This month marks three years since I started this blog. Three years that I’ve willingly shared my life and heart in this way. Three years of being vulnerable and reflective with all of you.

Following my first year of writing and sharing I took a moment to create a year in review. One trip around the sun… captured all of the stories that I posted in that initial year. To start this reflective post I detailed how so much can happen in a year, and isn’t that true! We never really know what is in store for us and what our journey might entail. We can plan and prepare, but our vision isn’t always what plays out. In that first year, I wrote about my family and our journey and I shared those things that weighed heavily on my heart. The posts that I shared in year two, still carried the same themes, but there were less of them. Another trip around the sun…not only highlights the stories I shared, but also the silence that hung over my blog for a span of time. In the fall of 2019, I was busily finishing up coursework to reach an important milestone in Education, my Masters +45 hours. And in the Spring of 2020 our world stopped spinning, we went into survival mode as a global pandemic shook us. Not a lot of time for me to write, but the stories I did share were a true mirror of my life in that moment. That is what I hope for this blog to be, a way to preserve our story, but also a place where I can safely explore ideas and share my heart and experiences.

This third trip around the sun has been quiet like year two, but filled with thoughtful reflections. While navigating the uncharted waters of a global pandemic it forced me to reflect on what drives me, what fills my cup, and what is most important. The stories that I’ve shared over the past year are all tied to a common thread of deeply rooted reflection and a willingness to be raw and open.

This moment… was written just as we closed out the school year of 2019-2020 and we were finding our footing into summer life. In this post, I share the great pendulum of emotions that I rode while unknowns of this global pandemic loomed over us, like the dark clouds of a storm that at any moment would open up and pour down. What a found was that yes, this moment was frustrating, exhausting and disappointing, but it was also freeing, eye-opening, and good for us.

Picture thinker… is a true reflection of me! I wear many hats and play many roles, but how I experience the world is what truly makes me who I am. I am a visual spatial learner and through this post I share examples of how that plays out in my life and my way of being. I am observant, emotional and compassionate. I love pretty things, and am drawn to capture moments in time.

This season: Seeking inspiration… details how we all move through different seasons in our lives and I’m currently in one that feels like an awakening. My babies aren’t babies anymore and there is time for me to be inspired. I’m moved by words, I’m encouraged by the village of voices around me, and I’m dreaming big dreams! I know we all have our own paths, but one day you might also be seeking your true purpose, your reason for being, and want to give in to your wild, just as I am, and this reflection might just speak to you.

Raising boys… is not a “how-to,” I don’t have the secret for how to gently and firmly guide young men to be successful and kind. What I found through reflection is that truly each child is uniquely crafted and that generalizations, assumptions, and societal expectations do us no good as parents. My four boys are all different and need me to guide them in different ways. That’s the secret - see your child and be what they need.

That is church… shares my own reflections about where I see God working in my life, but also how church can happen outside of the four walls of the building and not always underneath the steeple. Especially during this past year, when we could not safely gather as a congregation, I found that church can still take place and it does. God’s word finds its way into my heart through music, through scripture, through my children, and through friends. It’s those informal moments where sometimes the most powerful life changing work happens.

Wrap your heart around a teacher… is my plea to our community to understand and appreciate what teachers have endured this past school year. Teaching during a global pandemic stretched us and at times broke us. In this post, I share the inside world of teachers and what a year like this one has been like, while also calling on others to find compassion and appreciation for the important work we do every day, but also how we were able to still do that work within these unprecedented circumstances.

Top five pandemic essentials… is the ultimate reflection. Not only what was essential, but what I now treasure greatly because these things were not just items we needed to “get through” the many unknowns of the past year, but they helped to make our lives more rich and fulfilling. I’m curious if you would agree with my top five choices!

Year three was not one I had anticipated, but I’m thankful to have this place to reflect and share and I’m thankful for the village that surrounds me and encourages me to continue to be curious, to be driven by my heart, and to find ways to grow. We are all seeking purpose and if we are willing to be vulnerable and open, then we can continue to reshape and enrich our lives - that’s my plan! Thank you for following along with our journey.