Girl Scouts

Weekend Roundup, February 2, 2018: Groundhog Day Edition

02.02.2018 by Nicole Kristin Twedt //

Hi friends! Happy Groundhog Day! I had myself a little consult with Google to find out if today is Groudhog Day, Groundhog’s Day or Groudhogs Day. According to the fine folks in Whatever-it’s-called, PA, the first one is the winner. But who really cares? Anyway, I have much to share with you this fine Friday in February. My mind is going in a million directions. (Hello adult ADHD!) I’m more scattered than usual because it’s been awhile since I’ve had a good night’s sleep. The hours from 11:00 to 5:00 have been dicey since Greg and I started co-sleeping with one of our babies.

Co-sleeping? Wait a minute. I thought your children were in elementary school, you may be thinking.

I’m not talking about the children I birthed. Oh no, the eleven, nine and six-year-old are sleeping just fine. I’m talking about the eleven pound fur baby (who technically has hair not fur, but WHATEVER). Never in a million years did we think we’d share our bed with a non-human mammal. But co-sleeping with Chloe is what’s happening these days. I’m loving every second of having our sweet dog in our bed, except in the middle of the might when I’m not sleeping because the sweet dog is in our bed.

Enough about my nighttime woos. If you’re new to this corner of the internet, you should know that a “Weekend Roundup” is what happens when I share the work from a few of my friends at Hope*Writers.

The first piece isn’t exactly an essay or blog post or anything like that. Alana Dawson announced that she’s starting a podcast called Moms Want More. You can listen to the intro here. I hardly need another podcast in my life, but I find the subject of moms wanting more intriguing. Now that the Twedlings spend several hours a day at a magical place called elementary school, I have a bit of free time to establish a loose writing schedule. But someday I’d like to take my dream of the writerly life a bit further. Anyway, this podcast is for women like me who want to follow a dream but also happen to be in the middle of the muck of parenting and life.

Speaking of life with kids, how many of you are parenting teenagers? Anyone, anyone? We don’t have a teenager in the house, but I loved the following article by Karen Gauvreau. In fact, I embarrassed myself in the school parking lot the other day with all the LOLing coming from my van as I read Why Parenting Teenagers is Exactly Like Having a Mammogram. I don’t even have a teenager and I’ve never had a mammogram, but the article was absolutely hysterical. I shouldn’t have laughed about it. I recently learned that I’m middle-aged, which means the mammogram is on the horizon. Anyway, Karen’s latest article is titled Marriage: Where Mopping Is the New Sexy. You can find more of Karen Gauvreau here.

I’m not one to rock the boat. In fact, I will risk everything to ensure smooth sailing. Lanie Anderson isn’t rocking the boat either. However, she lovingly and respectfully disagrees with John Piper’s statement against women teaching seminary in her thoughtful essay, “John Piper, Jesus And A Woman’s Place.” You can read it here. Highly recommend. Lanie is a new-to-me writer. She also happens to be a youngish seminary student pursuing a master’s degree in Christian apologetics at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

As for me, I’ve been busy driving three kids to and from school, and basketball practice and Girl Scouts. Cookie season is about to start. I’ve spent quite a bit of time (for me) on social media trying to persuade people to buy Girl Scout cookies and to gush about Jamie Ivey’s book, If You Only Knew: My Unlikely, Unavoidable Story of Becoming Free, which released on Monday. It’s one of my favorites already. Not just the part about becoming free, but the message that even those who are free in Christ will mess up but are not failures. Anyway, I set out to write a review of Jamie’s book but felt God nudging me to share my own story to freedom instead. The links are below the image of the goose (or duck?) lifting off to flight.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

The Instant Pot just beeped, announcing that dinner is ready. Those of you who know me in real life know how much I feared my Instant Pot in the beginning. The darn thing stayed in the box for the first year. I even named it Voldemort or “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.” I finally dusted off the Dark Lord’s box in January. I’m pleased to announce that we haven’t had a single explosion in our tiny kitchen due to the Instant Pot, as I once feared was my destiny. In fact, Emily and I changed the Instant Pot’s name to Mrs. Weasley. Anyway, we need to eat quickly because Steven has a basketball game at the middle school, and we have snack duty. I’ll publish the Roundup when we get home because everyone knows it is stupid to announce to the world that you are stepping away from home for a basketball game on a dark Friday night in February.

