What a great year! I usually like to go back through the year and do a recap of major events or fun adventures but I haven’t had the time to do so. Josh has been off of work for nearly 2 weeks and we’ve spent a lot of time playing games, reading, coloring, playing with the kids and just relaxing. On top of that, Peyton has a double case of pink eye and an underlying virus of some sort, she’s been battling high fevers. 

But I do want to bid a farewell to 2015, because it was a pretty great year. Here are a few things (the list could go forever) that stand out to me:

• Peyton was born! She came swiftly into the world on a cold and snowy night, face up ready to greet this world. She immediately stole our hearts. 
• Henry turned 3! He learned so much this year, it’s amazing to see what his brain catches on to so quickly. 
• We went on vacation to Michigan and enjoyed the beach. 
• Josh and I celebrated 4 years of marriage. 
• We welcomed 3 new nieces and 2 new nephews. 
• I read 63 books!
• My new website launched! 

Here’s a look ahead at 2016:

• House improvements: paint our bedroom/buy furniture, shelving for the kitchen and laundry room
• Henry’s first year of little league
• 5 years of marriage!
• Trips: TBD 
• BLOG!
• Photography self-education
• Henry will start preschool in the fall
• We will begin our 12 months of dates (one of Josh’s Christmas gifts from me was a packet of envelopes with 1 planned date a month! We are very excited for these adventures! I hope to do a a series of blogs or at least one at the end of the year detailing this adventure)

And lastly, some resolutions:

• Daily prayer
• Set aside anger, lead with love 
• Read 75 books
• Become organized/less clutter
• Healthy body, healthy mind

Cheers!

Thanksgiving season is upon us and I wanted to share just some of the people/blessings that I’m thankful for. In years past I participated in the days of thankfulness on Facebook (posting a daily status) I often times forgot to do it every day. I’ve been making notes in my planner a few times a week about what I have to be thankful for. Here are some:

Joshua: You are the light in my life, there is nothing I look forward to more (except sleep), than you walking through the door after work. You do SO much for us and you do all of it without complaining. You remind me of why I am important and you make me laugh everyday. You’re the best daddy, Henry and Peyton are truly blessed. You give us a perfect life.

Henry and Peyton : You two are the most beautiful kids, inside and out. I never knew my heart could feel so much love. You make me laugh and smile every day. I have never been so tired and so amazed by anything. I want so much happiness for you both. I am overwhelmed that God chose me to be your mama.

Bobbie: You always listen and that is everything. You always love, no matter what. You always tell me what I need to hear. You are such an important part of my life. I love you.

This amazing Autumn weather: 60s and 70s in November? Incredible. It lasted well into November, I’m so thankful we had more than 2 weeks of warm Fall temps to enjoy. We were able to get so many Fall activities in and spent a lot of time playing outside and at the park.

Our church (Saint John Vianney Catholic Church): We finally joined a parish in January and it is definitely feeling like home now. I always feel safe when we are there, it is a place where I know exactly what to expect, it’s unchanging. I joined the MOMs ministry a couple of months ago and have enjoyed attending every week and reading along with the book they’ve chosen. We are thankful for such a traditional parish and for a strong priest.  It’s a great community to be apart of and I hope we are able to give more of ourselves to it.

Washer and Dryer:  Mizewell throw my dishwasher in as well. I grew up walking to the laundromat with my mom every Saturday, so having a washer and dryer in the house is a huge blessing. I love when I’m upstairs and I can hear the dryer going downstairs. It’s one of those sounds that bring me comfort. Without a dishwasher, I would never get any other chore done.

Where we live:  I love so much about where we live. It’s beautiful. Sunrises, sunsets, the land around us, the land we own, our garden, the quiet, etc. In the Spring it’s so green with so many wild flowers bursting all around us and in the Fall the colors are beautiful. It’s in such stark contrast to what I grew up around, that there is always something new for me to learn and experience (this year it was monarch caterpillars and butterflies!). We are just 35 minutes from downtown Indy, which always gives us a lot of options for different activities to do.

Friends: My best friend forever, Kayleigh. I don’t need to write all the ways you have always been important to me because you know…but mostly I’m thankful we don’t hug and we both wear pants. gRegor, Shawn, Jeremiah and Mary Sue, you show up, you listen and you care. We all have busy lives but you’re people I love and know I can count on. To you other people (Sloth, Paul, Jessica, Steph and Sheryl..etc) who probably don’t realize how much of impact you have on my day just by listening and making me laugh, thank you!

