when you don't have to be the bad guy

we watched the lego movie the other night for family movie night.  have you seen this movie? it's actually really good. and i'm about to spoil it for you. 

ian doing copywork. thankyou bravewriter.

the entire plot of the movie is Emmet, just your average lego guy, and his band of friends, trying to stop President Business from freezing lego world with his Kragle (krazy glue).

ashton snapped this blurry picture and i'm so thankful she did. 

look! i'm drinking coffee and playing checkers with avery by the fire on a chilly winter afternoon.  these are the days.

at the end of the movie, you realize that the lego world exists in Will Ferrell's character's basement (in the real, human world) and his son has made up the whole premise for the entire lego movie.  Will Ferrell's character comes down, immediately gets angry at his son for messing with his lego set up and starts super gluing lego pieces into their "proper" places.

sweet scene. 

when Will Ferrell's character figures out the game that his son has made up and realizes that he is President Business in the story, he asks his son, "If Emmet could tell President Business anything to change his mind about freezing lego world, what would he say?"

attempting to make a rubber egg with vinegar. 

the little boy pauses, looks up at his dad and says "He would tell him, 'you don't have to be the bad guy'."

diet coke and mentos! thank you Dr. Jay Wile

and that's when my eyes went all misty on me and i thought of my house and my 3 kids and how often i clean and want it to just STAY THAT WAY.  i am president business following my kids around trying to use my kragle in each room of my house.  the horses should just sit on your shelf, the legos should stay nicely tucked in their bins, ect., ect.

building tens and ones. thankyou rightstart. 

and i certainly felt the grace and freedom from that one sweet comment "you don't have to be the bad guy."

he could not be one ounce cuter. 

there is a balance and rhythm for sure when it comes to tidying our homes.  but there is also a place for happy messes, legos strewn about the coffee table, science experiments in process on the kitchen counter, dribbles of water color on dining room chairs.

homeschool. mantels. fires. learning through play. 

these are a few of my favorite things.

do we want our homes to be frozen into place? void of life and energy and happiness and creativity?

row and columns. find cards in a row or a column that add up to 15 then replace those cards with the stockpile.  the one with the most cards at the end of the game wins!

of course we don't! it's just that we have to be daily reminded that we don't have to be the bad guy. our homes really don't have to look a certain way all hours of the day.


paper work and quiet with this guy.  we found a sunny corner in panera.  thank you, megan!

a mess is not an emergency. why did we ever believe that it was? 

when you're friend has a newsies bday party. 

father daughter dance

colored vinegar and a pan of baking soda. 

reading with my boy. 

for those of you who've been praying for our family, thank you! there have been miracles in the waiting room, we are being held and sustained. my friend danielle sent me the song shadow feet and i haven't been able to get the lyrics out of my head.  we really have been found in Him, still standing.