Friday Favorites: Writer's Block Edition

Happy Friday, all! 

First of all, my apologies for being totally MIA the last few weeks. I'm seriously slacking on the blog front. I could bore you with a litany of excuses - we had lots of snow days, spring break (aka 24/7 children for 12+ days), went out of town for a wedding, etc. - but the reality is that I've been really preoccupied lately with researching something that our family is praying about, and since we are not ready to publicly share it just yet, I've been pretty devoid of blog ideas. I seem to have hit a major writer's block. BUT, I will carry on and go ahead and give you my list of completely and utterly random Friday Favorites. :)

1) The Revival of Lilo & Stitch

Carter, like most little kids, goes through phases where he becomes completely and utterly obsessed with characters and tv shows...right now, we are in a "Lilo & Stitch" phase. We watch the movie no less than twice a day, and he absolutely refuses to watch anything else during Kate's nap time. It was one of my absolute favorites growing up, so I get it. It's a precious movie, and I love seeing him get so excited for something that I loved as a kid as well. 

2) My Favorite New Recipe: Copycat Parmesean Pasta Roni

(Not my photo - I don't do broccoli...ha!)

Confession - we eat WAY too much food that comes out of boxes around here. I'm really trying to make more natural, less processed food for the kids, so I gave a copycat Pasta Roni recipe a go this week that we ate with grilled chicken. O-to-the-M-G. AMAZING. I am a HUGE lover of Pasta Roni, and this one was EXPONENTIALLY better in my opinion. It's still not a super health-conscious choice (um, hello heavy cream and 1 cup of parmesan cheese), but I felt better not serving my kids something that was powdered, and everyone gobbled it up. You can the recipe I made HERE.

3) Spring is coming!

We got a teeny tiny little taste of spring heaven on Tuesday, and I did NOT let the day slip by without enjoying it. I skipped my run at the gym Tuesday morning in favor of a LOOOOOONG walk outside with the pooch. It was SUNNY and 70 DEGREES. If you weren't outside that day, you missed out on a brief slice of heaven.

4) Everything Mint Green

I am loving this cute mint green color I'm seeing everywhere! I recently spotted this super cute lace(ish) dress and loved the color! (It looks super short on the model, but it was very appropriate on me, I promise.) I wore it to a rehearsal dinner last weekend, paired it with some matching earrings and a chunky bracelet you see below, and I got tons of compliments. The dress was less than $25, and I spent less than $20 on the accessories...at Target. Can't beat it!

5)  Carry On, Warrior

For a book study with some fellow MOPS mommas, I am currently reading Glennon Melton's Carry On, Warrior, and I have a serious girl crush. This girl is REAL, brutally honest, and hilarious, and I cannot put this down. If you haven't read it yet or have never heard of Glennon or Momastery, you are MISSING OUT! GO. NOW. And thank me later. :)

Motivation Monday

I'm keepin' it real today...

 My husband and I went to wedding in Louisiana this weekend, so we had a blissful kid-free 2.5 days away. It was so fun to be with adults all weekend, and it was a healthy break for all of us.

Icemageddon Recap

Happy spring break, friends!!

The last two weeks around here have been...umm...special. If you live in the north Texas area like me, you know that there has been really depressing weather for the last few weeks that including several snow days. I have to say, as a teacher, I ADORED snow days because I got to spend extra time at home and didn't have to wrangle the juvenile delinquents for a day. As a mom, different story. This about sums it up...

We are a family that thrives on being out and about with our friends...and snow days just don't allow for that. Daddy being home makes it better, but there is just too much fighting, too much cabin fever, and too much whining/boredom for this mom. But, alas, we survived. Here is how we survived Icemageddon...

"Sledding" in a laundry basket...super classy.

 Snow angels...kinda.

 Ball pit baths - my kids LOVE this!

Lots of dress-up...

 And a desperate trip to the mall to get our fix of Chick-Fil-A!

 On the second day home, Blake managed to get out to work in the afternoon, and our favorite gymnastics center, My Gym, opened for free play in the afternoon - total God-send!

 Kate rocked a big girl ponytail...she is looking WAY too old these days! :(

The next snow day happened the following week...it was all fun and games while the snow was coming down...

Making a snow man! (And yes, those are cheeseballs on the face. We are ALL CLASS around here.)

 Kate was NOT a fan once it had all fallen...ha! Me too, girlfriend!

 So, we recovered with ice cream cones. :)

Here's hoping that the snow/ice/sleet/TORTURE is behind us and that warmer weather is on its way! I am SO ready for flip flops and spring dresses and more walks outside with these guys! 

If you've had snow days lately where you live, what were some of your favorite indoor activities? Would love to hear from you!

The Drop Box Film

On Tuesday night, I had the opportunity to go to the opening night of a special new documentary called "The Drop Box Film" that follows the amazing work of an incredibly compassionate pastor in Seoul, South Korea. First of all, I am SO sad that this will only be in theaters for one more night (tonight!), so most of you won't be able to see it, but it was such a jaw-dropping and remarkable story that I felt like I just had to share and encourage any of you who can to go see it or at least learn more about it. (Or do what we typically do and find it on Red Box/On Demand/Netflix when it comes out.)

Pastor Lee Jong-Rak is primarily known for creating a "baby box" in Seoul in order to combat the incredible amount of newborn babies that were being left abandoned to die in dumpsters, bathrooms, and the like following their birth. The majority of these babies were either unplanned pregnancies or had some sort of special need/disability, and because of the perfectionistic expectations of Korean society, these desperate mothers chose to abandon their babies in order to avoid being shunned. There is great debate out there as to whether or not these boxes actually help these mothers or whether it encourages mother to abandon their babies.

To see a very condensed glimpse into this work, check out this short news story HERE.

To be honest, I'm not really sure what I need to say here about this film other than the fact that it inspired me - as a mom, as a Christ-follower, and as a human being. This man has completely and utterly devoted every second of his life to fight for the lives of these innocent children and babies...and meanwhile, I find myself annoyed that my daughter is whining to be held (again) and begging for Cheerios because I really want to aimlessly skim through Instagram instead. Talk about skewed priorities.

The other part of this film that was so inspiring to me was the story of the director. His original intention was NOT to make a Christian film...he was actually an atheist and wanted to make a dramatic indie film that would help him make it to the Sundance Film Festival. He was looking for praise and glory...but God had other plans. During his six-month stay with Pastor Lee's family, the director became a Christian. He realized that he was just like one of those orphans - disabled in his heart and in need of a loving Father to take him in. What a testimony that director now has to share!

God is good, y'all.

I walked away from this film with my head spinning about so many things...how I can help, how amazing God is, how fortunate my kids are (even on my bad days), how troubled the world really is. It was a truly awe-inspiring two hours that is absolutely worth the price of admission. If you have any interest in learning more about the film or the work of Pastor Lee, visit the link HERE.

If you've seen the film, leave me a comment with your thoughts! I'd love to hear what others of you think. :) And hug those kiddos tight! There are THOUSANDS of babies out there that would give anything for a set of loving arms today...