If 2020 taught us anything (besides the reminder to wash our hands) it would be to notice all the things we usually take for granted. It reminded us to prioritize and to enjoy the beauty of nature. 

The pandemic definitely dealt a few curveballs and some hardships. Some people were affected much more than others. There were jobs lost, loved ones ill, and changes made to nearly every aspect of life. 

It was a politically turbulent year with elections. It was a year that opened so many of our eyes to the racial injustice that is still ingrained in every aspect of our society. 

Hopefully these hardships, challenges, and opened eyes have made us better humans. Hopefully built our strength and resilience. Hopefully it opened new doorways to progress and dreams. Hopefully each person can find some glimpses of gratitude as we look back over the year.

In honor of 2020, I would like to challenge myself to find twenty moments of this year that inspired gratitude. It is always nice to reflect back on the year and see what good came from it. One great way to do this is to jot down the best thing that happened each day or at least each week on your calendar. At the end of the year just flip back through and let the good memories close the year on a joyful note. 

Here are twenty of my noteworthy and gratitude inspiring moments.

1. I'm grateful to have started off the year with a trip to visit family in Texas. It allowed me to get to know them better and it truly was a positive experience.
2. I'm grateful my husband let me throw him a theme birthday party for his 42nd. I'm grateful to all his friends that came. I'm grateful to go a little over the top. (And I'm grateful it happened before the pandemic hit.)
3. I'm grateful to for a trip to the zoo. My littlest is just getting to the age to appreciate and be interested in the animals (7 months old at the time-March). My oldest was a blast and very helpful with showing her sister the animals. I'm grateful to get to spend a long time watching the penguins together. (About 2 weeks before the pandemic closed things)
4. I'm grateful to just hold and snuggle my girls as they fight off a bug.
5. I'm grateful for clear guidance from the national massage board (and later from the city) as I navigate this unprecedented time. I'm grateful to get some (mandated) time off.
6. I'm grateful for Zoom and all the ways there are to stay in touch with family when we can't be together in person. I'm grateful to start regular calls with my mother-in-law and help foster a stronger bond between her and my girls.
7. I'm grateful to get to be home to see my baby crawl for the first time! I'm grateful we were all home together so my husband could witness this milestone too.
8. I'm grateful for all the family time this shelter-in-place order has given us. I'm grateful to get to see my husband at every meal and to eat as a family. I'm grateful for the extra time to watch my girls growing (too fast).
9. I'm grateful to get creative. I'm grateful to start doing Wacky Wednesdays and to take the time to make the house wacky overnight for a fun delight for my girls in the morning. I'm grateful for these silly, fun times together.
10. I'm grateful for a trip to see my mother-in-law. We haven't been out of the house in a long time (May) and it is nice to have a safe place to travel to and to get some in-person family time. 
11. I'm grateful for all the resources available in this area. I'm grateful there are still some schools with openings as we learn of my daughter's school being closed permanently. 
12. I'm grateful to venture back to work cautiously and with lots of safety protocols. I'm grateful to know that in time these new protocols will feel normal and not so overwhelming. I'm grateful for a way to do my job and still keep my clients and my family safe. 
13. I'm grateful for all my boss does to keep us safe and provide. It isn't easy being a small business right now but I'm grateful he is smart and doing what is necessary to ensure our jobs and our health.
14. I'm grateful to get to celebrate fourth of July with my parents. It is one small bit of normalcy in a year that has been anything but normal. I'm grateful to watch my girls enjoying playing outside and being with their grandparents.
15. I'm grateful to celebrate my baby's first birthday! Well...ok, mixed emotions on that if I'm being honest. It definitely wasn't the big party we imagined but it turned out the small party honored her shy personality better anyway. I'm grateful to get to have just a couple people be a part of this important day. I'm grateful she enjoyed the blueberry pie!
16. I'm grateful to be able to give my daughter a small, outdoor birthday party with friends. I'm grateful to celebrate her turning four and to share that with her few besties. I'm grateful for how well she has coped with her whole world being changed practically overnight. I'm grateful to get creative to give her a happy birthday.
17. I'm so grateful to be the happy new owner of a camper. I'm grateful the build was done in time to still carry out our vacation plans. I'm grateful for my parents' help and support in traveling with us to get it. I'm grateful to see the pure joy as my girls get to splash in a river for the first time.
18. I'm grateful for the renewal of spirit a camping trip gave to my sweet dog. She is getting older and had been really struggling. I'm grateful to see her playing in the river like a pup again.
19. I'm so grateful to have my mother-in-law visit each month. I'm so grateful we can be a safe place for her to get out and visit. I'm grateful for how it has strengthened the bond between her and my girls. I hope this is one thing that continues even after the pandemic is over.
20. I'm grateful for a year of being creative. I'm grateful to homeschool so we can get to see grandparents. I'm grateful to find fun ways to celebrate the holidays in new ways. I'm grateful for family halloween costumes. I'm grateful for candy hunt "trick-or-treating" and carnival games at home. I'm grateful for small, low-key Thanksgiving and Christmas that allowed us to be safe and enjoy the days. 

