Hey! This one is hot off the presses! We just went to Hawaii on a very quick trip to celebrate my in-law’s 50th anniversary. ? We were there for five days which was really fun but man, that 6 hour time change is really hard with young kids!!

I think it was having time to be together as a family. It’s been such a busy stretch for us with moving and renovating and I have been feeling like my girls have needed more connected time. But in our reality right now, we have workers in our house every day and it seems like every time I sit down to do something with them, I am needed to answer a question about the renovation details. So having that time to be together and really look at my girls in the eyes was meaningful to me… ?

It was interesting because the first morning after arriving to Hawaii, my girls got up at 2:40am!! ? And I was annoyed, I’ll be honest, because I so wanted more sleep. But I just felt like I needed to get up and make a memory with my family instead of forcing them to stay in their beds and everyone being frustrated. (It was 8:40am at home anyway!)

Well, don’t give me too much credit because I had to get over my grumpiness of such a short night’s sleep first. ? Ha. But once I did, I joined my husband and two girls at the hot tub at 4:30am. We had the best time. It was one of our best moments of the trip. And then my oldest went on a walk with my hubby and me and as we were walking she said to me, “I feel so loved right now.” ?

It was like the best thing a mom could hear, ya know? And it gave me such good insight into how she feels loved. So probably that morning was one of my favorite and most insightful moments.

Totally. And I’m also learning that sometimes what we think shows love really means nothing to them. Have you read The Five Love Languages for Kids? I have read the adult version and it’s helped me a ton in marriage but I keep thinking it would be good for me to read the kids version to give me more insight into loving my kids intentionally and well.

Yes. We should read it together! Speaking of another book, have you seen Rebekah Lyon’s book, Rhythms of Renewal: Trading Stress and Anxiety for a Life of Peace and Purpose? After all of our talks about how to manage our anxiety and all, this looks like a good one. I have it on my list.

She also has a podcast – Rhythms for Life, that I’ve started to listen to.

I am hit or miss with podcasts. I do love to listen to them but seem to forget–but I guess that’s also because I don’t have a ton of time to myself to listen to what I want! ? And when I do I often just want it quiet! I will go in cycles of remembering to listen to one and always glad when I do. My go-to podcast is Don’t Mom Alone. I love the perspective Heather MacFadyen gives about intentional motherhood.

Well, good for you!! My go-to when I fold laundry is turning on a show. ? That’s like one of the times I give myself permission to sit there and zone out. ?

Haha, you’ll probably laugh but – a Hallmark Movie! My husband always laughs at me because I want to see the movie all the way through to the end and he’s always like, “You know how it’s going to end!!” And ha, I do know because they all end the same but I love the feeling that all is well in Hallmark land. ?

That is my feeling exactly. I can’t handle stressful or scary movies for that reason. Speaking of – we usually have Family Movie Night on Fridays and the last movie we watched was Dreamer.? Have you seen that?

It is so sweet. My oldest is a real animal lover so we are always looking for a wholesome movie centered around animals (which is funny to type because I am not really that into animals but it’s amazing what you’ll do for your kids!!?). If you’re looking for a sweet family friendly movie, this needs to be on the list!! It is right up there with Dolphin Tale in our family. ?

It’s so cute. ? Outside of animal movies and Hallmark movies, I haven’t watched much else recently. On our flight this week, I would have loved to watch an adult movie but I was too busy managing the girls — making sure their drinks didn’t spill and taking them to the bathroom multiple times — that I didn’t have a chance. ?‍♀️

No! I couldn’t believe it! How is this a good idea? ? Ha!

? YES! I brought a ton of stuff but I forgot the lids for those plane cups!! ? Our carry-ons were full of every single thing my girls could possibly want to do but I was surprised we actually didn’t use much.

You are so right!! I will say, I did some reading before I left for ideas of what to bring to keep them busy and one idea was window clings! Have you ever heard of that? Both my girls enjoyed sticking little sticky hearts on the little airplane windows.?✈️

Of course! ? I love this blog team so much and so grateful we get to hash out motherhood together. It’s been a crazy six months for me and my family but I look forward to getting back into a good rhythm of writing again. Once I unpack! ?