Don't miss the in-between

There are so many things I want to do and accomplish with my life.  My list is soooo long.

Take more pictures
Join a church group
Blog more
Exercise
Volunteer
Redecorate the house
Visit family
Plan a girls night out with friends
Eat right
Keep a clean house
Do art projects with the kiddos on a regular basis
Cook one new recipe a week
Organize

I could go on and on...and on and on and on...you feel me?

I like to consider myself a emotionally dynamic passionate person :)  I get frustrated easily but I also get inspired and fired up quickly for things that matter to me.  This usually leads to frustration that I can't DO all of these things Right. Now.  But I think about them alot.  Maybe more than I should.

Does this happen to you?

We are so caught up in our busy busy busy that we forget to stop and just breathe.  Stop obsessing.  Life is still happening and we aren't even fully present in it because we are always so focused on the future and all the things we want to accomplish with this precious life.  But I don't want to forget to live it and I bet you don't either.  I encourage you to find some small ways to be more present in your day.

Take a slow inhale of your morning coffee/tea
Look people in the eye when they're talking to you (I'm so guilty of this even with my kids sometimes!)
Get off your smart phone...take a brief walk
Hug someone
Lift your face to the sun and feel the warmth it provides
Chew your food slowly and really taste it
Listen to music





 What are some small ways you can find to be present in the in-between?

Pymatuning 2012

We took our second camping trip to Pymatuning Lake this year.  

We went for the first time last year and loved it so we're making it an annual trip now.

We get the same camp site with a direct walk-out onto the lake. 

This is what we wake up to in the morning, 

there are few better views in life than this :)

I loved sitting out on the tiny section of beach in the morning watching the fish jump, the blue heron hunt, and ducks land and quack about.  I think one of the things I love best about camping is that for me it is a humbling experience.  A reminder that in nature, life goes on without all the drama we add to it.  All these years after creation and herons and ducks are still hunting fish and fish are still hunting bugs.  It makes all the little things that I spend so much mental energy on seem so silly.

I love the absolute calm it brings to my spirit.

That said here are some more shots from our trip.

The Spillway

Fish and foul are in abundance at the spillway and everyone and their mother stops to feed them. 

Including us...and my mother :)

The birds are awesome but I must admit the carp are kinda creepy.  

But really any animal or bug in large numbers like that gives me the willies.

They practically swim on top of each other and they all have their mouths gaping wide open.

The Fish Hatchery

The fish hatchery is actually more fun than you would think. Yea there are large tanks of fish in various stages of life but the grounds are really beautiful with some unique things to see.  Especially the nesting bald eagles that we were not lucky enough to see this year but did see last time.  Let me tell you to see a bald eagle up close in its natural environment is quite impressive.  But this year we got to see scads of barn swallows nesting beneath the eaves of the hatchery building.  I loved seeing their little heads peeking out of the holes.  The ones in the last photo are probably only about a tenth of what was there.

We absolutely love it there and can't wait to back next year although I think we'll definitely be extending our stay.  You just can't fit in everything you want to take advantage of into 2-1/2 days.

Any other campers out there?

Where do you like to camp?

We're always on the lookout for new places to explore :)

Simple and Sweet Mother's Day

We've been so busy lately that a simple and sweet 

Mother's Day was just what I needed.

Friday started it off perfectly with a Mother's Day Tea at my son's kindergarten class.  Songs and poems and cards and sweet kid voices....what more could you ask for?  The absolute best part was having L say "I love you Mom" and "I'm so glad you're here" about 20 times while I was there.  

MELT. MY. HEART.

I recently won a Mary Kay makeover (more on that later) and was treated to some good old girlie fun on Friday night trying all sorts of wonderful beauty products.  Man it really makes my cheapie stuff seem well, kinda crappy.  I little pampering sure did this tired mama some good!

Saturday evening I got to spend some time with my awesome Mom just relaxing on the porch and we may or may not have gone out for ice cream ;)  I can't believe I didn't take any pictures!  My bad. 

I guess I was just too busy enjoying my time with my mom.

Sunday I was greeted by two adorable boys yelling Happy Mother's Day!  Then my sick Hubsy proceeded to make us all a scrumptious breakfast of homemade waffles.  What a man!

I got these lovely gifts from the kiddos.

After spending some time with my lovely MIL, Hubsy took us out for Chinese.  One of my favorites.  

I just can't get enough General Tso's :)  And the boys weirdly love Chinese even though they are generally picky eaters so the fact that everyone is happy and we don't have to "work" 

to get a meal in is such a treat.

Felt taco

We went home for a family nap (aka food coma) then I enjoyed some crafting with the boys.  We made some felt play food.  It was so nice to just stop and do something simple and fun with them.  After that it was business as usual.  Laundry, cleaning, packing school bags and lunches but little did I know Hubsy had one more trick up his sleeve....

Such a sweetheart.  

And what do I do?  Yell at him for spending so much money.

After he reminded me that gifts are to be accepted graciously, 

I straightened up and thanked him properly.  He thanked me for being such a good mom and picking up the household slack while he has been working such crazy hours lately.  

Nothing could have meant more.

Isn't that what Mother's Day is about anyway, letting all moms know how appreciated there efforts are?

 the laundry

 the nose wiping

 the listening

 the boo boo kissing

the hugs

the meal preparation

just being there

Big or small...

it ALL means so much.  

We should be proud of the job we do.

I hope all you moms out there were made to feel appreciated and loved this Mother's Day!

We're so blessed to have been given this title of  

Mother.

Favorite Things Friday - Playtime

finding joy

My favorite thing from this week was playing Play-doh with my boys.

Really playing.

It was so fun to forget about being an adult for a little while and make all sorts of sweet play-doh goodies with my two favorite little men.