P.S. Do you have a story to freedom to share? What about a dream you have in the middle of the mess and muck of life? Do tell! Oh, and have a wonderful weekend!

Weekend Roundup, September 17, 2017

09.17.2017 by Nicole Kristin Twedt //

I didn’t offer up anything on the Hope*Writers’ share thread this week; but it’s not for the lack of wanting to write. My soul is just about always burning to write. I just didn’t have the time.

It’s just these last seven days have been filled with mundane tasks that needed to happen. More than I needed to write.

Like the trip to the Girl Scout Shop at the end of the week to get the badges and pins for Lauren’s new Brownie vest for the troop’s Bridging ceremony (where the girls move up, like from Daisy to Brownie or Brownie to Junior or from Junior to Cadet). Then I had to spend quite a bit of time sewing patches on a rather ugly brown vest. Well, that’s not exactly how it went down. It was more like this: me lugging the iron down from the coat closet because iron-on badges is thankfully a thing. I have to confess, I had to dip into my stash of Badge Magic to bind the majority of the badges because Badge Magic is also a thing (thankfully). By the way, whomever the genius is behind Badge Magic, that lucky soul is my new favorite person. Ever. Badge Magic, in case you haven’t heard of it, well, it’s sort of like a magical spell that kinda sorta turns patches into stickers. Of course, like any good mother, I recruited artsy-crafty Emily to lend a hand. She did most of the work. After all, as sanity-saving as it is, Badge Magic also happens to be a pain in the derrière, a real tool.

Back to the Hope*Writer shares that lead into Weekend Roundups. When it comes to Weekend Roundups, if I don’t share anything there if I don’t share anything here. Translation: I’m only required to share the work of two other writers if I choose to showcase my own work. And like I said, this week I’ve got nothing.

But a funny thing happened. What started as a requirement has turned into a labor of love, which is strange because I normally don’t read other people’s weekly shares around the web. In fact, I delete, delete, delete when they find their way into my inbox. But I enjoy writing them. Creating a space to share the work of others provides me with purpose, focus even and a glorious excuse to write. And for me, writing is like breathing. We all know everything goes better if one is properly inhaling and exhaling.

It’s long past 10 o’ clock on a Sunday, closer to 11, yet it’s time for another Weekend Roundup. Consider it your nightcap.

The first essay I’m going to share is a little ditty that Shawna Letellier wrote on Kate Motaung’s Five Minute Friday Blog about what she learned being an unknown first time author. It’s called Book Launch Advice from a First-time Author. You can read about it here. Most of my in-real-life friends are not writers so this one may only appeal to a few of you. But I really liked what Shawna had to say. Her words were nothing short of encouraging. I have big dreams, you see. I know I’m not really supposed to admit my wildest of wild dreams out loud, kind of like how a spoken wish isn’t supposed to come true. You know, like wishes made while blowing out birthday candles or as you drop a hopeful coin into the wishing well-type fountain at the mall. But I don’t believe in that. I believe in faith, hope, plenty of prayer, God’s timing and a lot of hard work. So I’m just going to say it. I want to write a book. Someday. When? Who knows. This is my someday maybe dream.

It seems like everyone is writing on their friend’s sites lately. Here’s Crystal Stine’s essay on Tricia Goyer’s site: Walk It Out Stories: An Indefinite Delay. Here ya go. Highly recommend this essay to anyone feeling a bit lost, torn even, over not begin able to live out a calling or serving God in the way you’d like. I’m not in this season, but boy could I relate when the kids were tinier. I couldn’t even play a single song on the piano from start to finish without a little one sneaking under one of the beds in the girls’ room to snack on fruit-flavored chap stick. Strawberry seemed to be the flavor of choice there for awhile. But even now, there are days that I’d rather just write to my hearts content but I kind of have to stop and make dinner, shuttle the kids to and from school, and make a somewhat decent, if not halfhearted, attempt at the battle of the laundry situation, and all that jazz. I don’t think it’s what Crystal meant. Her essay is more about learning to be still before God. Nevertheless, my ADHD mind related to this one.

