Day Twenty-Two: Creating Home (Filled with Friendship)

I really keep thinking when am I going to
write about the "things" that fill our homes,
that make a house OUR HOME??

Every day, I think today is the day I will post
about my Starbucks Cup, my Yellow Plastic Cups
or my fetish with tables--
but alas,
each day, I find myself writing about other STUFF-
stuff that's NOT STUFF at all!

Well here I am again,
writing a post on the "WHO & the HEART" of a home,

rather than the "WHAT" of a home!

My kids and I leave to join my husband in Texas in 7 days,
one week from Tomorrow.
So last Saturday and tonight,
I have played hostess to my kids and their friends
bidding fond farewells to their friends and our neighbors!

And emotion has filled my heart-

this is the hardest move I have ever had to make
and my heart is full of GRATITUDE for the life
we have had here,
short as it has been.

Entertaining has always been an important part of
our lives.

Each time we have bought a house, we have worked
hard to have a home fit for Entertaining.
When we moved to this house,
I was a little concerned about the ability to
host a large number of people in our home.
And for awhile, I kind of didn't invite at all.

But I will tell you, that our house just didn't feel
like a HOME until we started opening it up
to those we love most,
and to to those we hardly know at all.

When we opened our house up,
for dinners,

for parties,

or just plain fun

it became a HOME!

I think a lot of different thoughts can keep us from
opening our hearts and our homes up to those around us.
We might think our house isn't big enough,
or nice enough,
or that we don't cook well enough!

We might think there is nothing unique to offer,
we may be afraid to open our hearts to rejection
or we might wonder why someone would want to
share their time with us!

So many reasons,
so many negative fantasies;
all of them NOT TRUE!

I promise you that when you open your home
(and your heart) to
FRIENDSHIP,
no one cares what is on the table,
what kind of clothes you wear,
or how many bedrooms and bathrooms
your home has-
what they care about is how they leave your
HOME feeling better about themselves,
better about life,
and feeling a whole lot of LOVE & KINDNESS!

And that,
my friends
is what makes a house a HOME!

Day Twenty-One: Creating Home (Unity)

Quite a while ago,
my husband and I kept receiving the same counsel
over &
over &
over!
It was wise counsel, from a reputable source,
but counsel we didn't really understand!

The advice was simple-
Peace & Harmony in married life rests with UNITY!
It's a nice saying, but we ARE Unified,

Aren't We???

I filed this advice away as a handy saying
rather than pondering and processing the message-
let alone applying the advice to my life.

Well a few months later,
I was at a Women's Conference and a husband and wife
were standing side by side discussing the value of
UNITY in family life-
more specifically
to Married Couples.
So much of what they shared hit deep in my heart,
but the one thing that really struck me hard was
"Don't ever make any decision until both of you
are sure of the decision to be made. If one of you
feels uncertain, uncomfortable or in any way unsure-
than nothing is to be done until you BOTH are ready
to move forward."
This is the UNITY that we were missing in our lives.

In our marriage, we are really good at moving forward
if one of us feels good, but we don't always
(ok, we rarely)
wait to make decisions until we BOTH feel ready!
This has gotten us into trouble and has probably been
one of our biggest sources of contention in our home.
When something goes wrong or sticky,
it is easy for one person to take the blame
(self imposed or given)
or one person to feel like the decision could have been better.
So for this upcoming move and the huge decisions that have come
before and will come after this move,
we have determined to be 100% unified!

Today, I had the glimpse of just how important Unity is
and how helpful it can be in marriage & family life-
HOME!!!

My husband and I were talking about some of the challenges
that we are up against with this move.
I was questioning the trials that seem to come daily and asked,
"Is there any way we are making a BIG mistake??"
My husband replied with a very soothing voice,
"I am not worried at all, but we won't take another step until
we both feel ready."
Not much later in the conversation, I revealed a very unexpected
but comforting thought that had come into my mind this morning
as I was searching some scriptures for some comfort.
My husband said,
"I actually had that exact same thought this morning too"

Now I know that this may not seem like a miracle to anyone
but me!
But this was huge.
Normally,
he would have told me all the reasons why this thought couldn't
possibly play out, I would have lost hope
and more important,
not even let my faith grasp hold of this possible
merciful miracle.
And I would have felt a little angry at him
(ok, probably a lot of angry)

But our efforts at UNITY, I think,
really paid off in this situation.

