One…

I can’t even believe it, and yet- I absolutely can… 
Another month, another year. Fresh start. Fresh breath. 
Beginning… 
While I feel content, mostly… Perhaps not as much as i would hope but far more than i was before- i find fingers crossed and hopes high at this thing known as january one. 
first… first of something. 
first of everything. 
one. number one month, number one day to this newness that is not really anything very new at all- except for a clean calendar slate and well- let’s face it- we all know what the Mayans said about that… 
Leave it to me to get my junk figured out right before the timer dings… 
Oh well.
I don’t really subscribe to that anyway… 
Me– 
– I want, no scratch that… i NEED to read at least two books for me. Work aside… for me. I am a better me, a better woman and a far better writer when I read. 
– I need to create. i have a list of paper projects, gift projects and a few slightly more daring furniture projects to work towards. Wish me luck? 
– I plan to see. See the world through the lens of my canon. See films. See people. See life. 
– live life. 
– breathe. Through affirmations. through prayer. through yoga. through calming. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. {Please remind me, should I need it.} 
– and of course- the obvious: WRITE. I must write. there is no “like to” or option here. 
Capture– 
– bowls of soup
– new drink and the year’s first book
– icicles
– winter bundled children
– Kaileigh’s bday
– the tree
– Chw’s smooth newness
– our first meal, this year, as a family
– first snow of the year. (one way, or another)
– snuggles
Us– 
– back to educating… Bittersweet. I’ll look to sweet. I am blessed. I choose cherish. 
– We’ll think on Ecology and Conservation. 
– We’ll strive to manage. Manage time. Manage Money. Manage Goals and possessions. 
– We are starting a new allowance system. I’m excited. Gen’s excited. We’re all excited really. 
– Weekend away. 
– Family dinners. Conversing. Love. Support. 
– We delve into classic literature, again, together. 
– We step out and make friends. We try new things. We journey. We cherish. We breathe. {Must continue remembering…}
– focus locally. local shops. local restaurants. businesses owned by people, who work in love for real people. 
– community. outreach. volunteer. serve. 
Heart– 
– i forgive. Me. Others. Life. 2011. Me. Me. Me… Always me, me who damages the most. 
– breathe. 
– pray. 
– read. 
– love. 
– community. outreach. volunteer. serve. {rinse and repeat…}
– sleep. 
Home– 
– organize for schooling. Creative, practical and simple spaces. 
– stock up our tea supply. We’ve dwindled it down. 
– discard the excessive. 
– restock and organize pantry for better feeding of loved family.
– dance in the kitchen, laugh at the table. We need this, everyday. 
– cook together. 
– loosen the kitchen reins. 
Health
– no soda. none. I’ve done it before. I’m doing this again. 
– cut back on wheat. a lot. 
– swim. 
– move. move in ways which help me love myself, not in ways in which I dread. 
– sleep. 
– breathe. {this is feeling repetitive.}
Love– 
– hold hands. 
– respect him. Consciously. Authentically. 
– kiss. 
– cook for him. 
– fold his socks. {which i hate to do.} 
– date him, and when we are dating- see him genuinely. 
– listen to him. 
– listen to him breathe. 
– recognize, remember and respect that he needs him time too. not for work, not with us in tow. 
post signature

Twenty Five…

For seven days this blog has been blank. 
For seven days i have played and have loved. 
I’ve no excuse for such absence so to help you feel included- 
snippets and tidbits of 25 Wagner Christmas moments… 
1} Genny’s peppermint truffles… 

 2} Amazing hot cocoa stirrers…

 3} An array of homemade barks. {pictured is chocolate mint}

 4} Snacks, and pumpkin chocolate chip bread…

 5} Twirling in the kitchen at…

 6} An impromptu Genny “hosted” kid little kid party..
 7} With homemade pizza…

 8} And delicious, real milk cocoa… {face paint optional}

 9} Toys exploding everywhere…

 10} a beyond amazing Ray Charles impersonator!

