Ease

My one word for 2020 was Ease.
Who would have know what we would be up against when that word came to me.

January and February we watched a lot of archery and it was so much fun to watch little girl get better and better every time she competed.  We mingled, connected, had fun.

then we all know were March took us. half way through the month, days of quarantine with what seemed like no end in sight.
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And then 65 days we finally saw some signs of an end, but maybe not. 

Even though I had come to realize that things change, all.the.time. You'd think that after 2 months of constant change, I'd have adapted. NOPE! In all honesty, it probably took me till November to actually settle into and feel ok with ever changing circumstances.

I still can't say that I am 100% at ease. The unrest of our country and the educating of our kids, the tug and pull of all the feelings about seeing people or not, has made this word even more important for 2020. It has made me really think about easing into things, being easy with life, the ease of our pace, being at ease with me.

When I think about the word ease, I don't think easy or simple. I think of it as the opposite of unsettled. I want to settle into am ease, maybe a peace, a relaxing of thing. If 2020 taught me anything, I think it taught me to be ok with sighs of relief, with the realization that He is ultimately in control.

While this has been a wildly unsettling year, there was been many moments of ease that would have never happened if not for the craziness of 2020.

Things I Learned This Fall

I usually do better about jotting things down throughout the season for Emily P Freemans Things I've Learned practice.

This season has been different. I didn't even think about how we are at the end of one season and time to reflect back on this one that has passed. Here are a few things from this time:

One last trip to the Lake is bitter sweet

My parents bought this place when my oldest was a toddler. there has been 10 years of memories made here. We are sad to see it go but know that there will still be memories made on their next adventure, wherever that may take them

Starting something 3/4ths of the way into a year still works

I have seen these before and honestly wish that i had stated this at the beginning of 2020. What in unusual time to look back on in 5 years. I started it late but what matters is that i decided to start. get you one and get started.

Holding a baby is still my favorite and kinda makes me want another

 (but that ship has sailed) This is my co-workers little guy who we have prayed for, after coming early and spending months in the NICU. He is just precious and i just know that God has great things for his life.

Pumpkin Cream Cold Brews are my new most favorite Starbucks drink

I usually get the Pumpkin spice latte during this time but started seeing people sharing about the cold brew, which i had never tried. oh my goodness it was the best. this was one of maybe 6 that i had during this season. I even attempted to make one at home that came out pretty good.

October will hold a special place in my heart for more reasons that, "I LOVE FALL"

My little sister is has been cancer free for 2 years and this October, i decided to wear pink every day of the month for her. She is  one incredible lady.  

She continues to amaze me

my 10 year old was asked to recite the Lords Prayer in one of our church services. She was way more nervous than the last time she walked onto that stage but she still did it and i am so proud of her.

She also had a dress up day at school during red ribbon week and she went to bed the night before saying that she was going to dress up as her teacher from 2nd and 3rd grade. She knew exactly what she was going to wear too.  Yall, when a teacher inspires and deeply loves your kid, there are sometimes no words but a thank you. We have been so very blessed by the love and care that this teacher poured and pours into the kids she teaches.

Traveling with him is the best 

at the beginning of fall break we stole away for 2 nights to walk a lot of stairs (jk, hiking, but it was a lot of stairs on these hikes) it was so fun and just what we needed.

Books I read this Fall:

September: 

Becoming Mrs Lewis - Patti Callahan

The Vanderbeekers to the Rescue - Karina Yan Glaser

Such a Fun Age - Kiley Reid

October:

A Place for Us - Fatima Farheen Mirza

Always and Forever Lara Jean - Jenny Han

The Huntress of Thornbeck Forrest - Melanie Dickerson

The Beautiful Pretender - Melanie Dickerson

The Nobel Servant - Melanie Dickerson

The Healers Apprentice - Melanie Dickerson

The Crossover - Kawame Alexander

November:

The Merchants Daughter - Melanie Dickerson

Secrets - Robin Jones Gunn

The One and Only Ivan - Katherine Applegate

Windows of the Soul - Ken Gire

When Women Were Birds - Terry Tempest Williams

I'd Give Anything - Maria de los Santos

Raymie Nightengale - Kate DiCamillo  

 

Books I'm reading this Month (October)

 

The first and one that i am most excited about is Robin Jones Gunn Preparing Your Daughter for Womanhood I have read all of Robin's books and I had to have this one in my hands as soon as it was out. It could be read quickly but i am taking my time with it

A friend let by borrow Atomic Habits by James Clear and i have been trying to read a chapter a day. Trying doesn't

