Gearing up for the start of a New Year is oddly enough, one of my most favorite times of the year. It’s a chance to reevaluate and reset. For me, it’s like opening all the windows of your house and letting that first day of fresh spring air flush out all the staleness from the winter months and quite literally breathe fresh life into your home. I love it. The end of December always has me craving that fresh air – maybe it’s all those Christmas cookies or the fact that I’m still finding wrapping paper in the couches that throws me over the edge. But whatever spurs the desire…
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The Art of Being Grateful + 5 Tips On Starting a Gratitude Journal
Earlier this month I shared some personal experiences and realizations that spurred my my goals for 2018. Reset + Refresh + Renew is a little snapshot of a bigger story. It’s the “why” in why I am focusing on self care this year, particularly through enriching my Body, Mind and Soul while also working to discover the connection between the three. Today’s post can be nestled under caring for the MIND. Gratitude as an Art Form Life is hard. Life is unfair. Life sometimes leaves you confused, overwhelmed, and sad. Life can be lonely. Life is also beautiful. Life is joyful. Life is generous. Life is brilliantly full.
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Happy Heavenly Birthday + A Note to Grieving Mothers After a Miscarriage or Stillbirth
Earlier this month was our sweet baby boy’s first birthday in heaven. I really can’t believe it’s already been a year… the shortest, yet longest year of my life, for many reasons. Though we never got to bring him home, have him wear all the “little brother” shirts we had gotten for him, or snuggle on the couch as a family, we will forever hold him in our hearts and we can smile knowing he is beyond happy in heaven. I’ll be totally honest, the weeks surrounding his birthday left me emotionally drained.
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Maintaining a Grateful Heart
With so much to be grateful for, how is it that sometimes I/me/we struggle to find things to be grateful for? You know, the type of heartfelt thanks that goes beyond the “thank you for the food I’m eating, the roof over my head, the clothes on my back” type thing. We get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life – school, work, marriage, kids, a messy house, a traveling spouse, a big move, what have you – the challenges of the day seem to always get the better of us. Then, often times life happens. A huge change, something tragic, horrifying, “how could God let this happen” type thing…
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Words of the New Year
I’m a total sucker for New Years Resolutions. I’m a natural-born list maker so this makes total sense. But really, I love the excuse for a fresh start, even if it’s just another day or another page on a calendar. As I get older, and busier, I have adopted a different “resolution” method. Instead of specifics like traveling more, working out every day of the week or promising myself I am not going to eat so much chocolate and wine (who am I kidding) – I have started to pick words or phrases at the recommendation of several smart people 😉
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Pregnancy After Loss // Expecting Our Rainbow Baby
As I’m sitting here in complete awe, wonder, and insanely deep gratitude for the new life growing inside of me, I often reflect on the events that brought me here with my growing rainbow baby. After losing our son Michael last year, I experienced a whirlwind of emotions – many of which were so ugly and scary my heart literally aches when I think about it or imagine another mother in the same situation. Nevertheless, even with all the ugly, so much beauty and growth came from that time in my life.
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29. My Golden Year
I just turned 29 (and yes, in fact, I did cringe when I typed out that number) and according to the internet, this is my “golden year”. Though, I think it’s going to be special in more ways than one.
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More Than A Due Date – Remembering My Angel Baby
Happy due date my sweet little angel. I tried not to anticipate this day but as the day got closer, I just couldn’t help it.
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A Reflection On Motherhood
As a young mom of a toddler and an angel baby in heaven, I am fully in the trenches of my journey though motherhood. Though my heart is still raw from the loss of my son just 4 weeks ago, it’s this raw state that has given me the ability to feel so deeply and come to this understanding about motherhood – that motherhood is the best, worst, best thing that has ever happened to me.
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When Hello Means Goodbye – Surviving a Stillbirth
As I looked through my drafts of post ideas, I saw my “Baby Bumpdate” post sitting in the queue… as I stared at the title I realized something... when I was pregnant and my baby was alive and healthy, I had no problem happily posting "bump pics" and sweet little taglines on how much we loved him, how excited we were to meet him, how we couldn't wait for him to join our crazy family. He was real. He was my son. We dreamed of his future, how he was going to be my little buddy, how he was going to love cars and hockey just like his dad, and…
