Sprys Take 5

When I say 'Take 5' it means that we are camping (glamping), by a lake, in the mountains, for five days. 

One thing you should know about us, if you don't already, is that we never sit still. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a not so good thing. 

There is a catch 22 to being gone so much. 

I'll try to list the good and then the not so good. 

Good: You get to experience places that you wouldn't get to of you were home all the time. Your children get to live experiences outside of their comfort zone. They get to live spontaneously while seeing many new places. You get to meet new people and see people you love to pieces. You don't feel bad about your landscaping because you aren't home to see the jungle growing out of control. You get to run away from responsibilities at home. 

Not so good: The packing! Oh my... I despise packing! Traveling costs more than staying at home. The sore bottom and aching back from people on the car for miles and weekends on end. No routine. Crabby kids in car. Children (and self) having feelings of entitlement and ungratefulness. You have a jungle around your house. You always feel one step behind when you return home. 

But this week is going to be different. This week we are working on a few things. We are being intentional with kindness and obedience. We are slowing down. We are simplifying. And by simplifying, I do not mean roughing it! Ha! 

This is my kind of camping. 

Coffee, wine, and Scentsy! (Skinny dippin' to be exact!) 

I'll be spending these next few days planning out our homeschool year.  Spending quality time with our girls. Reading books. Sitting on the beach while the girls play in the water. Studying God's Word. Reading more books. Praying. Writing letters. Being quiet. Capturing these moments on paper, photo and memory. 

Working on kindness and obedience. Because without those two, life gets ugly and messy. 

(Did you think you'd get to read the last part to Our Story? Well I'm still waiting on the wifi password from the office at this campground. When I get it I'll be able to type out the next chapter of Our Story.)

I'll be sharing a bit here and there from this week on Instagram. Follow along there by following me: JariSpry or follow hashtag #sprystake5onlake5

Our Story (The Middle)

I had no idea what he and Arly were up to that afternoon in November 2003. (later to find out they were RING shopping!)

They left for a while in the afternoon while I stayed home and cleaned the house. (Okay let's be real, I probably napped for half of the time!)

When they came in the door, little 9 month old Arly looked like she spent the whole day with her dad. A little dirty face and dirty pants!

I took her into her bedroom to clean her up. I hollered out to Joel "So, what did you guys do while you were out?"

He came in the room and ..... are you ready for a romantic burst?!?!?

Right as I was in the middle of wiping a dirty little baby butt, he tries handing me this box! Seriously!? Now?!

I know how every little girl dreams of a fairy tale proposal and wedding.... I wasn't any different.

But I also wasn't going to turn down the man that I love because he was too excited to give me a ring that he just financed a few hours ago! (I mean.... he was EXCITED!)

I just sat there in tears. So happy. Feeling so complete. Like our little family was ready to become one unit.

We got married in May 2004. It was a beautiful, quiet wedding with only our closest friends and family. The location was a little Stave church (Norwegian architecture) in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

On an overcast Saturday afternoon, the mister and I said 'I do' and promised to be husband and wife forever. Almost all of our family was in attendance (minus my sister Jenna who was just days before having her first baby in California). It was nearly perfect.

A string quartet. My handsome dad walking me down the aisle. (You can't see them in the photos but there were deer crossing the background too!)

Sweet little Arly (15 months then) helping her big cousin Kaci be flower girls.

Shortly after Pastor Brown announced us as Mr. & Mrs. Spry, the thunder rolled. The rain drops started to fall..... and it started pouring!

They say that rain is a good sign on a wedding day. That would have fooled me. It seemed the storm didn't stop for quite a few years....

To be continued.....

Our Story (The Beginning)

Underneath a starry dark sky, next to a warm little fire, surrounded by new friends and old (and by old I mean longtime friends... Not age ;), four couples shared their stories of how they met and started dating. We heard very formal, traditional and just the sweetest stories. 

Stories of diamonds, childhood camps and persistent pursuit. 

Our story isn't so traditional. Our story of proposal isn't very romantic. In fact, our story almost didn't last very long. 

Let's start from the beginning....

Joel and I met at a party in college. It was my freshman year and Joel was a junior playing baseball at a university nearby. I had become friends with a couple of his friends from high school. 

He decided to come up one Wednesday night to party with his friend Steve. I happened to be at the same party with my friends and we instantly started flirting. 

Let me just say that it was like love at first sight. I swore that didn't exist before I met him.... But it does. (Let me just tell you that seeing him in a uniform just makes me.... well, let's just say it makes me melt!) We have been together ever since meeting that Wednesday night in April 2001. 

We were little party animals. We were always with friends, drinking and totally head over heels with each other that whole summer. At the end of summer we moved in with each other, along with a couple of my best guy friends from high school. 

I remember thinking at the time that it was crazy we were living together because I barely knew him. Almost like he was this stranger that I just met but knew I loved.

That fall and next spring were filled with the same routine: work & party. 

Early that spring we found out we were expecting a child. I remember that I couldn't wait to tell Joel. He was actually on his way home from a baseball trip in Oklahoma on a bus full of teammates and friends when I called him. I remember both of us having feelings of fear and excitement. 

Fourteen weeks into this pregnancy, after sharing the exciting news with our families, we had a routine ultrasound that showed no heartbeat.... No fetus. What we had was a called a blighted ovum. Basically an unfertilized egg that makes your body feel and grow as if it were growing a baby. 

Shortly after that pregnancy we once again found out we were expecting. We welcomed sweet Arly Jaxson into this world in February 2003. 

