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Stress Check

Each week this month we’ll do a “stress check” to see how we’re feeling, what progress we’re making, etc. So check in with yourself today.

How are you doing? How are your stress levels? Take the time to do an honest evaluation of how you’re feeling physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Write about it. Note whether you feel the need to make changes.

Self Care:

Rest:

Sugar & December

Those two things seem to go hand and hand, right? Sugar has a HUGE influence on our body, mood, immune system, and overall well being. Are you aware of your daily sugar intake? Are you aware of your children’s daily sugar intake?

There is a cookie at every turn during the month of December. Sugar is everywhere. So much so that the massive amounts of candy, treats, and alcohol available has become part of standing jokes about the holidays.

What if you took an honest look this year at your sugar intake on a daily basis? What if we made more of an effort to balance out the excess sugar with limits and nourishing foods? What if we pointed this out to our children and encouraged them to take a healthy look at how many nourishing foods we’re putting into our bodies vs. how many treats and how this influences our health?

Write down your thoughts about sugar as it relates to your family. Having a goal in mind will make the daily temptations (multiple times a day!) easier to handle with less guilt so that treats can truly be treats.

Self Care:

Rest:

Budget & Spending

Do you have a budget in place for this month? If so, why? If not, why? Are you easily swayed by sales? How much of your holiday spending is budgeted and how much is impulse buying?

How do you feel about your answers to those questions? Would you like that to change? Observing ourselves is very powerful. Awareness is the first step.

Make mindful spending a goal. Be honest about what you can afford so that you don’t overextend your family and carry debt into the New Year.

*Bonus: Pear down your gift list to accommodate your budget.

Self Care:

Rest:

Outside Influence

There are a LOT of opinions floating around out there about how the holidays are “supposed” to be, what they are “supposed” to look like, and what your role is in all of it. Today’s goal is to take an honest look at how much we are or aren’t influenced by others when making our December decisions—everything from gift buying to events.

This influence on our expectations can also come from television shows, commercials, advertisements, store displays, books, social media, etc. Expanding on yesterday’s prompt:

Take an honest look at outside influences in your life. What effects does it have on you? Do you feel pressure to buy more? Do more? Decorate more? Spend more? Does it turn you off and make you want to do less? What about obligations? Do you make decisions about where to be and when based on other people’s “supposed to” requests? Write about it.

* Bonus: If you could throw all these outside influences to the wayside, what would your perfect December look like?

Self care:

Rest:

Honest Evaluation

Take a look at your lists from Day 1. Look at your intentions, gifts lists, to dos, events, etc. and answer the following questions:

How much of it comes from the heart? Is any of it about greed? How much is obligation? How much of it is peer pressure? How much of it is the influence of our society? How much of it is attainable? Does anything from your lists feel unrealistic? Is there anything you could cut out? Do you expect to do it all? How do you think everyone in your family would feel if you did all of it? None of it? Some of it? Do you feel your lists are flexible or could be? Do you have a plan in mind for when/if illness or exhaustion comes along?

What’s motivating your list? Are you happy with that motivation or would you like to shift it? Write about it.

Self Care:

Rest:

Self Care

We read about it briefly yesterday, but today we’re focusing on self care. You cannot pour from an empty cup…especially at holiday time.

Have a daily self care plan in place to take care of your needs during this busy time of year. Write about what that looks like for you. Get really clear on what you need to do for you to make sure you’re not running on empty.

Some examples: making time for coffee or tea every day, taking time to read for pleasure, eating healthy foods, completing your workout despite extra activities, taking a walk, etc. Record it each day.

Self Care:

Rest:

STOP!

Gather your thoughts. Today’s goal is to stop, take a step back, and really look at what our goals are for the month of December, the holidays, and the end of 2018.

Make lists for yourself (as well as your family). Really identify every event you’ve been asked to attend, events you’re interested in, gifts you’re considering buying, meals you’re considering making, etc. …and then write the “why” next to each “what.”

Go into the holiday season with a clear plan of what you want to focus on this month. Having a clear vision will help align your actions with your goals and family values. It can also help you say “yes” or “no” without guilt. There’s so much freedom in clarity.

Every day this month we are going to practice self care as well as rest. Take time to take care of you every day during December. Also take the time to honor your need for rest—even if it’s simply 15 minutes of unplugged time where you simply focus on the moment. Record your daily self care and rest.

Self Care:

Rest:

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Happy monsteras? ✅
Happy Hawaiian scheffleras? ✅
Happy Fiddle Leaf Fig that I have always dreamed of having? ❌

Consider this my SOS from one plant loved to another…any insight into what I’m doing wrong? 🤪 Let me know in the comments! I need your insight! 🌱💕
My many years of trial & error Sourdough Biscuit r My many years of trial & error Sourdough Biscuit recipe is now available in my highlights! 😍 Enjoy, friends! 👩🏻‍🍳😘

#sourdough #sourdoughstarter #sourdoughbaking #sourdoughbiscuits #sourdoughlove #sourdoughbaker #sourdoughbreads
From the blues of Maui to the blues of Idaho 💙 From the blues of Maui to the blues of Idaho 💙 You Guys. We went for a drive &  made Chris stop the truck when I saw this bright blue spruce next to this perfect lavender and this whole color palette has taken over my visions for my home😍

Do you have a favorite blue? 💙🥰
We’ve officially known each other for 12 years o We’ve officially known each other for 12 years on 8-8-22. Twelve. Years. We jokingly say we have been married for that long even though it’s really only been 9 years. But my gosh. 12 years of loving & living & growing with someone. That feels like something. 

