Little Happies -- Holidays, Henna, Hot Peppers (and a Little Bit of Fashion Too)

Hello, friends! And welcome back to Little Happies, the link-up in which we share all the little joys of life.

This week's Happies are brought to you by a modge podge of happy!

--one--

Pediatricians dress up as Mario characters and win the hearts of all their patients. 

(That's what the headlines would read if this one went viral.)

Above you see my husband and his team of residents dressed up for Halloween. Pretty awesome if I do say so myself. And he said rounds took foreverrrrr because all their patients and patients' families wanted group pics with all of them. How adorable!

But seriously, my husband's Wario mustache cracks me up most of all. 

--two--

Remember how I mentioned that Pumpkin Patch fundraiser a few weeks ago?

Well, PRAISE GOD, it's finally done! That means my hours will be shorter again, I won't have to work every stinkin' day of the week, AND I've got a successful fundraiser behind me. The teens raised lots of moolah for our youth group summer mission trip, so I'm super pumped about that. It makes it all worth it. But oof, that was a lonnnng month of work!

Here's what makes this one a Little Happy. We cleaned up the patch and moved out all the extra pumpkins this past weekend. I had a handful of teens show up to help and thank goodness for them! They made the work very easy on me. We also found ways to make the work fun, including moving the pumpkins into a giant pile by bowling them across the grass. And though there aren't goalies in bowling, we also had a teen goalie-ing and blocking the pumpkins / direction poorly bowled pumpkins into the pile. It made me smile. :)

--three--

Henna!

Once a year, Memphis has an India Fest that we just have to go to. All the food, the dancing, artwork, and shops... it's always a fun time. I also splurge a little every year and get a henna tattoo. The artist draws on your skin with a thick lavender-scented paste which dries within 30 minutes. After 6 hours, you remove the dried paste and what remains is a really beautifully designed tattoo that lasts about 2 weeks. I'm definitely not a permanent tattoo kinda gal, so this is perfect for me. Plus, they're always so pretty! I can't help but stare at my hand all the time until it fades. 

--four--

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Ok, so I know I'm mega-early on this one, but I decided to have a Thanksgiving feast at youth group last night and the teens loved it. Look at all the tasty food! I was in charge of the turkey, so obviously that meant calling up the nearest BBQ joint and ordering several pounds of sliced, smoked turkey. To be honest, I'm not usually a big fan of Thanksgiving turkey, but this smoked turkey was amazing. And easy. Win-win!

The reason for the early celebration was so that I could chat with the teens about making the whole month of November a month of giving thanks. We created little Thanksgiving bags so they could remember to write one thing they're thankful for each day, place it in the bag, and then hopefully include it in their prayers before bed. It's easy to remember to ask for things in prayer, not as easy to remember to thank, especially at that age. So, hopefully the bags will encourage them to offer prayers of thanksgiving more often. 

But if not, at least the food was good. :P

--five--

Stitch Fix part 8.

Eek! I can't believe I'm on my 8th fix! 

This time around, they sent me a maternity dress, cowl neck seater, maternity leggings, blue blouse, and heavy cardigan. 

The dress was cute, but already super tight around the chest and hips, so I figured it wasn't a good idea for a woman who's about to get BIGGER all around. Also, you might think that's a baby bump you see, but it's just the stripes on the dress and the ruching of the material that give the illusion of a bump. Still no bump here. 

The oversized cowl neck sweater was almost a keeper, but at the last second (seriously, minutes before sealing the bag of clothes to be sent back) I noticed the bottom of the sweater had an uneven hemline. Can you see it in the pic? Right in the middle of the sweater, the two panels don't match up. Perhaps it's part of the design, but it really bugged me as soon as I noticed it. Sayonara sweater!

The maternity leggings are AWESOME. Super high quality material and plenty of room for a big belly. Kept.

The blue blouse is hard to make out in the pic, but it had ruffles and a criss-cross tie up the front, plus cuffed sleeves, so it totally looked like a pirate shirt. Bummer, because it definitely had potential.

And finally, the heavy cardigan. It was way too big and bulky. Plus, John said it looked like the color puke. 

And that was that! I kept the leggings and am very happy with that decision. :) Also, overall I reeeeally liked this fix. The only thing stopping me from buying more was that things didn't quite fit right. Oh, and that one item had the asymmetric hemline. But I definitely think they have my style figured out now. Wahoo! Next one arrives in mid-December.

--six--

These musicians impress me so much. You've gotta watch all the way to the end though. Now that's dedication!


