Category Archives: intention

Day 19: Summer

Posted in connection, family, Friends, happily ever after, Happiness, intention, joy, memories, motherhood, space, working mom by

Flowing…going with the flow and being in the moment. That is what I’m doing this week and am loving having the time and space to flow, even though I find it challenging to let go of schedules, expectations and control.

Tonight we ate dinner at 9pm, after Christian prepared it for us. We never eat this late, but tonight this is what flow felt like and we flowed, eating on the couches in the family room sharing crazy, chaotic, interrupted conversations.

Tonight I caught up with an old friend in between drop off and pick up points, because I’ve missed her and was curious enough to text and attempt to connect at the last minute and she said, YES!  This is what flow felt like in the moment of not being too busy! It was great to give her and her girls hugs and to share a few moments together.

I could get used to this perfectly imperfectly unstructured summer and can’t believe we are almost 3 weeks in already. Where does the time go?

Life is good, especially when we flow.

nAMaste

Day 17: Summer

Posted in family, Gratitude, happily ever after, intention, Love, Mindfulness, motherhood, one love, parenting, positive living, rooted, simple living, spark joy, work life balance, working mom by


All these lemons came from the same tree, and this picture made me think of my kids.

You see I’m thankful that I have one large, one medium and one small one.  As the two big ones are growing up and becoming more independent and less needy of me, I still have the small one to grow for a little while longer and this makes me very happy.  Having the little one makes me remember that the big one was once small too and makes me even more aware that the little one is going to get bigger too one day, which makes me be even more present with all three of them. This is an amazing, little, magical gift of three.

Today the little one and I went to the craft store together to get stuff to make stuff. We like to make things together and I love that he is creative. He picked out a wood burning tool and some wood pieces to create some art, even though we were really going in the store to find neon, erasable white board markers that would show up on his metal black board. Luckily we found some of those too on the clearance rack. 

And that’s my happily ever after story for the day.  How was your day?  Did you make lemonade from lemons today?  

Oh, and P.S., This was my way of making lemonade out of lemons today…I was actually momentarily sad about the feeling of letting go and really knowing that my kids are growing up. There’s usually a back story to every happily ever after, isn’t there? Just sayin’

nAMaste BeLoveRs

Day 16: Summer

Posted in connection, Gratitude, happily ever after, Happiness, intention, one love, positive living, rooted, simple living by

Tonight they made it home safely along with 69 of their church friends from their service trip to Mexico.

They worked really hard in the hot sun, building houses for 4 days. It was demanding work and they received an IKEA like manual instructing them how to put the homes together. They didn’t get to use power tools and instead cut wood with a hand saw, mixed concrete by hand and learned how to pound nails straight into the planks.

They slept in crowded tents, used stinky outhouses for toilets and helped bathe each other using buckets of cold water that they kept having to refill.  This wasn’t a glamorous trip and it cost a lot of money to participate. And did I mention they had no cell phones with them for a week? They survived. 

And guess what? They didn’t complain. They are tired and sore and happy to be home and thankful for the experience.

I am thankful that our church provides these volunteer opportunities for our youth, so that they can learn to be of service to others, to sacrifice their time and comforts to be giving and loving and in return, they benefit too in so many ways. Juliana walked into our house and said we have a big house! Their perspectives on life are hopefully changed by seeing how other people live and by working hard, side by side with their peers for a few days, sharing a God moment.

I am thankful for the advisors who cared for our kids and treated them like their own and for the deeper relationships that were strengthened through this shared experience.

Life is good!! Love is love is love is!! One Love. Love this life.

Day 11: Summer Lovin’

Posted in connection, happily ever after, Happiness, intention, Love, memories, simple living, Uncategorized by

Today we celebrate 19 years of marriage! 

I am thankful that we have never given up, despite the struggles and tribulations! I am thankful for the three kids we’ve created and are raising together, who were born out of love. I am thankful for my husband’s unconditional love and support.