There are so many more glimpses of 2020 that were gratitude inspiring but I will limit it to these. I invite you to think back over your year and find some of the beautiful moments that you experienced. What were your 2020 highlights? What inspired your gratitude?

May 2020 leave us with some fond memories. May we move into 2021 with appreciation for all the things we used to take for granted. May we stay healthy and full of gratitude. Have a beautiful day!

We all know we have some choice in how we spend our money. Yes, there are bills that have to be paid and sometimes that eats up a good portion of the income. We always have a say though in which bills are important and what we will do with any extra money. 

Time is the same way. We have a choice in how we spend it. Yes, there is work that needs done so we can have money but there are plenty of other hours in the day too. 

It is said that we show our priorities by what we actually make time for in the day. Sure we can talk about what is important but if we don't actually commit any time to it, then is it really a priority? 

We can all agree 2020 has been a weird year. It hasn't all been bad by any means. It has pushed the comfort levels and opened our eyes to different opportunities and different means of getting things done. 

Tomorrow is the last day of 2020. How will you choose to spend it? Will you choose to spend it reflecting on the beautiful moments of this past year? Will you look forward to what beauty you want to create in the year to come? Will you perhaps choose to take some of the changes this year brought and voluntarily continue them in the coming year? Will you celebrate with gratitude or relief?

I'm so grateful for all this year has taught me. I'm grateful for all the moments of beauty and connection this year blessed me and my family. I'm grateful for a year of truly mixing things up. I'm grateful to see how my family plays a big role in my ability to stay grounded and roll with change. I'm grateful to maintain contact with the grandparents. I'm grateful for health. I'm grateful for joy. I'm grateful for togetherness. I'm grateful to know true love. I'm grateful for the year ahead and the blending of the old normal with a new normal. I'm grateful to keep the aspects of this year that warmed my heart while looking forward to the return of some other things, hopefully, before the next year passes. 

May today remind us to look back with gratitude and ahead with hope. May we find blessings no matter which way we look. Have a beautiful day!

A few days ago it was nearly sixty degrees. Today we woke to sleet, ice, and a little snow. Brrr. 

Thankfully my husband and I are both off work this week. The kids have new toys to keep them entertained. We are all just snuggled up inside our warm home, together.

It is nice to just relax as we close out this year. It is nice to have the time together. Covid changed a lot of things this year, but it gave us a lot of blessings too in the ways it changed our schedules. The extra family time and slowing things down has been truly nice. 

I'm grateful to see a little winter weather show up. I'm grateful we have had a fairly mild winter. I'm grateful for the moisture for the plants. I'm grateful for the warmth of my home. I'm grateful for more family time and to just take things slow this week. I'm grateful to send out the year on a calm but positive note. I'm grateful to have some mornings of sleeping in, kids and everyone! I'm grateful that my sweet dog has pulled through for another day together. I'm grateful to just be together with the ones I love.

What is your favorite way to spend a snowy, icy, cold day? What blessings have you noticed this year?

May we all find the warmth of love all around us as this year draws to a close. May our needs be met ad our blessings be apparent. Have a beautiful day!

I return from the holiday break with my light shining a little brighter. I can't say I caught up on any sleep or got much accomplished but it sure was nice to focus on family and just relax.

We all have things that help our light shine a little brighter, help us feel our best, and let us know we're loved. The possibilities are endless for what those things are for each individual. Sure we can break it down into basic categories like the Love Languages, just like we can break down a rainbow into basic colors; yet there is a blending, blurring, mixing too.

