Things I've Learned This Winter

Things I've learned this winter with Emily P Freeman

1. Turning 40 wasn't any different than turning 39 or the birthday's before, but getting to spend it with my family made it so much sweeter.

2. Art and beauty comes in all forms.

Beauty doesn't have to be found in far away places. We can find it right where we are.

3. Watching my oldest run has been a highlight of our winter. 

And then, after the season, we found out that he was the fastest 7th grader in the 400 meter race in the whole state. 

It was so exciting.

4. I keep looking to the skies.

There is beauty there.

5. I love watching these two tackle new things. They have never snowboarded or been on skis (well water, but not for long) it was rocky going at first but they ended wet and cold and saying that it was so much fun.

6. Caramel always....unless it comes to apples.

Now I still love a caramel apple but years ago I had a candy apple for the first time and oh my, I wondered what I had been missing all these years.

7. Snow days are the best.

We came from a mini vacation, where we had one day of snow, to home where we were iced in and then snowed in. it was a welcome break and recovery (even from a short vacation) 

8. For my 40th birthday my sister gave me a box filled with letters from people who have been part of my life through the years. (i cried of course) and have since read every single one of them. This photo came from my cousin, who passed away on February 18th. this is what I know: we shared photos of the odd temperatures where we lived, we laughed about food stuff, we talked about how awesome our grandparents are (and how much we love them and know they love us) and we looked to the sky. He was a force and a joy. I am thankful that he was family and that I know I will see him again.

9. Ending the month/season serving puts things in perspective and makes going into the next one so much better. it was joy to serve with our church and help to make jam with a mission partner that our church has. 

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

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.

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

Things I've Learned this Fall

want to participate in what you have learned this fall? hop on over to Emily P Freeman's blog and link up there.

1. Podcasts are my new favorite
some that i have been listening too this fall are:
The Next Right thing by Emily P Freemen
That Sounds Fun by Annie F Downs
Correct Options by Trey Kennedy

Which ones do you listen to?

2. Tea and Downton Abbey with friends is fabulous
My friend Kelly and I decided to host a tea before a group of us went to see the movie. It was such a fun time of treat and chatting with these ladies about all kinds of things. I am so glad we did this. 

3. Sunsets have become my favorite.
There has been so many amazing skies this fall. 
Here are a few:

4. my kids say the best and sweetest stuff. usually right after we had some rough moments. i don't have a for instance but just know that it does happen and it is the sweetest.

5. I'm not the only one who doesn't buy school pictures.

I posted this photo on my Instagram with the caption: Just curious....does anyone acutually order school pictures? 
There was alot of talk about school pictures and two people admitted to me now being alone in the NOT ordering school picture. Most of the time my kids are still pretty cute in the picture, it's just that the picture quality itself is awful. the one time i decided to buy the CD of the photo was when my oldest had a special photo taken in 5th grade because the next year he was going to be in 6th, new school, middle school. It was like a "graduation" type picture. It was terrible. not just the quality but my typically cute kid looked bad and the photographer didn't fix his collar. 

6.Sometimes days don't go as expected and that's ok. they can still be beautiful.

This was on my Instagram from this season: Today didn't go anything like I expected. Honestly I didn't have to many expectations but get the tiny humans to school, get to work, get them home safely and go on a date with my hubby.
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An hour after her lunch period I realized that today was thanksgiving lunch at the school. This is the second to last year that I will get to have lunch with her for Thanksgiving or really any time and I missed it. 
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I cried a few tears for sure. Tonight we chatted about the day. She didn't seem as torn up about me missing as much as I was, only that she was one of the final three standing in the spelling bee and only the final 2 get to advance, she was the 3rd to last.
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I could have cried even more tears for her. Tears of sadness that she didn't advance as much as she had hoped, even though we didn't practice a single one, even though I had high hopes of practicing some with her, And tears of joy that my girl, was THE THIRD PERSON STANDING and had not studied one single word.
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Best laid plans. Sometimes not #andyschoolthanksgivinglunch NOT #butjustassweet

Books Read in September:
Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, Deborah Biancotti 
Catching Christmas by Terri Blackstock
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
Parkland by Dave Cullen
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
Against All Grain by Danielle Walker
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
A Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly
Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Books Read in October:
Where the Crawdads Sing by Deila Owens
Unmarriagable by Soniah Kamal
Inheritance by Dani Shapiro
Educated by Tara Westover
I Think You're Wrong (but I'm Listening) by Sarah Steward Holland and Beth A Silvers
The Starless Sea by Erin Morganstern

Things I've Learned this Summer

1. after listening to 10 Things to tell you podcast #15 and watching Jamie B Golden's instagram stories on skincare, i decided to add this little bottle to my beauty regmine. There is alot that i was doing right and some that i needed to tweak and add. this being one of them. June 11th; Flagship Vitamin C.