We are scared, but we are scared TOGETHER!
We have faith, and we have faith TOGETHER!
We will cry, but we will cry TOGETHER!

Life can be long,
Life can be rewarding,
but one thing is for certain,
Life is meant to be lived TOGETHER!
** which means UNIFIED,
AS ONE!

Day Twenty: Creating Home (Gratitude)

We are exactly ten days to our move-
I actually didn't realize that this 31 day journey,
would take me all the way through our planning
& departure for our new home!
Strange how that worked out.

Well the past few weeks have been a MAJOR
Roller Coaster Ride of emotion;
doubt,
fear,
anxiety,
excitement,
hope,
potential...

But we've had some days that the coaster of life
has taken more sharp turns into dark tunnels
and deep, bottomless drops than I was expecting.

It's been a bit hard!
Well,
last night,
after I spent a full day in an attempted pity party,
I dusted my pants off,
hung up my phone,
and took a quick inventory of the past 22 years of my life.

It was pretty clear that I have let stress,
take over my joy and happiness!
That I have let fear,
take over miracles!
And that I have let worry,
take over faith!

So I started to take a GRATITUDE inventory-
it got long fast!
I thought of all the great joys, mercies and blessings
I have received in my life.
To some they may not seem amazing,
but for every joy I listed,
I found GRATITUDE!
For every mercy I realized had been extended,
I found GRATITUDE!
And for every blessing I counted,
I felt immersed in GRATITUDE!

Are you detecting a theme??
Find the blessing,
Find the GRATITUDE-
and than make sure you share this GRATITUDE
with others,
so they can be actively searching for the
Gratitude's in their own lives.

Day Nineteen: Creating Home (JOurneY)

I love quotes-
I love sayings-
I love when words can create a feeling
or can inspire your heart and soul

There are a ton of quotes about a JOURNEY

and I love them all,
I love this Yoga quote as well

Yoga is not about touching your toes; 

it is about what you learn on the way down.
  
One thing that really helps me keep a healthy attitude during a trial
is that I have a huge fear of getting to the pot of gold
at the end of the rainbow,
basking in the glory & beauty of all that gold
and realizing I have complained the entire time
I was traveling on the rainbow!


It is important to me, 
to look for the good in ALL that 
life has to offer,
the goods,
the bads 
and definitely the uglies!


Just remember that there is 
JOY in your JOurneY

I think it is best if I keep that in mind as I am getting ready to start on my new JOurneY!

Day Eighteen: Creating Home (Watch for Angels)

Because I am feeling a little down tonight,
and a lot confused at so many things right now,
I am going to go out on a limb and
be a little spiritual-
So I hope that you can feel what is in my heart,
and hear my message with joy.

My husband and I have made a difficult decision,
but what makes the decision even harder is that
we are just BARELY recovering from our
previous difficult decision!
So because our previous wounds are still
so fresh and the scars are still apparent,
I think we are a little more apprehensive than
we normally are!
And this makes me a bit uncomfortable!!

We were talking a few nights ago,
and I made a comment that I just needed
an ANGEL to hold my hand while we were pushing through.
Instantly, I was reminded of an amazing experience I had
this summer with my churches youth group.
For the Full Story, Read Here

It is on my mind again tonight,
as I am grasping for any kind of understanding
and direction and
I am praying for nothing short of a miracle.
I never want to forget how I felt this day,
and right now, all I can do is keep my eyes
out for those ANGELS that have been
briefed on my exact struggle,
made aware of my weakenesses,
and shown the exact location that I
will physically and spiritually NOT
be able to push forward on my own-
because at that moment,
THEY will be there to push me forward,
let me breathe,
regain some strength,
and push on some more-

P.S. I didn't say anything that I think it will get easy :(

Day Seventeen: Creating Home (Intention)

I am in a yoga stretch right now,
maybe it is because I am going to miss
the yoga teachers I've had here in So-Cal
really badly, so I am just eating up every word they say!

