I'm a sneaky Momma.

I'm a little bit weird.. in a lot of ways. But I tend to get a bit obsessive about my kids nutrition. 

We're not super healthy people, but we don't eat at McDonalds every day either. 

We try to eat whole grains, lots of fresh produce, healthy amounts of proteins, and minimal processed stuff. 

But here lately, I've been having a doozy of a time trying to get all my littles to cram all their fruits and veggies in every day. Today…. today, I bribed them with a cookie. I'm pretty sure that totally cancels out any fruits they had at lunch, and totally negates any amount of nutrients they may have ingested. Just whatever. 

When I'm not bribing them with sweets, I like to sneak in as much nutrition as possible in the slyest ways possible. My absolute favorite fall-back method to do this is smoothies!

Oh you wonderfully delicious, Smoothie! You make fruits and veggies so delectable to the small palates that ingest you.

Because I feel like a smoothie is something you just gotta wing, I don't usually follow a recipe. I'm such a rebel. Besides, I spend too much time following recipes for much more important things. Like cookies. Ahem. 

Don't be jealous of my super fancy smoothie ingredient picture taking skills.

When making smoothies, I try to find several fruits that work well together. Lots of tropical fruits usually come to mind: pineapples, oranges (zest and juice), bananas, all kinds of berries. Then, I layer in a mild tasting vegetable. Spinach is one of my fav's! It blends well, has virtually no taste, yet packs a powerful nutritious punch! Next, I throw in some Greek yogurt. And last, I pour on some Coconut Milk. I usually don't bother with ice for several reasons. First, all my ingredients are already cold. Second, it seems like the ice tends to water down the flavors. And who wants water downed flavor?!?

Don't bother trying to measure anything. Just throw it in and see what works for you!

The end result in a delicious, frothy beverage! And if your kids are like mine, you might have to disguise the green liquid in a non-see-through-lidded cup with a colored straw. At least, until they see that they LOVE it.. and then, they'll think its totally awesome that they're drinking a "Hulk" style drink!

Bottoms up, friends!

Tiny Hands

Tiny hands create intrinsic circles on my weary back. My mind whirls with all the tasks that I could be doing, but an impossibly heavy 30-someodd-pound frame keeps me pinned to the soft-carpeted floor.

I’m on the brink of pulling myself from this glorious relaxed state, almost absolutely sure that the laundry is multiplying at an alarming rate in the next room over.

His chipper voice breaks through my inner arguments, “More twains, mommy!!”

And just like that, I’m sure I am supposed to be here right now. I’m sure that I’m not supposed to move a muscle, except to pull myself up to play “more twains.”

There will be many more hours in the day to fold the laundry. There will many more hours in the day to tend the growing pile of dishes. But my hours with a certain little fair-headed mister who desires the company of his Momma and playing trains with her are limited, at best.

There will come a day when those tiny hands will turn into masculine, lean hands. That tiny little frame will grow in stature and tower over me one day. That chipper little voice that beckons me to play will deepen. And there will come a day that my company won’t be of utmost importance to him.

I was thisclose to missing it today; thisclose to missing out on something big, great and magnificent. I’m grateful I didn’t, and only wish I had a shirt that said, “I look like this because playing ‘twains’ was more important than 6 minutes of hot water, soap, conditioner and a hair dryer.” 

On Suffering and Trials

The grief and sorrow comes and goes in waves. Sometimes it’s a gentle lapping. Other times it seems like an overwhelming tidal wave. It beckons me to sink in despair, to shake my fists at the heavens with all my might. In the dark moments when the waves seem to come without ceasing, I am almost tempted to do just that.  When the waves are relentless, my flesh is enticed to give in to the thoughts of hopelessness. But the Spirit that abides in me beckons me to hope.

I am in an ocean of people who are suffering and walking through so many trials. My heart hurts for the mom whose children want nothing to do with her. I have sorrow for the woman who can’t seem to reconcile her broken marriage. I grieve with friends whose babies were taken from them before they could ever experience the joy of holding their precious little ones. My heart is in pain at the thought of friends struggling from inner emotional turmoil. I am heartbroken for friends who are mourning the loss of friendships in their lives.

