Favorite photos of 2014

I am planning on going through all of my photos this year and getting some printed and turned into books. With all of the photos that I've taken, I have almost none up at my house. And there are so many that I love, I should have started this years ago. But, there is no time like the present-- I guess this is my traditional new years resolution. Print more photos. So here are a few of them that made me laugh or gave me warm fuzzies while I was going through them!

Lamby has shown up in almost all of our photos!

These two have grown up since the first time we were all toghether. 

And these two who have such a sweet friendship!

These cub scouts and their crazy antics!

A frozen lake with our beloved Bon-bon.

Exploring creativity from new angles.

Winter hikes on warmer days!

Summer road trips!

Lamby in a Yoda costume!

The weekend before we opened the coffee shop. 

Quiet mornings. 

Write down who you are...

This may just look like our cozy little coffee station. A home for our electric Hario pot, cone coffee dripper, hand thrown mugs and Old Factory Coffee Beans. And it is, it does a fine job, but if you look closer, you'll see something that is much more important.

The chalkboard above tells more of our story than this little nook of heaven ever could. When we started our Family Meetings last year, it was out of near desperation to draw the four of us back together. We put out a big piece of poster board and we wrote down things we needed to remember on a daily basis-- we wrote down our rituals for living.

We chose things we wanted to be about. We chose guiding themes for what was important. We talked about or values. Then we wrote them down and put them up so we would be held accountable, by each other and by every person who steps foot in our house.

I encourage you to take time to find out who your family is and write down your values. It guides us toward who we should be every day.

Weekending

This weekend was the most wonderful mix of relaxing and hard work. Good conversations and great coffee. And of course, Halloween candy!

We started the weekend off super pumped for Trick or Treating. The kids jumped off the bus ready to get into their costumes. We drove over to pick up milk for the shop, they had to be in full regalia. They wanted to trick or treat by themselves but only made it a few houses away from us, but they loved the idea of being on their own. We ended the night with take out and the Great Pumpkin with our favorite friends.

On Saturday Eric woke up super early and worked at the shop and I took my regular afternoon shift.  

It gave me plenty of time to hang out with the kids and reinstate our ritual Sketchbook Saturday Morning. The kids reveled in their jammies: painting, playing, reading and hanging around. It was thrilling-- it had been a long time since we'd taken an at home day. We finished the day off together, snuggled up on the couch watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. 

Today, we woke up early and enjoyed our extra hour. We went off to church and spent the afternoon having great conversations with the Room for All community at the shop. What a joy to be exploring inclusive community and becoming a safe place for ALL.

I hope you had a lovely weekend as well! Did you do anything fun?

Welcome Home

She grabbed my face between her soft hands and said, almost sternly, "Welcome Home."

Her exclamation summed up everything my heart felt. It had been so long since we had gone out to fly kites. It'd been forever since we laid with our backs on dewy evening grass and looked at the clouds pass. And here she was, laying stomach to stomach, face to face, pronouncing her little greeting, blessing and benediction.

Welcome Home.

In the last month, I've completely changed my daily life. I left my Fortune 500 company job as an Art Director to embrace the daily living that I'm meant to have now.

I felt like I had been living a double life-- deeply trying to find balance and rhythm in our home, but fighting for the illusiveness of time everywhere else. "Gotta do more, gotta be more" felt like a runaway train. So, I chose to disembark.

So here I am, barely a month of newness under my belt. I'm practicing healing. I'm embracing the life that is right here.

I'm choosing to reclaim wonder. I'm carefully putting my heart back together. Loving my husband and children, loving our little house and our rhythm.

I'll be here more often too. I feel like I've come home on so many levels.

Be a JOYfilled Mom!

This summer, I decided… my word would be participation. I would no longer be the mom on the sidelines.

There is so much JOY in participating! Pave your life in stones of DOING!

Throw being ‘cool’ or ‘refined’ out of your vocabulary.

Jump in pools with your kids.
Wear an Ironman mask and play light sabers in the front yard.
Throw water balloons and get really wet!
Go on a walk to pick up discarded sticks, bark and recycling for a fairy house.
Skip.
Jump.
Love.
Dance in the kitchen.
Stay up late and watch movies on the couch with your kids.

And go kiss your husband. IN PUBLIC!

I promise you.

Your life will feel a bit lighter, a bit brighter and you’ll be JOYful too!

All because of Origami: Adversity Breeds Hope

Isabel couldn't fold an origami crane last night and she got frustrated. Tears, big tears. Then she looked up a video on youtube and she couldn't hear what they were saying. More tears. And anger.

