Today...

Today I am reminded of how very precious life really is.  Today I am trying to live a more authentic, genuine, truthful life.  Today I listen to my instincts more and become more honest with my loved ones.  Today I am so very thankful for my family and good friends.  I know that at the end of the day good relationships are the substance of life.  I know that life is worth living well.  I know that we are all here for different reasons and at the same time we are all here for one another.  Today I am so grateful for my husband, the choices that he makes and the incredible person he is at his core.  I hope for you that you find peace this holiday season, that you make time to tell your loved ones what they mean to you and to live your life better today than you did yesterday.

This season....

A few weeks ago we were at a cider mill celebrating the start of the fall season and Matt noticed a booth for a local non-profit where you can 'adopt' foster care kids for christmas and get them presents that are on their wish list.  We decided to sign up for two 14 year olds, a boy and a girl.  We were sent their first names and a few of their favorite things and we were off.  We asked our families to contribute if they felt like getting us a gift this year, they could instead get something off one of the kiddo's wish list and that would be our gift this year. Our family stepped up effortlessly and we were able to send two big red santa bags that were jam packed with goodies.

The kid's both got some great art supplies, lots of cool clothes, some fashionable boots for the girl, and a sweet Chiefs hoodie for the boy, some gift cards, scarves, gloves, and the list goes on.  I got to deliver the big santa bags one morning this past week and it felt great giving to those that truly need it way more than we do.  I love any chance to help young people and I know our gifts will make their holiday at least a little brighter.

THANK YOU TO OUR FAMILIES' FOR CONTRIBUTING AND THEIR GIVING SPIRITS!

I also think we are at a point in our lives where we don't need 'things', we don't want more stuff just to have some thing.  I think it's great to take a few extra minutes to really think about a gift you are getting someone and to know it's purpose, whether it be fun, relaxation, inspiration, or something sweet that will make the receiver of the gift feel special, than it's worth it.

We hope you are enjoying this holiday season and more than anything gaining great memories.

WHAT a weekend!

I'm gonna go picture crazy with this one... we had a very busy but very fun weekend celebrating with the family.  My 6 week old nephew Ashton was baptized and we spent the weekend with family celebrating... My mom, sister and I saw the Von Trapp family sing with the Kansas City Symphony (no pictures but just start singing 'raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...' now in your head and you can imagine the fun).  Then a pizza dinner with about 20 of us last night, Chris' family was in town to join in the goodness.  Today we went to church, Ashton was baptized and we went to my mom's house for lunch, watched the Chiefs game and some intense ping pong games.  I can officially say I could play ping pong for hours, my dad and I played against one another and that was the first time we had played each other in probably 15 years and it was fun!  It was a fierce competition and although I beat him in overtime (24-22) he won 3 out of 5.  It was nice how home like my mom's house now feels to me.  I have always said wherever my mom is that is my second home, but now her warm, cozy home with Steve really does feel like my second home and it's great.  I cherish every moment with our families and feel very grateful for all the good times... Oh also Matt and I picked out our Christmas tree last night and it is finally fully decorated and I LOVE it.  The tree fills the house with the lovely fresh pine smell and the twinkling lights between different ornaments shine reminders of fond memories.........

These are some of our favorite ornaments.  The red santa on the left hangs at the top of our tree as our 'Christmas star' and I've had it for years.  The Lindsay ornament reminds me of my childhood as us three kids (Shan, Jeff and me) all had our own names spelled out just like this.  The Sugar Bear is Matt's favorite, isn't it cute?  He has has it for twenty years, and it still plays jingle bells when you squeeze it!  The Star Wars one on the right I got Matt a few years ago and he loves it because it is Star Wars of course.

Shan, Ashton sleeping soundly and me and my dad after our ping pong match.

Our tree!

Where to start?

I've got about a dozen things on my mind that not only I would like to write about but that have also happened in the last week or so.  We just got home from our anniversary trip to Mexico with our good friends Jamee and Dale and it was a blast!!  I have a few art/writing projects going on at the same time... Thanksgiving was a good reminder on how very blessed and grateful I am for the loved ones in my life... and not 'working' was about the best break I could imagine right now... Driving home at 6 a.m. this morning going from pitch black to pure light within forty minutes through farm country was pretty awesome... and reflection, reflection, reflection.  I continue to hope to do better tomorrow than I did yesterday.  I strive to evolve even a little every single day.  I want to get even a tiny piece of enlightenment and I know that will look a bit different with each passing day. 

I went from trying to hide my nervousness for flying to complete awe once I leaned over my husband's window seat and saw this...

For the first time in my life while flying I felt real strength.  I felt a powerful energy that I could not explain.  It gave me just enough of a push to feel at ease for flying and I knew we would arrive safely.  I also knew things more powerful than me were at work and that was very intriguing.  