So please bare with me :)

In yoga class,
we start out with some kind of quieting exercise.
Something that lets us leave our cares aside and
send them out the door!
Than we set an INTENTION for our workout.
Really this can be anything that we may need from
our practice that day-
calm, peace, love, patience-
these are a few that I seem to want all the time.

Well, I think that in CREATING HOME,
setting an intention is just as important.
Sometimes we wake up,
get carried away by ______________
(You fill in the blank, but we all know what I mean)
and before we know it,
it is time to make dinner and we feel like
Nothing Got Done,
at least Nothing of Value
and we end the day feeling a bit of Nothing!

My advice is to CREATE a clear INTENTION for your day.
Doing this can be a powerful tool in CREATING the HOME
you desire most.
Choose a one sentence intention for your day.
It can be as SIMPLE as deciding to do one thing at a time,
or making three healthy meals-
or it can be something as GRAND
as getting married or
completely revamping your personal cookbook-
Say your intention out loud in one simple sentence,
and then follow it.

When you make a clear INTENTION for your day,
you are taking control of your journey,
rather than drifting off on a dead end street!

Day Sixteen: Creating Home (Forgiveness)

*** I just realized I goofed up my "scheduled posts", you'll get an influx tonight ***

As a mom,
I have in my mind certain behaviors or mistakes that I can tolerate,
and wait for my family members to grow out of.
And there are things that I don't think I handle too well-
And than there are situations that I dread EVER happening
to our family or home life.

This summer, we had one of those "Dreaded Situations".
I am here to declare,
loud and proud,
that the night of discovery did NOT look pretty in our home!!
I handled it exactly how I imagined I would
in my wildest nightmares!!
Again, let's repeat,
it wasn't pretty--

But about 15 minutes into the carnage,
I miraculously stepped back from my own emotion,
and looked at the situation with a broader perspective
(I seem to use that word a lot)
I did what every good family counselor advises against,
and I said "Let's go to bed and resolve this in the morning"

Oh sometimes disobedience is best. So to bed we went,
and the next morning it didn't look so bad at all.

I determined that I would exercise some restraint on lecturing
and let natural consequences be the most significant teacher
for this situation.
I learned a lot from this situation-
I learned to see a daughter of mine,
as a daughter of God,
and I got to truly experience what Godly forgiveness
feels like from His perspective.
I didn't realize how stepping back allowed me to
truly see the beauty and goodness in the child
who had just made a bad choice.
It wasn't life threatening, or even eternally harmful,
but it was a decision that worldly eyes
would have seen tarnish,
but Heavenly Eyes saw growth!
I hope that we don't have to do this again,
BUT I am so grateful that I got to experience
the true gift that FORGIVENESS at home
offers to both the forgiven and the forgiver.

Try to step away from hurt or pride or anger
and just truly FORGIVE in your home-
it is an amazing gift.

Day Fifteen: Creating Home (Simple Mantra)

**** I don't know how I goofed up my "scheduled posts", so sorry, you'll get bombarded tonight *****

I went to a Relaxation/Meditation Yoga class a few nights ago,
which I loved!
But I also FAILED miserably- because I couldn't RELAX!
But at the end of class,
as I was really getting irritated,
(not what you should be feeling during RELAXATION YOGA!!)
Miss Dani  gave us a relaxation mantra.

I think it is good advice for CREATING HOME.
I hope that as you think of the words,
you will find a way to implement these thoughts
into the in's and out's of your HOME & FAMILY

Accept the Pain,
Cherish the Joys,
Savor the Memories &
Resolve the Regrets

Doesn't that just sum life up in four little lines??
It just gives me a little something to put things in perspective-
and there's a lot of time that is all I need

The Joy's always seem to ease the pains,
the regrets seem more tolerable
when slathered in happy memories
:)

Day Fourteen: Creating Home (Home is Where the Heart is)

My oldest daughter turned 18 yesterday!

For her birthday, she had several friends take her
for a day of celebration-
she went to lunch,
out for frozen yogurt,
for cupcakes (it was vegan day),
out to dinner,
and finally out for ice cream!!
REALLY, all this in ONE DAY!