"Why don't you just do this for me?" She asked, choking on frustration.

"I don't want to take all the hard things from you, my job is to help you deal with the frustration as you figure out your own problems."

Last weekend, we were learning how to fish and the same type of issue. She is used to things coming easy for her, she's naturally coordinated-- in most things. It took her a long time to understand how to coordinate her hands to cast.

Folding an origami crane or casting out a fishing line are not true hardships like poverty, addiction or any of the world’s problems. But, making small steps in our own personal lives help us learn how to deal with larger issues.  Resolve to finish something you started is important. Knowing the depth of your intellect and the depth of your capabilities is important.

I want my kids to know that they are capable. That they can take care of themselves. And that they can finish a project, even if it is an origami crane.

"If one of my kids is struggling, it feels excruciating to let them go to school and figure it out for themselves. Hope is a function of struggle. People with the highest hopefulness have the knowledge that they can move through adversity. When we take adversity from our children, we diminish their capacity for hope." Brene Brown

What's in Store for the Weekend: Home Style

When Isabel woke up this morning, she asked me what we had planned for tonight and I said, "nothing!"

"And in the morning?"

"Nothing"

"And on Sunday?"

"Nothing!"

It was quite unbelieveable to me too.

But we do have quite a few things planned. But they are all based out of our cozy little home.

We will probably have Sketchbook Saturday Morning, but we'll be around our own table. In our jammies.

I am going to make a few of these awesome and easy fabric baskets.

I will be watching a drawing class from the uber-talented Lisa Congdon.  

We'll walk to our local fair-trade store for some equal exchange coffee.

I'll be making wedding gifts for my little sister! So exciting.

A big pot of Abondigas soup, meatballs and veggies in a beautiful bone broth.

I'll be investigating fermenting Green Tea and Honey.

And I'll start this little project, small but smart knitting!

Isabel has been begging for carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. Or maybe, a gluten free version of this is in order. 

Maybe, I'll finish reading the Perks of Being a Wallflower, I'm almost done!

I hope you have a happy weekend! I am sure we will!

A Wintery Evening

On Thursday the 2nd the kids got home from their first day back at school after the holidays and we were all a bit antsy. I was so glad that I had prepped dinner the night before: quinoa cooked in chicken broth and pan drippings after we baked a chicken.

After work and school, we came home and popped dinner into the oven, rushed into our snow gear and headed out for our favorite trail.

We caught the last few minutes of sunshine, watched the sunset and then fade into a deep winter blue.







Izzo meditatively drew circles like an organic labyrinth into the crunchy snow. As we walked along she asked if we could have our own time on the trail. So the "ladies" are going to take a winter picnic out to the trail sometime this weekend. Even if it just is a thermos of hot chocolate and a quiet walk for the two of us.



We arrived home to the most delicious smell our simple dinner was welcoming to our freezing hands--quinoa with chicken, mushrooms and peas. And we finished our night with a sweet treat, gluten free oven s'mores. A gooey ending to a perfect evening.

Occupied

On Christmas day, I found all of us, busy with something that needed our attention.  I got a glimpse of our future and I think I like it.

Alone and focused, but very together.

All is Calm, All is Bright

Every year, we choose a guiding theme for the upcoming year, usually I take the theme from a Christmas carol and use it on our Christmas card, but I try to keep it in the forefront of my mind as we live out our daily lives. 

For 2013, I chose All is Calm and All is Bright. 

It seemed fitting, because who doesn't want to be calm, quiet and full of light? 

Unbeknownst to me our guiding theme became my mantra as we passed through some of the darkest times of our family life and marriage. And claim those words as glorious truth through some of the most adventurous and beautiful times in our family life and marriage. 

I read recently though I can't remember where, that adversity gives birth to hope. Without struggling through adversity, you can be left with an unshakeable hopelessness. And though, I don't know about unshakeable hopelessness, I do know that our hard fought adversity has indeed given birth to hope. And more than that we are now thriving. 

We've learned a lot. Basically, practice radical honesty, ask for help when you need it, take a step back and seek out the good and the beautiful in life. Even if it seems like nothing is beautiful. Be on the watch for it, it will find you. 

And this all sounds trite and hocus-pocus, but looking back on this year, I wouldn't trade any ounce of it, because of the place we're in now.

And remarkably, as we enter 2014. We're entering it Calm & Bright.

So we chose for this years theme, Repeat the Sounding Joy.

Because, we could all use a joyful year to recuperate. (Hows that for honesty!?)

This Moment: On the Street Where You Live

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Joining Soulemama