I could go on, but I will leave you with this.  The lyrics to a song that I find... I could say fascinating, or interesting, but really I find them relateable.  And you may not, and that is fine, I ask that you listen to the song too rather than just read the words and see if they mean anything to you.... but for now,

Society - Eddie Vedder

Oh, it's a mystery to me
We have a greed with which we have agreed
And you think you have to want more than you need
Until you have it all you won't be free

Society, you're a crazy breed
Hope you're not lonely without me...

When you want more than you have
You think you need...
And when you think more than you want
Your thoughts begin to bleed
I think I need to find a bigger place
Because when you have more than you think
You need more space

Society, you're a crazy breed
Hope you're not lonely without me...
Society, crazy indeed
Hope you're not lonely without me...

There's those thinking, more-or-less, less is more
But if less is more, how you keeping score?
Means for every point you make, your level drops
Kinda like you're starting from the top
You can't do that...

Society, you're a crazy breed
Hope you're not lonely without me...
Society, crazy indeed
Hope you're not lonely without me...

Society, have mercy on me
Hope you're not angry if I disagree...
Society, crazy indeed
Hope you're not lonely without me...

Early Thanksgiving

 We celebrated Thanksgiving early today at Matt's moms' house.  Becky recently bought some land and built the house she and her husband Dave now live in.  They have some land and a four wheeler and this thing we call a 'gator' and got to drive it around their land.  The food was good, the company was great, and it was fun to explore their land on this thing.

 We play this game called Pirate Bingo and it's basically a card game where you chose a gift from the center of the table. The gifts we all bring from home and usually they are funny, somewhat odd gifts that you would never normally get yourself.  And now we are the proud new owners of a fox hat.  Wait, I take that back, not proud, I'm not a fan of dead animal skin, having to see it, let alone having to drive home with it in the back seat of our car.  But Dave is a hunter and this is one of his creations of taking the fur and making a warm hat.  It was definitely the most unique gift of the day.

 We enjoyed a fast ride through the woods on this vehicle.  They also have a four wheeler we look forward to riding next time we visit.

 Ainsley quickly figured out the rules to pirate bingo...

 And our drive home was beautiful and of course I took a few minutes to snap as many cloud shots as I could.

 I really love these pictures.

 Yet another great weekend....

Quote of the day

During a meeting with my 15 year old male client he told me he thinks I should get paid more to listen to people complain all day.  He then said 'don't you ever work with people and think 'they are just so stupid!'  I smiled but said the appropriate response of 'Well, no I don't think any one I work with is stupid'.  When truly I have come across about 4 people I can think of out of about 100 that were truly choosing to be stupid and I know that they will never change.  I guess 4 out of 100 isn't that bad, right?  My client then rephrased the question and said 'don't you work with people that you just know won't do anything to help themselves?'  And to that I answered yes.  And those by far are the most frustrating cases, the ones who say they want help when you know they really don't, the ones that want you to only justify their behavior no matter what, the ones that are given the opportunity to do better every minute of their lives but they still choose not to. Those are the worst.

I did however have an incredible meeting this past week where I wore the hat of a marriage counselor and helped two parents make some sense of their teenager's behavior and their role in the mix and how they can make a few small changes and immediately see a positive affect at home.  It was the kind of meeting that it was obvious I was helping these people and it was wonderful that they appreciated the help.  It was the kind of family that you see how much potential they have and you get to witness their growth. And it was the kind of feeling that reminds me of why I chose to do the work that I do and the value I see in it.

Also, what gets you through a tough week?  One of many things that gets me through is good music!! I had a new cd in my car this week and it gave me the extra charge I thrived in the morning, and a great burst of energy throughout the day.  I was jamming to some Pearl Jam, Michael Jackson, Bright Eyes, and my rap for this week included OutKast and Mystical.  Oh yea.

Random thought for the day...

I was working at Panera today and it was packed but I was immersed in my work and at one point I didn't look up from my computer for a solid hour.  Then I heard a baby sitting near me and she kept saying 'beek oh book' something along those lines over and over again.  And it would have been annoying if it wasn't so darn cute.  I was pulled back into my surroundings by hearing her saying that phrase and then I started to really look at all the faces that filled the restaurant. A lot of 'business' people, some young couples, some really old people, a few kids, and people of all different races and ages and it made me think of this random thought:  Isn't weird that we were all once babies? I mean, really?  We all have our adult clothes, and language and ability to do things on our own, but once we were tiny, helpless, babies making weird noises in the corner.  It was one of those moments I felt like we were all more connected than we usually seem to be.

I fell compelled to add a Tracy Jordan (30 Rock) random statement to the end of this:  I was just thinking about how weird it is that we eat birds.