I really liked Jennie G. Scott’s To the Parent Without the Right Answers. Hmmm, perhaps it’s because I don’t have the answers either. In fact, people who have all the answers are annoying. And boring. Anyway, you can read Jennie’s post here.

Okay, so this next item of news will take a little work on your part. You know how I keep bringing up Dorina Lazo Gilmore in nearly all of these Weekend Roundups of mine? Well, Dorina just published a new book, actually a Bible Study. It’s called Glory Chasers. I just bought it and you should too. No, really. I already have it in my hot little hands. I’m going to work through Glory Chasers with two friends in the next month or so. Here’s a link to Dorina’s website where you can get the book for yourself. Or head on over to Amazon to snag your copy. That will do. But if you’re on Facebook, head over to Dorina’s author page to view the book trailer.

Friends, I have to go. I had book club on Friday and I’m still recovering. I’m beat. I’m simply not as young as I used to be. If tomorrow morning is going to be somewhat successful, I’ve got to get my beauty sleep. ‘Night all.

P.S. It’s finally raining!

Christmas 2015

02.23.2017 by Nicole Kristin Twedt //

Originally from December, 2015

It’s been a Year

I wasn’t going to write a Christmas letter this year. I love doing it, but we’re in a busy season. Also, it’s been a hard year. I’m not sure how to include all that’s transpired over the last 12 months or how to write it well. A bird’s eye view of 2015 would show deep heartbreak, but also such love and tenderness; a year rich in mercies and paramount change and healing in my heart. I won’t bore you with all of the details because most are too tender to share and to be honest, I’m still processing.

The Husband and Me

Greg and I celebrated 10 years of marriage on January 7th. By the time you read this we will have been married almost 11 years. 11 is nothing compared to 50 years, even 20 or 15, but for us 11 years is big and so we celebrate. It’s fun looking back at how stupid we were a decade ago. Who fights over the correct way to enter and exit a shower, which grocery store is worthy of our patronage or how to chop a green onion? (We did.) We hardly have things figured out but we blindly stumbled upon a small part of the secret to a healthy and happy marriage, at least for us. Just this November we learned that Greg is more than willing to accompany me to a show, and by show I mean theatre, and by theatre, I mean musical theatre, if only I would go to the local steakhouse with my date. And they lived happily ever after.

The Twedtlings

The biggest little one is already a third-grader. She’s a smarty, that one. Emily continues with violin lessons and is super excited to be the Jingle Bells bell ringer in the 2nd/3rd grade winter concert next week. Our girl is a Brownie this year. If you are in need of a Thin Mint or Samoa fix during cookie season, you know who to call. Really, please call Emily! We can’t imagine she’ll sell too many Girl Scout Cookies in our mostly Gluten-Free / Dairy-Free / Paleo-Wannabe family. Still, Emily is as determined as she’s always been. Mamas and daddies with toddlers and babies, hang on! It keeps getting better. 9-year-olds are worth the wait. We promise!

As for the first-grader, it turns out that Steven-in-the-middle is an awesome soccer player. We’re not sure if it’s good or bad, but our boy was christened The Beast by his assistant coach. The Beast has a gift. The Beast doesn’t get his soccer moves from his parents. It’s trilling, watching Steven play. I cried a bit during soccer season at how little his vision impairment affects his life (like not at all). I never thought I’d thank God for sports, but I did. Every single game. We’re still praying for healing for his eyes but until then, God has shown over and over that he goes before and after Steven in all his crazy kid endeavors.

Steven is not the only beast on the block. After all, Lauren is a Twedtling and Twedtling preschoolers are not easy. What 4-year-old is? We never met a little one with such bold opinions about clothing, especially in regard to fancy party dresses and accessories. Lucky for us, the Tiniest Tiny channels her dark side to a worthy cause. She is whipping our dog Chloe into shape, getting her to mind better with the passing of each day. With her hands on her hips, she demands, and not very nicely, “Chloe! Go to your house!” And Chloe, tail down, does exactly what she’s told and heads straight for the plastic dog crate. I exaggerate only slightly because the beast in Lauren only comes out about 10% of the time, which is not bad. Lauren really is a tender little girl, full of sweetness. Life is a song and dance in her world. She adores ballet with Miss Debbie and especially delights in “performing” with her plastic microphone at the old piano.

