QC: VIOLET & WILLIAM ARE SEVEN

Here we are, another day in quarantine, another big celebration.  Fortunately, and unfortunately, we are becoming pros at this.  Today, our precious twinsies turn seven!

Seven years of joy and learning together and loving one another.  Seven years of barely restrained chaos, if I'm really honest, because 4 kids in 4 years is a lot.  Seven years of seeing Violet and William grow into precious little people.

Violet is a force of nature.  She is enthusiastic and loving in the extreme.  She has loved doing kindergarten a second time, and she is missing her teacher and friends so badly right now.  This year she has grown so much as a student, which is amazing to see.  She is flipping and cartwheeling through life, and we are so thankful that she is ours.

William is one of the sweetest little spirits and makes friends everywhere we go.  He said that he hopes that next year on his birthday, he is allowed to hug everyone, though his class did sing him Happy Birthday through their Google hangout.  William loves cars and stuffed animals, and he can play by himself or with others for a long time.  Another round of kindergarten has been great for him, and we are so proud of him.

Last night, we had a socially distanced grandparent hang out while the weather was nice, and it was delightful.

Tonight, we ordered pizza and stuck candles in a giant brownie, which is what they requested.

This is a quarantine birthday indeed, home all day, half dressed and planning to sleep in whatever they are wearing.  We have a drive-by birthday planned on Saturday, which will be its own version of fun.

Here's a round up of their past birthday posts - I cannot believe how much they've grown!

{VIOLET & WILLIAM TURN SIX}
{VIOLET & WILLIAM TURN FIVE}
{WILLIAM &VIOLET TURN FOUR}
{VIOLET & WILLIAM TURN THREE}
{TWINS TURN TWO}
{HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, WILLIAM &VIOLET}

QC: THIS IS 15

Today is our 15th wedding anniversary.  To be fair, we didn't have big plans that we had to cancel, but it is still safe to say this is not the way we thought we would be celebrating.  I've begun chalking the side of our house with murals, and I did a "love" one in honor of the day with chalk spray paint.

John came home from work early to get some time together this afternoon, which was a gift.  Also, a few weeks ago, we ordered the world's largest puzzle.  Because Amazon is prioritizing essentials right now, this wasn't supposed to come for another week.  But, lo and behold, it arrived early and was like an anniversary surprise for us all!

It's 40,320 pieces and 42 pounds of fun just waiting for us to put it all together.  We've got the time.

We decided to do pick-up from one of our favorite restaurants and do a picnic downtown.

This plan got hijacked by an accident in someone's pants, which felt super on-brand for life right now.  We regularly get high highs and low lows, and this day felt like a perfect cross section of both.  I cried while working on homeschooling and also reveled in the most gorgeous weather imaginable.  The hard and the beautiful hand in hand.

We came home and had a picnic in our front yard, which was lovely in its own right.  I only had to plunge the toilet once in the middle of this.

(pro tip: use duck tape as wine cup holders for your front yard picnic)

At the end of today and every day, I am SO glad to do life with John Spenst.  We NEVER would have imagined what our life would hold, and I am so thankful for what the Lord has put before us.  I've been angry several different times today (and parts of most days currently, TBH), about how difficult current circumstances are.  But, I do not lose sight of the gifts we have.  It's been a wild 15 years, and I couldn't picture it any other way or certainly with anyone else.

I posted lots of our wedding pictures here and several of our honeymoon pictures here, and here is a walk down anniversary lane!

{2011} {2012} {2013} {2014} {2015} {2016} {2017} {2018} {2019}

QC: STAY AT HOME EASTER

It's the weirdest Easter there has ever been, but I'm still so thankful to celebrate our risen Savior.



We started the morning with a brunch in pajamas right before watching our church's online Easter service.

Before the service started, there were video messages from families in our church wishing everyone a Happy Easter, and I kept tearing up, wishing we could see our church family on this special Sunday.  Honestly, this entire isolating experience has been really difficult for me, and I know that I am not alone this.  There were several moments today where I found tears welling up from all of the loss.  I find myself clinging to the hope in Jesus now more than ever, so that's not the worst way to spend Easter.  I'm so thankful that this world is not all we have.

I struggled to get "into the spirit," but we still made the most of our day.  We did an egg hunt at home, and then we drove around and did a community egg hunt that our church had set up with wooden eggs around town.  This had very high and low moments with everyone singing along to music OR certain children yelling mean things from the back seat.  Our family is very potent and used to the dilution of other people.  We need other people.  Some days right now it feels more poisonous than others to only have each other, and I'm hoping and praying that God continues to give us grace for each other every day.  And also that this doesn't last forever.

We miss our family and friends.  But, we are thankful we have each other and our health and so many other gifts.  Too many to name.  And ultimately, we have Christ.

And that wraps this holiday, quarantine edition.  I hope that you were able to celebrate in meaningful ways, and I know it will be memorable for us all!

QC: BELLA'S BAPTISM

Four years ago, Bella made the decision to follow Christ with her life.  A few months ago, she told us she was ready to be baptized, and we reached out to the church to start scheduling.  This was all back in February before we knew how the spring was going to unfold.  We had picked April 5th as her baptism date, and she had talked to our children's pastor about her faith and what made her ready to take this step.

Then the world began to change, and things kept being cancelled.  I told Bella that sadly, her baptism would probably be postponed until there were church services again.  But, the church reached out to us and asked if she would be interested in being baptized at the church, during the week, with it being live-streamed and also recorded to be shown during the Sunday church broadcast.  Bella jumped at the chance to be our church's first "quarantine baptism."  What a world.

There were two baptisms that day, two hours apart.  They set up separate baptistries for each one, and everyone was good to stay socially distanced from us.  Seeing Bella's testimony and decision to make her faith public was really special, and John baptized her, which was such a privilege for him.

Buried with Christ in death, raised to walk in newness of life.

Honestly, my emotions ran high the whole time.  All of our friends and family tuned in live, and every family from our D-group filmed themselves watching it and sent it to us so that Bella could see how supported she was.

Like so much of life right now, the really hard is mixed with the really good.  Seeing Bella make this decision with so much courage and grace touched me profoundly.  I so badly wanted it to be the big moment it was "supposed" to be, surrounded by friends and family.  However, God had other plans for this experience, and I was profoundly touched by the support and messages we received from so many.  The wild thing is, her baptism ended up being seen by so many more people, because it was during this time.  I hope and pray that God continues to use her life to be a blessing to others!

So, we are celebrating Bella's decision, and we are putting our hope in the Lord, because there is so much uncertainty right now.  This social distancing thing is SO hard, but it won't be forever.  Bella's baptism reminded me all over again of what really matters, and I'm so thankful for the good moments in the midst of all this.

If you want to watch - here's the video!