Thursday, December 13, 2012

We are an Elf on the Shelf house, and, yes, I am one of "those" moms. Our elf is pretty adventurous. She has wrapped our toilet in obnoxious pink wrapping paper. She has set up a kissing booth. She even made her own Pinterest board. She does this things because they bring an incredible lightness and sense of anticipation to many members of my house. If you could hear my Ella running every morning to find Rosie and then squealing with laughter and delight, you would know the true sound of joy.
Lately I've had some negative feedback not only about our adventurous elf but also about my general life view that there is much to celebrate in the world. It is easy to look at someone else and quickly judge their approach to life as fake or over-the-top or even as a commentary on how you should do things. Before you do that, ask yourself if it matters. If you see someone putting some joy in their world and you don't like it, move on and let it go. Most of the time their actions have nothing to do with you. Maybe they are taking steps to lessen pain in their own world one ridiculous elf prank at a time.

If you want to read about an amazing woman that decided in the face of some pretty tough struggles to choose joy please visit Little Blue Boo. What an inspiration! And if you want to see another source of joy in pictures, please visit my friend, Jackie.

Thursday, December 6, 2012


Please visit my friend, Renee, for another beautiful image in our 52 on Fridays circle.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Deep in the Hundred Acre Wood, you can find my Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, and Pooh.



Can't you just hear Tigger now? "Turn that frown upside down!"


Pooh's sweet words seem so right here. "If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you."


"I used to believe in forever, but now I think forever is too short." That's right, Pooh. A forever with my fun kids would never be enough!



I can see that my kids are getting older. Next year I will have a kindergartner, a 4th grader, a 7th grader, and a freshman in college. Right now I'm teaching my last kid to read using the same book I used with the older ones. Sometimes I feel like Pooh and wonder, "Can't we go back to page one and do it all over again?"


Please visit my friend, Liz, to see what she found in the woods this week. I know it will be beautiful!





Thursday, November 22, 2012

I had plans for this post. Yesterday I took pictures of amazing food, beautiful family, and the scenes that fill a perfect Thanksgiving. I am blessed and have so many reasons to be thankful. I sat down to write about my wonderful day and to check YouTube videos (because that's what I like to do!) and for some reason, this video was suggested for me. I could share every picture I took yesterday and still not convey a message as special as this one. I'm sorry in advance for the ads. Please click them away as they appear.

Today I am so very thankful for the kind of hope this story gives me. I have hope that the world is full of good people even in parts of the worlds where everything seems as dark as it can be. I have hope that in the end, love and compassion will win. I have hope that when enough small voices come together to whisper a message of hope, the collective voice they produce will be too loud to ignore. 

I know my friend, Jackie, has many reasons to be thankful this year. Please visit her blog and read her story.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." -Albert Camus
Follow the leaves in the wind to my friend Tracy's blog to see what beauty of the season she has captured.