Flourish + Fun

{written on 3.31.17} I don't want to forget last night. It will always be a sweet memory. Ava was exhausted. She snuggled her blankie, sang one song and was out. Just Em and I were awake... cuddling, chatting, saying prayers, and singing songs. She had her cute popsicle pjs on and was laying on her ice cream printed sheets. Their pink starry night light was shooting stars across the whole ceiling.  Then it happened, she explained it all to me and said she wanted to do it. So we held hands, bowed our heads and she prayed a prayer to ask God to come into her heart and love her, forgive, and be near to her, always.  Earlier this year, at the IF Gathering I wrote down the two people I wanted to share God with, Emma and Ava. For the months prior to the IF Gathering's weekend retreat (and lets be real, maybe since they were in the womb) I have spent quite a bit of time praying about this. Not just a quick passing prayer, but a big, heartfelt, focused prayer....

{ahem, I realize I have been MIA from my blog for a year... haha!} This just popped up in my FB feed. WOW. I remember this day SO well. This day was a BIG turning point in my life 5 years ago. Everything is so different now. I am on a completely different path.  I remember walking in and everyone yelled "surprise." I vividly recall the immediate excitement I felt. I couldn't believe Kyle actually pulled off a surprise party for me. But right after that initial moment, I felt anxious and overwhelmed. It was just ONE more event, one more thing I had to be at. One more thing that I had too little time and too little energy for.  We had just moved from Santa Monica to SLO. We had just bought our house. We were in the process of fixing it up. And we were now living closer to my family. It should have been an exciting time, but to me it felt like the walls were caving in on me and mostly because I was working around the clock. I absolutely loved my coworkers and obviou...