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Stream of Consciousness

Today was a toughie.  Definite crazy cycle going on between Cricket and I.  Both ended up in tears.  Twice.  Was not pretty.  Most definitely not one of my finest parenting days {by a long shot}.

Comedy of errors in getting together with a new friend I just met…running behind, gas light on {country life does not provide us many gas stops…had to drive in opposite direction to fill up…making us even later}, reached for phone…discovered phone was {Lord knows where} at home, GPS was having an ‘off’ day, got lost in Midland, and finally arrived so late at designated spot that other mom & crew had already left.  With no way of contacting her.  Fabulous first impression.

Splash pad was fun.  Ice cream was messy.  Park was dismal failure {due to some serious impatience on my part}.  Morning #1 of hubby’s new schedule – which involves him working from 10pm to 6am, and then sleeping in the morning while I attempt to enable said sleep by evacuating {or implementing the use of duct tape} – an exhausting endeavor.  No likey new shifty.  Shifty shift.  Blah.

Cried to husband about daughter’s behavior.  Cried harder to husband over mother’s behavior in response to daughter’s behavior.  Not sure which distresses me more: her {seeming} delight in constantly pushing the boundaries, or my complete inability to keep it together and not display this ugly side of me I didn’t realize existed.  Scary stuff.  Desperate for change in this area.

Planned trip to Lansing to run some errands tomorrow, while hitting up my besties in the process.  Ridiculously excited to see their beautiful faces and soak up their delightfulness.  I’m so blessed by the women in my life.  Their walk is such an inspiration to me.  Their transparent sojourn through the rocky terrain of parenthood and the constantly evolving adventures of wife-dom, serve as sweet reminders that I’m not alone in my journey.  Their love for Jesus woos me into a deeper awe for the God we serve.  Their sweet, faithful love for me is part of the reason I can bloom where I’m planted…poop and all.  And their constant {and lavish} encouragement is one of the reasons I blog my little heart out when sleep beckons me sweetly.

Speaking of these phenomenal women…check out this stinkin’ adorable bag one of my lovelies made for me for my birthday:

  PKD Bag 006PKD Bag 004

Recognize what she created {printed/enlarged/traced/cut/stitched} on the back…?

Ooh, ooh, ooh…pick me!  It’s a Pink Kangaroo!

Yup, she’s brilliant. 

Does that mean I’m smarter just because I surround myself with such brilliance?

I digress.

Nap time ended {sniff, sniff} and we plundered the garden to sauté up the delicious veggie smorgasbord below: sporting sugar-snap peas, zucchini, peppers and basil from our garden.  Complete and utter {healthy} scrumptiousness!

Dinner 001 Hubby manned the grill, and we cooked up one heck of a meal.  One of the redeeming aspects of this shift: he’s home for dinner each night.  Which does unfortunately mean that I no longer get away with swinging omelets for dinner every night.  Come on now…they were tasty and nutritious.  Albeit a tad boring after a while.

Took the kiddos to the beach in our back yard {the campground behind “our” house has welcomed us to use their 2 acre lake anytime…’tis glorious!} while my hubby caught some final z’s before work.

All in all, a good tough day – doesn’t every day, in essence, have a purpose…even if it is to stretch, refine and reveal?

Good thing I get to try again tomorrow.

Praying for the gumption to kick-start the day with an energizing cycle and put an end to the poopy ‘tude that’s been lingering around here for the past couple days. 

Bring it on, Thursday!

Related posts:

  1. Stream of Consciousness
  2. Shortcake is on the Line
  3. Coming Up For Air
  4. Monkey See, Monkey Do
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Keepin' it Real, Motherhood

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Simply Bloom exists to empower women to embrace their stories, live out their passion with purpose, and leave a legacy of love.
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Hello there! I'm Joy. Speaker, designer, author & coach, and creator of the #weROARproject. Welcome to Simply Bloom Co., where passion & purpose collide.

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I am regularly overwhelmed by the kindness of God I am regularly overwhelmed by the 
kindness of God in the small + simple.

Things like twinkle lights + Christmas jazz,
scraping out the peanut butter fudge pot
all by myself while sitting on the counter,
and walking around the corner to find my
loin fruit snuggled up together over tea.

