The countdown

1 national basketball championship.

2 black eyes.

3 skinned knees.

4 new bruises.

5 pairs of Crocs.

6 all-you-can-eat buffets.

7 days of spring break.

8 human bodies in a 2-bedroom timeshare.

These are the statistics for the last week of our lives. What those numbers don’t expose are the stories behind our adventures.

We enjoyed the wholesome entertainment mecca of Branson, MO for spring break. Our love for Branson is taking a bit of ribbing around here, most of our compadres seem to think that Branson is a spot mostly for retirees. We disagree. We love Silver Dollar City and the Grand Country Buffet. The Grand Country Inn and its indoor water park is consistently hit.

Since the OWU men’s basketball team was playing in (and won!) the NAIA National Tournament in Branson and our family had a week of timeshare that needed to be used by the end of March we decided to go for it and just take the spring break in Missouri.

Isaiah drove the student Fan bus to and from Branson on Thursday night for the first round of the basketball tournament, then we loaded everyone up on Friday to return. We checked in to the timeshare on Saturday with some friends of ours (they have 4 kids, hence the 8 bodies number. It was actually awesome to have all of us together, helped a lot by the fact that they’re really neat people and their kids are just plain awesome).

It was so neat! We disregarded bedtimes, ate disgusting Fruity Pebbles for breakfast, visited the fish hatchery, Rode the Ducks, cheered our team on during the 5 basketball games, and mostly just enjoyed not being reached on our phones, ignoring emails, and enjoying our kids.

Maggie took huge steps forward in her vocabulary. She also got two black eyes – one from my camera catching her in the face! We hit the Crocs outlet and discovered they were in the midst of their great sale and the shoes were $2.99 and $4.99 for a pair – we lost our heads a little and got shoes for the girls for this summer and next year as well! We hit a bookstore that had a slew of books I’ve been wanting to read – all for $5. I’m in the middle of Rob Bell’s book, Sex God, and it’s really giving me amazing take on how a relationship with God can help order and fulfill your relationships not only with your spouse but with the people around you. It’s been fascinating!

Mia announced that a certain friend of ours should be called “Trobleary” – her own particular pronunciation of “strawberry.” Apparently he has a nose that looks like a strawberry to her. He’s so thrilled.

What are we are trying to decide our comfort level about? Mia has announced that she wants to be a cheerleader when she grows up and – I quote – “sometimes I will be the one they throw in the air and then fall. I like that, mommy!” We gently tried to explain that if she lives up to her projected 5’10” height it’s unlikely she’ll ever be the flier (and I still have to decide how I feel about the whole, getting in front of people to be objectified thing). She will not be dissuaded. She wants to be a teacher and a cheerleader when she grows up. All of my lessons on breaking the stereotypical “girl” mode are being thrown back into my face!

My bruises from the fall haven’t faded yet but when we got back in to town this weekend we went riding again. There’s this part of me that thinks it’s ridiculous to pursue sports that can literally get you killed (horseback riding, snowboarding) and another part of me that just loves it too much to stop!

We’re in the middle of the selection process for next year’s RA’s. We have 16 applicants for 12 positions and, both fortunately and unfortunately, the candidates are VERY strong. It’s been so neat to talk about leadership, to intentionally walk through the process for choosing the best staff members… this is HANDS-DOWN my favorite time of the residential life year.

In addition to spending the majority of last night under a tornado watch and severe thunderstorm warning, our sewer got backed up. We’ve spent much of the evening using bleach water in our shower and bathtub and cleaning the toilets after having the nasty water fill our water outlets throughout the house. Even in the midst of it I find myself just grateful that I have a house. I keep watching the economy and listening to people’s stories… it’s a hard time for so many people.

I do wish that our blessed house had a better aroma, but I guess beggars can’t be choosers. I also don’t really think that Febreeze knocks out the stink as well as Lysol. Just a word of experience.