She ran into an awesome boy,
Josh is his name
(no names have been changed to protect the innocent)
that we met last year on a cruise through the Caribbean!

Josh on the right, on excursion with our family

Running into him made me think of this amazing cruise-

we were with 5 of our 6 kids
and we had a blast.
Cruises are fun because you are on this big vacation with
a ton of strangers that become friends within a few days!

These four boys were just the mini testosterone my son needed after being with four sisters

My kids make friends fast on a cruise,

so within a few short hours (at least that's how it seemed)

we were in the middle of a TON of amazing kids

from all over the country.

We have stayed in touch with many of them for over a year,
but Josh randomly was from our little corner of the world,
so we have seen him a lot-
and he has become someone we all love dearly!

I'm sharing this, because as we are preparing to leave
another HOME,
I am continually finding myself amazed
that HOME has more to do with where your HEART is,
than where your linens are stored, your bed is made
or your dishes are washed!

For 7 days in June of 2010,
HOME was in the middle of the Caribbean on a
ship bound for 4 beautiful Islands!

It feels like HOME to me,
if there is laughter, joy and smiling faces all around!

Day Thirteen: Creating Home (Think Broader Than the Moment)

We have a ton going on right now!
Really almost more than I can take in and be sane,
but honestly,
I think Sanity is over-rated!

My husband and I just had a long conversation
about putting things in perspective,
and worrying about only those things that really matter!

It's not easy in this crazy busy thing we call life-
there are a million things to worry about,
and if we let it,
worry can suck all the JOY out of every day,
every minute,
every breath!

So get out of your head for a minute,
sit down, no matter what "stuff" is screaming
that it needs your undivided attention IMMEDIATELY
and ask yourself THREE questions-
* How important will this issue be in a few minutes?
* ... in a few months?
* ... in many years?

I think a lot of time is spent fretting about issues
that we have no control over or that, in the long term,
have no meaningful value to our life or salvation-
But these are the very issues that get so much attention,
that there is no time or energy left to enjoy the
SIMPLE PLEASURES that absolutely do impact
...the next few minutes,
...the next few months and
definitely make a lasting impact for many, many years!

It doesn't matter what it is that brings a little JOY to your home,
a movie night,
homemade ornaments for your friends at Christmas,
an art gallery of family photos,
fresh cut floral arrangements on all the tables,
matching linens & table ware,
homemade bread in the oven,
really it doesn't matter-
but these are the things your family,
your friends,
your neighbors will remember about life in your home-

I promise you no one-
NOT ONE PERSON,
will remember if your toilets always sparkled,
or ironing got done faithfully on Thursdays,
or that your photos were always in alphabetical order
and sorted by day, month, year,
or in my case this year
if you got a shower every day :)
(I don't know why that just ain't happening in my world right now)

So the things that are limiting what you can accomplish
for good-
get rid of them, or at least quit giving them control,
and keep your eyes focused,
your gaze up,
and your smile bright-

Chances are,
what has you down today,
won't have a speck of worth
tomorrow!

Day Twelve: Creating Home (Mission Statements)

I'm a list maker,
a note taker,
and a check mark marker!

I like to write down what I want to do,
make a plan of attack and
mark it off when I accomplish my goal!

A lot of years ago, a very wise and dear man

my hubby!

decided that the best Mothers Day gift he could give me
was a class at the local University, to get back to finishing
my degree.
I had taken a break from school to have my babies and he said,
"You need a Personal Statement. Make a list of everything
you love to do or want to love to do and we will
find a degree that fits the list."
I made the list,
and we found the degree!!
A perfect degree for me :)

So with three babies under the age of four,
we did the same thing- I said to my husband,
"We need a Parenting Statement, let's make
a list of everything that is important to us in raising
our family, and we will set our priorities on that path."
We made our list and focused our goals and choices on
staying true to that statement.

We haven't wavered much from that list in 16 years!

Later, when we had five kids, we decided to make a bit of a
Family Mission Statement, and we said to the kids,
"Make a list of everything that helps you feel loved and safe,
and we will work together to maintain those practices in our home."
Everyone signed our STATEMENT and we posted it proudly
where we could all see our unified goals.

