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Hi.

I'm so glad you found your way to my little corner of the neighborhood! Pull up a chair and stay, and let's chat about life on the margins and loving Jesus and, obviously, where to find the best cheese dip and most life-changing books. 

Some Things About April

Despite my 6+ hour cumulative sleep deficit (according to SleepBot), I am nevertheless able to recognize two things this morning: 1-That last post wasn't an easy one, which is probably why no one has been super-happy about it. But it is what it is and I always try to keep things real around here, even (or maybe especially) when it's not pretty. 2- I already shared many many links and things I love very recently, so I don't have many things to share with my friend Leigh this month. Regardless, I wasn't around here much during the month of April, and so I'm happy to share many-many-pictures, and yet more links that are worth the read/watch/etc.

Kids were here - this is a photography project that I am enamored with. I just love how funny, adorable and  beautiful it is to see the evidence of kids' imaginations and creativity in the midst of everyday messy life.
I know you guys know my friend Shannan by now (if not, leave here immediately and head to her beautiful space and get to know her. I'll wait). Anyways, her husband was part of The Fatherhood Project and they filmed this video of her cool life and amazing family, and can I just say how amazing it is to watch someone and think how familiar it all looks? Like perhaps we aren't THAT crazy after all? It helps, particularly after a drama-filled couple of weeks here in the hood.  

One Sunday in April when we were absolutely at the very end of our wits with the hood and the teenagers and all-of-the-things, we headed to Chattanooga with some friends for the day. If not exactly relaxing (because, you know, five children under six), it was at least a welcome change of pace. Also, please notice Adam's ridiculous-creeper-face in this picture. 
We have been spending much of our time playing and watching and organizing/feeding/getting-ready-for flag football games. Tomorrow, in fact, is the championship game and cookout. Want to see videos and pictures and highlights from all the games? You can do that on the Five8Football blog, because we're legit like that.
Also in April, I had the chance to take some pictures for my fabulously talented sister and cousin who are writing and illustrating a cookbook together. You can see some more pictures from our time on the Accent Decor blog (which, by-the-by, is where I actually work).
You guys, I could not be more proud of my talented baby sister. These recipes she came up with are all delicious and beautiful, and she is pretty amazing. Seriously. Also, she just moved to Nashville two days ago to be a pastry cook at Husk. So obviously I'm a little sad about that, but also - road trip.
Finally, we also celebrated Easter with these two little ones (and a few bigger ones obviously came along too), and took one of our first pictures as a family together in forever. We struggle with being on the other side of the camera, mostly me. But also, Adam doesn't know how to not make silly faces so I think this was the one normal shot we ended up getting. 
Speaking of Easter, I wore a new dress that came in my last Stitch Fix box. I loved the dress and the color and really everything in the box this time, so I'll say it again: sign-up for Stitch Fix. Also, use my link. For the occasion, I even took a solo selfie in the mirror - something I'm not sure has ever happened before. Ever.
Speaking of adorable, let's just talk about these two for a minute. Caden's shoes are two sizes too small, and he has three fresh stitches in his forehead. But that bow tie though.
April also finally brought some warm weather, and we are thrilled to be back out on our front porch and at the park. We've been eating popsicles and playing with the chickens (well not me because I'm afraid of them, but the kids love them). All the warm weather and popsicle-eating has led us to the inevitable conclusion that we need to finish our back patio, currently it's a pile of gravel which sat in our back yard for a few months (or possibly years) and now has been spread over the "patio" area. But hopefully THIS IS OUR TIME, and we will finally get that thing finished so we can have lots of barbecues and back-patio-dinners with all our neighbors and friends. I've been pinning some of my favorite patio inspiration ideas, if you're interested.

FAQ: Do you ever want to just move back to the suburbs?

Making for Peace