For a few years, I have participated in Thankful Thoughts. I have always found it to be a very good thing to do.  Remembering no matter life circumstances to be thankful for things is good for your heart and mind.  And I am all about doing things that are good for your soul. This year, at work, my girl Sarah gave us calendars and challenged us to write at least one thing we were thankful for each day.  I tried to not always do the same thing that I posted to social media.  Challenging myself to think of multiple things to be thankful for.  Pausing in the middle of the day to remember to be thankful, especially during the work day, has a way of changing your perspective.  You could be having a truly shitastic day, but then you stop and look at the big picture and it turns it all around.  We also all went around the room and shared what we were thankful for that day.  If thinking of the thing you were thankful for wasn't enough to get you ou...

I have been told that runners are annoying.  I am fairly certain I was annoying before I became a runner (still not sure I can call myself that).  If so, I have increased in annoyance.  I did not set out to even remotely like running.  It just kind of......happened.  Like a lot of the best things in life do. Years ago, I took up running for a short time.  I was a stay at home mom and I had gained quite a bit of weight.  Going to the gym was not something that was likely to happen as I still had two littles at home full time.  Needless to say, that stint did not last long. Fast forward to moving and tossing myself down the stairs.  That had me believe that I might not ever walk again.  Yes, a little dramatic, but damn that hurt.  I realize now I probably should have gotten the physical therapy, but I am a tad on the stubborn side.  I was determined to figure it out on my own.  In time, I was up and walking again....

I live in my head way more than most people.  I am constantly talking to myself, working through thoughts, making up stories about people.  😂  I wish I were kidding, but I'm not.  I have done this for as long as I can remember.  Which is probably why I love words.  I love to write, even if I am not great at it.  I love the way words can paint a picture or make you feel something or bring something to life.  I love metaphors.  I love using different experiences to relate to another experience.  And I love using words to do these things,. This weekend I got to do one of the coolest things I have ever done,  I was invited to attend the adoption of a child.  I have never been to an adoption hearing and upon receiving the invite I was honored and intrigued.  I was able to go as I had nothing else going on that morning.  I was a bit nervous as I had to navigate parking and figure out where to be.  Dressed in my unic...

Since I participate in Thankful Thoughts November and I like to attach a picture to each one because I am extra like that, I was Pinteresting some quotes today.  I had chosen to be thankful for finding my passion and typed that in my search.  Many quotes came up including this one: It did not fit where I was going with my thought, but I clicked save because, well, I loved what this said. So strong they can be gentle.  Strong:  able to withstand great force or pressure.  Gentle:  moderate in action, effect, or degree; not harsh or severe.  When you take a moment to ponder that, you begin to see that it does indeed take great strength to be gentle.  And it is not about being weak, it is about withstanding the great forces of life yet remaining gentle in spirit. So educated they can be humble.  Being intelligent and knowing your stuff is important.  Being arrogant about what you know is not.  Remaining humble in many situations...

I have always been too much.  Say too much.  Feel too much.  Pick a word and add too much and you have me summed up.  I have heard it my entire life.  Often times, it causes people to pull away or maybe not come close at all.  I am just too much for a lot of people to handle.  I have tried scaling back, but most of the time it doesn't.....feel right.  If I scale back I do not feel like I am being my authentic self.  If I  am my authentic self, I am too much.  You see the predicament? So, here is this blog.  Of all my rambling thoughts.  I have always been wordy.  If you can locate my high school  English teacher, he would tell you that is true.  He would always say, as he handed back yet another paper of mine, "Abby,  you are too wordy.  You are telling me, I need you to show me."  And I would roll my eyes and mouth back, "Did I get an A yet?"  But that teacher helped make me...

This is me daily.  It's not meant to sound so dramatic.  It's not like I am sitting in the corner of the room crying and rocking back and forth.  Most of the time anyway. Let me start by saying at one point I did not like change.  As in, it would send me into a panic attack just thinking about any minor change.  And honestly for the first many years of our marriage, not much changed.  Mark worked.  I stayed home.  We had kids.  We lived in the same house.  My sister was in Olathe.  My parents were down the street.  There were bumps along the way, of course.  Some bigger and harder than others.  But the course remained really fairly steady for years. Then we hit a huge bump.  I was unhappy in the marriage.  I made poor choices.  And I filed for divorce.  Made the decision to put the kids in public school.  Mark moved out for a time.  It was a mess.  With time and work, and m...

I've often thought about sitting down and writing over the last year.  I have so many thoughts swirling in my head at any given time, I just can't always seem to get them out.  So very much has occurred in the last year and a half, that most of time I don't even know where to begin. Beginning in August of 2015, we made the decision for me to return to a paid position outside of the home.  Elodie was starting Kindergarten, so all the kids would be gone all day, five days a week.  The decision was made because, quite frankly, we needed some extra money coming in.  After fifteen years at home and no completed degree, I was nervous and skeptical at what I would find.  I wanted something contained to the same hours the kids would be gone.  Something that I might actually enjoy.  And I was hoping for full time.  Lo and behold, my good friend Shannon put me in contact with CCVI (Children's Center for the Visually Impaired) . I interviewed and was ...

Now, for the second floor.  The boys' room won't be on here because it is currently messy and I am not going to clean it.  It looks very similar to the previous update. Upstairs hallway: Before After Emmaline's Room Before After Elodie's Room Before After Master Bedroom Before After Dad's Bedroom Before After Hall bathroom Before After And that completes the current state of the house.  Still tons to do.  But it is nice to go back and see what we started with.

Some people have asked what the house currently looks like as well as where it started.  There are blog posts on here from a year ago, so this will be a what it was originally and where it is now post. As some point, maybe some life update posts will go up on here.  In the last year I've gone back to work full time and lost my mom.  I am sure there are blog posts in all of that.... Without further rambling on my part, here's a photo montage of this house.  As most know, after we lost mom, daddy moved in with us.  So a lot has gotten done in the last three months. Living room: Before After Entry way Before After Back hallway/entry/mudroom Before After Dining Room Before After Kitchen Before After Back of the house (I don't seem to have a before photo) From living room to kitchen   From kitchen t...