Category Archives: positive living

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 15: Summer

Posted in connection, family, food, Gratitude, happily ever after, Happiness, motherhood, parenting, positive living, rooted, simple living by

My big kids come home from Mexico tomorrow. I have been anxious all day waiting to hear news about how they’re doing and was happy to see a post that they were finally state side. I started nesting again, like I did when I was pregnant with them.  That’s all I wanted to do today and I think that’s weird, but it’s my truth. 

So we folded all the laundry, fixed Juliana’s headboard and decluttered some more. 

I was thankful when Charlie suggested we get out of the house and came up with a plan. He wanted to get frozen yogurt, Japanese snacks and sushi from the Japanese market and take it home to watch a movie together. This combination made me laugh and I loved that I have a kid who loves froyo and sushi. It made for a perfectly relaxing evening and settled my anxiety.

Life is good. What simple thing did you enjoy today? 

nAMaste

Day 13: Summer

Posted in exercise, Gratitude, happily ever after, nature, positive living, rooted, simple living, work life balance by

When you’re counting the days, you’re more aware of time passing. I feel like the kids just got out of school, but we’re already going on two weeks out. The summer is going to fly by!


My favorite tree has a major broken limb. It’s still beautiful, just the way it is, perfectly imperfect, just like this one beautiful life we are living.

🙂

Day 10: Summer

Posted in belovers, family, happily ever after, Happiness, joy, positive living, working mom by

Happy 1st Day of Summer!

Today finally felt relaxing. Charlie went to camp, the big kids are in Mexico and I was able to work from home with limited interruptions and got a workout in too.

Tonight we had time to play a game together that Charlie picked out for me for my birthday, Pie Face. I love this kind of humor and laughed so hard!! 


Oh guys, take time to laugh really hard!! It’s so good for your soul and it makes other people laugh too!

I am thankful for my crazy peeps that laughed with me with whipped cream all over their faces and melted the stress away!

Happy 1st day of summer, BeLoveRs! Be free.

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 8: Summer

Posted in family, Friends, Gratitude, happily ever after, Happiness, Love, one love, positive living, space, work life balance, working mom by

I wasn’t planning to count the days of summer when I started with day 1, but I’m kinda liking it and keeping track of the days passing by.

This is my first summer as a working mom and it has been a bit of an adjustment this first week, as I worked from home and volunteered, had a birthday to celebrate and was helping my kids prepare for their volunteer service trip, along with some other personal stuff.  I was thankful for the weekend to arrive today and to sleep in, however I was still awake at 5:15 am. That seems to be my new normal, along with the birds.

Today I enjoyed celebrating a friend’s surprise birthday party and relaxing with girlfriends in the sunshine. I also was thankful for my birthday flowers that are all over my house and fill the space with a wonderful fragrance and beauty.


I love that I have such great friends and family with whom to share this beautiful life. 

Please send good thoughts and prayers for the kids and youth leaders who leave tomorrow to build houses in Mexico for those less fortunate and keep them safe.

Life is good!

nAMaste

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 5: Summer

Posted in cats, connection, family, Gratitude, happily ever after, Love, memories, motherhood, parenting, positive living, rooted, simple living, space, work life balance, working mom by


This was my afternoon stress relief. Charlie invited me and actually insisted that I come sit with him to watch some funny game show that he knew would make me laugh. Kids are so smart. He was right.  He wanted my attention and I reluctantly wanted his. As soon as I flopped into the couch as close to him as possible, Kanan came to claim his spot.  His purring was comforting too. 

Thank you Charlie for making me slow down! I love you and appreciate you. 

I hope you’re having a good week!

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.