Hello 2020

2020 seems like the appropriate time to pick this little place back up a bit. As I write this, it is New Year's Day at 8:14 in the morning and my three young children + plus one groggy nephew have been up for much too long by now. Why is it that children always seem to miss the memo about sleeping in on mornings like this? In fact, chances are, they will wake up earlier than normal when given the false hope of you sleeping in a little. Case in point, my 18 month old this morning. The problem is not just the hope deferred of a nice little "lie-in" as the Brits say but also the very real reality of doing it all half comatose with a grumpy toddler in tow who is set on punishing you for the reality that he woke up about an hour and a half earlier than usual but is only tired enough now to make your morning somewhat miserable.

Isaline, Livia, Ruben

Isaline

Livia and Matt

Me and Livia 

Ruben

But I digress. The beginning of a new year is usually occasion for reflection on the previous year, and in this case, the previous decade. For the Sanders family, this has been an important decade for our family. It has seen our family move from a newlywed couple with more time than square footage to the total opposite as parents of three young children (ages 6.5 yrs, 3.5 yrs, 1.5 yrs). The last decade has moved Matt and I from scrambling to appear competent in our career beginnings to leaning in to the voice of hard earned experience. Ten years ago I wasn't sure if I could "hack it" living here in France and God in his goodness has graciously brought me to the final few months before I become a French citizen. We have been living in our beautiful parsonage in downtown Paris for about a year and a half now and it's finally beginning to feel like home.

Isaline and Livia

Ruben and Isaline

Isaline and Livia

Us, pre-kids

Me and Livia

Livia

I'd be lying if I painted a completely rosy picture though. While these have been fruitful years, they have also been full of their share of troubles, set-backs, and pick your butt off the ground already and get going moments. We have walked through miscarriage, cars breaking down and being impounded, stolen bikes, the worst stomach flu I've ever experienced, a hospitalized child, depression, dark moments and questioned faith, and a year full of bed bugs, to name a few. It was a decade of trials and humility. But in the end, the boulders of what truly matter have tipped the scale and outweighed the pebbles that life has thrown at us.

                       

Livia

Isaline

Livia

Matt and Livia

Ruben

Isaline and Ruben

We are looking forward to 2020 and all that it brings, whether good or bad or most likely, somewhere in between. Here's to the adventure of what lies just around the corner!

Matt and Livia

Izzie turns 2

Aaaand then it happened. She stopped being a baby one day. Sigh. Why does this always happen to children? Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely enjoying less diaper changes, better sleep at night, and forgoing onesies but there's something about the blink and you end up with a teenager thing that killls me about parenthood. 

I've at least gotten a bit wiser with birthday celebrations the second time around. It's occurred to me that other than a little sugar and a couple of balloons floating around, the whole birthday concept is lost on the under three crowd. So that's what I did; I kept things reeeeallly simple. Cake, some extra treats, a few reused birthday decorations and, of course, balloons (have you ever seen a 2 year old who isn't crazy about balloons?)... The cakes might look a little tricky but I swear to you that they are as easy as pie....err, cake. I just made a basic chocolate cake, whipped up some butter cream frosting, cut and frosted with a spatula and added some piping that I improvised from a ziploc bag that I had snipped the end off of.  Here's the pin that shows how to make the butterfly shape. 

I love her expression in this candle blowing picture. She could not figure out why the heck we were all looking at her face. In case you didn't know, Izzie gets an old man grumpy face anytime she's perplexed, which was definitely happening here. 

10 things you should know about Isaline: 

1. She has two loves at the moment: cars and babies. About as opposite as you can get on the stereotype spectrum. Maybe she will turn out to be part time nanny, part time race car driver. 

2. Isaline was byyy far the more challenging of our 2 children as a baby. She is sensitive to just about everything. Food, new environments, dairy products, sleeping conditions, temperature, etc. Gotta love a high maintenance child. (don't worry, we do!) 