Now, with six kids in our family,

kids moving away for college,
children serving church missions and all sorts of sports and
activities- not to mention this crazy, upcoming relocation,
we have decided it is time for another Family Statement!

I love that these Family Mission Statements help us stay
unified, supportive and selfless.

Having a common goal,
or several common goals,
helps establish priorities with finances, time management
and activities we participate in.

These statements help us to pay attention to what
behaviors we accept and what we want to avoid!
And to be honest,
these statements, make parenting a wee bit easier!!

 Because we come up with and agree upon the lists in
a family council, it is easy to maintain support and
understanding when difficult choices need to be made.

What would be on your...
Personal Mission Statement?
Family Mission Statement?

Day Eleven: Creating Home (The Light Within)

I am a huge YOGA lover and although I can
be found doing yoga in my bedroom, hotel rooms
and even in my closet-
I love going to a studio with a Great yoga instructor who
offers, not just poses to her students, but a little
philosophy too!

Today's philosophy resonated deep in my heart and as
I have thought about it through the day, I've decided it
is the perfect thought for Day Eleven-


Ashley (a fore mentioned yoga instructor) said that we
each have a piece of the Divine Creator within us. This light
is only as bright as we ALLOW it to shine, but if given
the chance the light WILL shine bright and magnificent,
accomplishing ALL that we think we can do and more.

The trick to this light, is that in order for us to
see and truly appreciate the light that is all around us,
the joy, the good, the privileges and the opportunities,
we must FIRST see and acknowledge the light we have within!

I think that in every day life,
seeing the light from within gets forgotten a lot. For whatever reason,
HOME-MAKERS, have a hard time seeing the good
that they have to offer.
Mom's who stay up all night with a sick baby,
forget that they are staying up to COMFORT the sick!
Sisters who read to younger siblings,
don't realize they are RELIEVING the over-burdened!
Son's who carry heavy groceries for weak arms,
are SERVING the needy!
Grandma's who kiss ouchie's don't see that they are
HEALING the afflicted.
Take my permission to look at what you do with different
glasses.
There is something dangerous about modesty when it forces
you to take for granted how important CREATING HOME
really is.

Watch for your light,
it is shining bright!

At the risk of getting corny,
I will walk away before I start singing Firework :)

Day Ten: Creating Home (Get Away)

As much as I love being home and
As much as I love creating a place that my kids
truly want to be-
not only with me,
but with their friends as well,
I think that it is really important to Step Out
and Get Away from the daily grind of being HOME
once in awhile!

I don't care what it is
- a day at the beach

Newport Beach, CA

- a picnic in the park
- skipping rocks on a lake

Lake Eerie

- a shopping trip with daughters
- a lunch date with friends
- or a wild day at an amusement park

California Adventure, Anaheim, CA

Whether SIMPLE

A day of snowball fights and snow hiking

or EXTRAVAGANT

Shopping in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

For some reason, getting out and enjoying life
seems to bring more joy into being HOME!

Day Nine: Creating Home (Basic Principles)

My husband is leaving on Thursday for a new job in a new state.
We have hit a few obstacles, so our kiddos and I are staying behind
while we get some kinks ironed out in our plans.

Since this was our last weekend together for a while,
we decided to leave town and fill our hearts with the
happy things and places we have loved over the last
three years in California.

One stop we made last night was at a Visitor's Center for our church.
We played on some interactive activities watched some
videos and spoke with several of the other visitors there.
This visitor's center was recently remodeled and we were
completely impressed by how much fun we all had.
While there, I was reminded of some of the fundamental beliefs that
really have defined what HOME means to me.
I thought I would share those tonight:

1. My family really is at the very core of what makes my house,
my HOME. No matter what you consider family; children, spouse,
grandchildren, friends or neighbors-
a HOME is more of a HOME when filled with people you love.

2. Filling our lives with LOVE and SERVICE allow us enjoy life
to it's fullest each and every day and I believe this Love and Service
extends the boundaries of our homes far beyond
the four walls we hang our coats, hats and beach towels.
We have a darling little book called How Full Is Your Bucket,
that reminds us always that kindness goes
a long way to building happy homes.

