Monday, January 30, 2017

Finding Joy

How do you find Joy on the hard days?  What small things rekindle it in your heart?  I feel like this is something many of my friends and myself have been dealing with this winter.  So I thought I would write out small ways I have been doing this, to remind myself now and sometime in the future when I have yet again forgotten.

First I fill my diffuser with happy oils
I research ideas for my preschool class and try them out with the kiddos or I have quiet time with God and ask him to show me the Joy in my life
 Which I then journal about, or list things to be grateful for or even instagram a picture (little things like hummingbirds at my feeder, sunshine through the window, dreams of my summer garden....)
If that doesn't work its time to join the kids in play.
Phone calls with JoJo
New stretching poses and exercise with O
Building planes from trash with Ferd
And everyone's favorite, ridiculous snap chat faces!
 And last but not least, photo shots with these adorable faces!

What are your go to Joy seekers? Exercise, stretching, chatting with friends a good book? 

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

well Hello again

After our move to CO I pretty much stopped blogging, life got hectic, the computer was in an strange place and I just let it go, pretending like Facebook was enough. But now that we have been in WA for almost a year, the baby is almost two and the computer is accessible, I though it was time to start keeping track of life again.  I can sit in my bedroom, next to the window, watch the wind blow the trees in our backyard and spill life onto the page, what could be better then that?

Life with four little people is so much fun (crazy, challenging, hard, nutty, but fun).  They are at the age of wonder and joy in life, in the world, in God. Its amazing to watch and hard to answer all the questions.  It seems we are constantly on the go, mostly forget to snap pictures and trying hard to please and help so many little people all the time.  Things (and sometimes people) slip through the cracks but out kids have become good at reminding us that they aren't happy in said cracks, lol.

Christmas this year was magical and holy.  The kids believe with all their might, they love the stories of baby Jesus and St Nick and they love keeping and sharing surprises.  I could not have asked for a better Christmas and I think Matt would say the same.

As we adjust to life here in the Pacific Northwest, the mountains and beach call us constantly.  Orson loves to visit the city and every one of us love having Grandparents and family near by.  Matt and I even got away for an overnight on our 10th anniversary.

Our new house is big enough for me to craft and bake in and I am loving exploring sourdough and gluten free baking, creating blends with essential oils and making Christmas/Advent crafts and Catholic Saint peg dolls.

Matt is with a new company and spends quiet a lot of time commuting all the way out to Nike headquarters most days but he loves the job and enjoys all the new challenges it is bringing him.

Orson is in 2nd grade and the middles are in pre-k together at an awesome outdoor school.  Jo Jo wants to go so bad but she has another year till she is old enough.  We have settled into routines and adventures.

Its been so long that I decided to upload random pictures from the last year and not even try to make them fit into the narrative.  Its so amazing to watch these little people grow and flourish.