And that's all for this week, folks! Hope you have a happy one. Catch ya next time. :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Little Happies -- Even More Pumpkins

Why, hello! And welcome back to Little Happies, the link-up full of all the things that are small and joyful in our lives.

Just like last week, I've just got one pumpkin-related Happy for you today.

--one--

You may recall from last October that I run a pumpkin patch as a fundraiser with my youth group every year. We spend the whole month trying to sell over a thousand pumpkins. It's always a successful fundraiser, though tons of work. So that's what I've been super busy with lately. 

The Little Happy related to all this happened earlier last week. I was walking around the patch to check out the pumpkins, making sure there weren't any rotten ones hiding about, when I discovered that several of my pumpkins had tried to make a run for it! When I closed the patch the night before, all those pumpkins were safely nestled on a pallet. When I arrived the next morning, about 20 of them were hanging out on the grass!! And all over the patch! I still have no idea how they did it... Perhaps a very strong squirrel was playing a trick on me? Maybe some neighborhood kids? Or maybe it was the Great Pumpkin? 

The world may never know.

:)

Have a happy week, friends!

An InLinkz Link-up

Little Happies -- a Few Lessons I've Learned as a Youth Minister

Welcome back to the happiest little link-up on the planet!

Why, yes! Thanks for noticing. That is a new banner! I went a little crazy on picmonkey this weekend and designed a new banner to match my blog's new color scheme. How'd I do? 

Why, yes! You're absolutely welcome to use the spiffy new banner on your Little Happies posts. Thanks for asking.

Or, if you're more into horizontal things, you could use this version...

"Woah! She made two?!"

Yes. I made two. Let's just say I had a little too much free time on my hands the past few days.

Alright, now that that's out of the way, let's get to the good stuff.

This week's Little Happies are brought to you by my job as a youth minister. And the lessons these precious teens have taught me.

--one--

We had our Graduation Celebration last night to honor all our youth group teens heading off to college. There were only 4 graduates at our little party, but that's no matter. I sure will miss these young buddies. Each one is headed to a different school lots of hours away from Memphis, so the next time I'll see their cute faces will likely be December. Wahhh!

So, with that in mind...

Lesson #1: Savor each moment. 

Because, as cliche as it is to say it... time really does fly!

--two--

Lesson #2: It's cool to be yourself. 

Even if that means wearing a headband AND a party hat at the same time while making a weird face and demanding that the whole group take a (blurry) selfie with you. 

Even if that means being the random kid who brings a hammock to the party.

Even if that means screaming a loud, girly scream every time the other team throws the ball in ladder ball.

Even if that means eating only candy and cupcakes for dinner.

As teens, it's sometimes hard to accept what everyone around you is doing. But somehow, I've been blessed with this amazingly loving group of teens, and pretty much no one's weirdness bothers anyone. Beautiful stuff right there.

--three--

Lesson #3: Teens are the NOW of our Church.

Have you heard this line before?... "Teens are the future of our Church." While I kinda get where they're going with that (these kids will be our future priests and deacons and sisters and married couples and lay persons), I pretty much wanna squash it all together. Because it implies that they're not an important part of our Church now. Except, they absolutely are. And they're not all lazy. They don't all make dumb decisions. They don't all have a lot of growing up to do.

Let me tell you something. So many of the teens I work with are doing amazing things. Ah-maz-ing. A handful actually know far more about the Catholic faith than I do. I'm inspired to be a better Christian because of them. It's wonderful to witness. And it makes me proud to call them the NOW of our Church. You should be too!

--four--

(Don't) Let It Go

Last but not least, a less serious lesson...

Lesson #4: There is a limit to the number of times you can watch Frozen.

It's true. I don't know the exact number, but we've all watched it a few too many times in the past several months. Actually, all of my male teens refuse to watch it now. They get mad at the mention of any of the characters. And especially Hulk-like if we start to sing the songs. The gals, on the other hand, still mostly like it and especially like driving the boys bonkers by singing the songs. I usually sing along too. :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Holy Toledo!

Welcome to the story of my week at a Catholic mission camp.

We call it Catholic HEART Workcamp (CHWC) and it's full of, you know... HEART and warm fuzzies and Jesus talk and serving others. That sorta stuff.

Last year, my youth group attended CHWC in Atlanta. It was already planned when I stepped into my role as youth minister, so I just went along with it and it ended up being a fantastic experience.