There are things that block our light. There are things that cast shadows or dim it. Sometimes these things are things we allow to be done, sometimes they are things we do to ourselves, and sometimes it is completely out of our hands. 

So how do we find a good place of balance? What is the balance for you to let your light shine its brightest? How often do you do the things that brighten your light and how often are you around the shadows?

I think it is an important question to ask, especially this time of year when the sun's light still hasn't returned to its full length. Perhaps this question can set the groundwork for what goals we need to set for the year to come. Perhaps it can help us reevaluate relationships that need to shift. Perhaps it can remind us to make that extra effort to increase our positive self-talk. 

I'm grateful to take a couple minutes to myself to paint my toenails. I'm grateful for the time normally spent doing such things with my preschooler and yet I was surprisingly grateful to have a moment to do this for myself, by myself, for the first time in over a year. I'm grateful to have had an extra set of hands around with my mother-in-law staying for the holidays. I'm grateful for all her insights and to continue to grow our relationship as she is truly an inspiring woman. I'm grateful for my husband reminding me to just sit. I'm grateful for wine and chocolates. I'm grateful for the abundance of good foods. I'm grateful for the true spoiling that my family received this year. I'm grateful to turn my sights to the year ahead and start planning how to make next year support this shining light.

May today give us plenty of opportunity to do something kind for ourselves. May we nurture ourselves and let our lights shine. Have a beautiful day!

As I busied myself making the final arrangements and tidying up for the holiday, it occurred to me that it is time for a well earned break. Everything that really needs done is done.

Sure there are a few details that still could be taken care. These tiny details are not important. The cob web in the upstairs hall will be just fine until next week. There is no reason to try and cram a weeks worth of cleaning into one or two days, especially at the holidays. 

It is larger than just cleaning. We have been doing homeschooling since the beginning of September and, aside from a sick day, have not taken any breaks. Part of the reason is my daughter loves the time together so much that she can hardly wait for Monday to roll back around again. But I think we have both earned a Christmas break and we can find some other fun way to spend time together like playing games and reading books. 

I have also gifted myself a week off work. Between the rising covid cases and the number of clients who will be celebrating the holidays with family it just makes sense to take a little break. It will be well worth the peace of mind and a good time for me to rebalance and return refreshed. 

I'm grateful to be reminded it is good to slow down and even stop sometimes. It is good to find the balance. I'm grateful to gift myself time off from work, teaching, and cleaning. I'm grateful for my husband's help in getting ready for the holidays this year. I'm grateful for the festivities that will begin tomorrow. I'm grateful to take a deep breath and just enjoy this moment. I'm grateful for the excitement of the season and to find a balance with rest and peace as well.

What are you giving yourself for Christmas? Does what you are receiving bring you joy and peace? How do you find balance during the holiday season?

May today remind us to be generous with others and ourselves. May we find balance in letting things go. And may we find beauty in the celebrations of the season. Have a beautiful day!

Just two days until the festivities kick off! I don't know if it is having less commitments this year, being with my family more, or simply the fact that everything this year has been so thrown out of routine; whatever the reason I am feeling more Christmas spirit and joy this year than any I can remember.

I love looking at the tree every single day through my daughter's eyes. When those lights kick on it is as if the toddler is seeing their magical beauty for the first time! It is so fun to see her drop whatever toy she was playing with and hurry over saying "lights! lights!" My preschooler enjoys indulging her in this joy as well but is more excited herself about those wrapped boxes with her name on them. 

The anticipation is so fun for me too. I can't wait to see their expressions as they open their gifts. I'm sure there will be some commentary by our four-year-old that will make us chuckle as always. And we get the added blessing this year of getting to take our time and just enjoy the day at home with the girls playing with their presents. 

I'm grateful to feel anticipation this year. I'm grateful to feel giddy just planning the menu for the next several days. I'm grateful for the joy of this season and to get to experience it as I have heard so many people describing it for so many years. I'm grateful to have a beautiful family to celebrate with, not just on Christmas, but every day. I'm grateful to get caught up in my children's excitement. I'm grateful for the joy I feel and the gift of celebrating.