My parents were among many people who suggested we get married. Neither Joel nor I were ready. We felt that having a baby was a huge commitment already and were nervous about adding any other commitments to our plates at that moment. 

Now I'm not saying we doubted we would stay together because we still loved each other but wanted to get this parenting thing down first. 

We spent a lot of time falling in love with having this new little girl in our lives and every thing we did revolved around her. Joel showed so much love to me as not only a girlfriend but a mom too. You could see love oozing from him... He was the sweetest daddy. 

(Print from Etsy: Kinley Kate Press) 

The routine continued: work, baby, sleep... Baby, work, baby, sleep. 

The proposal?! That's where I was going with this story..... I guess I got a little detailed in this story of ours. 

The day he proposed.... 

To be continued....

Weekend at the Lake

As I lay next to my husband on the top bunk in a 3 bedroom cabin filled with 27 people and one dog, I can't help but think of how incredibly grateful I am to have these friends in our lives. 

This is a view our our friends' cabin who generously allow friends and family a place to stay to get away from the city and all of the every day responsibilities that is so nice to run away from at times. 

This afternoon we jumped into our little car (Honda Civic) and drove 170 miles to this breathtaking getaway with friends. Tonight there are 4 families bunking up to soak in the beautiful views and new memories. We spent our night laughing, sharing stories and eating delicious food. There may have been a little ice cream and wine involved too. 

I look forward to tomorrow with a day filled with more swimming, boating, floating, tubing, eating, napping, reading... But most importantly, sharing stories, making memories and building relationships with these beautiful people we are so blessed to call friends. 

For now though, I'm sleepy. And man does Arly makes sleeping anywhere look easy...? 

Until tomorrow...

Good night friends. 

Oh little fish.

Five days ago, Alyn took a chance to win a goldfish. It took the 27th ping pong out of 30 to very skillfully land it in the neck of the vase. 

Straight after the fair, both girls got to go shopping to create the perfect little home for the fish that both won.  They were so proud. They were so excited to to have these new pets. 

We read up on how to prep a bowl and care for goldfish. We did everything just as our research told us. 

But tonight, sadly, I noticed little 'Braves' food was still floating on the top of the water. I looked for the fish and this is how I found it. 

Not moving. At all. 

Tonight we spent time with our little Avalanche family celebrating their incredible season. After our party, Alyn and Arly ended up staying the night with their friend. 

She doesn't know yet about her little fish. 

Honestly, I wanted to run to the store and swap it out. I thought that we could definitely hide this little fact and pretend nothing happened. 

I wanted to play dumb and act like I didn't notice that the fish died when I got home. I mean, I could probably live with a dead fish in its bowl on our kitchen table for about 12 more hours until she comes home. 

But after only a few moments, both Joel and I decided the right thing to do would be to dispose of this little slimy goldfish. 

We don't want to lie and try to protect our little girl from hurt. Not that we want her to hurt, but we want to teach her the gospel through all experiences. To show her love. 

But honestly, I'm not looking forward to seeing her sad face. And I'm sure a few tears, but I'm ready to give extra hugs and teach all about life and death tomorrow. 

To a child this is a big deal. So I'm going to put myself in her shoes and sympathize with her. 

But I can't help but say... 

'Darn carnival fish. Why couldn't you have lasted just a little bit longer?!'

The Storms.

Does your life ever feel like one big storm? I'm not talking about like complete drear or gloom. I'm talking about chaos and busyness. Almost like you feel like there is just too much twisting and spinning out of control in your head.

Being a wife, mommy, business owner, team leader, church and nonprofit volunteer.... friend, sister, daughter, auntie.... house cleaner, educator, meal planner, laundry lady and so much more.... life gets busy!

I love each and every role that lies invisible behind my name. I love the responsibilities they all require. I actually love the to do lists that I have every. single. day. I really do.

But sometimes, it all just feels like a storm. A storm of thoughts, more to-dos and a tornado of lists twisting around in my head. Too many broken thoughts to count them all.

But every single time I have one small accomplishment; one little thing that brings a little more peace to my day, I feel The Sunshine. I feel the sense of 'you did it!'....'ta-done!'

It truly helps to have a great planner and system to keep everything in order and on paper. I'm a firm believer that if it's written, it gets done. If it's in sight, you can't ignore it. (<---- that's a whole blog post that you can bet will be coming soon!)

But most importantly, I realize that I'm not in control of everything... or really anything. But I do have a duty to not be idle in with myself during the days. To stay busy. To do the work The Lord is calling me to do.

There is always more. Always something new. And I wouldn't change it for anything. I'm always up for the challenge. I'm always willing to give more and more in order to keep striving to be the person The Lord created me to be. Even in the crazy busy storms of this life.

It makes me happy. The sunshine always come after the rain.

Because life's storms (no matter how big or small), prove the strength of Our Anchor! (even if it's scheduling and organizing)

I'd love to know though, how do you keep track of all your to-dos, the running lists that are never ending in your mind?

Ice Bucket Challenge!

Our Velata family gives back!

I've been real intentional about not spending unnecessary time on Facebook so I almost missed my 48 hour challenge posted by my friend Kyle. 

It's an ice bucket challenge and a way to give back to your local food bank. 

After waiting until the last moment, I finally mustered up the courage to get drenched in freezing, icy cold water.  

I'm absolutely certain these two little assistants experienced abundant joy soaking their mama. 

As nervous as I was about this activity, I'm incredibly grateful to take part in just another way our generous company gives back. 

Thanks for the fun friend... And to all those I nominated... So sorry but I can't wait to see your video too!