Fast forward to late 2013. It was time to start planning our next summer mission trip and I felt we just had to return to CHWC. So I took a look at their handy website, read the list of cities and dates, and immediately fell in love with the idea of going to CHWC in Toledo, OH.

I know, I know, so random, right? But hear me out: I was trying to attract teens to our summer mission trip. We only brought 9 teens with us the previous summer, so I was looking to at least double that number. I mean, I work in a pretty big parish. Surely there are more than 9 teens out there who want to fill a week of their summer with service, no? Well, maybe not. Service can sometimes be "lame" and "uncool" from a teen's perspective. But I figured if I had something else to draw them there, I'd have kids signing up like there was no tomorrow. And then they'd fall in love with CHWC and want to go back every year.

So, that's why I decided on Toledo. Because, do you happen to know what's practically right next door to Toledo, OH?

Lemme esplain...

CEDAR POINT!!! AKA the roller coaster capital of the world. They have roller coasters out the wazoo! How many, you wonder? SEVENTEEN! That's a lotta coaster.

And as God would have it, that's the same number of teens who signed up for our trip this summer. Not exactly double last summer, but pretty darn close.

So off we went! We departed at 12am bright and early on Sunday morning and arrived in Toledo later that day around 2pm. Phew! 14 hours on a bus (including stops for bfast and lunch) was... exactly what you'd think. Long and a little uncomfortable and filled with movies upon movies.

Sidenote -- Did you know our Bishops rate basically every movie in existance? At first I told the teens we could watch G or PG movies (none of this PG-13 voilence or sex or foul language nonsense), but then decided to teach them a little about our Bishop's rating system by requiring that all movies be A-I or A-II as rated by the Bishops. Cool teachable Catholic moment right there.

From here on out, I'm just going to picture dump if you don't mind. It's definitely the best way to recap the week. I'll throw in some stories too.

Oh, please excuse the "meh" photo quality. I brought my nice camera along, but realized as soon as we arrived that I forgot the SD card at home. Oops. Thank goodness phones take decent pics these days.

Let's start with a pic of the whole crew.

Those shirts say "Holy Toledo!" because obviously I can't help myself when it comes to a good pun.

After that long trip on the bus, I say we don't look half bad. Can you spot Steph & John?

My work for the week was at a neighborhood outreach center running their Vacation Bible School. Along with one other adult chaperon and 6 teens (plus lots of adult helpers who work for the outreach center), we worked approx. 6 grueling hours a day playing with adorable kids. It was tough, I tell ya. But actually, I'm completely kidding. Look how cute they are:

That was the day one of them came up to me and said, "Let's play hair salon! I wanna do your hair!" And so we did. And then all the other CHWC girls in my group volunteered their hair for up-dos. We got braids and buns and barrettes. It was just stinkin' adorable.

My primary job at their Egypt themed Vacation Bible School was teaching the songs (with dance moves) to all the littles. They were nervous and shy that first day, barely participating, but by the last day of our week, they were screaming along, dancing their tails off, grinning ear to ear. I don't even care that all the cheesy songs are still stuck in my head. Worth it!

We also had other jobs, like chaperoning the kids on a trip to the art museum, face painting, acting out scenes from the story of Joseph (you know, the guy with that amazing dream coat), picking (and eating) strawberries from the community garden, and playing with worms in a compost bin.

Overall, it was a fantastic week of service. When you arrive at CHWC, they almost immediately split all the youth groups into several different work groups. Most work groups renovate houses, paint, garden, clean stuff. So, I'm pretty sure my group got the best work assignment ever. Kids are so cute.

Our work group even got a chance to see the inside of an abandoned Catholic church. It's right next door to the outreach center we worked for. It seems like they kinda still keep tabs on it, but clearly don't do much upkeep. It was a little eerie and extremely beautiful.

After our long, strenuous days of work ;), CHWC runs evening programs for the campers. It involves lots of silly activities, skits, prayer time, witness talks, live music, and other great stuff.

One night, my husband got called up on stage and the camp staff dressed him as a woman. Here you see him twirling his fake orange hair.

He tells me he picked that specific wig so he'd look like me. Thanks, dear. Now I know what our bio kids would look like. But hopefully not. :P

The most spiritual evening of the week includes a powerful prayer service called Four Corners. Adult leaders hang around the gym with candles to chat with teens about anything heavy on their hearts and then pray over them. Teens can also write positive messages or prayers on a large white banner, hung for all the see the next day. And lots of priests from the nearby churches come in to hear confessions, all of which are needed because that confession line gets long! (Praise God!) Often teens share some deep stuff with the adults and priests and overall there are lots of tissues needed, if you catch my drift. It's really a beautiful thing.

