Although we’ve called Texas home for more than nine years, I don’t think I’ve ever felt quite so “country girl” as I did this month. We’re chicken-sitting for my in-laws while they’re out of town, which has us making several weekly trips to their home about thirty miles away. Charleston is technically the one doing the chicken-sitting (he’s raising money for church camp), but the other kids and I join him as he gathers eggs and feeds and waters twenty-eight chickens. It’s unlike anything this city girl has ever experienced, and while I’m not itching to raise chickens of my own any time soon, I’ve enjoyed this small foray into ranch life. The time outside has been wonderful for all of us, and it’s nice to finally have the capacity and bandwidth to do something new (other than growing and raising a human). Beyond the enjoyment of my own experience is the pride I’ve felt in seeing Charleston thrive with this responsibility. I’m getting a glimpse at the young man he will become and it’s such a joy to witness. In fact, it was a month packed full of joy—from the twins’ morning forays into the backyard garden to gather strawberries, to family nature walks, watching Nico learn to sit independently, and making new friends. Spring is a season of birth and renewal, and those have been themes in both my outer surroundings and my inward spirit this month.
|| READING LATELY ||
Charleston and I began the sixth book in the Harry Potter series way back in January and finally finished it this month; it’s my least favorite book in the series, but still a solid read and Charleston loved it. Because of his love for Harry Potter, our gym’s babysitter introduced him to the Charlie Bone series which he’s also loving (and insisted I read as well; I listened to—and enjoyed—book one this month). As a family, we read a fun adventure story as well as this excellent Lenten-themed novel set during the final week of Jesus’ life.
On my own this month, I read an excellent thriller as well as a clever locked-room mystery and a romcom with a fun podcast spin. Coincidentally, I read two books about stand-up comedians: this thought-provoking break-up story and this insightful exploration of mental illness from one of my favorite authors. And speaking of favorite authors: I’m a huge Anne Tyler fan and have been working my way through her backlist, so I was excited to read this book that has been sitting on my Kindle for a while. I made it 25% through, and though the writing is excellent, I wasn’t drawn into the story like I usually am with Tyler’s books. I hope to return to it when the mood strikes, but for now I needed to set it aside in favor of some more propulsive reads.
In nonfiction, I listened to this heterodox essay collection from one of my favorite podcasters, as well as this book that’s getting tons of attention right now (spoiler: I didn’t think it deserved the hype). I’ll be sharing full reviews of these titles in a couple of weeks.
|| LISTENING LATELY ||
A few podcasts that informed, inspired, or entertained this month.
FAMILY & PARENTING
The Andrew Klavan Show—Why We Need a Positive Vision for the Family in America | Lila Rose
APOLOGETICS
Honesty with Bari Weiss—Ross Douthat: Why It’s Logical to Believe in God
Shawn Ryan Show—#192 Lee Strobel & John Burke – The Resurrection
LIVING OUT FAITH
Mama Bear Apologetics—Epsidode 125: Why Modesty Matters
THINQ Media—The Subtle Trap of Calling Idolatry: Trip Lee | Episode 326
|| MONTHLY KID-ISMS ||
CHARLIE-ISMS
+ “So school is like food. You eat it all school year. And summer is like the toilet….”
+ While playing a game in which I spent time contemplating the my card’s question of Who have you helped recently? Charleston: “I hope you are just trying to think of a good one and not that you really can’t think of anything!” Me: “I guess teaching you guys this morning was helping somebody.” Charleston: “That’s about the best help you CAN give!”
+ “I can’t wait to start our modern history unit to hear about the parts of history that you remember. And you can tell me about the inventions that they had when you were a kid.”
+ To Sully, who was nagging me about something: “Sully, I can tell you from ten years of experience that the only thing nagging will get you from mom is a consequence.”
SULLY-ISMS
+ “So you count to one thousand and then there’s no more numbers.” Me: “Well there are more numbers. You can always add more.” Sully: “When will you stop counting? Until you die? Until the world ends?!”
+ “College is a school where you learn how to be an adult and stuff? I want to go to college to be a science-er to teach kids science. Kali wants to be a spyer, but that’s not real.”
+ After discussing identical vs fraternal twins. “What type of twins are three twins?”
+ Asking about a mini bag of sweet tarts: “Do you eat the whole thing?” Me: “Yes, you can have the whole thing.” Sully: “But how will I fit them all in my mouth?”
KALI-ISMS
+ Luke: “Do you need help getting your jacket on Kali?” Kali: “No. My jacket is just not understanding what to do!”