We met at Kimo’s on Maui. Shared a chair. Listened to Willie K. All by chance.  We talked for quite a while before we even kissed. Things were a whirlwind from there. It feels like we lived together right away and got married right away even if there were a few years in-between sharing that chair and sharing our vows 😉 

This life is better together. It just is. We were gushing about it just last night. Our marriage isn’t perfect. We have our squabbles like everyone. But we also have moments where we’re still blown away…moments where we reflect with joy “that someone else could love me that much.” We both feel that way about the other. 

Marriage is the best. I do need a man. I want a man. And he wants me. And needs me. I can tell you that whatever lies our culture tries to tell you otherwise, this. is. it. Marriage is the best thing ever. 💕

Photo: @daniwalkerphoto_
Don’t underestimate the power of a book. This bo Don’t underestimate the power of a book. This book—The Biggest Story Bible Storybook—is one that I keep out in the open for my kids to see. They pick it up on their own all the time. They have carried it with them on adventures in the truck and to church. It’s probably the thickest, heaviest book they have ever lugged around or held on their lap. The images and stories have brought up countless conversations and encouraged endless questions. And this is ONE book in our home. One. Let that sink in. 

This book is not just an item on our homeschool “to read” list that needs to be read and then checked off. It’s a book full of life. Homeschool (and life) is not something to merely check off and move on. It’s a way to hold space for living & loving. 

What a gift we’re given to slow down and do just that. And what a gift we’re giving by encouraging our kids to slow down and savor the good stuff (sometimes on repeat). 

Mama, you don’t have to “hold the space” all by yourself. There are amazing things at your fingertips that can help. Things like one miraculous book that will hold the space with you. 

Feeling overwhelmed by your to do list or to read list as you start this school year? Remember this. Sometimes it’s one thing of your desire revisited many times that makes a bigger impact than many things checked off of a list that was created by someone else. 😘
My babies aren’t this little anymore, but it sho My babies aren’t this little anymore, but it shows a time when I questioned my patience levels as a mom. The world around me was pouring messages into my mind that led me to believe that I didn’t have any patience or I wasn’t enough unless I could be even and calm, cool and collected every single moment of every single day. And that just wasn’t true. It isn’t true. Then there were messages telling me that if you “lose your shit” on your kids all the time, you’re also an awesome mom because kids are annoying and in the way. Also not true. But these extremes have led us to believe that we aren’t enough no matter what we do. It’s a myth that you don’t have enough patience to homeschool your kids. An internal belief that has been heavily influenced by outside messages like the ones above. But the truth? Such messages lead us to sell ourselves short. If you believe you don’t have the patience to homeschool your kids, you’re selling yourself short, mama. We learn beside our children. We learn with them. We are learning all the time. And if patience is an area that you feel you need to learn more about, homeschool is an opportunity to do just that. We ALL wrestle in this motherhood journey…with a wide variety of emotions, tasks, schedule snafus, sleep deprivation, health concerns, relationships, self esteem—so many things. But we are here on this planet and in this role as mother to learn. We’re here to improve. And our children are the greatest motivator for self improvement. We are here breaking generational cycles, becoming better, and ever evolving into the mother and woman we want to be. Improved patience is something you can and will learn when homeschooling. It won’t be automatic, it will be gradual. But we can show up with a willingness to work on patience, grace when that growth is hard, and dedication to being/doing better. Because our kids are worth it. We are worth it. We are capable, loving, and kind. We can do this. YOU can do this.

Photos: @kristycopperfieldphotography
School is right around the corner for most of us! School is right around the corner for most of us! 📚 And I’m sure you’ve at least been *thinking* about the need to get more organized so you and your kiddos feel ready for the school year. 

Want to feel more prepared? Have I got an amazing treat for you! The opportunity to learn from and ask questions of a professional organizer and author for FREE! 🥳

Next Monday, August 8th at 7pm EST, 4pm PST, 1pm HST join @jenniferfordberry and I for a LIVE zoom meet up! 🙌🏼

Jennifer is going to share all kinds of tips to help us get ready for the school year and has generously offered us the option of a Q&A at the end! Free class + personalized access to a professional? YES PLEASE! 🤩 

Have a back to school organization question you hope she answers in the class? Share it in the comments below! 👇🏼

Jennifer is a wealth of information and has been a personal inspiration for me to get my life aligned and in order. My life is better with Jennifer’s influence and encouragement in it 💕 

Sign up via the link in my bio…and mark your calendars for August 8th! 🥳
Someone said to me this week, “You live for your Someone said to me this week, “You live for your children, everyone knows that.” I was stopped in my tracks…Is that true? Is that what people think of me? Is it obvious? How do I feel about this statement? And the truth is, I was flattered. Her statement made me feel appreciated. I felt seen. I felt understood. I didn’t feel anything like “Oh gosh, does this mean I’ve lost myself?” Not at all—instead I felt validated and honored. Do I live for my children? Yes. Do Chris and I both live for our children? Yes—we moved our whole lives to give them better opportunities, security, and more adventures. My life DOES revolve around my role as a mother and I’m not anything but THRILLED by this. What a deep, deep honor it is to be the mother to these four beautiful children. A week later, I’m still humbled and elated by my friend’s passing comment. Would that we all feel so seen and honored this week 🙏🏼

Photo: @daniwalkerphoto_ 💕
Summer Bucket List: ✨ Pick Huckleberries ✨ A Summer Bucket List: ✨ Pick Huckleberries ✨ 

And we did! 😍 With the help of a sweet new friend and her amazing kiddos…and bear spray & babywearing. My heart is still on a high from this adventure! 💜🌿 We saw so many plants and views 🤩 And ate and ate huckleberries. I did bring home about 2 cups to freeze…7 people + 2 hours = 2 cups of berries 🤣 That should tell you something 😉

I’m so so so grateful! 💜 We love our new Idahome and all of the beautiful, generous folks who live here! 💕

Baby Tula

Tula

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