On the last evening, there's always a light show. This year, everyone got to wear these neat light-up gloves and we moved our arms in unison to the instructions on the big screen. It was really cool to see.

And then we had a free day!!

Off we went to Cedar Point. Our group is pretty adorable, don't ya think?

Us chaperones stuck together and headed straight for one of the tallest coasters in the park, Millenium Force. Over 300 feet tall, speeds up to 93 mph. There it is behind us. It was a doozy!

I have always loved roller coasters. In fact, one of my ulterior motives for choosing Toledo was so that I could cross a trip to Cedar Point off my bucket list. (Shhh, don't tell the teens.) But after riding one after another after another, I have to be honest... they kinda hurt! Is that just what happens as you get older? Are my coaster loving days drawing to an end? Is this real life?

We probably rode about 10 roller coasters that day and never waited more than 30 minutes. I was worried our waits would be much longer, as a google search before the trip told me wait time at Cedar Point can be up to 3 or 4 hours for the big coasters. Yikes! Lucky for us, it rained just a teeny bit as we were arriving, so I think that scared some folks away. Plus, apparently school's still in session up there, so that helped too.

The coaster you're about to see is the tallest in the park. The Top Thrill Dragster. 420 feet tall, fires you off at 120 mph (AHH! ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY MPH!!), over in 17 seconds.

We didn't ride it. I was too scared.

But I did eat this delicious turkey leg...

I bought the last one on the grill, ate about 1/2 of it, and made a complete mess of myself. 

Don't judge.

Our last coaster was the Gate Keeper. And then we posed for a cute pic near its entrance.

After gathering the troops, we headed back to camp headquarters, about 1 hour away, and slept a little bit, then woke mega early to start the long trek back to Memphis. Another 14 hours on the bus, lots of kids movies (Brave and Up and Frozen), fast food meals, and passing out in awkward positions.

We made it back, parents in the church parking lot excited to greet us, and life was good. A successful summer mission trip under my belt and this youth minister was ready for a nap. Nay, several naps.

Little Happies -- A Mission Trip Snippet & Johnny's Day

I'm baaaaack!

John and I spent the last week on a mission trip in Toledo, OH with over 300 Catholics from all around the midwest. The week was wonderful! Sure, there were some hiccups here and there, but for the most part, I'm smiling. 

I'm going to keep this Little Happies post short because most of my Happies last week were Big ones. Don't worry, you'll hear about them soon in my trip recap post, to come later this week. Until then...

--one--

My service for the week was at a neighborhood outreach center run by one awesome whippersnapper of a nun. My group spent the week helping with the center's Vacation Bible School for the K thru 8th graders in the neighborhood. Of course there was lots of recess time in the mix. And of course the kiddos LOVED the swings. The teen helpers in our group were pro swing pushers by the end of the week.

I decided to snap a few pics of the fun in action and caught this gem. Look at those little piggies! And her adorable smiling face! I look at this and still feel the joy of the moment.

--two--

When we got back from our trip, we celebrated Johnny's Day (in place of Father's Day)! I surprised him with Cosmic Encounter, a board game he's been eyeing for some time now, and promised that I'd play it with him, even though it seems quite nerdy. Unfortunately, it requires 3 players minimum, but fortunately, we're not above playing with a stuffed animal as player number 3.

--three--

Speaking of Johnny's Day... 

Earlier in the day, we got a call from one of John's good friends, Reuss, (a groomsman in our wedding). He told that he was at the airport on his way to Memphis for a business trip this week. We made plans to hang out later in the week and sorta left it at that. 

For dinner, John requested Pyro's Pizza, so we made that happen. As we're sitting down to eat on their storefront patio, who does John see walk by (out of the corner of his eye) but Reuss! SO RANDOM!  We didn't even know where he was staying, but it turns out it was only a block over from Pyro's Pizza. And he just so happened to be walking over to find somewhere to eat dinner as we were eating ours. A most wonderful coincidence! 

We spent the rest of the night catching up with our good friend, smiles on our faces and delicious pizza in our tummies. A Happy evening indeed.

Have a great week, friends!

