the here + now

People have their "things" Their things that make them happy, that are just them. Sometimes as moms we start to believe things things are selfish, the buzz word is self care & for awhile I felt like it was just nonacceptance for the frumpy mom. But the truth is I need it, especially now as I care for, feed, nurture, blahblahblah for 5 children. 1. Coffee . This is no surprise for anyone who knows me. I love starting my day with several cups of coffee. Yes, I said several. It's warm & yummy & I love it. 2. Running . I have gone through this whole running thing several times, I start but don't continue. Over the summer, I started morning runs. Myself+my music. I fell in love. And then school started & excuses,excuses, excuses. And then I had a major melt down, crying to my husband how I missed running. So I had to get back at it. Plus it helps me not to kill people. 3. Hot baths . When we  were building our house, we decided to splurge, big

There's no hiding it anymore. I'm that lady. That lady that L O V E S Christmas. And all the negative nancies -- you can stay far away. I love the lights & joy & remembrance of what it's all about.\ Years past I've waited until after Thanksgiving & then it was the week of Thanksgiving, now I'm not even fighting it anymore. I started listening to Christmas music on the way home from dropping L off at school the first of November. If you are an early Christmas lover, here's a playlist for you Is a favorite of your missing from my list? Share with me, I want to know your favorites! ////This message is not approved by the husband////

So I bombed that whole blogging thankfulness for 27 days. It sounded like a great idea, but when day 2 came, I couldn't come up with something to write about. Yes, there are a lot of things I'm thankful for that popped into my head. But nothing that made me want to write. To expand. Actually on day two it was Orphan Sunday. I was all in my emotions, believing adoption isn't for me. Believing orphan care isn't for me. What a load of crap, seriously.  So that whole writing for 27 days on thankfulness, it's just not going to happen. But I am going to share about how my home is picked up every single night & I have gone crazy. Children. When we had Alex & Olivia something I thought often was "I can't be that stay at home mom that is always exhausted & picks up after everyone" Except....that's exactly what happened.  The idea of chores is nice, but I'm terrible with follow through (ehem...27 days of blogging) Finally my husband h

I adore November. Although I very much dislike the cold, I love the need to snuggle under blankets & watch movies. I love our thankful tree that has become tradition in our home. I love getting together with family for Thanksgiving. And I love the change in our hearts, to focus more on the things were thankful for, being content and opening our eyes to all the blessings. This month I'm giving myself a blogger challenge. Blog thankfulness every day. It may not always look like straight thankfulness. Like today. November isn't just a month of thankfulness, but it is also national adoption month. I'm thankful for adoption. I'm thankful that moms with empty wombs find God's hand in adoption. I'm thankful that children are placed in families. But I also dislike it. When we first started this talk about adoption, I realized my adoption box was busted. We decided to walk into foster care. And I'm not going to be reserved about this: IT IS HAR