 11} Wild and Crazy Genny led games. {Nearly neck breaking, literally, at times!}

 12} Somehow making glittery leg warmers seem ultra bad ass…

 13} Silly photo moments…

 14} Super cute adorableness…

 15} Forced puppy snuggling…

 16} Patiently waiting for friends to stop by on Christmas Eve so we could open gifts…

 17} Present time finally arriving…

18} Christmas morning pretty… 

19} Christmas morning stockings… 

 20} The only thing I asked for… {and SWOON!}

 21} Christmas brunch, (sadly, unphotographed) 
 22} Family tradition of seeing a movie… We saw this: 
WE LOVED IT!!!!! 

 23} Christmas afternoon sleeping beauties… {Note the pepsi can}

 {She counts… she just woke up. Ultra grumpy. Plus she’s in a 
sleeping beauty dress, so there.}
 So, remember the Pepsi can? She moved, Pepsi did not spill BUT 
Genny took it from her, and her hand stayed just as though 
she were still holding it. 
That Amanda, she’s cute… 

 24} Major quality togetherness… {Can you believe Ky and Gen are less than a year apart???}

 25} New pajamas all around…

 AND ADDED BONUS:
A new bike!

So, how was your Christmas? 
post signature

Winter’s Tail…

If you aren’t familiar with the film Dolphin Tale, it is a beautifully crafted movie specifically about a young dolphin named Winter, whose tail is compromised in a freak accident and has to be removed. Throughout the journey, and against odds, Winter is given a prosthetic tail thus greatly increasing her quality of life and her odds of survival. 
Not so specifically it is a story about attachment. It is a story about bonds. It is a story about love, and life, and will. It is not about inspiration- everything about it is simply inspiring… 
So, are you with me now about how completely awesome this movie is? 
Great, because here’s the thing- the DVD is being released on the 21st and I’ve been asked to host a giveaway! You could win your own copy, and when I say I am jealous of this- i mean I am WAY jealous… 
So, to enter, just leave a comment with a way to link back to you… The giveaway deadline is December 21st at 12:01 a.m. 
Then, in the meantime, to get a Winter fix that will warm your heart, you can watch her lovely live webcam… 
post signature

Sad and beautiful all at once…

The evening before Thanksgiving, Chw took us to dinner. It was his noble gesture, knowing how exhausted I was from cooking. I was absolutely willing to take him on it… 
I was so grateful for the break, and for someone else to do the cooking and cleaning for an evening that spirits were pretty high. Then, while Genny and I bantered about something that evades me now, I looked over into the restaurants party room and suddenly began to cry. 
The party room had been rented for a girl’s baby shower. In her early 20’s, the young soon-to-be-mom was heavy with baby and absolutely radiating. The room was decorated with pink streamers, and atop the 8 tables there were scattered rattles and bottles for decor. Over all, it was a super cute shower complete with an adorable pink cake and a 2 table buffet line crammed full of homemade mexican food. The young momma sat in the room, chatting with 2 ladies- one I presumed was her mom. The other was obviously the one throwing the shower as about 15 minutes later- and checking her watch for the 40th time, she got up and grabbed the bucket she’d used to store her baby shower games… 
Aside from those 2 people, no one had come to her shower. 
I asked our waitress about it and she shared that the pregnant momma actually worked back in the kitchen. She said that it was really a sad thing because she was super supportive and always attending everything everyone else hosted, and that she knew for a fact that at least 12 “friends” had RSVP’d for this shower. And yet, no one showed. While our waitress told us that most of the girls on duty that night had brought in a little gift for her, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to point out that a handful of girls on a waitress salary aren’t going to meet the needs this new mom has. And with the purpose of a baby shower being to shower that new mom with love- I’m thinking she didn’t feel very loved as she sat staring at those empty and adorned tables in that suddenly enormous room. 
My heart was so sad for her. 
Her heart- on the other hand- at least on the outside, was fine. 
She smiled and truly glowed up until she packed up her gifts and turned off the light… 
post signature