2. I can grow things. I mean we have blueberry bushes and they have been relatively easy and i have a few indoor plants but i planted some zinnias from seeds around our mail box and they grew and bloomed and are so pretty.

3. I really missed camping. our last camping trip was April of 2018. we took the kids in June and had the best time. we did another white water rafting trip with the kids. you can see our first one here.

4. going on vacation with friends is so fun. why have we not done this more often?

5. I learn new things about my kids every day.
Unknowns can be scary. Little Girl is usually ready for an adventure and excited about life. She was quite a bit more nervous that we expected her to be. New Grade, New Teacher (like brand new to the school) 

6. That I am a enneagram 6. I took a test that told me i was but took another test that told me i was a 2w1. Then a friend mentioned Annie F Downs Podcast, That Sounds Fun and then enneasummer that she was doing. If you haven't listened to them and want to start, scroll down to one that has Suzanne Stabile. They were so good. One thing Suzanne Stabile says is that she doesn't really like the tests. she would suggest you reading about all of the enneagram numbers and then seeing what resonates with you or even more importantly what makes you feel uncomfortable. I read about #2 and #6 a bunch and the more i did, the more i leaned towards #6 being correct. I think i am a 6 wing 5. I plan on reading the book, The Road Back to You and then The Path Between Us. I just know that i want to have the time to read them and no other non-fiction in my presence to do it.

7. to plan my summer reading. a completely different friend, than the one above who mentioned the enneasummer podcast, told me about The Lazy Genius Collective Podcast-Summer Stack (episode #110). Where she mentioned that she had to make sure to plan her reading. Mine started with going through some books on my Goodreads account and looking at my to read lists and then taking some recommendations from Anne Bogel's book lists. This is what i started out as what i wanted to read this summer.

Books read in June:
Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Once Upon a River by Dianne Setterfield
You are Free by Rebekah Lyons
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson

Books read in July:
Two Weeks by Karen Kingsbury
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
The Forgotten Road by Richard Paul Evans
To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han
Reading People by Anne Bogel
Beholding and Becoming by Ruth Chou Simons


Books read in August:
The River by Peter Heller
Class Mom by Laurie Gelman
The Road Home by Richard Paul Evans
Field Notes on Love by Jennifer E Smith
The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise-Dan Gemeinhart (this one i started reading to Little girl in July and we finished it this month)
A Love Letter Life-Jeremy and Audrey Roloff
Things You Save in a Fire- Katherine Center

Things I've Learned this Spring

Things i've learned this spring with Emily P Freeman

1. It's quite possible that my husband know more about Disney World that i ever will. We recently started watching Victoria and before we got to the episod where she marries Albert, we obviously  know she does, #history
he hops over to Disney's site and pulls up the restaurant Victoria and Albert's and claims it's the most expensive restaurant in Disney. I didn't even know it was a restaurant in Disney at all.

2. Speaking of Victoria:  This series........i wasn't thrilled to watch it, to start with but it has given me all the feels. Can we just veg and watch them all?
These two 

and then these two. 

3. I can handle crazy times and decisions when half of my heart is out of the country and things get nuts.

4. Making house remodel decisions was not something i wanted to be doing this season of life. especially because almost, exactly 2 years ago, we completed a kitchen remodel. but when water damages things, it has to happen, whether we like it or not.

5. Maybe I'm not okay with the fact that my son is going to middle school next year. How did we go from this, my first glimpse of him

to this?

6. I miss dance so very much. My daughter had her first dance recital and while she was only in one dance, the whole production was amazing. I just loved dance.

7. having most of our family together is so much fun. We went ahead and did a combined birthday party for the kids over Memorial Day weekend. I asked my parents to bring up crawfish and a king cake and we had a New Orleans themed party. It was a great time. We did a crawfish boil for Little Girls very first birthday and so this was fitting. It was a weekend of celebrating. 

Books read in March:
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
I'd Rather be Reading by Anne Bogel
Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah Maas
Disenchanted by Heide Goody and Iain Grant
Saving Lucas Biggs by Marisa de los Santos and David Teague
When We Were Young by Karen Kingsbury
The Next Right Thing by Emily P Freeman

Books read in April: 
In Conclusion, Don't Worry About It by Lauren Graham
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
The Ensemble by Aja Gabel
Every Breath by Nicholas Sparks
Autumn by Ali Smith
Best Family Ever by Karen Kingsbury
The Next Right Thing by Emily P Freeman (AGAIN)

Books read in May;
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield
The Promise of Dawn by  Lauraine Snelling
Point of View by Elizabeth Hasslebeck
A Breath of Hop by Lauraine Snelling
Becoming Us by Robin Jones Gunn