In my own life, I haven’t been spared from grief and struggle. My husband and I had only been home from our honeymoon for 2 weeks when we learned that my Dad had stage 4 lung cancer. He went home to be with Jesus 2 short months later. Several months later, we buried my 4 year old nephew. And not too long after that, my sweet Granddad passed away. It seemed like the underlying current and theme of our first year of marriage was grief and death.

Several years later, our sweet baby boy had to be hospitalized for a week. I remember crying and crying in the emergency room as they did test after test to figure out what was making him sick. And I remember crying and crying when the fever wouldn’t come down, and just wanting it all to be over. I wanted our suffering to end. I wanted ALL the grief, not just ours, to end. But I also remember the hope that I had, and this uncanny peace that flowed within me.

I knew then- like I know now-, that God is good. Ultimately, supremely.. no matter what my circumstance is.. God is good. He is the author and creator of good. And I knew, that whatever was going on.. my Dad dying, my sweet nephew not growing up in front of our eyes, my own son suffering from a viral infection… God is good. These things were not happening to us, to me, from a malicious God who hated me.  That doesn’t change. His goodness does not stop and He only gives what is good. Even if sometimes it’s wrapped in harsh packing like trials and suffering.

I held onto the hope and promise of what is to come. I knew that God, no matter how crappy things may have gotten around me, was working for my good. In the midst of death and suffering… He was good and was working for my good, too. (Romans 8:28) I knew that I am a co-heir with Christ. (Romans 8:17) This world and my life will surely be filled with suffering and trials. But I have hope for what is to come. (Romans 8:23-25)

It is clinging to these truths that we can suffer well together. And no, I don’t mean we don’t unleash our ugly cry in the midst of grief and suffering. No, I don’t mean there won’t be moments when we truly just don’t even want to get out of bed. By “suffering well”, I don’t mean we have to be these robots who go through the motions like we are completely unphased and not even the slightest bit unnerved by the turmoil that surrounds us.

What I mean by suffer well is this… cling to deep biblical truths in the midst of all the crap that this life has sometimes. When you are eye-deep in grief, cling to the hope that is to come. When your heart is shattered by those you hold so dear and near, know that God is supremely good. We can’t have our crown of glory, without first enduring the cross. (James 1:12)

A perfect kind of afternoon

It was a perfect kind of afternoon in our home. One that doesn't come often enough for me to tire of it. Instead, these afternoons happen just often enough for me to rest in them and cherish them deeply.

The eldest of our fair-headed children was busy at the table prepping for an artwork showdown she planned to have at school the following day. My face, in the most literal sense, looked like the blank emoticon face that you'd type in a text to a friend when you have absolutely no idea what to say. I had no idea how to respond to it. I might could have spoken to her about being gentle and kind, but for the most part I knew their artwork showdown was harmless.. and I had things to tend to.

The smaller ones busied themselves making play-doh masterpieces. My nervous twitch didn't even come out when they started mixing colors. It was a glorious moment of triumph for me.

I busied myself baking a few treats to take to a baby shower for some friends of ours. Our friends received the most precious little girl into their home about 2 weeks ago. We wanted to support them in their adoption journey of this beautiful little thing, to encourage them in it, and to celebrate her being in their home.

Amidst the measuring and pouring of ingredients, my ears were filled with the laughter of three chipper little voices. And I wondered what it might sound like if a fourth little chipper voice chimed in?

As the aroma of baked sweets filled my home, the sorrow crept in slowly and was kept at bay. Please don't get me wrong, I found such joy serving our friends in this way- loving them that evening and celebrating in this new little life that has been entrusted in their care. But my heart longed for a new little face that might fill our home one day.

I imagine it must be what a woman whose womb still sits empty feels like going to yet another baby shower for a friend. Or what another woman might feel as she attends a loved-one's wedding without a husband to call her own.

These are all good things. They are all things that are okay to desire and want... a baby to love on and pour out the Gospel Truth to. A husband to share in life's joys and sorrows; a husband to journey with.

But what I've found good for me to do in these moments is to not sit still. The waiting can be agonizing. We can't know with absolute certainty that the Lord will gift us with these desires of our hearts, even if they are very good things that can be used for His glory. It is so tempting to close the doors, to sit, and to internalize all those feelings that come with the waiting. And while we all need those moments, it can be a dangerous place to live in this constant isolation.

