My dear friend Kristin is pregnant with TWINS! These babies are long-awaited and eagerly anticipated — and personally, two of the miracles I have most steadfastly prayed for. It makes sense that they have also been much celebrated! Last week I got to be a part of throwing Kristin’s first mini shower, and we came up with a fun game I wanted to pass along. Baby shower games can be so cheesy and lame, but this one was a definite crowd pleaser!

My friend Jess and I brainstormed twenty questions and printed up a simple score card. The questions were:

1. Who was the more well-behaved child?
2. Who asked who out on your first date?
3. Who said “I love you” first?
4. Who cried more on your wedding day?
5. Who is the better gift giver?
6. Who will be more intense about researching baby items?
7. Who will be more nervous in the delivery room?
8. Who will be the master swaddler?
9. Who will change more diapers?
10. Who is more likely to forget the babies somewhere?
11. Who will call their mom most often for advice or encouragement?
12. Who will be more likely to enforce the rules?
13. Who will have better voices when reading stories?
14. Who will plan the twins’ birthday parties?
15. Who will be the more laid-back parent?
16. Who will help with math homework?
17. Who will insist board games be played by the rules, even if the twins always lose?
18. Who will do the driving on family road trips?
19. Who is more likely to be an overenthusiastic sideline parent?
20. Who will cry more on college move-in day?

I read the questions one by one, and everyone wrote down either Kristin or Kyle for their answer. Then, we asked Kristin what her answer was, and if you got the same answer, you got a point!

For extra fun, I had also sent Kyle the list of questions in advance and he had recorded his answers on video, which we played after each of Kristin’s answers. (I asked him to record each one in a separate clip, name them according to the question, and upload them to Dropbox to keep it simple!) Kyle’s answers were SO sweet; I think incorporating the dad in some surprise way is always so fun and meaningful for the mama!

Any other baby shower games or activities you’d recommend? There are surprisingly few good ones and I’m always eager for suggestions!

P.S. We were at Making Things Happen when Kristin told us the news, so our wonderful photographer friend Amy Nicole caught it on camera. So good!

P.P.S. For those of you who know about my extreme skill at guessing baby genders – I am thinking two girls for Kristin!! But, I do admit I have never guessed twins before… we shall see! :)

There was so much goodness in April, but unfortunately as I look back over the last few weeks what I remember is feeling dogged by demons that don’t usually bother me: comparison, envy, bitterness… yuck, ew, gross. It has seemed like there are a lot of voices out there telling me the choices I’m making are wrong, or not worth it, or less than.

But that’s not the truth. For me, I think these feelings stem from ingratitude, and I’m choosing to do something about them. The truth is that my life is an embarrassment of riches, and I’m going to put in the effort to feel and act accordingly in May.

P.S. Longtime readers may remember that April, May, and June are traditionally my busiest months at work, with lots of travel. If posts are more sparse than usual, you’ll know why! I would love for you to join me for updates along the way on Instagram.

What I read in April:
— Present Over Perfect (I liked it a lot, and can see that it’s such a needed message for so many folks my age! Shauna is a beautiful writer.)
— Tender at the Bone (Loved this one! I read Garlic and Sapphires last year, and only wish I had read Tender before, since that’s where it falls chronologically!)
— Books I’m reading throughout the year: The Power of a Praying Wife and The Lifegiving Home

Revisiting my goals for April:
Confirm the location and month of John’s birthday trip (Yay!! We will be going in October, but of course I can’t tell you where!)
Pick strawberries (Three times!)
Make Jenny’s popovers and strawberry jam for a Saturday breakfast
Try Bill Hybels’ prayer journaling practice from Too Busy Not to Pray
Travel to Alabama and Mississippi (See here, here, here, and here!)
Visit Duke Gardens or the WRAL Azalea Gardens (We actually went to both!)
Celebrate Easter with joy
Finish a complete organization sweep and purge of our loft (I don’t think I did ANYTHING AT ALL to move this goal forward in April.)
Research patio furniture (Research was done, and we’re now hoping our backyard will be finished by May 15!)

May goals:
— Add to my gratitude list every day this month (I might also start a Write the Word | Cultivate Gratitude journal)
— Go camping with the Rays!
— Take the first step in a birthday project I am working on for John (his birthday is in July)
— Try a new workout video at least three times (going to cruise over to Victoria’s blog for research, as she is always trying something fun, it seems!)
— Purposefully plan for Memorial Day, since we’ll be staying local
— Try Bill Hybels’ prayer journaling practice from Too Busy Not to Pray
— Finish a complete organization sweep and purge of our loft (hope springs eternal)
— Print our summer fun list and post it on the fridge (here’s last year’s)
— Buy new patio furniture for our backyard
— String up lights in our backyard! (!!)

As a reminder, here are my 2017 guideposts. If you’ve posted your goals somewhere, I’d love to see – or just drop them in the comments!