An InLinkz Link-up

Little Happies -- Even When Things Get Tough

Last week was hard. Really hard. If you missed my last post, basically... we didn't get chosen by the birthmom due mid-May. I'm still feeling really pretty down about the whole situation, so I'm actually really glad past-Stephanie came up with this Little Happies link-up idea. 'Cause otherwise, I would NOT be looking for any blessings in my life right now, no way, no how. I'd just be one big sob story 24/7.

So they're not my best, but here are the little things still bringing my joy amidst this tough time...

--one--

The night we found out we didn't match with the birthmom and baby, John's coworker was so kind and let him leave early. This was a HUGE blessing. Normally, he wouldn't have gotten home until 8pm or 9pm. Instead, he was home before 7pm. I NEEDED this. I needed to not be suffering at home alone. I ended up distracting myself by talking to a few friends, eating some of my favorite snacks, and watching Parenthood on Hulu. I know, Parenthood sounds like a bad choice, but it's actually one of my go-to favorites these days.

When John pulled up to the apartment, he had me hop in the car and he took me to the nearest hibachi grill. It was so nice to just get out of the apartment and enjoy a very tasty meal together. Just what my hurting heart needed. 

--two--

Writing the post about not being picked by the birthmom was actually very good for me. While the post itself is not a Little Happy at all, I felt better almost instantly after posting it, and that is a huge positive. That's never happened before with this here blog, so I'm happy to know that's an option when things get really tough. While it's one of the saddest pieces I've ever written, it was very healing. Thank you for all the support and love you showered me with. I appreciate every one of you more than you know. Hugs!

--three--

Pic stolen from Joy the Baker

THESE! Cadbury Mini Eggs. Oh My WOW!! I eat about 5 each night before I got to bed and I do not regret it one bit. Hands down, my favorite Easter candy. Possibly my favorite candy of all time. And definitely even better seeing as I bought them the day after Easter and they were 50% off. Though, I'd pay full price for these puppies any day. Just sayin'. 

--four--

THIS recipe. Another Oh My WOW! Gluten free mac and cheese (plus peas and left over Easter ham). Here's the original recipe, but you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be sharing my own Stephanie's Recipes version of it soon. Doesn't make me miss gluten AT ALL. 

And yes, this was my lunch every day this week. Not sorry at all. Comfort food for the win!!

 --five--

I was on a teen retreat all weekend, Friar Fest. So much adoration, lots of great faith-talk, lots of love for Catholicism, an awesome healing service where we actually got to touch Jesus, and all run by the sweetest Friars and Nuns. While I didn't get as much out of it this year (seeing as I'm in a weird emotional place right now), it was still a good place for me to be and mostly a good distraction. Spending time with Jesus in adoration is always time well spent.

 --six--

At the end of each long day, I know I can trust Ariel to cheer me up. I had completely forgotten about this pillowcase, which I'm pretty sure I've had since I was really little, until recently. We were cleaning out our spare closet to make room for all our baby items, and I found her!! So I immediately replaced one of the pillowcases on our bed with this one. She's been there ever since. John finds it a little weird, but he knows it brings me joy, so she stays. Love her. 

That's all I've got for now! Hopefully by next week, I'll have some more cheerful Happies to post about. Until then, your cheer will have to hold me over. Don't mean to put the pressure on! I'm just REALLY looking forward to reading about what's making you happy this week! Cheer me up, will ya? :)

An InLinkz Link-up

My First Quick Takes!

-- one --

our little Nashville getaway

I love going to the symphony. So when I found out one of my all-time favorite musicians, piano pop expert Ben Folds, was writing and performing his own piano concerto at the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, I just HAD to get tickets. And we just HAD to go. So a few weeks ago, we made a quick trip out of it and had an absolute blast. Nashville's a fun town on its own, but mix in some seriously talented classical musicians, and of course, a trip to Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, and it was just a killer getaway. My favorite part of Ben Folds's concerto was when the whole orchestra took out their cell phones and played their ringtones all at the same time. It actually sounded really pretty! Kudos to Ben for thinking outside the box on that one. And to the musicians for playing along.



-- two --

Airbnb.com

Still related to our Nashville getaway, I wanted to mentione the awesomeness that was our Bed & Breakfast for the weekend. Have you heard of airbnb.com yet? If not, you need to check it out, pronto. Especially if you love traveling, especially if you are bored of hotels, and especially if you're up for an adventure.

