Just Updates

Dear Kids,

Time for a report on our life and what we have been up to for a couple of months. I think it is important to remember everything that is going on in our daily lives for our journal.

-We are in "Music Man". Your dad got the leading role as Harold Hill. We have practices every night through March. When the show starts it will be 4 nights a week. Gabe and Talia, you are in it with us! You are helping with the songs and you are so cute on stage :-).
-I started doing "Natural Medicine Mamas" with my mom at the beginning of the year (after Christmas). We are still getting all our stuff figured out, the marketing, the systems, the content, the products. We are taking it slow because both of us only have about 5-10 hours a week to work on it. We are figuring it out together, but having a good time!
-We joined a homeschooling co-op here in the town on Tuesdays. You are all LOVING it! You tell me about everything you are doing in your classes and you are loving the time with other teachers and friends.
-Gabe and Talia, you did NOT get into the Montessori Charter School here in town, so we have to decide what we are doing for your education next year. I am sure we will homeschool again, because besides the Montessori, nothing else is really appealing to us as a family. Gabe you will be in 1st grade next year and Talia you will be in kindergarten.
-Talia, you are doing the Rusty and Rosy program again this year and you are doing SO WELL. I got a call from a lady at the Waterford institute telling me how amazing your progress is. You are on the 1st grade reading level already! She was concerned about your emotional state to handle the mental leap. Which was interesting. We have been working on it together, and as long as I am there with you helping you, then you do really well. If I am not and you are left to do it on your own, then you have anxiety about it. I was glad to get some feedback from her about what physiologically is going on with your body and brain at this point in your life.
-Gabe, you are on an advanced 1st grade level with your reading and getting there with your Math. I know I need to work more with you on getting your thoughts onto paper. We are going to work on that this year. But you are doing SO WELL!
-Gabe, you are going to do t-ball again this year and Jake's dad is going to be your coach! We are so excited.
-Elijah, you just got over being sick... poor little thing! It was a pretty bad one this time around. You had a good fever and throwing up and everything. You are on the mend and doing much better. You are starting to talk! You are saying more and more things that we can understand.
-Our favorite thing that you all say is "resternaut" instead of "resteraunt". It is so cute when you all say it.
-Your favorite movie right now is Big Hero 6. You want to watch it all the time, lucky for you all, at play practices you get to watch it pretty often when there are times that everyone has to be quiet!
-I am in the young women's presidency - 2nd counselor. I love the Beehives, they are so great! I love having them with me in my life and everything they teach me.
-The book "I Can Do Hard Things With God" came out about a month ago, and I have a chapter in there on finances. It has been such a pleasure to see how my experience has been helping people. I am grateful for that.
-It is greenhouse season so we are selling more greenhouses in the last month! Yay! We love this time of year.
-Brent is still doing some work for Red Mountain. The House of Jump was having him work with them but they decided not to move forward with their business plans, so that stopped at the first of the year. Luckily, the Lord has been providing for us.
-Your dad and I are fasting every Sunday for our future. We have to get our long term finances and future figured out. We are going to keep fasting every Sunday for this until we receive the answers we are needing and looking for. Nothing has come yet, but we are going to keep on keeping on. We are praying and fasting for a vision of our future, for a vision of all of you and your futures, for the Lord to unfold to us and show us the way.
-My 20th reunion is coming up in June and somehow I got myself pulled in to be in charge of it. So we will see how that goes!
-There are family meetings, we are doing herb calls 2 times a month still, educating ourselves, starting family calls again with your dad's family, and keeping up with relationships there.
-We planted our garden just a little bit ago! There is more to plant, which I am going to do after I get off the computer. :-)
-I need to paint. I need some creative time. I really feel that. A LOT. I have been having a hard time with claustrophobia... and that means I need to get some creative energy out.
-I delivered a greenhouse to Idaho about a month ago, that was a fun spur of the moment trip with all of you.
-Then just the day in's and out's of life! We are invited to a lot of things and some things we say yes to and others we say no to. We are working on getting our house in order.
-I made a bunch more tinctures the other day. I have more to add to my medicine cabinet. I gave a presentation to a mom's group a couple weeks ago about natural medicine in their families. That was fun. I am working on the vision of my life and this feels like a part of it... especially because of the gift of healing. 

Love you.

Your Mom

Wandering Days & Brain Downtime

Dear Kids,

So today is a "Wandering Day".

I have a lot I need to catch up on. I look outside and there are seeds to be planted, weeds to be pulled, toys to be hosed off... I look at my house and there is laundry to be put away, clutter to be picked up, deep cleaning that needs to happen... I have business posts to follow up on, emails to write, books to read, content to formulate...

The problem is that I don't have any desire to do any of it.

For the last few weeks I have been ANXIOUSLY WAITING for a day when I wasn't running around like a chicken with my head cut off so I could just "catch up". Now that I have a day that is low-key and I don't have any appointments or anything going on, I just can't make myself focus and get stuff done. I am just wandering around. Five minutes here, five minutes there.

I don't have any wise advice for days like this. I am pretty sure there are many others who have days like today. When there is a list of things to do but none of it gets done, even though you have the time. I feel like the only wisdom I can impart on days like today is that maybe the reason my brain can't focus on anything is because my brain needs a "Wandering Day" too.

Here is a great article that explains this much better than I can.  It talks about why the brain needs downtime. There is scientific evidence of the needs to allow our brains and thoughts to slow down and "unclutter". I know I spend so much time with my brain ON, that when I have a day that I just can't focus on anything, it shows that I need a day of OFF.

There are many people who have told me they are jealous of my energy and getting so much done in a day. I have worried about that as a mom, especially for the different personalities that you all are. I know that you crave for me to just slow down and relax with you all a little bit more. We DO a lot together, but sometimes I wonder if I am filling your love buckets enough of just BEING together.

I love you all so much. I look at your faces and see you and my heart just melts. Remember as you grow and do more and more and more that it is okay to have a "Wandering Day" and just relax and unclutter a bit.

So here I go... I am turning off the computer (after posting this ;-).
I am going to just sit in the sun.
I am just going to breathe.
I am just going to BE.

I love you,

Your Mom