But what if we got over ourselves just a bit? What if I can use my time of waiting to encourage and love others well through it? I'm certainly not letting my dreams go. I'm not losing hope. And I'm definitely not giving up. I'll keep my dreams nestled right close to my heart, as I pour out on my friends who are going through things in their lives, too.

I want to encourage you to do the same. Waiting and longing for something can be so agonizing sometimes. It can be painful. But I encourage you not to lose heart. I want to encourage you not to waste a single minute of the waiting. We can do great things, even in the midst of our waiting, to the glory of God.

Feed my sheep...

I've always been a dreamer of sorts. I look to the horizon.. look to tomorrow.. look to the next thing that's supposed to happen instead of resting in the moment. I tend to get so carried away in all these little fantasies or future happenings to enjoy the here and now.

While the hubs and I were at a conference recently, one of the speakers brought up an amazing passage of scripture. It's a meaty one. One that I could probably pour over for weeks and weeks and rest in all the things that jump out at me.

The book of I Samuel walks us through Samuel's life. We see him rise up to be a prophet of God and a judge over Israel. Through the work of the Lord, Saul is appointed king of Israel. The guy's barely King for a few chapter's worth of I Samuel before reign is declining. So God rejects him, and sends Samuel out to anoint a new King over Israel.

In Chapter 16, we see Samuel start his journey to anoint the new king under the cover of traveling to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. He's scared that Saul will hear of the plans, and will kill him. So, he takes a heifer to sacrifice in the town of Bethlehem. This will kind of be his cover story, in the event that Saul questions where he's going.

The story picks up a bit, and a few verses down, we see Jesse has gathered his sons for the sacrifice Samuel will make. Alas, none of the sons gathered were to be the new king. Samuel asks Jesse if he has any other sons. And yes, he does. The youngest of the boys is tending the sheep.

After the boy was summoned to be with the rest of the men, the Lord spoke to Samuel and instructed him to anoint the boy. The Spirit of the Lord was with David mightily from this day forward, and the Spirit left Saul. Saul actually became so troubled by an evil spirit, he needed a skilled musician to calm him and be well. Who else does he summon to the high court to play the music other than David? David was, according to Scripture, a skilled musician.

And when David, who at this point is anointed to be king, is summoned to the court to play for Saul (still the current, reigning king), where is he found? Still tending the sheep. The man intended to take over the throne, anointed to be king... had returned to his humble, lowly occupation of looking after the flock. David would continue to look after his father's flock for many years before his time of reign came.

There are so many wonderful nuggets we can gather from this passage. But what I gathered is this: look after the sheep. After his anointing, did David's head grow double in size and his ego outgrow his humble job of looking after the sheep? No. David remained in his lowly position of tending the sheep.

I can't be absolutely certain, as I haven't had some high prophet of the Lord come and anoint my head with oil, that I am destined for something outstandingly awesome in my life. Surely not something as awesome as royalty and being in the blood-line of Jesus. But, yeah , I have dreams and hopes of certain things I would love to accomplish. But what happens when these dreams or hopes overshadow my current calling in life? I've completely lost sight of what I'm supposed to be doing in the here and now: tending the sheep.

For me, my sheep are first and foremost the cutest little gaggle of blondies you will ever lay eyes on, this amazingly handsome guy the Lord has gifted me with, and even this little role I serve in amongst our body of believers. So, while I want to hope and dream, and yearn for all these other things that bring glory to God... I want to be faithful, true and steady in the place I'm in now... tending the sheep.

Time Away

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind up in here.

First, we spent last weekend on a mini-vaca with the hub's family. It was a total blast!

We pulled in and our first stop was this really great old-timey candy shoppe that also serves milkshakes and other yummy ice cream dishes.

They also make taffy at this place. I swear I could sit and watch that machine spin that taffy round and round for hours. The guys that make the stuff always throw out free samples to people, which is super fun too! While we there, they made toffee and handed out samples of that, too. Y'all. I wish there were some way to convey the aroma of that blessed stuff being made. Forget all the fake candle smells that try to make you think of toffee... This stuff was the real deal, and I only wish I had somehow bottled it up to save for later. So dern good!

The super fun cousins (and their parents) met us down there the next day. We may or may have not gone for a 2nd sugar high the next day at the same candy place. It's just too fun and too yummy not to hit up!

