Amy Scott's Thoughts

The title of this blog has a double meaning. Yes, we do the whole March Madness thing around here. Jeremy and I select our own brackets. This year the boys are sharing a bracket. Owen, especially, takes the brackets seriously. We have them printed on the counter with a yellow and red highlighter to mark wins and losses. As someone who doesn’t follow basketball at all, it never shocks me when my bracket is a bust. But it’s fun to guess and see how the cookie crumbles…

The other madness of March is not sports related. St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday my kids love to celebrate. I’ve tried to make it less of a “thing” this year, but some traditions have taken deep root. Leprechaun traps were made. Some minor mystical shenanigans ensued… Owen tried a Shamrock Shake from McDonald’s for the first time. He is my mint kid so I wanted to see his thoughts. He didn’t love it but he was fascinated with the color. I, on the other hand, had no problem sucking my green drink down in a matter of minutes. (Side note: Shamrock Shakes are as close as you’ll get me to a “green drink.” Don’t follow my blog for nutritional value.)

St. Patrick’s Day also coincided with a women’s conference I was invited to attend in Tacoma. I spent Friday morning with my family before adventuring off with my forever friend, Christa. We checked into our hotel, grabbed an early dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, and took a walk around a lake at a local park. It was a beautiful day in the PNW and it was lovely to be outside. It was a treat to find little piece of nature in the city to take a walk. The food, walking, and talking are some of my highlights of our time together. It’s a trifecta when you get a good friend, tasty food, and a beautiful day all at the same time! Another dear friend of mine was the conference organizer so part of attending the conference was to cheer her on and see the fruit of her labor. The sessions we attended were fantastic and I’m so proud of my friend for pouring her heart into so many women. Watching her shine (and seeing shine Jesus through her) was a joy!

An unforeseen thing happened Friday evening which changed my conference plans. Jeremy texted saying that my uncle was bringing my grandma down to visit on Saturday (technically, to visit my dad, but since we’re neighbors, it pretty much the same thing). It had been too long since I seen my sweet grandma. In fact, Friday morning I told my mom I was trying find a time to visit her soon. The chance to see GG in my neck of the woods was good to pass up. Christa completely understood and graciously allowed me to cut our conference time short so I could get home to my family. I arrived home with enough time to tidy up after my bachelor boys and then invite my family over a visit. My aunt and cousin joined the road trip as well and it was my first time for my aunt to visit our house. We love giving the house tour and sharing our space with others. It was a fun surprise! My only sadness was missing part of the conference. Maybe next year I’ll shoot for perfect attendance. You never know with life, though. Plans find a way of changing. Am, I right? Overall it was a great mix of friendship and family with a dash of holiday cheer all in one weekend.

Then things went a little haywire… Last week, after Graham’s weekend flu, Jeremy went down with the same bug. After 5+ days of being symptom-free, I thought Owen and I were in the clear. Apparently, we came into contact with something similar at church on Sunday, because on Monday evening, it was Owen and I’s turn to go down with the flu. Now all four of us have had it. Such a bummer! The good news is, apart from missing co-op, we’ve had a quiet week to rest and recover. It was no problem to catch up on up on the missed day of school. Our fun weekend plans are still on because we are back to our normal selves. It’s sad that it happened, but it happened at the “best” time possible.

Now that we’ve said good-bye to the March flu, we are excited to dive into Jeremy’s birthday weekend! Lots of fun plans and celebrations are ahead of us. We are excited to honor our favorite guy and give him the attention he deserves. Birthdays are a big deal in our household, so we can’t wait for birthday weekend to officially begin. Time to party!