Airbnb is basically an online marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accomodations around the world. (Yep, stole that line directly from their website.) So, for example, the house we stayed in during our Nashville trip was owned by a nice couple with a cute kid; they rent out 3 bedrooms in their house to folks just like us and charge us a fair price for the night. The pic above is of John hanging out at the breakfast table in their beautiful home (the wife was an interior decorator). We had a fantastic time staying at their place. Getting to know new people and staying in a part of town that isn't really touristy made for a great adventure. We'd totally stay there again.

We also used airbnb.com one other time during a trip to New Orleans. There, a nice couple owned 4 apartments that they rented out exclusively on airbnb.com, so we got a whole apartment to ourselves for that weekend! Again, a great experience and we'd totally stay there again.

I know you're worried a little about safety and such. And that's ok. I get that. But I'm here to tell you that the whole site is super regulated and super safe. So check it out! And let me know if you end up going on any awesome airbnb.com adventures.

-- three --

a ridiculously awesome youth group fundraiser

We've got some great priests at our parish. How great, you ask? I'll tell you how great! They're SO great, they've all agreed to participate in a fun little youth group fundraiser I'm calling "Turn A Priest Into An Ice Cream Sundae." Sound ridiculously awesome yet?

Last weekend, I sat out after all the Masses with a group of teens and we asked the parishioners to make donations into the bucket of the priest they'd like to see turned into a sundae. And boy did they! We've raised so much already! And the priest who's currently in the lead, AKA the one who's going to become all sundae-i-fied, is in the lead by over $200! The main event will be tonight at our parish's fish fry. Can't wait to see which priest we'll be covering in fudge, nuts, bananas, gummies, caramel, oreos, whipped cream, cherries. Gosh, they're good sports!

-- four --

Candlelight Stations of the Cross

Speaking of the youth group, we're presenting a Candlelight Stations of the Cross in a few weeks that is going to be heartbreakingly beautiful. Normally we do a living stations, but I thought it would be nice (and a little less cheesy -- no kids wrapped in bed sheets this year) to represent the stations in an even more meaningful and spiritual way. The night will include gorgeous live music, wonderful spoken reflections for each station, and thoughtful prayer, while the whole church is only lit by candlelight. That striking poster of Jesus you see above will be the only visual for the evening. After each station, we'll sing a verse of "Were You There?" and then blow out one of twelve candles. After the 12th station, when Jesus dies, we'll blow out the last candle and the church will be in complete darkness. It's going to be so powerful.

I must give a shout out to youth minister Scott Anthony for inpiring me and writing the script for the whole evening.

-- five --

Empowered to Connect

We still need to attend a few adoption classes to be completely approved to adopt. When we mentioned this to our new agency, the director recommended checking out the Empowered to Connect website. Much to our surprise, we found they were hosting a conference in St. Louis next weekend! So we're headed to St. Louis (using airbnb.com again for our accomodations) and we're pumped about what we're about to learn! According to the website, "This two-day conference is designed to help adoptive and foster parents, ministry leaders and professionals better understand how to connect with 'children from hard places' in order to help them heal and become all that God desires for them to be." Sounds perfect to me!

And yes, I'll be sure to write a "My Life was Changed Because of This Conference" review once we return. Promise.

-- six --

Jesus Christ Superstar

I think I've mentioned this before, but my husband's parents bought us season tickets to Theatre Memphis for my birthday back in December! We snagged two tickets to Jesus Christ Superstar using those sweet season tickets they bought us and now I'm pumped because the show's this Saturday! I've always loved this musical -- not because it's incredibly accurate, because it's not. But it is very entertaining. The music is wonderful and the approach is interesting. Many folks say it's like the gospel according to Judas. And I agree, it's definitely the whole story through his eyes. Can't wait to see this live! And so soon!

-- seven --

a Little Happies heads-up

Am I allowed to mention my own link-up in someone else's link-up? What is proper link-up etiquette?!

Our Monday Little Happies link-up has now been up and running for four weeks. Weeeeee! I love reading all of your happies, especially on drab old Mondays. They just cheer me right up! So thank you for that. Thanks for supporting my little link-up idea. It's really been great fun so far!

The reason I mention it here and now in someone else's link-up is as a heads up! This Monday, my Little Happies are going to have a theme -- joyful pictures! I'm going through all my old iPhoto albums to find my top favorite pictures (that I've taken or been in) that bring me joy when I see them. And, of course, I'll be telling sweet stories to go along with each one. I figured I'd throw this out there in advance in case any of you were inspired to do the same with your Little Happies this coming Monday. You can certainly still do a regular Little Happies list if that's what you're feeling. But you're also very welcome to make it a Joyful Pictures Edition along with me. :)

Like what you read? Then head on over to Jen's Conversion Diary for even better Quick Takes from even cooler people!