They may fight like cats + dogs at times,
but their bond is deep and true and sweet.
Happy release day, @dralisoncook 💛 Written at Happy release day, @dralisoncook 💛

Written at the intersection 
of faith and psychology, 
this book is yet another 
soul-nourishing,
heart-healing, 
boundary-fortifying 
gift from Alison Cook
(if you’ve had a heart-to-heart
with me in the past two years,
you know how much I loved 
‘Boundaries for the Soul’). 

As an enneagram 2 who was raised 
in the church, this book was a timely
and liberating read. Pure balm for the 
weary, recovering-people-pleaser soul. 

I am beyond grateful for the wisdom, 
compassion + experience that Alison 
brings to all she shares (and it was
such an honor to be on her launch 
team for this beautiful new book).

Need a survival guide for your growth
and healing journey? Here you go! ✌🏼

#thebestofyou #thebestofyoubook #womenoffaith #healthyboundaries #healthyyou #healingjourney
Find yourself a tribe of people who will, togethe Find yourself a tribe of people who will, 
together, spend a beautiful Saturday
morning pulling this workout off:

• 20 mile run
• 340 tire flips
• 2,000 air squats
• 1,000 pull ups
• 1,500 box jumps
• 2,200 pull ups
• 600 devil press
• 3,300 sit ups

Brutal. Amazing. 
Exhausted.
So grateful for these two - their friendship, enco So grateful for these two - their friendship,
encouragement and wise counsel over the
past decade of being our pastoral couple
has been such a gift to our family 💛

Congrats on your retirement, dear friends!!
“Over the years, I have come to realize that t “Over the years, 
I have come to realize that 
the greatest trap in our life is not 
success, popularity, or power, 
but self-rejection.”
 :: Henri Nouwen

Somewhere along the journey of 
life, we start to believe the lie that - 
despite being made in the very image 
of a good and beautiful God - who we 
are is inherently bad and broken, and 
we learn to cover that deep sense 
of inadequacy (and the shame that 
accompanies it) with performance.

Because our visceral 
human response to 
‘bad + broken’ is 
‘reject + conceal’.

We think it’s the rejection of others
that cuts us to the core, but the truth
is…most of us walk around wounded 
by a constant and unrelenting sense 
of self-rejection and self-loathing.

Want to know why we feverishly seek 
out the approval and validation of others?
Why we desperately want others to like us?

Because we’re out of touch with our
inherent value and worth, and we’re
not sure that we even like ourselves.

We resent our weakness,
and abandon ourselves.

/ / /

But this good + beautiful God of ours…
He is drawn to our weakness like a
moth to a flame, swooping in to
bring strength and grace.

Paul writes in Corinthians 12:9 that 
he learned to delight in his weakness 
because it was when he was week that
“His strength is perfected in me”. 

Or, as the Passion Translation so 
stunningly puts it, “my weakness 
becomes a portal to God’s power”.

Precious ones, we can shun our tender
still-in-process places, pretend to have 
it all together, and hustle for our worth…
OR we can drop the masks, offer kindness 
and curiosity to our hurting, broken parts,
and learn to live fully seen and known.

But we can’t have both.

And yes, it’s scary.

Today may we choose
…grace over perfectionism
…curiosity over shame
…acceptance over rejection
…gentleness over judgement
…wholeness over pretense

You are loved.
And they’re off! Alathea is in 10th grade and A And they’re off!

Alathea is in 10th grade and
Aiden is heading into 8th grade.

Here’s to a year full of grace,
discovery, friendship + growth 🙌🏼
"Faith isn't the ability to believe long + far i "Faith isn't the ability 
to believe long + far 
into the misty future. 
It's simply taking God 
at His Word + taking 
the next step."

:: Joni Eareckson Tada
Day 15 | Beach Day + Travel Prep We fly out late Day 15 | Beach Day + Travel Prep

We fly out late tomorrow evening so today
has been a lazy day of laundry, laying in the
sun, a petshop visit (where Aiden fell in love 
with a cute rat + I discovered zebra finches), 
an impromptu stop for bubble tea + stuffed crepes [oh my word, were these delicious!!],
shopping [I found the best, comfiest - Joe
would argue ‘ugliest’ - romper at the thrift
store that I can’t wait to wear on our long
journey home], and Aiden is currently off
doing his thing: fishing right from the pier.
Our view from the lodge last night ✨ Our view from the lodge last night ✨
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