We had a lot to celebrate: a belated 12 year anniversary and the completion of our services at church. We had a lot to talk about: what we wanted these next 4-6 months of purposeful rest to look like; what were things we learned from the past 3 years; how we walked through that ministry season well, things that would need to change, hone, or better protect going forward. 

It was a cold, rainy weekend in March when we landed ourselves at the lovely Sage Inn on Onion Creek, a beautiful, quiet place of rest with tantalizing breakfasts and dinners. 

Dadgummit though, my body just gave way. I was sick and energy-less and found myself nestled by the fire reading most of our time there. We had hopes of hiking, which Matt did in the rain our first afternoon there. I was quite content with cup of tea. Oh, and we slept. Boy did we sleep. It was glorious! 

Meanwhile back home...

…the kids aren’t the only ones that get spoiled.

I believe this weekend ushered in what was the beginning of the (near) end to the Texas multiple-year draught.

 His zoo project with pictures of all sorts of animals he drew.

Lent ushers in a season of candlelight.

Muffins with Mom! Ever since my first Muffins with Mom date a few years ago, I go with the expectation that he will eat all of my food. It helps me to be prepared.

Did I mention he likes to sit on the stairs with you and give you hugs?

An Austin ritual for us: Zach Theatre where we saw The Three Little Pigs. Fabulous as always. And this was extra fun in that we went with our friends, Lauren, Alan and Charlotte...

with whom we hit Phil’s Icehouse and Amy’s Ice Cream afterward.

Yay for spring break! It was off to a grand start as we trekked up to Waco zoo with our friends, Evan and Ella Katie.

Another spring break highlight on St. Patrick’s Day was the park and making snacks at Foodie Kids with Cayden and Lauren.

Then we got down to serious business with some chores: cleaning the bathroom and folding laundry.

This kid was ecstatic filling out his very first basketball bracket. He did horribly, but that did not deter him from checking on each and every game.

The Wednesday of spring break, we met Luke, Ellie and baby Tyler at the Wildflower Center. I wish it wasn’t so far away from us; we love that place and thoroughly enjoyed the new sections.

Much to my chagrin (said with some slight playfulness but also a fair share of momma-bear cringe), the “who will you marry?” question came up an awful lot in kindergarten this year among the girls, and Brennan was the recipient of a few notes and teasing about some girls liking him. And so this is where his mind wandered...

On Thursday, March 19th, Matt’s Grandpa passed away. We are deeply grateful for the time Matt had with him last November; grateful for his service in WWII storming the beaches of Normandy; grateful for his love for Jesus and his faithfulness to follow him through both seasons of joy and loss; grateful for the legacy of humor and care for his family.

One Sunday afternoon, we distributed invitations to our neighbors for a house concert we were going to have in April. The kids loved taking turns as to who was going to ring the bell and who was going to hand out the invitation. If there were a lot of mayflies swarming the door, you better believe that Brennan rang the bell and wanted to run the other way.

A little daddy-daughter date before school.

It’s Western Day at school with pony rides!

The weekend of the 27th, Matt went on his first retreat of silence with church and then from there went straight to the airport to fly to Charlottesville for Grandpa’s memorial service.  The kids and I headed down to San Antonio to stay with Popsie and Meesie and cheer Brennan on for his very first swim meet, which was difficult for Matt to miss. 

In response to the note Matt left Brennan, Brennan made his own picture for Matt.

Talk about a learning curve! Boy, does this momma have a lot to learn about swim meets and swim culture. Apparently, this is how the kids keep track of their events. Brennan swam in the 50 free, 50 back, and 100 free. This particular meet was over two days, and for a total of 6 minutes of swimming, we waited hours and hours. But Brennan had a blast and keeps asking to swim in more meets. I’m so thankful my parents were there to help as it would’ve been very hard to keep track of KJ while tending to Brennan. He was so brave jumping into something brand new. 

They know they’re loved.

Meesie and KJ worked on lots of stickers.

I mean, who doesn’t feel like a king or queen at Popsie and Meesie’s?

The next few pictures are from Matt from his retreat and the memorial service. 

A little glimpse of Kensie in Spanish class.