Your Lenten Word

Back in college, the church on our campus would have a basket full of pebbles chilling in the entraceway during the first week of Lent. Each pebble had a word written on it, much like the words you see above. It was a tradition in this church for all passersby to pick out a random wordified pebble, this word becoming your focus for the upcoming 40-day spiritual journey. I always liked this tradition and enjoyed having this physical reminder (i.e. the pebble), this call to focus, sitting and staring at me for all the days leading up to wonderful Easter.

I decided to take this tradition and youth-ify it a little so I could introduce it to my teens at youth group this Sunday. Seems like a great way to kick off Lent to me!

The teens have all been told to bring a palm-sized pebble to youth group this weekend, but they're not sure what it's for yet. I like to keep 'em in the dark sometimes. Makes it more fun.

After a guided meditation, in which the teens will imagine themselves in conversation in Jesus, they'll take a look at this word splash I created and pick out the word they feel Jesus calling them to the most. Whether it's something they need more of (wisdom, strength, joy), something they need to work on (chastity, forgiveness, patience), or something they just feeling calling out to them (blessed, nourish, justice), the hope is that they'll hone in on one word and just know it was specifically chosen for them by Jesus as their Lenten focus.

Once they choose the word that is really speaking to them, they'll write the word on their pebble and take it with them as a reminder of the word they've been called to pray and meditate on for the next 40 days.

After creating the word splash, I found myself excited to share it with all of you, and for a few reasons...

1.) Isn't it pretty??

2.) Ok, more importantly, isn't this a great little Lenten tradition? If you're feeling called, I encourage you to say a quick prayer, take a look at the word splash above, and pick out the word that Jesus is calling you to most this Lent. It may take a minute or two, maybe even just a millisecond, but I'm sure you'll connect with one special word, and that word will lead you somewhere special this Lent.

3.) Sometimes I feel like the options for Lent can be overwhelming. Give up this, take on that, be a perfect angel, pray every second of every day or else you're DOING IT WRONG. The truth is, that's not the truth at all. But it's all too easy to take on too much and lose focus in the middle of all this Lenten hubbub. So if you're like me and you just need an overall unifying theme (i.e. word) to keep your focus this time around, hopefully praying for and discovering the perfect word meant for your Lenten journey will be helpful. And fruitful. And God-ful. Amen.

And if you do pick out that perfect word, I encourage you to write it on a pebble or in your journal or on your mirror or just somewhere good. Pick a place that will continue to remind you to stay focused on your God-given word during this Lenten season.

I'll be praying for all of you, for a peaceful, prayerful, and fruitful Lent.

+:o)

Little Happies -- Our First Link-Up!

After posting my first Little Happies post, lots of encouragement poured in. It was so sweet, ladies! Thank you! 

Two bloggers posted their own Little Happies -- ecce fiat & Grace of Adoption -- which I loved reading! Then, several of you suggested turning it into a link up. I researched the process a bit and it seemed pretty doable. The final push came from Amanda over at True, Good, and Beautiful. She emailed me and really encouraged me to make it happen. 

Amanda's husband, Jonathan, created the beeeeautiful graphic you see above (seriously, round of applause for that one!) and through lots of emails, Amanda helped me sort through the nitty gritty details. 

We've decided Little Happies will be a weekly link up on Mondays! Weeeee!!

Now, I must say, I'm a little nervous to commit myself to this. However, my life is so full of little joys, especially now that I'm really trying to notice and appreciate them. So I have a feeling I'll have enough to post about each week. Plus, I figured, if I have to skip a week here and there, you can always still link up to an older Little Happies post. 

As for the number of Little Happies in each post -- I was thinking of five, just like I had in my original post, but then, the more I thought about it, the more I realized, you can't limit happy! So if you have only one Little Happy to share this week, that's awesome. Have a hundred? Well, that's awesome too! No matter the number, we'll all be happy to share in your little joys with you. 

And as for who's invited to join in -- everyone!! Infertility bloggers, adoption bloggers, mommy bloggers, food bloggers, life bloggers, whatever bloggers! 

