March Madness

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Reese missed school today because she has a bad cold/cough and was really coughing up a storm this morning- so I figured best to keep her home and not get any other kids sick. She was bummed to miss her St. Patty's Day party, but there is always next year!
I titled the blog March Madness because March is a pretty darn busy month for us. We have been on the go non stop since March 1, and this weekend will be our weekend to relax and do whatever we want. Here's a little re-cap of what we have been up to:
The first weekend in March Kyle and I trekked up to Chicago to visit Kelsey and Steve and met up with Jenna and  Mike as well. We, luckily, have AWESOME neighbors who agreed to keep the kids Saturday and Sunday for us. We had such a good time catching up. We had yummy drinks, yummy food, and great conversation. Kyle had to fly out Sunday to go to South Africa for work, so he ended up just flying out of Chicago, while I went back to Indy on my own Sunday to pick up the kids. Kyle flew back Thursday morning, and then Thursday afternoon I headed to Bloomington, IL with a friend of mine to go to the Hearts at Home conference. Kyle then loaded up the kids Friday morning and went back to IL for the weekend with our parents- whew, did you catch all that??
The Hearts at Home conference I went to was AWESOME. First, it was 3 days with no kids, sleeping in a hotel with no interruptions, showering in a hotel with no interruptions, eating meals with no interruptions- are you sensing the theme?! ;) But besides being a break from the kids, it really was a great experience for myself. I, along with 5,000 other Moms, joined together for the weekend to attend workshops put on by Nationally recognized Christian speakers to help better our lives, marriages, and relationships with our children. Hearts at Home's mission is to encourage, educate, and equip every mom in every season of motherhood using Christian values to strengthen families. If your a mom, I recommend going to heartsathome.org to check out their website and many resources. I learned of them when the founder of HAH came to speak at my MOPS group last fall.  Here are the workshops I attended:
*Understanding and processing Anger with Dr. Gary Chapman (author of The 5 Love Languages)
*31 Days to a Happy Husband by Arlene Pellicane
*How to fight for your marriage by Dr. Juli Slattery
*Parenting as a Team by Dr. Juli Slattery
*Finding God's Peace in Your Beautiful Mess by Tracey Eyster
*UnGlued No More by Lysa TerKeurst (she is HILARIOUS!)
*10 Stress Strategies Every Mom Needs by Jill Savage (founder of Hearts at home)
*Chill OUT! by Rachel Harmon
I got something out of each workshop that is a tool I can use in my daily life to better strengthen the relationships around me- whether it be friends, family, etc. I do have to point out that there are MANY workshops women can attend. You choose what fits you best. There are some for moms of younger kids (like mine) up to moms with grown children out of the house and grandparents as well. There really is something offered for every kind of Mom.
They all did a great job and I was just overwhelmed with hope when I left- that I can be a better mom and have more patience/understanding in my day to day life based on things I have learned.
We also got to listen to Christian comedian Ken Davis on Friday night for our Moms Night Out. I was laughing so hard my cheeks hurt! If you ever have a chance to hear him- DO IT! Such a great time. I was lucky to get home late Saturday night after the conference ended, and have all day to myself Sunday while the kids were in IL with Kyle, to reflect on the days and what I learned and just get some peace before they returned :)

Next weekend- the 27th- Reese and I are going to fly to Minnesota to SURPRISE Aidan and Aubrey for their birthdays!! I am so excited, as is Reese. We are going Friday until Monday, and Reese is really excited to fly in an airplane. My sis knows we are coming, but I cannot wait to see the kids' faces when we get there since they do not. Should be an awesome time!!

Side Note: I have read some great books lately. The Swan House By Elizabeth Musser, The Girl on the Train (I finished it in ONE day! when the kids were gone on Sunday), and Big Little Lies by Liane Moriaty.