3. Some simple principles such as faith & prayer, asking for & giving
forgiveness, respect & love and working & playing together can act
as the building blocks that truly can stabilize families through good
times and bad.
I am a firm believer in each one of these principles. I really do believe
that the family that prays together stays together! I think being humble
enough to say you're sorry and even more humble to ACCEPT a
meaningful apology are the cornerstones of trust at home. Our
family gathers together for family councils whenever we feel a big
decision needs to be made or even when someone feels like
they have an issue that is too big to be solved alone. These councils
have been instrumental in the respect in our home.
And finally, working and playing together is my biggest motto of
all! Our Sunday rule is that anyone who wants to eat dinner, is in
the kitchen making dinner. I love that this one day a week we
all work together in the kitchen prepping and than cleaning up.
No one sits down to rest, and until WE ALL sit down to rest
together.

These little reminders from yesterday helped me keep my focus
as I am struggling to decide HOW I am going to make the next
few months of upheaval, chaos and temporary living arrangements
feel like HOME to my family. I want the transition to be as smooth
as possible but we may be celebrating 3 birthdays, Halloween,
Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years all in temporary housing
Also, my Senior has to get all her college apps done during this time too-
OH MY GOSH-- CRAZY!!
Hopefully, we are all together!!
I love my holiday decorations, and we won't have any with us!
I'm a tradition kind of gal, and may feel a little sad and
lonely myself being in a new state, a new church
and all new schools during the holiday season.
BUT if I remember that what really matters is what I listed above,
than the decorations won't be missed, the traditions can be
kept, we will make friends and the holiday season will come and
go with my family all around me- healthy, happy and closer than ever-
that's a pretty good way to start building our new HOME!

Day Eight: Creating Home (A Favorite Quote)

HOME is where the Heart is
And Our HOME Always Seems,
the Happiest of Places,
Filled with all our Hopes & Dreams


I am a believer that if you are going to DREAM,
you should DREAM BIG!
If you are going to HOPE for something,
You shouldn't put limitations on your HOPES!
And if you are going to be your BEST,
You need to surround yourself with supporters.

Your HOME should be full of your supporters,
a safety net for your HOPES and
a place where DREAMS don't just happen
in the safety of your bedroom sleep.

Encourage dreaming, stimulate hoping
and promote supporting-
your HOME will be full indeed!

Day Seven: Creating Home (Be Ready)

I know that there isn't a mom (or a dad)
out there, who would vote that the infant
and baby years are the best sleep years EVAH!
You know, the years when a parent feels at their
best and well rested!
Case in point, I met a man on an airplane last
weekend. Well, I was familiar with him the moment
the plane took off for flight. I kid you not,
the moment the pilot turned ON the fasten seat belt light,
this man was out! And I mean OUT! I kind of thought
he had flight anxiety and took a sedative pre-take off.
Honestly, that is how fast he fell asleep.

I teased him when we landed-
as quickly as he had fallen asleep-
he woke and was attentive and on the ball.
He said it drove his wife crazy how fast he could fall asleep
and wake up rested, because she is just the opposite.
"I think it is all those years raising babies, I just taught
myself to get a good rest whenever the opportunity presented itself!"

This made me laugh- but I realized a few years ago that the baby
years are not the WORST sleep years of parents!
I have six kids with a 12 year span from first to last.
When my oldest one turned 16, my youngest was 4. I thought I had
made it through the middle of the night wakings and had
finally graduated to getting a good 8 hours of sleep each night.

Oh Contraire, Mon Frere!
I found that my 16 year old, done with homework,
home from work, or home from a night with friends-
wanted to talk. At midnight, when his brain was fried,
or his heart was broken,
he was READY to talk. And it was up to me to be READY to listen.
So far, all three of my teens have followed this same practice.
There is something magical with my kids about the midnight hour-
they don't turn into vampires,
but they turn into TALKERS!

When my oldest son was in Middle School, he got home
an hour before the rest.
I quickly realized that this hour was his
Eruption Hour!
He would come home, and if I was READY
and Available for him,
I would hear about his day in full detail.
But if I was busy or unavailable,
I found that I ended up missing his daily erupt.
Kind of like Good Ole' Old Faithful,
it spews regularly,
but if you aren't there to see it,
you miss it entirely.
I quickly determined to be present when the
spew occurred.