Libraries and books: We visit the library every other day (this is not an exaggeration). We go to story time, we go to play, we go to learn, we check books and movies out. It’s our little safe haven. Henry loves the “whybe”. He also loves to read, read and read. I’m so thankful that he is such a book worm. I get just as excited as he does about reading to him (although Dr. Seuss is wearing me out, without a doubt). I also love to read (I’ve finished 55 books this year, so far), it’s what I do with my free time (when nursing Peyton or when they are napping, or when I have a break from the kiddos).

All the little big things: Hot water, a sleeping baby on my chest, good health, my down comforter, coffee, nap time, food, kisses, cuddles, parks, Target, prayer, hoodies, letters in the mail, music, Chick-Fila, football Sundays, game nights with Josh, sunsets, sunrises, slipper boots, falling asleep, Thai and the list goes on forever.

Have you heard of The Imagination Library? It was started in 1995 by the Dollywood Foundation and it sends 1 age appropriate book to a child every month for the first 5 years of their lives. That is 60 FREE books per child! This program is coming to Hancock County (where we live!) in 2016.

This is the kind of program I dreamed of as a child. I can picture all the children that will be a part of this program, their sweet anticipation as the mail comes every day, hoping for a new book to read (THEIR very own book) and a new adventure to escape on.

In Hancock County last year, 28% of children in kindergarten fell below literacy standards. This program could foster a love of reading for children.

Here are some impacts found by communities who already have Imagination Library:

• Children begin school with book handling skills and an understanding of letter and word concepts.
• In addition to these skills, those such as math scores and cognitive skills are significantly improved with participation in Imagination Library.
• Closing the “language gap” before age 5 is vital for reading success in school. A child’s brain grows to 80% of its adult size by age three, creating a critical window of opportunity for learning words and language.
• Reading experiences shared by children from diverse backgrounds upon entering kindergarten can “level the playing field” and help them develop socialization skills.
• Participants outperform non-participants on kindergarten literacy assessments.

Hancock County Community Foundation is asking for help in their fundraising during the week of November 9th-11th (NOW!). Thanks to a grant from Lilly Endowment, every $1 donated during this week will be matched with .50 (from a pool of $100,000). The goal is to raise $2 million dollars over a 5 year period which would allow 3,500 children to receive 12 books a year, over their first 5 years of life.

If you feel led to donate, please go here (from now until 4pm on the 11th, click the blue button that says donate now and then click the train at the bottom of the circle): http://givehcgrowhc.org/

If you decide to donate and have any questions please ask me! And if you do donate, please let me know, I would love to thank you personally. And in case you don’t let me know, please understand that I (and all the children who will benefit from this program) am so grateful for your donation! Please share this post with your friends and family to get the word out!

Mmm, do you feel that beautiful Fall weather outside. It’s such a glorious time of year! It’s the beginning of the end of the year and the beginning of a long holiday season full of joy, food, fun decorations, food, pumpkins, coziness and food.

Here’s a look at our Autumn bucket list, hopefully we have time to fit everything in!

• Visit Nashville/Brown County: One of the most beautiful places nearby to visit in the fall. The rolling hills of tress, changing from green to reds, yellows and oranges. We used to go camping every year and will start the tradition back up with the kiddos are ready for it. We visited just yesterday. The colors are exceptional right now, probably the most vibrant we’ve ever seen. There are lots of trails to hike or if you’re more into touristy type attractions you can walk around downtown Nashville. There are a lot of shops you can check out.
• Apple Picking: We marked this one off our list early. We love to go to Tuttles Orchard which is only about 10 minutes away from us. I am not a huge apple fan but boy, their apples are something else. They also have you-pick sunflowers, hay rides, pumpkin patch, kids play area and food! We love their apple donuts and apple and peach slushies.
• Pumpkin patch: We also already marked this off our list. We love to visit Stoneycreek. They have hayrides, pony rides, pumpkin train, play area, zip line and many more activities. We live across the street from Piney Acres, which is a Christmas tree farm primarily but also offers fall activities and they have a new playground set up for the kiddos. They offer a haunted loft and maze at night on the weekends as well.
• Trick or treating: Henry will be a lion and Peyton an owl. We’ve already been to one trick or treating event and have a couple more lined up.
• Halloween Party: Our favorite little library, Fortville Public Library has a party every year featuring a safari guy who brings lots of fun animals. The party is Thursday the 29th at 6:30 PM.
• Bonfire at home
• Headless Horseman at Conner Prairie: You can take a hayride and hear the story about the Headless Horseman and see him ride through the night. If you go earlier in the evening, it’s less scary. There are also activities set up for the kids to participate in.
• Carve pumpkins
• Hiking
• Pumpkin everything: Pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin pie, pumpkin pudding, pumpkin muffins, etc

This list doesn’t encompass everything we will do to take advantage of the ever too short fall season but it’s a great place to start.

What are some of your favorite fall activities?