+ When we set out carrots for the Easter Bunny on Easter Eve. “How can the Easter Bunny eat carrots since he is in a costume?”
+ On mosquito bites: “Do the bugs just get your blood for them, or do they give it to their babies? And why did God make them anyway?”
|| HAPPENINGS & HIGHLIGHTS ||
Our huge event of this month was that Kali and Sully prayed to become Christians and join God’s family! They’ve been curious about this for quite a while, knowing that Charleston “became a Christian” when he was six and wondering what that meant. We put them off for a bit, waiting until we were sure they were old enough to make this big decision for themselves. On Easter week we sat them down and walked through the full Gospel presentation. They understood all of it and were able to answer questions and ask some of their own. When asked if they believe that Jesus is God’s son, Sully matter-of-factly replied, “oh yeah, I definitely believe that.” All six of us were gathered on the floor of their room when they prayed to welcome Jesus into their hearts. It was so beautiful and the culmination of years of prayer for their little souls. I know they are young and have a long road of faith ahead of them, but I pray that neither of them will ever live a day without Jesus walking by their side.
It was a month full of Easter festivities, beginning with a trip to Bass Pro for our annual pictures with the Easter Bunny. The cousins were able to join us and were adorable in their coordinating outfits.
We upped our egg consumption in the weeks leading up to Easter so that we would have plenty of shells to dye for confetti eggs. (We usually get our eggs from my in-laws’ chickens, but we learned in the past that the natural brown eggs of their free-range chickens don’t hold color, so I resorted to buying eggs just for the white shells.) We had fun dying all FIFTY-FOUR eggs, and the kids got creative with their designs and colors this year. I’m thankful that Luke always does the hard job of stuffing the eggs with confetti.
We attended a city-wide egg hunt hosted by a couple of local churches. We go to this event every year, and it’s always a highlight of the spring. I love seeing the whole community come together for events like these! The kids rode horses, took a ride on a barrel train, and hunted for plastic eggs. Charleston took advantage of the crowds to sell eggs (collected from Grandma and Grandpa’s chickens) in the parking lot, and he made quite a few sales.
On the night before Easter, Charleston helped the twins write a lovely note to the Easter bunny that they set out with some carrots and plastic eggs for Mr. Bunny to fill and hide. They woke up to Easter Baskets loaded with goodies and a fun egg hunt around the house. It was challenging, but they managed to find every egg and were rewarded with (way too many) chocolates and jelly beans—their last minute candy requests that just happened to match what the Easter Bunny had planned for those plastic eggs (phew!).
We attended a beautiful Easter service at church, then headed to my in-laws’ house for lunch and a huge confetti egg hunt which is always a ton of fun. We also recognized the true meaning of Easter with a pageant that my father-in-law directed and produced, with each of the kids playing Biblical parts (Sully starred as Jesus!).
On a very superficial note, I was pretty excited about the kids’ Easter outfits this year! Charleston and Sully wore matching shirts that they’ve had for a while that finally fit. And Kali and her cousin Brooke wore the matching dresses made by my mother-in-law that were absolutely darling! Of course Nico was cute as a button in his suspenders!
|| ICYMI: APRIL ON THE BLOG ||
FAMILY LIFE
Nickelson Ryan || Eight Months Old
BOOK CORNER
FAITH & REFLECTIONS
Lenten Reflections (Part Five): “Love one another.” “It took a social drought for me to recall my own need for relationship and community. Others may have higher or lower social needs, but whether we realize it or not, a craving for community is hardwired in each of us.“
Lenten Reflections (Part Six): “Blessed are the pure in heart.” “God created us as whole beings, complete with bodies AND spirits, hearts AND minds, emotions AND reason. And He wants all of those parts of us, regardless of our personality preferences.“
Self Talk “What the self-esteem movement got wrong—and what most of contemporary culture continues to get wrong—was an understanding that a false bolstering of ego is unhelpful and even sinful. Proponents of the movement hoped that they could counter negative self-talk with positive messaging, but they failed to recognize that good self-esteem and poor self-esteem have something in common: they are both improper and inaccurate evaluations of SELF.“
April was wonderful, and our family has much more excitement coming in May. We are wrapping up our school year this week, and in two weeks we are headed to California for our annual family vacation. Charleston will also be going to his first sleep-away church camp. It’s all a lot to process but also a lot to look forward to. How about you? What were some highlights of your April? What are you looking forward to in May?
