be still and smile

When I was 9 years old my parents took me skiing and on our last run I had to go down the River Run. It was the steep, icy LAST run before apres ski. And I was not budging. No matter how much my mom tried to coax me into following her down, the fear in me crept so high I just wasn’t going to move an inch. I begged her to call up the emergency vehicles to take me down. Thankfully my mom refused to be swayed by my fear and we took a very, v-e-r-y slow (pie-ing allllll the way d

I proudly bear the {mostly} crunchy badge as I swear in my 5 years of motherhood under my belt. With all that I’ve learned, gathered, researched and read it is worth it to me to be conscious about what we put into our bodies. If I want my girls to grow healthfully and if I hold them to certain expectations (i.e. listening, behaving, obeying) then I need to set them up for success. Carb loading and sugar highs are not setting them up for success. Through the past few years of

It’s hard to believe that we are smack dab in the middle of June. But the rays of sunshine, sweaty kid kisses and cicadas singing their nightly lullaby remind me that yes, we are on summer time. For me summer is when we can finally exhale and breathe. Our whole family is home and we quickly make our bucket list to avoid those summer time blues. While the girls make their bucket list, I make my summertime toolkit. Because all moms need a tool kit to keep summer happy and heal

10th stop: Duluth, Minnesota: Over the Mighty Mac n Cheese (aka the Mackinaw Bridge) we went, entering the Upper Peninsula. We gazed out the windows at the beautiful lake, we stopped at an adorable store for a pastie (a Yooper delectable), some local brews and Evan was after some locally made cherry whiskey. After an 11 hour drive, we pulled into the sleepy town nestled by Lake Superior around midnight. Following a quick “get your wiggles out dance” by our excited girlies we

9th Stop: Wheeler Road As we winded back through the tunnel of trees toward Traverse City, we decided to explore some uncharted territory up Mission Peninsula. It was time for a stop and we quickly spotted a brewery tucked amongst the tall trees beside the gorgeous lake. We walked in and got a few local brews, the girls danced on the softest grass and we smiled with God’s glory all around us. It was a happy moment. We got hints of the Cherry Festival, the gargantuan festival

Our fifth stop was Bloomington, Indiana. We realized we were just a few hours from Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jeff’s house and decided to head out of Kentucky and up that way. We arrived earlier than planned and found a nice park right outside Indiana University in Bloomington. We went on a walk and collected leaves from all the different trees we found (close to 10, impressive!), the girls got some wiggles out and we enjoyed not having an agenda. Finally, we wound down the long gra

Last year I had just gotten my port placed, I had cut off all my long locks and I was getting mentally prepared to start my first chemo infusion of the “Red Devil”… Last summer was brutal. I had to cancel all our plans, different vacations, family reunion… all of it. I was so so so so bummed. I remember walking into the oncologist’s office practically begging to go on my trips. As most of you know, travel is my heart’s longing… I love to get away and explore, especially when