Books I am reading this Month (September)

 I missed August but you can see all the books that i have read this year here, or you can see all that i read in August here. (scroll to the bottom).

my son had to read this for summer reading and I just love what I have read so far. it is a fast read and I need to pick it up again and see how it ends, even though I know a little about it from conversations with my son.

every so often I take the question to the people of Facebook, "what are you reading now or what books have you read recently that you would recommend." I received a lot of really great suggestions but out of all of them this on was the first one that I started with

I have read everything by Robin Jones Gunn. I just love her so much. i pre-ordered this back BC (a friend said that is before corona, for those that may not have know) it took months to get there. i am so glad to have it in my hands and reading it.

Things I've learned this Summer

i love reflecting back to each season. it is a practice i have been trying to do, with the urging of Emily P Freemans posts. click here to follow along.....

1. trying to see my daughters questioning, ALWAYS questioning, as a way she is learning, and that it isn't always her being defiant.

2. that we can speak graciously to people even thought they don't speak that way to us

3. the sky continues to call to me and be my favorite

i look forward to seeing it in the morning and in the evening #frommysidedoor4

4. that so much changes and i am not the lover of quick change

5. i'm learning all the time, and i am almost 40. i can't expect my kids to just know something. how many time does it take me to "get it"

#givinggrace #acceptingflaws #nooneisperfect

6. It is amazing, to be present with friends and look back to where you've come from, what you remember, who you were and maybe who you still are

7. Starting a small business was never the plan. While it's isn't easy, it is fun and so very helpful and I am realizing I can do this.

There is alot that Nuskin has to offer, but i have tried to narrow down my favorite and highlight things on my site. I would love it if you checked it out.

Toothpaste

Firming Cream

Books i have read this Summer:

June:

The Gender Game-Bella Forrest

Cold Tangerines-Shauna Niequist

Keturah-Lisa Tawn Bergren

July:

Lady Clementine-Marie Benedict

Strange the Dreamer-Laini Taylor

Smoke Screen-Terri Blackstock

August:

Anne of Green Gables-L.M. Montgomery

The Ballad of Song Birds and Snakes-Suzanne Collins

The Hate U Give-Angie Thomas

Books I'm Reading this Month (July)

There are some other book that i am finishing up from last month but here are two that i am currently reading.

Books I'm reading this month (June)

 before our library officially opened up they did where you get get a grab bag. one of the categories was adult fiction. this book was one of the 10 that were in the stack and then second in the stack that i decided to tackle. i have about a fourth of the book left to read and it has been a good read. not my favorite but interesting

 my best friend told me that Audible Stories had this on there and my daughter and i have been listening to it. Rachel McAdams is so great reading it. I also purchased a copy of the book from from my sister, who sells Usborn books. This is the copy we purchased to follow along with.


i have heard how great this story is and i have had a copy of the book and couldn't think of a more prominent time to be reading this and learning.

Books I'm Reading this Month

this is becoming a regular occurrence and i am loving it. here is what i am currently reading. I wish it was going faster but i am now working full time, which i haven't done in almost 10 years so i haven't had a ton of extra time to read.

a friend of mine recommended and let me borrow this one. it is a big one and it took me about 100 pages to get into it. i think i am going to like it. i am really only 25% through at this point so i may not actually finish it until the end of June


our library was doing grab bags to get books out to people. one of the ones that i chose was a bag of fiction. out of the 10 that i got, i had only ready one of them and there was one that was by an author that i love and knew that i would read it. out of all the other ones this one was the highest voted on by friends saying that it was good and that i should read it. i am almost done and have really enjoyed it.


this one i got from my sister in law. she said it was good and i have started it but a friend of mine posted about it yesterday and raved about how great it was. i decided that maybe i needed to pick it back up and dive in.

Things I've learned this Spring....

1. That crossing things off the calander can feel like a sigh of relief. Even if those things were good things, even great things.

And then coming up on things on the calander that we missed out on, but realizing, maybe we didn't really miss out. We gained precious time.

2. That crisis schooling isn't easy but can be done. It's also not homeschooling. It was all teacher and school base lead. Sure we had to make sure it was being done, but there wasn't a lot that we were involved in once we all learned the flow.

3. My word for 2020 was ease
And I wasn't really sure what that was going to mean. And now 152 days in, I'm still not 100% sure. I do know this, that it seems like I am having to ease into different ways of life, over and over again. That doesn't always make me feel at ease, at least at first.