After we gorged ourselves on candy and burgers, we headed to Pleasure Pier. The bumper cars proved to be the Brantner girls favored ride! And their mother may or may not have encouraged them to ride a ride that got them completely soaked! Yeah, totally thought it was going to be like those rides at Astroworld that say you could get wet.. but you actually just get a tiny sprinkling of water on you. Nope. We were drenched. Head to toe. Between that and the chilly weather, we all brought home fun little viruses as souvenirs! Jade spent the following week getting over the flu. Bella suffered from an ear infection and HFM disease. And Jo, well he was actually pretty healthy considering.

Not sure why, but our kids rarely sleep when we're on vacation. They rose before the sun both days we were there. We did our best to keep them quiet, but by the 2nd day, I couldn't stand being cooped up in the room. I did my best to sneak them out quietly. We made a donut run.. and to get coffee for this caffeine addict. Then, we had a bundled up picnic on the beach watching the sun rise.

It lasted a total of 5 minutes. Between the kids feeling crummy, the cool weather and them inhaling their donut holes, it was a quick adventure.

We were still back in the hotel room by 8, where I apologized to the condo full of late sleepers.

Thanks to my early risers, we were on our way home at a record breaking time. The kids fevers rose throughout the day as my pulse quickened. You see, I don't handle sickness well.. and the hubs and I had plans to leave town in 2 days! Ack!

By the next day, our feisty first grader was pretty lethargic. I whisked them all to the Dr as soon as we could get in. She confirmed my sneaking suspicions for the various illnesses.

And for once, my ability to overreact paid off! The kids had their meds in less than 24 hours of being sick, and by the next day were on the mend! Hallelujah- the kids were feeling like warriors again and our trip was still on!



We rolled into Austin on Tuesday, excited to have a bit of a reprieve from all responsibilities and to have time to soak in the Word together. Also. I was excited about Austin food.

We spent the next 2 days sitting under some pretty awesome teachers, eating lots of great food, and making some new friends.



We also got to check out these guys, Courrier, live. It was a fun, intimate show! They're highly entertaining and they make great music! Our kids have even enjoyed jamming to their stuff in our cars, too.



Then, this happened during one of the breakout sessions. The heart behind the breakout sessions were to have a more intimate setting with a leader and gleam from their wisdom of leading the Church. This particular session happened to be on the patio of a great little coffee place. Yall, I swear I tried my hardest to choke back the hysterical laughter rising from my belly. I have no idea why I find Segway tours so entertaining. But they CRACK ME UP!!

We ended up having to head back pretty early the next morning. Our kiddo's ended up going into a little bit of regression with their illnesses. But we so enjoyed our time learning and retreating!

So, there you have our last couple of weeks. 2 short trips, 2 viruses, 1 infection, 2 colds, 1 clogged tear duct, and lots of good food!

(**This is the part where I say "Carla OUT" and drop the mic like a boss, and walk off the stage. At least in my imagination, cuz that's what I do when I blog. I imagine me saying all this stuff and all these different scenarios.)

Crockpots FTW

I love busy weeks, the hustle and bustle of life. But I also love the calm weeks... and the way they soothe my tired eyes after all the hustle and bustle. 

Last week was a week for the record books. And this week, I am soaking in all the unmarked days on our calendar. Glory.

Our forecast shows lots of rain, which I'm hoping will trick my mind into thinking its a blistery cold out... instead of the humid, muggy, and warm it really is.

To celebrate my week of rest, I will be taking full advantage of my crock-pot. What better way could there be to rejoice in the freedom of a scant calendar than with a 1-pot-clean-up dinner time?

First in line, is Skinnytaste's Kid Friendly Chili! Not gonna lie. I'm a wee bit nervous. I've always, ALWAYS used a tried and true Chili Kit to make chili. But, my kids have NEVER liked it. I'm curious to see if they'll appreciate this version more.

Next, I had planned on making a Not-So-Skinny Ranch style pork-chops. But, just discovered that we left the entire package of pork in the hubster's truck over night. So. There goes that.

And last, is Skinnytaste's Picante Chicken and Black Bean soup. I'm pretty excited about this one! It's pretty similar to a chicken taco recipe I make that our entire family gobbles up. So, I'm pretty sure everyone will enjoy this one too!

Come at me with full force, Lazy Week!!! I am ready for you!