What parts of the season are you eager to celebrate? What makes you feel giddy and excited? And if for you the answer is "it being over", know you are not alone in that. Many, many people (myself included most years) feel that way this time of year. There is nothing wrong with that, just allow yourself the excitement of whatever moment you are anticipating. 

May today fill us with anticipation. May we find joy in this season. May we celebrate the things that bring us excitement. Have a beautiful day!

One great thing about the joining of two families through marriage is the sharing of traditions. Between my husband's family and mine there are a lot of traditions this time of year. From advent calendars and ornament painting to gingerbread houses and cookie decorating; there is a lot of creativity (and mess) in the air this time of year.

This weekend we decorated sugar cookies. It was a blast. There was a wide range of how they turned out but all of them were perfect in their own way from the yellow reindeer to the green sprinkled tree. We went through half a jar of sprinkles and three batches of frosting to create our masterpieces. And while I will be finding sprinkles until at least Valentine's Day, it was well worth it getting to see my preschooler participate. (The toddler just ate her cookie and a handful of sprinkles and went on her way.)

We also took the time to build our gingerbread house this weekend. As you can see from the picture above, it's really more of a home than just a house. It is clearly lived in and adorned with love. 

I always laugh seeing the box picture of how the supplies were intended to look when put together. Even if I hadn't had my preschooler do the majority of the decorating it would not have looked anywhere close to the picture. But does perfection really have any room in these kind of holiday traditions? 

I think the real answer to that question depends on what you are calling perfection. The decorating may not look like perfection to an outside eye but for me this is one of the most perfect gingerbread houses we have made. Why? Because my whole family participated!

My husband and I took turns squeezing out some frosting. Our preschooler helped guide our hands to outline the house features and also busied herself sticking on the candies. Even our toddler sprinkled on some candy...at least the pieces we were fast enough to keeping her from eating. It was really fun. My husband and I got a little chuckle out of the end result and my oldest has declared it is the most beautiful house she's ever seen. 

 I'm grateful that perfection is not stuck in one definition. I'm grateful perfection is in the eye of the beholder. I'm grateful that for me and my family participation IS perfection because time together is the most important. I'm so grateful for all the time together this weekend. I'm grateful for all the fun traditions this time of year. I'm grateful to have an advent calendar for the first time. I'm grateful to be enjoying the family activities each day. I'm grateful for the joys of the season being so much brighter and richer when we are together.

What are your favorite traditions this time of year? What traditions have you kept from your childhood and what new ones have you picked up as an adult? How do you define perfection? Does that definition feel good?

May we all write our definitions to build us up with grace and love. May we find joy in traditions, new and old. Have a beautiful day!

Tomorrow brings the Winter Solstice. It is the shortest day (of light) of the year. Some people take this as a day of rest and reflection while other's struggle with the feeling of darkness. 

This time of year can be challenging for some people with the holidays, stress, and struggles that may be amplified at this time of year. It is not bright and merry for everyone. In some ways it is fitting that this time of year would have more hours of darkness. On the other hand these longer hours of dark may be the cause of some of the struggle for some people. 

I have struggled with the lack of light in years past. This year I have, thankfully, not been struggling as much and trying to pay particular attention to self-care and my feelings. Part of this blessing is due to Covid-19. 

There have been so many difficulties this year for so many. Loss of income, complete upheaval of regular routines, disconnect from our communities and families are just the tip of the iceberg. This doesn't even account for the racial injustices and political divide we have been faced with this year, more openly than some years in the past. 

Yet this year has not been all dark. Even in the darkness, there is light. I know this looks different for everyone as we all have our own experiences within any situation. For me it has meant more time with my husband and children which has been beautiful. I has meant challenging myself and rising to the occasion. It has meant making peace with change. 

The Universe can see the struggle this year. Tomorrow may be the Winter Solstice but Mother Nature is still inviting us to come outside, to gaze up, and to find the light even in the darkness. The planetary conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn (and Pluto) will provide a light in the sky. Much like the moon, they will be reflecting the light from the sun to provide this beautiful reminder that even in the darkness; there is light!

I know I have mentioned this conjunction a few days ago. I am just very drawn to the beauty of its symbolism and timing. What a beautiful gift it is providing on possibly one of the planet's most difficult years in recent history. We are not lost in the darkness. There is light. There is love. There is blessings to be found.