3. She cannot say Mama, Mom, Mommy, Maman, or any other version of the name for the life of her. I'm not kidding, I'm that cereal commercial in reverse where the dad is trying to get his baby to say 'Dada' and the kid keeps repeating 'Mama'. This drives me crazy most of the time with the exception of early morning wake ups and dirty diapers. 

4. Like any self respecting younger sibling, she secretly thinks the world of her big sister. Big sis likes her quite a lot as well :) 

5. She has a knack for breaking into the kitchen cabinets and spreading dried pasta and chicken bouillon all over the floor as well as shoving as much as she can into her mouth. 

6. She once managed to sneak an entire cup's worth of salt into a muffin batter just as we had finished up making it. 

7.  The kid cannot say Mama but she can sing the tune of 'Let it Go' and 'Peppa Pig' with surprising accuracy and pizzazz... 

8. She is naturally reserved and very good at giving her stalker stare at children at the park. I have yet to birth an outgoing child :) 

9. Her preferred method of dancing is head banging. (she gets that from her father)

10. Through Izzie I have discovered the joy of mothering. The second time around is full of unrealistic expectations let go of, the confidence knowing you did it once, and extra cuddles mixed with the hindsight in knowing just how fast it all goes. 

Chaos and mayhem and pasta

Anyone had one of these days recently? Being a pastor’s wife, Sunday often has me outnumbered in the fight for a civilized world. 

I do my best to counteract it—lunch is hummus and picnic goods and dinner is always pasta and spaghetti sauce to keep my sanity afloat. 

Back in the dark ages (okay like 6 months ago) I used to slave away Sunday morning trying to scrounge up some form of after church meal Martha Stewart worthy until my husband finally knocked some sense into me and convinced me that while our children might not suffer too badly forgoing a weekly pot roast (and let’s be honest—three fourths of the time I’d forgotten to either grab the meat out of the freezer to thaw or to actually prepare the crockpot more than five minutes before we walked out the door) , they just might suffer from dangerously crabby mom syndrome. Can I please get an amen?

 So simple and repeated meals became the law of the land and I haven’t look back since. Except, maybe, when I see Isaline covered in red sauce despite all my best full body bib efforts. Alas. Sigh. Momma said there’ll be days like this. 

Dear Dad

Dear Dad,

              It's so hard to know how to get something like this started. Thank you just falls short. Having started on the parental journey myself I'm just now getting a taste for what you and Mom did and continue to do for me (And I don't just mean that infamous blueberry filled diaper that you had to change). You have taught me, in few words, the value of hard work and becoming someone that people can count on. You're probably one of the most humble people I know. It was you who jogged alongside of me while I chugged and puffed and sputtered along, all with high hopes of not making a fool of myself on the cross country team. And it was still you, who got up at the crack of dawn to ferry me to those ridiculously early morning Friday runs. I'm sure I gave you way too much lip and attitude in those days and yet somehow we made it through without you disowning me ;)
                                                                                                                                                                                       
 I still have the letters you wrote me and the memories of father-daughter dates that only become more special with time. Your steadiness and commitment to be there for the people you care about during good times and bad never ceases to amaze me.  I can't count the number of times that you have selflessly sacrificed time to help others with IT problems. You are a man of deep integrity and loyalty to which I aspire to be like (well, the female version, that is!). You have practiced what you preach and it has not fallen on deaf ears. So thank you. Thank you for all that and a million other things, big and small. Even though it falls short, know that you have a daughter who is grateful for all that you are.
                                                          Happy Father's Day

                                                                                         Tal

                                                                                                                                                                                      