Love is good! 

xoxoxoxo 

Day 9: Summer

Posted in belovers, connection, family, Gratitude, happily ever after, Happiness, intention, Love, love and light, motherhood, one love, parenting, positive living, simple living by

Caravan 2016 – Mexico


Our high schoolers left first thing this morning with their caravan, heading to Mexico for the next week, on a mission trip to serve others and to work side by side with their peers and advisors. I am scared, excited, happy, proud, anxious, grateful, in awe, and mostly thankful. 


I am thankful that our church believes in our youth and provides opportunities for them to practice our values in a loving environment. I am thankful for the plethora of advisors and volunteers who are dedicated to loving and supporting our youth and who give up their time graciously to be an active part of their lives. This trip takes a lot of work and preparation and dedication on so many levels. It truly is amazing to feel the synergy and I am proud of my kids for choosing to participate and am thankful to be part of this community.

Please send your good thoughts and prayers to keep them safe.

Our future is bright, BeLoveRs.

Happy Father’s Day. 

xoxo

Day 7: Summer

Posted in connection, fear, Happiness, intention, joy, love and light by

I’m already exhausted!

It’s been a challenging week and I am over it, or at least the week is over and that makes me very happy. That’s how I roll …deep breaths and surrender and flow.  

It’s the simple things these days that make me happy, like ice cream cake the day after my birthday!

thank you juliana!


I fell asleep in the middle of writing this blog. I must be tired, so I’ll say goodnight and wish you well before I fall asleep again.
Good night.

Day 6: Summer

Posted in family, Gratitude, happily ever after, Happiness, intention, joy, Love, love and light, positive living, rooted, simple living, space, spark joy by

I love open space, old barns and the look of old barn wood.  Today I enjoyed a date with my husband at the Pichetti Winery. We stopped along the way to pick up my favorite food for lunch, a poke bowl from #gofishpoke and enjoyed our lunch on the winery picnic tables and a stroll around the beautiful property.  It was a gorgeous day to be outdoors.







Made a wish!


I love trees, even the old and fallen ones.

Love the light!



I am content and another year older.  How was your day?

Live it up, BeLoveRs!! 

Xo

Day 4: Summer 

Posted in belovers, exercise, happily ever after, intention, Love, Mindfulness, one love, positive living, spark joy by


We played dodge ball today. I wish I could share the photo of all the children, youth and adults playing together and the smiles on their faces. I am refraining from sharing to protect their privacy, but it was amazing. My favorite part was playing with the kids in wheel chairs, and watching them play and laugh with the group. 

In the wake of what happened in Orlando this week, and thinking about what we can do, I have the answer.

We can choose to love one another and to play nicely together, no matter what. It’s one small way to make a difference. Listen. Share. Play. Love. Be fair. Take turns. Follow the rules. Include everyone. Be gentle. Run and laugh. Keep moving. Be kind. Repeat. (Just like playing dodgeball.)

nAMaste BeLoveRs. Spread the love.

Personal Exam

Posted in belovers, connection, happily ever after, Happiness, intention, joy, Mindfulness, positive living, simple living by

How did you take care of yourself today?

I saw two related posts today from women I admire, that made me think about this important question.

Here’s a a quick, 4 question, happily-ever-after-today Exam:

1) Did you get enough sleep last night?  

2) Did you drink enough water? 

3) Did you take time to exercise? 

4)Did you use time to do “nothing?”

I think these are important questions and reminders to make us think about how well we are taking care of ourselves in this busy time of living and being.

If this were my final exam (since my kids are in this space of studying for finals right now), I would have failed today, getting 25% correct on such a simple test. Ouch! 

This makes me think how I need to prepare more for my test tomorrow.  How well did you do?

Be well, BeLoveRs. Take care of wonderful YOU!

Bubble Soccer

Posted in exercise, family, Gratitude, happily ever after, Happiness, intention, Love, memories by


The boys played bubble soccer today at their end of the season soccer party and everyone had a good time, watching and playing. It was hilarious to watch them bumping into each other and trying to get up again. I would definitely recommend this for a party!


June is a busy month for us and it feels like Christmas time with all the commitments and celebrations.  Maybe bubble soccer will help us to remember to go with the flow, to let things bounce off of us, to get back up when we fall and to laugh along the way!

Life is good! Stay calm and cool.