You just never know when someone is going to want to open up
and share their feelings, thoughts or concerns.
But I believe, at least for my life it has been true,
that if you are not READY and willing when the fountain
of feelings starts spewing from someone you love,
it is possible that the fountain will dry up and
stop spewing at all!

Day Six: Creating Home (Share What You Love)

I've written about my health issues and my long journey
to eliminating some of my favorite foods several times,
but I don't think I have shared this perspective.

If you'd like a little background read here and if you
are really a glutton for too much information,
find my complete health journey here!

I share this idea tonight, because several months ago,
I realized one of the reasons that giving up sweets was
so difficult for me.
Yes, I am a sugar addict!
And Yes, I really love all the flavors, varieties
and amazing goodness that comes from mixing
fats, sugars and enriched flour together-

But I also realized that preparing and serving meals
and treats to my family had become not just a
job requirement for my Stay at Home life,
but it had actually become my profession-
and it was a profession that I truly enjoyed and
took great satisfaction in.
I love to be in the kitchen and I love even
more sharing my culinary delights with my kids,
their friends, my friends, neighbors, church buddies...
Cooking brought me JOY
and all of a sudden, the foods I could still cook,
just didn't seem all that SHARABLE :(

Rather than wallow in misery, I decided to reinvent my
kitchen and my idea about what foods I would share with
neighbors and at pot lucks.
This has been a lot of fun!
As we have started to experiment with foods,
my teenage daughters have become awesome at making
Vegan Cupcakes-

taking extra to lunch on their High School campus-
As I found myself continually searching for yummy,
seasonal treats for my family,
I decided to try my hand at teaching cooking classes to kids-

 which I have loved more than anything I have done in
a very long time.

We still share food with the neighbors, but we are just as
likely to bring a salad to a neighbor

than a plate of cookies,

and when we do make a treat,
we are quick to count out only one per person,
and decide who we would like to share the excess with!

Our perspective has changed on the treats and food that
we make in our home,
but what started out as my loss of the foods that I loved
has turned into a new outlook on sharing, teaching and
giving of our talents, knowledge and passions-


Love and Passion are two things that no matter how
much you give away, they keep replenishing and
multiplying. The more you give of what you love,
the more you FEEL what you love!

It's win-win if you ask me

Day Five: Creating Home (Time)

My first two kiddos are Sixteen Months apart in age.

 I think they thought they were twins,

 and joined at the hip twins at that!!

They were good kids, but I was a young mom,
and often times I felt like I didn't enough have time to
go to the bathroom, let alone make a Yummy dinner for
my husband or have the house straightened up
before he got home!

We didn't have a dog, but I had two little ones and a baby on the way!

One day, it seemed like all I had been saying
to my two little ones was "In a Minute" or
"Wait just One Minute" or "Just let me get this done"
And no matter how many times I said it,
they seemed to be right under my feet wanting
me to do, get or fix something for them.

In a brief moment of revelation, I decided that
rather than tell them "One Minute" again,
a concept that I realized they probably didn't understand anyway,
I would GIVE them ONE MINUTE-
actually it was probably more like Five minutes-
This particular day,
I got out the play doh,
and started with some soft creations.
It took a few minutes out of my afternoon,
but it bought me enough time to straighten
the house and start dinner with no interruptions.

Since than, I have seen the blessing of giving just
a little bit of time to my kiddos.
Sometimes it is a book that needs to be read-
Or a game to be played-
Or a listening, attentive ear.
Whatever it is, a few minutes invested up front
seems to reap better dividends than any other
family practice out there- somehow giving the
few minutes, makes everything work just a little
bit better.

Maybe it's because I need a time out too,
time to enjoy the kids,
while they are still kids.
I honestly think that one of the reasons,
my kids have time for me now,
despite their busy schedules,
is because I had time for them!


I've heard that the best service a person has
to offer anyone is a SMILE and
the best gift anyone can give is
the gift of TIME!
Make today a day of service and gifts :)