Talk to you Soon

I am officially on my way to Michigan.

No laundry. No dishes. No daily chores.

Just me and my family and a mini-van full of excitement.

We will only be gone for a couple of days but I plan on soaking up every. single. second.

Have a happy and blessed Monday, my friends.

Talk to you soon.

Five Minute Friday: True

She kept her true self hidden behind the layers of self-doubt and discouraging ideas that over the years had convinced her that when discovered, she would not be enough.

Standing in the corner she watched as her fears swirled and danced and laughed through the center of the room, stealing her dream to wear a crown and be the princess that she had always longed to be. They taunted her from afar, whispering behind masks the familiar lies disguised as truths: smart, pretty, funny, brave, strong - you will never be enough.

The tears build at the corner of her eyes as the fears attempt to take hold at the center of her soul. She is shaken but she will not be broken and defeated by the voices, the fear. Breathing deep, she lifts her head high, straightens her crown, and allows her true-self to shine through.

A silence surrounds her as the fears that once danced and laughed scatter into dark corners, her voice echoes, strong and bold, through-out the room: I am enough.

It's a Hard-Knock Life

I'm here to tell you today that life is not always easy. Sometimes even the smallest, most trivial things can drag us down.

Things like laundry and dishes and a dirty house. Things like your husband leaving his clothes piled on the floor and muddy boot prints across your newly mopped floor and paying more attention to his friends instead of you for an evening. Things like a teething baby and a defiant toddler and a mouthy teenager.

Life happens, and while life is what we all hope and wish for, sometimes life just feel like too much.

It's okay.

You are not alone. We all come to that point from time to time. We all have days that seemingly never end and moments where it all just feels extraordinarily overwhelming.

Breathe deep, pick up the pieces, and move on.

Tomorrow is a new day; a fresh start. You are not stuck in the mess of days that are just too much.

You are free.

Free to start over, free to make better decisions, free to apologize, free to ask for help, free to cry it out, free to smile and laugh and face each difficult day with your head held high.

Focus on the better days. Life is too short, too wonderful, to be spent in the corner crying about things that we cannot change.

Life is a celebration. 

Celebrate every moment, good and bad, for the lessons and blessings that they bring.

Five Minute Friday: She

She falls from grace on a weekly, daily, hourly basis. With a deep sigh and a heavy heart, she pulls herself back into the presence of the only One who can take her broken mess and turn it back into the beautiful whole that He meant it to be.  Patiently she waits while He pieces the tiny parts back together, needle and thread working diligently as the healing washes over her time and time again. He whispers sweet words of love, deep and unending, encouragement, and hope as the arms that support the world wrap themselves around her, just her, and remind her that she is really this special. Tears of thankfulness and joy creep down her face as this grace overcomes all that she is.

She walks away with her head held high, ready to fight another week, day, hour. He knows that she will fall again, that she will fail again, that she will return to Him with the broken pieces, exhausted, tired, full of grief and regret, and yet He smiles at her as she walks away. He smiles because this is His daughter and He sees her heart and how it longs to please Him. He will mend and shape and allow her this love and grace as long as it takes because she is really this special, and He really loves her this much.

Potty Training - To Be or Not to Be?

Oh Henry, you are something son. I was all ready just to say that you weren't ready quite yet, throw your diapers on you, and move on today when you woke up, went straight to your potty and went pee.

Good job buddy!

You completely surprised me because yesterday, I was sure you were going to hurt yourself holding things in for so long. I watched you squirm and dance and downright refuse to pee on the potty to the point where you were standing in the middle of the kitchen practically shaking, holding a diaper in one hand (that I had refused to put on you), and pointing to your potty prize box with the other. When you could no longer hold it and started to pee on the floor, it upset you so much that you then proceeded to hold it again. You filled the sink with pee about 10 minutes later when I was giving you a bath and then didn't pee again until you had already fallen asleep and I finally put a diaper on you for bed. I had to change your diaper again because you absolutely soaked in within about 15 minutes.

I felt so bad but I also felt like we were at the edge of a break through. Clearly you know that it's not okay to pee in your pants or on the floor but you are just not excited about sitting on that potty.

We will see how today goes. I don't want to force you to do anything you're not quite ready for. I love you little man, and I'm so proud of the progress you have made so far. It's okay not to be ready yet, we have plenty of time to move on to this next stage, okay? I love you.

Do The Potty Dance

I have more days off this week than usual so I decided it would be a good time to start tackling potty training. We have day one under out belts and it's been...something. Henry has done fairly well, but I won't lie and say that it hasn't been exhausting. I've spent most of my day sitting on the floor next to him trying to convince him that it won't be excruciating to sit on the potty for just two more minutes or one more time.

He's been waking up completely dry after sleeping all night and at nap times, so we started our morning first thing on the potty. He went first thing and was so excited to flush it down and rinse out the bowl. About 45 minutes later we tried again and he went again. I was so proud of him and so happy that we had such a great start. The rest of the day was challenging. I managed to get him to go twice more before nap time with two accidents. He never once told me he had to go, but I started to pick up on a few little ques that told me he needed to. I put a diaper on him for a nap and he immediately filled it with number 2, I think he was holding it. After his nap, he woke up dry once again. I put him on the potty and he didn't go. I let him run around naked for about 15 minutes and then I put him on it again, and again, he didn't go. I put his underwear on him and he helped me start dinner. I noticed he was squirming quite a bit so I put him on the potty and STILL he wouldn't go! Five minutes later I noticed that his underwear were a little wet but not soaked. I changed him and put him back on the potty, again, no luck. Not even two minutes later I noticed that his new underwear were just a little wet again. It was frustrating because then dinner was done and it was time to eat. I put him on the potty, he didn't go, and threw a diaper on him so we could eat in peace. I think he is holding it and then just going enough to where the training pants aren't soaked and uncomfortable, but still wet.

I'm afraid this is going to be quite the challenge.

Tomorrow we are going to my grandmother's which is almost an hour drive. I'm hoping I can get him to go right before we leave, throw a towel in his car seat, and see how he does in the car. If he wets himself, maybe it will do him good to have to sit in it for a few minutes until I can stop and change him so he can really feel how uncomfortable it is. Who knows?!

Wish me luck as we embark on this journey! Does anyone have any tips or tricks to help the process along?

Five Minute Friday: Mercy

Mercy.

Forgiveness.

Love.

Hope.

Mercy.

I've spent a good deal of my day thinking about the word 'mercy' and what it means to me. I've sat and thought about the amazing grace that is mercy and the hope that is mercy and the love that is mercy and the forgiveness that is mercy, and still, I can't seem to gather my thoughts and type words (even for five minutes) that would give mercy the credit that mercy deserves.

My life would be an endless hole of despair and doubt and every other bad and negative thing that your mind could imagine without mercy.

Mercy is second, third, fourth chances.
Mercy is hope when hope is seemingly impossible to be found.
Mercy is endless love, the kind of love that has no limits or expectations or doubt.
Mainly, mercy is completely and utterly undeserving, given freely and without expectations in receiving anything back.

Mercy may be one of the only true and selfless and love-filled action, thing, feeling, that exists in this world.

This is mercy to me and still, I feel as if I've let mercy down. When I think of the mercy that has been granted on my life, my soul, I am simply left speechless.