  
The first time I realized that I would have to teach my son (children) about the horrific evils of the world was December 14, 2012. My son had turned 5 months old just the day before a gun man shot and killed 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. I watched everything unfold on the break room television while I was at work. I silently cried at my desk and discussed it with my coworkers. I thought of my sweet boy, just a couple of miles down the road. I held him that night and cried for all the lives and innocence that had been shattered that day. 

How do I explain to my children that evil and violence like this exist in our world? I’ve posed this question to friends and family before and received an array of answers and each bits of wisdom are good but none of them truly comfort me. None of them take away from the sad reality that little by little my children will learn what people are capable of. Not only what they are capable of but that they too will be subject to whatever the world may throw at them. 

They will learn of so many unspeakable tragedies (The Holocaust, slavery, 9/11, abortion, etc.). I can’t even begin to understand how I will “soften” these stories for their innocent ears and hearts. 

At Henry’s 3 year well check, before checking Henry’s boyhood, our doctor told Henry that he was only allowed to check Henry down there because his mama was in the room with him. While I appreciate the gesture, I was also saddened that we live in a world where we have to prepare our children for this life long battle against evil. Since this checkup we have been explaining to Henry that only mama and daddy (when changing/cleaning him) can touch Henry and that he himself is the only person that has a right to his body. This isn’t an easy discussion. How do you tell a 3 year old that someone may try to hurt him in an unfathomable way? We shouldn’t have to do this. 

How do people start out as innocent children and grow into detestable adults? That’s a rhetorical question. “The devil is alive, I can feel him breathing.”

Yes, I know, I hear it every time I start this conversation. There is SO much good in the world. We fight all the evil with all the good. 

The fight against evil and the teaching of good character starts at home by teaching our children the difference between light and dark. And for our family, explaining that Jesus provided a path full of light and to run away from the darkness that wants so badly to pull them  (quite literally)  into hell, is also how we will choose to fight this battle. 

That they, as individuals can change the world (they already have) even in simple every day acts. They get to choose light or dark and I will take every opportunity I can to show them kindness and love goes so far, even when no one else can see their choices. 

These two little people that I share my day with, I pray they understand that, even though there are evils in the world that will break their hearts, they can answer with love, with kindness, with a light so bright that nothing can turn it off. And I pray I find the words, when the time comes (which is quickly approaching for our 3 year old) to explain this big world to them. Until then, I will shepherd them toward goodness, toward the redeeming love of Jesus and hold them tight every day. 

Joshua and I had the following verse read at our wedding  and (even for non-Christians) I think it’s one to live by, it carries so much hope. 

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16)

I wanted to share a few photos of Peyton’s recent 6 month (and some days) photo shoot. Needless to say it was not easy! This Curious George of a girl is a mover! She does not sit, she army crawls, planks, knee crawls, stands, nearly jumps out of my arms and that’s just within the first 15 minutes of being awake. As you can see in the photo above, Peyton was not satisfied sitting in the chair, she twisted around and stood up on her own. She is strong, she is curious and she will eat all of your paper. Maybe we should dub her the goat. Goats eat paper right? I don’t know, I need sleep.

She sure is one smiley, happy baby. We can’t wait to watch her continue to grow, learn and explore. It’s hard to believe she’s already 6 months old.  Well, now she is almost 7 months! We love you Princess Peyton!

PS: Something I will need to figure out, but you will notice the photos don’t look crisp on this post unless you click and enlarge the photo.

My son, Henry turned 3 years old in July. It’s really hard to believe that my first little baby is a full blown, rambunctious, never slows down, very sweet little boy.  As a baby he had the happiest countenance of any baby that I have ever met. He would look into stranger’s faces until they would look at him and then he would smile. His good nature has followed him into toddlerhood and he is constantly handing out hugs to everyone and gentle face touches to every baby he meets. And now, he’s a big brother and he’s quite proud of it. He tells everyone we meet about his baby sister Peyton. He comforts her, plays with her and loves to give her kisses.

I asked Henry some questions recently and here are his answers.

What is your favorite food? Fries and chickens

Who do you love? Daddy, Hurley, Chickens, Aaron, Madi, Jesus

What do you want to be when you grow up? Me! Winnie the Pooh!

What’s your favorite color? Orange

What’s your name? Hemy Michael

Henry spends most of his days playing outside. He loves his sandbox and fighting dragons with sticks. He is such a great explorer and is constantly finding toads, frogs, praying mantis’, dog poop and bird’s nest. He will run back into the house, and say, “Mommy, daddy, come, come,” clap his hands twice and run back out excited to show us his new loot. He’s loves books with the same ferocity that his mama does. We frequent the library at least twice a week. He’s daddy’s boy, always following Josh around, helping him mow, garden or just gack (wrestling) around.

