OUR NOT-SPRING WEEKEND

It was a great weekend, but our spring weather left us and had me feeling all boo about it. I always said that’s the tricky thing with living in the south. You get those gorgeous warm days, but then bam! Cold again, and for some reason, that cold feels even colder because you remember what those spring days actually feel like again and it’s all like “don’t leave me like that, spring days!” The weather people seem to promise that it will warm up again this week, so hopefully it does.

We kept Ben’s niece and nephews for the evening on Friday night while their parents had dinner out with friends, and what a fun group of kids that kept us laughing and entertained and hoping from one thing to the next. We played in the yard and fish pond for most of the evening, since it was still warm enough on Friday to be outside. The boys “caught” fish with Ben in our little fish pond and it was so fun to sit back and watch them and see what our life could look like in five to ten years or so with a few more kids…laughter coming from the backyard as Ben rips around with the kids on a Friday evening. Ayla had a serious case of only-child-syndrome for the first part of the night, and she was so worried about Ben playing with the other kids while she sat on my lap on the patio. It was actually sorta cute, hehe.

Our Saturday went by in a flash and was full of house projects and a fussy baby girl. Ben installed a new screen door in the dining room which lets in a ton more light and also gives Ayla a way to see into the backyard. We had invited some church friends over for dinner that evening, and Ben smoked one of his briskets for the meal…which is great, but smelling it all day long as it cooks is so tantalizing and just makes you wish for dinner time the entire day! I worked on making the rest of the dinner and spent a lot of time holding Ayla and trying to figure out what was making her feel so fussy. I’m still don’t know what was up, but she was just off all day long. I was hoping that having friends and other babies around for the evening would snap her out of it, but she barely lasted into dinner time before a total meltdown and so we whisked her off to bedtime early and she slept for almost thirteen hours that night. Teething, maybe?

Sunday was a cold, blustery day and we had a cozy morning at home together. We had a Moroccan lentil stew and flat bread for lunch, and then Ben shooed me off into town to spend a little time on my own while he did the dishes and kept Ayla. He’s so good to me! I walked around Old Navy and TJ Maxx for a little while, grabbed a few groceries, and it was nice to have an hour or two like that on my own. We left for church early since Ben was on for helping with car parking. I dropped him off at church, and then went off to a little coffee shop with Ayla until church started. It was the first little “coffee” date for her and I, and I sat and sipped my drink and fed her some homemade jello and it was such a sweet little time with her. We grabbed a coffee to-go to take to Ben, and then headed back to church. After church, we had supper and great conversation with some friends and thankfully Ayla managed the up-past-bedtime outing (which can be such a hit or miss sometimes) and sat in her chair munching on sweet potatoes and bread while we chatted.

Best weekend moment: sitting in our upstairs room on Sunday morning with Ben and Ayla, singing along to Bethel Music worship songs…and Ayla just lay there on our laps, so snuggly and peaceful. She’s not a big snuggler and doesn’t usually last for longer than thirty seconds, so the thirty minutes she just rested with us was like a small peace of heaven on earth.

What about you: what was your best weekend moment?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!