The only thing I ask is that you keep your Little Happies truly little. What I mean by that is: while vacations and babies and engagements and new cars and new jobs and new houses are all great and well worth celebrating, they're a little too big for what we're trying to do here. Little Happies were started because I felt I was too focused on those Big Happies in life, just waiting my life away, hoping for the big things to happen. I felt it was time for a change, so I decided to turn to the little things to find my joy. And I hope that's what you'll do too. Plus, it's not like your Big Happies can't be posted about in their own special, separate posts. :) 

Overall, I'd really like to approach these posts as little prayers of thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father. I hardly do this enough, and when it comes to the little things, well, let's just say God is definitely not getting the praise He's due. So for each Little Happy I post or just notice in my every day, God will be getting a big ol' thank you from me from now on, as He should have been getting all along. 

So, here we go! You asked and now you shall receive. One Little Happy link up, coming right up... 

-- one --

How'd you spend your St. Valentine's day? This is the second year in a row my husband was working late for the holiday. So, for the second year in a row, I hosted a Parents' Night Out fundraiser at our church for the youth group (the teens are great babysitters!). Instead of hanging out at home by my lonesome, I got to play with tons of little cuties the whole night long. These two girlies were my favorite. They would randomly just come up to me and hug me over and over and over. I hardly ever spend time with little kids, so I was more than happy to do it that evening and put my mothering skills to good use! Plus, we raised a bunch of money for the youth group, so win win!

--two--

My youth group kids crack me up. We had a game night two weeks ago and this group decided to play Heads Up. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a while! My cheeks hurt from smiling! If you have an iPhone, Heads Up is also an app. I highly recommend downloading and playing with a crowd of friends. You'll definitely giggle lots. 

 -- three --

John wanted to go for a walk after I got off work one afternoon, so we went to our favorite little park and walked laps around this lake, chatting about life and blogging and adoption. Despite the gray skies, we had such a lovely, peaceful time. His cute hat makes me smile too. 

-- four --

I have no idea where it came from, but I've got a serious decorating bug all of a sudden. I just want to buy furniture and posters and wall art and mirrors all the time now. What is this about? I'm not even that good at interior design, so it's not like I have any reason to enjoy it. Weird. But I am digging the fruits of our interior design labor. 

This is one of our recent projects, and I love it. That little stand has turned into board game central; I love that it's so organized now. That mirror was on super sale at Target -- win! The fresh flowers are just gorgeous; I think we have a reason to buy fresh flowers more often now. (Hear that, dear husband?) And that cute framed pic was one of Johnny's St. Valentine's Day presents -- bears hugging each other. Does it get any cuter?

This fancified nook is the first thing we see when we leave our bedroom each morning. That wall used to be completely blank, so it's a lovely treat now and a huge improvement for us. 

Which room shall I tackle next? 

-- five --

I'm serious about this anti-inflammatory diet now, folks. Really. You all must hold me accountable! I really want to go all in for the next two months to see what happens. Can you help me stay on track?

One thing that will be helping me lots is this new pizza joint: Pyro's Fire Fresh Pizza. It's kind of like Chipotle, but with pizzas instead of burritos. You pay one set price and then, with all the toppings laid out in front of you to choose from, the pizza dude behind the counter piles on the toppings you pick out. They pop your creation into a brick pizza oven and a few minutes later, you have this delicious beauty staring at you, ready to be devoured.

How is this going to help my diet? Well, they have a delicious gluten-free crust, you see! I put pesto, mozzarella, andouille sausage, broccoli, bacon, jalapenos, onions, feta, scallions, and bbq sauce on this one. Can't wait to go back and create my next one AND not feel bad about it. Because it's anti-inflammatory-diet friendly! Tummy is happy.

-- six --

After I had a particularly rough morning, Johnny decided to spend the afternoon at work with me. I told my coworkers it was "Bring Your Husband To Work Day." They knew I was kidding, but my work is so flexible about have him there with me, so long as I'm productive, they don't mind him being around. 

He drew me a little diddy on my Buddha Board and told me it was how his brain felt about reading about adoption. He was a little stressed by the adoption profile and some paperwork we still have to do and all the adoption books he's trying to read now. So an exploding brain surrounded by exclamation points summed up his feelings well. Ha! He makes me smile. 

-- seven --

This one's kind of a bonus Little Happy for ya. With Ash Wednesday coming up this week, I figured it was perfectly appropriate. A friend shared it with me and it made me chuckle. 

PS - I know I mentioned that this is going to be a Monday thing, but if you'd like to join in and can't write a LH post today, don't sweat it. :) The link up will be open for two weeks, so you have pleeennnnty of time to write your LH post and still participate in the link up. Today, tomorrow, Friday, whenevs. I just look forward to reading along!  

An InLinkz Link-up