My hubby had to work late one night so I promised the boys we would get out
the play-doh (all 25+ colors) and just play.  

So we did.

L's super chocolatey ice cream delight

My version of a mini wedding cake... I know, don't quit my day job ;)

Not sure exactly what E was creating, I think he was ripping the play-do into pieces for "sprinkles".  I would normally get upset when the colors get mixed but I've learned to let it go, I mean if they don't care that they are mixed why should I?

He he he...do you have any special toys/games you like 
to play with your kids?  
Or the kid-at-heart in your life?

A big decision

All this self examination and simplifying has let me to make a hard decision.  I need to put more effort into my family and less into extraneous stuff....that is clear.  

But what to eliminate?

You may or may not have noticed a distinct lack of posts on Behind the Moon Beadworks.  I had lofty goals for growing the business this year but in recent months my husband was having some issues with his job that required a lot more time from him and so I had to pick up the slack at home.  And then it seems we just ran into a string of regular life "stuff" that has kept me from making much progress.  But even though I was not pushing forward with much, it was definitely on my mind and I was really stressing over it spending a lot of mental energy on it

I can't quit my day job...DANG!...so I have decided to take a little break from the business for a few months and really concentrate on our home life. My Etsy shop will still be up and running so purchases can continue to be made that way.  I just won't be adding any new designs for a few months.

On that note I will leave you with a pic of a new design I created recently 

that will post up to the shop at a later date.  

Thanks to everyone for your support of Behind the Moon Beadworks!

I look forward to debuting some new designs in the fall!

Pillow Talk

I cried last night....for 2 hours.

It was great.

A true release of all I've been holding inside.  

And my husband was right there holding me all the while.  

I was the one that was crying but both of us were letting it all out.

We so rarely get to have honest-to-goodness conversations.  That's just the way it is with kids, there's always interruptions.  "I need a drink", "he took my toy", "can you change the channel", "I have to go to the bathroom", "look at what I can do"....you moms know how it goes.  So most of the time the only time my husband and I have to actually talk is laying in bed at night. 

We've come to the realization that we need to make some major changes in our life.  

When we look at our life from an outside perspective, it really is pretty great, so why are we so stressed out all the time?  Why do we look at the negative side of things?  Why are we short with each other so often?  We really did some self examination and it was time to get honest with ourselves and each other.  We talked about what we truly need from a bare bones perspective...God and family.  

When you consider the stuff we let ourselves get worked up over, it's laughable really.  

And the extent to which we let it bother us...utterly ridiculous.  

The scary thing is we can see the negativity seeping into our kids too.  We've talked about it a bit in the past and things improved for a little bit but we're really committed to making a lasting change.  It will be hard and I hope we can catch ourselves before we get caught in the same cycle of behavior that we've been in but we've decided not to focus on the past, really work on moving forward, starting today.

Change is hard and uncomfortable but we know the rewards will be great.  

So our first step is to simplify our lives.  Really examine what we can cut out and what we really need.  Again, not an easy task but in a weird way I am looking forward to it.  I'm sure we will end up finding it quite freeing actually.

I've never really asked someone to pray for me before but I ask you today my friends to pray for my little family...that we may live our lives for the Lord...that we look at the world outside of ourselves...that we let go of the earthly junk we have cluttered up our lives with....that we have hearts and minds full of positivity and love....that we are a blessing to others and each other.

Have you ever made a fundamental change in your life?  Were you able to make it stick?

I would be inspired to hear about it!  Please leave me comment or send me an email and share.

Thanks for your prayers friends!

Random bits and pieces

Things have been pretty crazy and hectic around my house lately.  Well, actually for about the past 2 months.  Things with my husband's job have been all over the place.  He's been working lots of extra hours and I never seem to know when he's going to be home.  Of course I see him everyday but our time together just doesn't FEEL like we've seen each other.  Been there?  I think we need a date night soon.  

Regardless of the stressful days that we have where we seem to hit the floor running and never stop til we drop in bed at night, I have been able to pause and appreciate a few things.  

Silly things? 

Simple things?  

Why yes, but I appreciate them none-the-less.

1.  A walk in the woods.  

There's a healing quiet in the woods that stills my racing brain and settles my soul.  You're surrounded by greenery and the sun peeking in through the branches dappling the floor below with glorious light. It's a great rejuvination...this walking amongst the wild.

2.  The tamed beast

Horses are like another kind of heaven.  Just ask any of the "horse people".  They are a happy serene people content to bask in the aura of these beasts.  Above is Jessie, my sister's horse.  He is big and beautiful and loved dearly by my niece.  We had the pleasure of visiting a horse show this past weekend at a local park.  Just being around the horses was so relaxing.  

They even had these "mini" horses (not ponies) there.  They were so cute and basically looked like large dogs.  It was really neat to watch them.   I wish we could have stayed much longer but it was nap time for the boys and the heat was getting to them.

3. Baby feet

I have a love for baby feet.  So fresh and new and well...fat :)  

I'm noticing my 2yr old's are thinning out and becoming less fat so I thought I'd better capture them quick before these sweet pudgy baby feet are gone for good.

4.  Angels wings

I went for a walk the other day during my break at work and the sky was just amazing.  I wish I could have gotten a better picture.  The entire sky was filled with clouds like this.  

They looked just like angel's wings everywhere.

5.  Freedom

Believe it or not I have had the same pair of running shoes for about 4 years now.  They are in horrible shape and needless to say the padding is less than supportive these days.  I am SO excited to have a new pair.  I don't usually go for something girly like this pair with all that hot pink and flower print on the inside but hey, they were on clearance and that was the only way I was getting a new pair.  But now I can run more often and hopefully with less pain in my knees and ankles!

Happy Tuesday!  I hope you find some small thing that makes you smile today!