I'm grateful for this beautiful symbolism. I'm grateful for the Winter Solstice and its unique gift of darkness. I'm grateful to have a light of hope and beauty marking the sky on such an unusual year. I'm grateful to feel the Universe has my back. I'm grateful for all the love and joy this year has brought. I'm grateful for the ways this year has helped me become more adaptable and see how capable I am when I try. I'm grateful for family. I'm grateful for light. I'm grateful for the belief in miracles.

Will you take the time to make it outside tomorrow night? What have been the moments of light in this year for you?

May we always seek the light, no matter how dark things seem. May we take the time to view this beautiful moment in history. Have a beautiful day!

My body has had a lot to say lately. The messages have all been pretty subtle and easily tuned out, but I have tried to keep a mental note anyway. Today as I added another mental note to the growing list I realized it is probably time to start listening to all these little things before my body decides it needs to send a bigger, louder message.

Things like an itchy eye that has persisted off and on for days or my dry, cracking hands are easily written off as allergies and excessive washing. But as other things start ticking in I definitely need to stop writing off and start listening.

I have not been drinking enough water lately. My sleep had been doing better now that my littlest one is back to sleeping at night, but last night I was up with my preschooler's nightmares. One interrupted night made me realize how far behind on sleep I still am from the previous weeks (or maybe years at this point). 

My abdominals have been pleasantly sore as I try out a new exercise the last four or five days but now my back has a bit to say about it. I am tempted to mimic my clients and say "getting old sucks". Instead of accepting it as fate I would rather use these messages to make little changes.

The body is designed to work. It is designed to have checks and balances and be able to repair itself if it has the tools it needs. It is my job to listen, find out what it needs, and provide it. Even a fine tuned machine needs a little oil on the gears from time to time. 

I'm grateful to stop listing and start listening. I'm grateful to see I am not drinking as much water as usual and make conscious steps to remedy this. I'm grateful to see how that may be affecting my eyes and skin. I'm grateful to be working out again. I'm grateful for the beautiful feeling of sore muscles for a good reason. I'm grateful to be committed to decoding my body's messages. I'm grateful to do my best to balance sleep and be present for my kids when they need me. I'm grateful to receive subtle messages and make corrections before a bigger message is needed. 

What is your body saying? What can you do to fine tune your body and meet its needs? 

May today remind us our body is a temple...and the only one we have, at that. May we also find the messages our body speaks easily translated. Have a beautiful day!

There seems to be some kind of one hour stomach bug going around. I have had a couple clients tell me about it but I got to experience it via my daughter this morning. 

She seemed fine but shortly after breakfast said her stomach didn't feel so good. I asked her if she thought she was going to throw up and she said no. Forty minutes later we were in the car after doing the drive-thru to pick up our library books when that "no" suddenly became "yes".

I have to hand it to my daughter, she is a complete trooper about throwing up in cars. That's almost always where it seems to happen for her. She is a master at holding a little plastic bucket or cup or whatever I can hand her quickly. 

After being home for the last nine months we really haven't experienced much illness. This seemed to come completely out of the blue. We haven't been anywhere to be able to catch anything, really. But, alas, it can still happen. 

The thing is with all the focus and attention on covid and the terrible and lasting symptoms that can have; I'll take a quick stomach bug any day. Once she had thrown up and we had her cleaned up, she was fine. No other symptoms. No problem eating lunch. It was like nothing ever happened. 

It was almost as if it was just the universe giving us a little curveball to mix up our week's routine. While it definitely isn't my preferred way to mix things up, it wasn't the worst thing to reroute to a slow, lazy day.

I'm grateful my daughter is feeling better. I'm grateful none of the rest of us have seemed to have any stomach issues. I'm grateful it was just a little bug. I'm grateful to always have some sort of plastic container in my car. I'm grateful for my daughter's ability to stay collected while throwing up. I'm grateful my husband is working from home right now so I can ask for quick assistance in special circumstances like this. I'm grateful my little one doesn't seem to be affected by watching her big sister get sick next to her. I'm grateful for health. I'm grateful for favorite books that have been animated or turned into movies to give us something comforting to watch. 

What little curveballs have you been thrown lately? How have you chosen to mix things up yourself?

May today remind us to look at the big picture and see the blessings in each bump in the road. Have a beautiful day!