Being Brave

One aforementioned heartache worth sharing has to do with hearing. It always does. I took Lauren in for her annual hearing check in October. On the way to Children’s Bellevue my phone was stuck on You Make Me Brave by Amanda Cook and Bethel Music, which is my current favorite since Courtney sang it last spring. I didn’t realize I had it on repeat. I guess the technical term is loop. I didn’t even know my phone looped or that it could get stuck on loop or that I had a loop icon to begin with. Come to think of it, it might not be called looping. Maybe I made it up. All I know is that I just completed an iOS update and everything was wonky with iTunes. You Make Me Brave filled our van over and over, at least 7-10 times on our way to Bellevue because Lauren and I took the backroads to avoid 405 tolls. As your love/ In wave after wave/ Crashes over me, Crashes over me/ For you are for us/ You are not against us/ Champion of Heaven/ You made a way for all to enter in.

I’m pretty sure God wanted me to know that his love for Lauren crashes over her in wave after wave. He is for her, not against her. You see, the Tiniest Tiny has lost hearing again, this time in her left ear. This is not the same ear that hearing was lost and restored when she was little. Her loss is conductive (mine is neurosensory) and is borderline normal. Although she isn’t technically hard-of-hearing at this point, Lauren’s hearing is not what it once was in that ear. We made an appointment for another hearing evaluation in 3 months. Until then I was told to have her pediatrician clean out her waxy ear because one of the tubes is out but stuck in ear wax. The audiologist is certain that a damaged eardrum will be revealed under all of the lovely wax. Can I just say that my heart broke that morning?

I remember looking at my phone when we left Children’s. The loop icon, if it’s even called that, was not showing. Yet the whole way back You Make Me Brave repeated over and over. You make me brave/ You make me brave/ No fear can hinder now the promises you made. It makes absolutely no sense. It really doesn’t. It’s really hard to be brave when there is something wrong with your child. Despite all that, maybe even because of it, I think being brave means having the courage to believe that God is who he says he is and trust that he will do what he says he will do. And if we’re not sure how to pray and what these promises are, we should ask him. The Bible is pretty clear about them. I’m sensing in the deepest places of my heart that it is not the time for wishy-washy “heal her if it’s your will” prayers. It’s time to call on God to do what he promised even when it doesn’t make sense. He healed her once before. Why not again? It’s time to be brave.

Holding onto Hope

When I look back over these 12 months, and back further over the last two-and-a-half years, I have to remember the promise he gave me about Lauren during her first hearing crisis before he healed her. In my deep place of hurt I wasn’t sure he was for us, but he led me to discover these words about himself, “He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection (Psalm 91:4).” It didn’t make sense at the time, and it doesn’t always make sense now but I know him, I know him well. This potential hearing disorder, it is not from him.

I risk ending this note with a faith story equivalent to a cheesy After School Special. Yet I kind of have to. I have to end in hope because what else is there? It’s December and we are hopeful. I took Lauren to the pediatrician to have her ears cleaned, to see if the tube could be removed. Under all that wax was a perfect ear drum. Perfect. The pediatrician strongly believes that a combination of one very waxy ear and a tube stuck in wax resulted in a less than normal hearing test. She believes that February’s evaluation will reveal perfect hearing once again. It scares me to write this. Not that I don’t believe Lauren’s hearing has been spared once again. I don’t doubt it for a minute. I’m a little worried that I will write about her healing and then it won’t happen and people will think I’m a nutcase. More so, I’m deeply worried that someone will read this and think God loves Lauren or us more than he loves them. Nothing is further from the truth.

I do know that God is for us. God is for you. Wether you are a carnivore, a dreamer, a Girl Scout, a soccer star or a ballerina and everyone, absolutely everyone in between, God is for you. He is not against you. He is for you, even if you have yet to see his promises fulfilled. Hold on to his promises. Let his waves of love wash over you as you hold on to them. Merry Christmas.

Love,

Greg, Nicole, Emily, Steven and Lauren Twedt