what's up weekly.

This week was an absolute ball!  We had so much to do and celebrate, so I'll just jump right in.

Friday was Finneas' birthday, and we spent the whole day celebrating him.  He chose Cinnamon Toast Crunch for breakfast (well, the Aldi generic version of CTC, since my kids pound down three boxes of cereal in a single meal, and I just can't bring myself to spend the extra on the name brand; not that it matters, considering this was the first time any of them had ever tasted it, so they really had nothing to compare it to).  We spent lunch at Shelter Gardens, enjoying the fanflippingtastic weather.

When Todd got home, we jumped in the van and did Pizza Night right - at the best pizza place in town, with the. best. gluten free supreme pizza in then ENTIRE GALAXY.  That's not hyperbole; it actually is the best in the galaxy.

After dinner, we stopped at Target.  The kids had noticed that I needed new shoes (and "need" is not too strong a word - my current everydayers are Toms that I got as hand-me-downs six or seven years ago from a friend whose feet were a half-size smaller than mine.  My toes busted through the ends eons ago, but I can't bring myself to spend money on new shoes if these still technically work).  So they pooled their money to buy me a birthday present in advance: shoes I'm not ashamed to wear in public! Yay!

Once home, Finneas opened his gifts from all of us.  Todd and I got him a movie, a book, and a set of military action figures.  Penelope got him a monster craft kit.  Rocco got him a Lego set.  Atticus got him a book of reptiles and amphibians.  And Laurelai got him cheese puffs:

It seems Finneas is well-known and well-loved.

After the kids were in bed, Todd and I sat down to watch a movie together, as is our weekly Friday night custom.  I've been into musicals lately, so I'd checked out a few from the library that I hadn't seen yet.  I picked The Greatest Showman, and HOLY COW Y'ALL.  Call me about three years late to the party, but OH MY WORD.  I get really sweaty watching dance performances, and I ended the night just drenched and I literally couldn't fall asleep afterward.  I just kept thinking about the costume design, and the choreography, and the set design, and the directing, and the costume design, and the choreography, and the set design, and the directing, and the costume design...  Amazing.  Not that I probably have to tell you - I'm 95% confident Todd and I were the last Americans to finally watch it.

On Saturday morning, I was invited to speak on a panel at our Women's Event, covering topics related to femininity, submission, marriage, singleness, etc.  I love teaching in that kind of context!

On Sunday, Todd preached from Acts on how our public lives and private lives, as Christians, must match.  They have to fit each other.

Sunday afternoon, family arrived from out of town to party for Finn's birthday.

Our weekdays were surprisingly lowkey.  Wednesday morning, we didn't even go up to the Amish, since a friend offered to go for us.  I'm slowly creating a milk cartel and buying for multiple families each week, so she has been so kind lately to take over driving duties every few weeks.  It leaves our Wednesdays wide open, which is amazing - especially when the weather is beautiful, like it was this week, so the kids can play outside all morning.  Although, we have just started Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle on audiobook, and missed Amish trips mean we have to wait longer for our next lengthy installment... Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle never gets old.

Yesterday, I totally spaced off our chiropractor appointments until the last minute.  Our appointment slot started at 1:00, and I realized it at 12:25.  So instead of sitting down to the soup that was ready, we dashed out the door and made it just in time.  Since we were already out and about, we stopped at Walmart to get the kids some new play shoes for the spring.  While we were there, I just checked the clearance racks (warm coats for next winter for $13!) and we stumbled across the perfect tshirt for LissaLou.  AC/DC is her favorite band (she loses her mind whenever they come on the radio), and we're even planning an AC/DC-themed birthday party for her.  So this was a perfect find, and she was so happy.  She was sitting in the cart, and just kept rubbing her hand over it and saying, "My showt! My showt!"

While it was surprisingly busy at Walmart for a Thursday afternoon, it hadn't devolved into chaos, and our local supplies of TP and distilled water seem to be holding out.  So it doesn't seem the general populace of Columbia has sunken into bunker-mode quite yet.  However, Mizzou has closed its physical doors until the end of March,  and many other local businesses and organizations are discussing closing as well.  Please, Lord: let sober minds prevail.

We didn't get home from Walmart until about 3:30, so the rest of the day was kind of wonky.  We finally ate lunch, got the little kids laid down for naps, and sat around and finished Anne of Green Gables.  And suddenly the day was over.  Nuts.


Juni made some big strides this week: she pulled herself to standing, and learned how to clap.  I've also been putting her in a tiny crocheted cardigan all week, and we've been calling her Grandma June.

I like to call this hairstyle The Butt Cut.

Standing up for herself and she couldn't be prouder.

We just love our Grammy J!

And that brings us to today!  Shelter Gardens for lunch, pizza for dinner, movie night after the kids are in bed.  I just love Fridays!