Breakfast In The Kitchen

These days I'm finding us doing odd little things that sometimes develop into rhythms. For instance, every time Dave works at night I serve ice cream and we watch a movie. This honestly wasn't intentional, but I love that it's something special the boys can look forward to when they know Dave is gone for the night and it makes having dinner without him a little better than it otherwise would be.



One rhythm that we've sort of fallen into lately is having breakfast in the kitchen. This too wasn't intentional, I just find it easier to serve and clean up this way. (Note: cleaning up spilled smoothie is so much easier when just wiping off the floor, as opposed to the table, chair and floor!). Most of our breakfasts are just me, Gabe and Isaiah since Dave is at work and the older boys are at school. I never really thought too much about it, but today as I took time to notice it I realized I really love this routine.



We don't have an eating space in our kitchen, so Isaiah sits in his high chair while I prepare our meal, and Gabe and I usually sit on the floor to eat (right by the warm air vent). There have been a couple times when I've wondered if that's weird, but I've decided I don't care either way. There's something about it being different than every other meal that makes it feel special. And eating on the floor! I mean really. The warm air vent is on the wall where our kitchen cabinets meet the floor, so sometimes we open the cabinets and sit in that warm little air pocket. Sometimes Dave has walked in the door to find us there and wondered if I was at my wit's end- to which I laughed and told him it's just warm and cozy right there!



Life at home with little kids can be so mundane, but taking the time to notice these simple joys makes mundane a little more meaningful. After all, every day can't be extraordinary. Not even close. But ordinary can be unique and enjoyable. I think it's important to notice the joy of "ordinary" and to teach our kids to as well. Ordinary days make up our lives, and noticing the little joys just makes life that much sweeter.

xo,

Lindsay

The Most Important Thing

Hey friends!

Today I'd like to share with you a little about the season of life I'm in and the things I'm learning and working on. I'm guessing I'm not alone in a lot of this because it seems I've been hearing bits of it from others lately. 

With Isaiah now being 14 months old, I'm finally getting to that place where life is a little easier. He's walking all around, and my hands are more freed up to cook, clean, and do the things. I'm more able to keep to a schedule, although I will say with four very busy boys my schedule must be able to bend here and there. All in all, I have approached the light at the end of the tunnel that is that crazy first year postpartum and am feeling a semblance of normalcy again. Hallelujah!

As it is with growing children, life is changing all the time. The "all or nothing" mentality that I have to work against and keep in check wants to just make a schedule and have that be that. Obviously that's not how it works in this season of life so I'm just leaning in to what I want my life to look like right now and starting to set up some routines. I've been thinking a lot lately about what I want our family culture to look like, and how to train my children up in the Lord. It's not easy! The age differences in my boys is a huge balancing act and honestly pretty draining to meet them all where they're at. But I'm trying, definitely not perfect, and thankful for a God who gives grace and loves me no matter what. 

With this sort of newfound freedom of coming out of the postpartum season, I've been wresting with a personal journey I'm going through right now. Last year I had a dream that's been dormant for a lot of years come to life in my heart. That dream is to be a life coach. Now I honestly don't have any idea what that would look like vocationally, but I know that's what I want to do. Specifically, I want to be a coach that focuses on health and wellness, because I believe that in order to become a better version of yourself and to show up how you're meant to in the world, you need your health. That's right up there with food, shelter and clothing. So I guess you could say I want to be a health coach. But not like all those ads you see on Facebook... I have no desire to be a marketing machine, selling courses and all that. Like I said- I don't even know what it looks like yet. The path is still unknown. I just have my own story, and love sharing it as a testimony and I love hearing what other people are going through and encouraging them to seek answers that will help them. I've done a lot of that already just being a hairstylist, from the conversations that come up. And it's something I'm really passionate about. 

I'll never forget a woman I had a conversation with years ago when I worked at the Crown Jewel. I was giving her a pedicure, and we got to talking about how she has an autoimmune disease. I asked her a couple questions, specifically if she had ever heard of a few different resources, and she hadn't. I encouraged her to check them out and gave her a couple ideas of things to try that had worked for me in the past. I also encouraged her to check out the local juice bar. It was a really great, moving conversation, and the next time she came in she said she had been to that juice bar every morning since we talked and loved it- and already was starting to feel better! That just really lit me up and I felt so happy for her. This really is life changing stuff that I love being a part of. 

All that to say, I'm in a period of waiting regarding all of that. I know it's what I want to do, and I tried to jump the gun a little because I found a really amazing health coaching program that I want to attend, but ultimately my children are still very little and need more of me than I could easily give if I started this course now. I was planning on starting this September, but after considering our finances and after a lot of prayer, God has made it clear that for right now, my calling is to be home with my boys. I've especially become convicted the past few weeks in how I need to work harder at training them in the Lord and establishing clear family values. My heart has always been there, but if I'm being honest I feel like my brain has been fried from all my pregnancies, postpartum seasons, and health/migraine issues. I KNOW that is only an excuse, which is why I'm feeling extra convicted. Even over the past couple days I've felt a very clear purpose in my heart that I need to be serving my children better in the season we're in right now. 

So going into the coming months and possibly even the next few years, my heart is in being here for my boys, teaching them the ways of God as we "walk by the way", and learning myself how to live a more outwardly expressed faith in Jesus for them to witness. I have a feeling these will be the years that I look back on most fondly for the rest of my life, and I'm thrilled to have so much to look forward to. 

Much love,

Lindsay