stuff.

i don't really mind it when monday rolls around because it marks a new week and a fresh start. mondays always make me a tiny bit sad though. usually i've spent the weekend with my peeps, and on mondays we all go our separate ways. mondays are my lonely day.


i expect today to feel lonelier than usual, because it marks the end of spring break. the kids head back to school. john goes back to work. and i'll be at home alone for the first time in 10 days. boo hoo. (ever notice that boo hoo and woo hoo are just one letter off? that one letter makes a big difference.) i love my family, and i'm happiest when we're all together.


but...


today is supposed to be gorgeous, and sunshine does wonders for my mood! the warm sun should start melting the huge piles of snow in our yard. i saw green grass yesterday when we were in downtown Co Springs. THAT gives me hope that spring is on it's way. and all the snow is just free water for my lawn, right?


yesterday was a fabulous day! the kind that you want to never end. 


john accepted an invitation to preach at our former church and he did GREAT! i was so proud of him! he preached from the traditional palm sunday text of Jesus' triumphal entry into jerusalem, and about Jesus' directions to the disciples to go and retrieve the donkey that he was to ride on. it was a good word--especially for me. several of you asked if you could listen online. yes, you can. i checked a little while ago and the link isn't up yet. i suppose you can keep checking. (here.) my guess is that it will be available mid-week. 


we left this church about 18 months ago. not because anything was wrong, but because we really wanted our kids to be a part of a youth program with their peers. we wanted them to go to church with the same kids they went to school with. and a local body appealed to us as well since most sundays found us driving 30+ minutes (one way) to church.


god led us to a wonderful church close to home and we've made many amazing friends in short time. we know it's where we are supposed to be right now. but there are people in our old body that we miss dearly. yesterday was so good for my heart. i got to hug and talk to some of my favorite people in the world! people who know me really well. people who loved and supported us after john stepped away from pastoral ministry. people who've never tried to "fix us", but who've wanted to see god heal the broken places in our lives. that church is made up of people who love me and my family. and they've loved us well. yesterday was a blessing. and honestly, it felt like going home.


after church we grabbed some lunch and ran a few errands with the kids, and then john and i got the kids situated at home and headed out for our afternoon date. we've been doing this for a couple of months and both of us look forward to the time alone. we usually go get coffee. or a newspaper. or run to the grocery store. last week we switched things up and went for a run together. yesterday was nice because we were able to talk about our experience of the morning. 


we came home, took a nap, got up and made pizza for dinner (my neighbor brought me some pizza dough from Trader Joe's last week--so easy, cheap, and good!) and then spent some time getting organized for the week. we love watching The Amazing race with the kids on Sunday nights. 


i tried to stay pretty true to bedtime routines last week during spring break so that this week wouldn't be too difficult to ease back into. but let's face it, sleeping in will spoil you! it was hard to get up this morning at 5:20am! 


but like i said earlier, it's going to be a beautiful day. i plan to hit the trail today and soak up some sunshine!


peace out, peeps!