Joy in the Journey

When my girls were little, we would DANCE! I am a dancer, though self taught, and have always enjoyed and been "good at" dancing. It brings me so much pleasure and joy to move to music and it's a great expression for emotions as well.  So, I was well versed in dancing anywhere by the time my cute little girls came along. When they were little they had no shame and would dance with me everywhere. We'd dance at the end credit music in the movie theatre (up front), we'd dance in the store, we'd dance anywhere and everywhere that the mood struck. Photo Credit: Masterfile.com Then they got older and stopped dancing with me as much. They certainly  wouldn't dance in front of a movie theatre with me anymore! They will still bob their heads with me to store music (yay!) and they even stopped dancing much at home with me... I missed it. I loved dancing with my girls and though they sometimes humor me still, they weren't really into it much anymore. Tonight, we ...

Have you ever struggled with postpartum weight loss? My baby is 14 months old and I have not lost hardly any weight since he was born. Actually, the day after he was born I was almost down to my pre-pregnancy weight, and then over the months I gained a few pounds. Whether I eat healthy or not, whether I exercise or not, I am always fluctuating somewhere around the same weight. It's frustrating because I have so much that I need to lose to get to a healthy weight! And I want to be there, like, right now! I've recently done some research on the hormone prolactin and how it can really mess with your weight while breastfeeding. Upon reading, I realized that the weight problem wasn't the only symptom I had that showed that I probably have a lot of prolactin going through my system right now. Thinking back, I can remember having more trouble losing weight during some of my other breastfeeding journeys, but there were some symptoms that I had this time that I had never had before...

I got some wonderful new yesterday. A friend of mine was pregnant after experiencing several losses. She already has four children at home and I was overjoyed to hear she was blessed with another. After sharing with her how we were still waiting for our next baby, trying to get pregnant several times over the last year she encouraged me that "God's timing is perfect". She explained all the challenge she would have faced if she had not had her losses and had a newborn at the time she had hoped for. This reminding me of the three years we waited for our son. The devastation, the constant and compounding grief with every month and failed attempt, the isolation and depression I felt throughout, BUT, it wasn't wasted time. Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com God doesn't waste time. God doesn't cause the heartbreaks or hurts, but He also doesn't waste any of our dreams, hopes, or the waiting times in life. We waited for our son, prayed, and hoped and ached for him ...

As I write this we have THREE WEEKS till we move!  Now, we're not moving cross country like we originally thought, so it's definitely not as difficult as it could've been, but at the same time it's not easy. I'm finding myself feeling overwhelmed A LOT! I know it's time to buckle down and get stuff done but at the same time I have to wait till closer to the moving date to pack any more (I've already completed the outbuildings). Things still feel pretty up in the air but I'm definitely getting excited now. This is really happening. We are actually moving! We are moving into town from our 15 minutes away suburb. When I drive to and from home I now think about how quickly I'll be home when we move. We went hiking this weekend and I thought "We'll be twenty minutes closer to the trail head after we move."  But more than the drive I'm thinking and planning and anticipating all the ways I'm going to make our new house a home. The colo...

Hey mamas! I'm writing this to you as I'm making the last preparations before heading to camp this afternoon (and I'm not freaking out and stressed by the way, so go me!). I just want to check in and see how you are doing. So how are you? 2020 has been a crazy year so far. Some of you have been challenged by new things: being laid off or working from home, distance learning for your kids, having to wear a mask when you go anywhere, just to name a few. 2020 has felt like a very isolating year for many.  But I want to really encourage you to not let yourself be isolated, mama. We NEED each other. We have a natural incline towards community. Even those who are introverts need to have a friend or two that they can really depend on to encourage and lift them up.  I'm going camping this weekend with several of my friends and all our kids. It's going to be a big, crazy, blast. If you aren't comfortable with that big of a group, text another mom and ask here if she want...

During these crazy fires that were (and are) happening, I jumped on Facebook, which I usually only use for this blog. As I frequently checked it for news, I saw a lady I knew through homeschooling. She had up to date posts having to do with the fires that all revolved around helping the community, the evacuees,, and getting food to displaced people. It was incredibly admirable. She's strong, tough, compassionate, a mom of four, and a DOER. She was actively doing through the entire time I was holding up in my home. She and her family were actively helping others. Yesterday, her and her husband's story hit Facebook news. She and her husband went into  the fire areas and ended up creating fire barriers, organizing volunteers, and saving multiple houses! Just think about that for a moment. As far as I know, no one asked  them to help. No one said "Hey, no fire firers are in this areas. Are you available to help?" No one gave them the tools to fight this, they just did it...

It's been five days of holding up in our home away from the smoke. Headaches and feeling sick were symptoms my family felt from hazardous levels of smoke in the air from the Oregon fires. After the sky turned dark on Tuesday (Sept 8th) and we tried to get away from it to no avail, we had to remain home. Basically, sheltering in place, towels over our AC units, every window shut tight, and the kids with clear instructions NOT to open them even a crack. It was awful and dark and I went back into a survival mode that felt all too familiar after March's quarantine. I felt depressed, not just by being trapped at home, but my seasonal depression immediately kicked in as the skies were dark all day long and I barely could wake myself up in the morning because it never really got light. It was horrible, miserable, and we watched A LOT of TV! Then, there were moments that only happened because there literally was NOTHING to do, no places to go, and we were stuck. One of these moments w...