Books I'm Reading this Month

reading in my phone through the kindle app isn't my favorite but i have kindle unlimited for free for a bit and this book is one that i have had on my list so i have been reading through it and really enjoying it


I have read few book by Shauna Niequist. this one has been on my to read list and I came across a copy of it. I have really enjoyed it during this time. she posted on Instagram recently that this book along with her book Bittersweet for a cover make over. they look great too.


this book is being read to me on youtube by the author himself. I guess he isn't reading it specifically to me but it is a read aloud that I am really enjoying



same author, different book. I have very much liked reading through this one. I try and read a chapter at night. I may not read it every night but it is one that I read only at night.


I have been reading this one with my daughter and we have loved it. for me it I great because I know where each of these kids end up in their adult life. I smile as I am reading stories and seeing them as children

Books I'm Reading this Month

I have been reading through this beauty with my daughter. we read the first one and really loved it so she was excited when i told her there was a second one.

I picked this one up from the library on a whim. I thought it was in my to read list, but it was actually just one that i saw floating around the book world but never added it to my to read list. it was just sitting right there on the shelf waiting for someone to pick up, so i did. it has been pretty funny too.

well technically with this one it is being read to me. the author, Andrew Peterson, has been reading it on Facebook live every evening so i am following along.


and finally this lovely book.  i saw it talked about in a few places so added it to my to read list. i have had two people tell me that it is one of their favorite reads so far in 2020. i am pretty sure that i would have chosen it, if i happen to see it on a shelf in the book store becasue of the cover itself.

Today, Ruth and Troy Simons book Foundations makes its way into the world.

It is lovely and full of such beautiful truths. 

You are not going to miss out on what is between the cover of this book. 

I will be the first to tell you that i don't ever feel like i am doing this "teaching my kids about the Bible" well or the "right way" if there is even on.

We don't have regular devotion times in our home and sometimes i feel overwhelmed about how and were to start. if you are in that place too  maybe buy this book and start here.

This is where we are planning on starting in our home. As soon as we get it in the mail my plan and hope is to start working our way through it together as a family.

buy your copy here and do the same. would love to know if you plan on it and your thoughts on the book once you get started.

Things I've Learned this Winter

Linking up with Emily P Freeman for things i have learned this Winter. you can find my other posts through the the seasons here.

1. God things still amaze me.

His connections in life are just my favorite. On December 1st I started the She Reads Truth Advent study A Thrill of Hope. There was a reading called A liturgy to Mark the Start of the Christmas Season from Douglas McKelvey. I had no basis for where this was from. Some friends of ours invited us to attend the Andrews Peterson Behold the Lamb of God  20th anniversary tour. Not only did i hear a story that i have heard before on the That Sounds Fun podcast with Annie F Downs but i also recited with 100s of other people this Beautiful liturgy by Douglas McKelvey. I love how God connects the start and the end of the day with glimpsed of Him.

2. goals are good

resolutions are good

sometimes we make them and they bog us down

we can make them and keep them

i have also learned that they can be made and if they aren't kept, it is all ok

one of my 2019 goals was to read the Bible in the year. I came up 11 days short. Reading the Bible in a year is a good goal. some may even say a great one. i can choose to be disappointing that i didn't complete it, or brush it off, finish those 11 days and be thrilled that i completed reading the Bible, growing closer to God and learning new thing

3. watching archery is my new favorite.

4. making One Second Everyday videos, are my new favorite. 

5. finding things that my daughter writes is the best

I don't remember being an overly confidant child. I knew I was loved but was shy.
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I am so thankful for our church and the lessons and truths that they instill in my child. I saw this and wasn't 100% sure when or where she did it. I asked her about it this morning and she said at church, last week. I asked her if they had a mirror to look into. She said yeah and that it was fun.
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I just love this.

Books I read in December:

Noel Street-Richard Paul Evans

Books I read in January: 

Olive Kitteridge-Elizabeth Strout

Ramona's World-Beverly Clearly

The Most Fun We Ever Had-Clare Lombardo

The Noel Stranger-Richard Paul Evans

Child of Grace-Dr Chris Brown

Risen Motherhood-Emily Jensen and Laura Wifler

Mr Popper's Penguins-Richard Atwater and Florence Atwater

A Season of Grace-Lauraine Snelling

Books I read in February: 

Beholding and Becoming-Ruth Chou Simons

The Last Romantics-Tara Conklin

The Tattooist of Auschwitz-Heather Morris

The Dearly Beloved-Cara Wall