Henry loves to cuddle and still sleeps with us. He’s in for a big change soon because we will be transitioning him to his own bed in his own room this fall/winter. We have truly enjoyed spending such a sweet time with him for 3 years. At first he slept with us because he woke so frequently and it was easier on me to not have to be up and down all night. But it evolved into a special time for us, to feel close, warm and safe. I hope there are nights he still climbs into bed with us from time to time.

He loves his Grandpa Schmackers and is constantly (pretty much every day) asking to “Go to Grandpa’s house?” He also asks to go see his cousins, “Giddy up (Gideon), Max and Misariah (Mariah).” Every night he prays for Mommy, Daddy, Peyton, Henry, Hurley, Bella, his grandmas and grandpas, his cousins and aunts and uncles. We must close our eyes when we pray over our dinner and he genuflects before he enters the pew at church. Recently one Sunday at church, during a song at communion, out of no where, he buried his face in Josh’s shoulder and started to cry. We aren’t really sure why because he wasn’t in a bad mood or upset, it was as if he was moved by the moment.

We are so excited to watch Henry continue to grow and learn. His joy and smiles are so contagious. A day doesn’t go by that he doesn’t remind me that life is really just one big adventure, waiting to be explored and run through. I could talk for days about Henry’s big personality and the impact he has made on my life. I never knew that one little boy could change and influence me so much.

We love you Hemy Michael.

A few weeks ago, my friend Sheryl and I started to read The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron. The purpose of the book is to help recover your inner child artist, who has been lost by growing up, becoming an adult or from being told that what and who we are, is in someway not enough.  And we all know what it’s like to get caught up in the every day busy bustle, to get bogged down in social media/television/the news, etc.  To lose pursuit of a true passion. To let insecurity create a resistance in us.

I read through week 4 yesterday and I’m slowly remembering that spark I had as a kid. You know, waking up every day, excited to go exploring outside, excited to create something out of nothing but your own thoughts. The activities in this book have also boosted my excitement about writing (on this website and in my own journal), photography and for activities with Henry.

However, even with the excitement of having a new website and brain storming ideas for it, I’ve let a lot of self doubt and insecurities seep in. I told Josh, shortly after going live, that I probably don’t have a lot of interesting things to say and that there will be people that don’t like me very much possibly reading my posts and or judging my art. Josh, being the wise and level headed guy that he is, told me that you will always have those type of people and that there isn’t anyone out there who is loved by everyone.

The book also speaks to these insecurities calling them “blurts”. Some of the ones that have come up for me:

• You aren’t super efficient when it comes to grammar. Those grammar hounds will read what you write and nit pick every sentence.
• No one will find what you have to say interesting. No one will read what you have to say. No one will engage you.
• You’re not creative or imaginative.
• You’re unoriginal.

And then I read this quote:

“Artists who seek perfection in everything, are those who cannot attain it in anything“

 (Eugene Delacroix)

I (and you too)  must ignore these negative little dementors that attack my inner artist child. Ignore that voice that tells me what I do and have to say aren’t good enough. I have to remember: never trying means you will never improve. No one writes a NY Times Best Seller right off the bat or is published by National Geographic immediately. Don’t let it stop you from taking a great leap of faith. Trust yourself. Remember what it was like to be a child. Pursue your passion, find your spark and be rambunctious with it.

Fresh. Fresh. Fresh.

I love that word. It sounds promising. It sounds crisp and clean.

I love a fresh new page in a journal. An early morning, with an orange sunrise painting the horizon and a steaming mug of coffee in your hand, welcoming a fresh new day.

It’s here at last! My renovated blog, fresh and ready for all kinds of new adventures! I want to say a HUGE thanks to gRegor for doing all of his magic in getting it up and running (he’s been doing this for me for years)! I’m still searching for the perfect header photo that I have or will take. There are some photos I’ve taken and haven’t uploaded that may work great for it. For now, a nice sky photo I took, which admittedly looks better on mobile than on a desktop version.

So what can you expect from this blog/website?

I want to be more intentional in writing and photography. I want to learn, grow, connect, and share. I want an outlet for my thoughts and my photography work. You will currently only see pages for: Poetry, Photography, and About. In time I will add more as the site grows.

Here are some ideas I have that I hope to blog about in the future:

Poetry
Flashback Fridays
Recipes
Photography
Book Reviews
Spotlights on restaurants/attractions/festivals
Restaurant reviews
Guest Bloggers
Creative writing prompts

I’ve established a page on Facebook, so please go “like” it if you’d like to keep up with updates and posts going forward! I will link to the page as I publish blogs and photography.

Thanks for stopping by!