Disneying It Up

      Greetings! We are currently soaking in as much sunshine as we can get while overlooking the gorgeous Lake Geneva on the french border in the town of  Evian (yes like the bottled water). It's been quite the traveling whirlwind lately and I have to admit that it was a bit mind blowing the other day as I was doing an early morning jog while looking at the Swiss shore and realizing that less than a week ago I was doing my jog while on a Disney cruise ship overlooking the Grand Cayman shore. Did I say cruise ship? I did, didn't I. Yep, my parents super generously provided my sister and I and respective adopted family members with a week long cruise in the Caribbean. It was amazing. Although I have to admit, as a mom to a toddler and wife to a busy man in ministry, I'm not sure if the best part was the exotic setting or the fact that I didn't have to cook or clean for a whole week. (Can I get an amen? They even made my bed twice a day...heaven!)
          It was a 5 day cruise, starting in Miami and making it's way first to Grand Cayman island and then Castaway Cay before heading back to port in Miami. Castaway Cay is Disney's own private island in the Bahamas and I guess if anyone is going to have a private island, it would be Disney. Here are some of the highlights:

1. 24 hour beverage station: can we say free refills anyone? I'm sure I probably took a few years off my life with the amount of Diet Cokes I consumed. 

2. Tons of activities: we took a cooking class, there were toddler art activities for Livia, ping-pong and shuffle board galore, aka no reason to get bored aboard (pun intentional). 

3. Pirate night (see below).  Otherwise known as an excuse to get my husband to put an eye patch and a bandanna on. Too bad I couldn't get him to say 'arrrgh'. Not sure it would have been believable anyways considering his tee shirt says 'enjoy and smile today.' Just sayin'.... 

  

The cutest pirate in the room and with matching pacifier. 

4. The fireworks show after Captain Hook takes over the deck party and Mickey saves the day. 

5. This below. Enough said :)

6. Our awesome semi-submarine ride. Minus the last 20 min when seasickness kicked in. Who doesn't love seeing Nemo fish close up? And taking pics in super weird lighting?  

                      

                       

  

7. The running track that wraps around the ship deck and the completely free gym and fitness center. Basically no reason not to work off that all you can eat ice cream that I may or may not have indulged in. I also may or may not have banged my head on the fitness center ceiling when doing the elliptical machine...several times... #tallpersonproblems

Yeah the whole Livia watching me run by thing didn't last long since she thought I was abandoning her every time Mommy ran to the other side of the ship... 

8. Swimming in the ocean. I had no idea how hard it would be for me being on the sea and yet not being able to swim in it! Thank goodness for Disney and their private island. Livia whipped out her Minnie suit just for the occasion.

 

9. Biking around Castaway Cay with these crazy kids. I mean, seriously, who doesn't love a good cruise through a tropical island on a banana bike? 

From left to right: bro-in-law Ray, hubs Matt, sista from the same motha Natalie (DMS by those on the in)

                   Below: this is what happens when I attempt taking pictures while bike riding...

10. Massage cabanas....that I didn't get to use...sigh. Next time. ;) 

11. Ice cream. I scream. I scream for ice cream.

12. Not pictured but I would be remiss not to add the food. I'm talking about you, 3 course and deliciousness on a plate. 

And now for less than nice but equally memorable moments during the week: 

1. Attempting to wrangle a toddler with lots of exciting temptations around.

2.  Attempting to to take kodak moments of said toddler. 

3. While everyone else is attempting to do the exact same thing. 

4. Matt accidentally kicking me in the head Hitch-style as he swings his leg around to get up on the inner tube. I was holding it down so it made things very interesting for him when I was propelled off. No worries though folks; I came up laughing. He, however, came up sputtering.

5. There are a whole lot of things that can maim and kill you in that water according to Disney. Of course, the real danger lurking in those pristine waters was not the sharks, jellyfish, or even sea lice (seriously??). Who thought it would be the adult sized human excrement that floated past our inner tube while we were frolicking like dolphins in the water? Yes you heard me. One minute I'm contemplating ways to flip Matt off his inner tube and the next I'm running for my life from the log of poop lulling towards me. 

 The crappy times aside (once again, pun intended) on the whole it was a fabulous vacation and we are so thankful that we got to make fun memories with my family. And so it's back to reality now! (With a quick jaunt to the Swiss border to help with the transition of course!)