Thankful

Thinking back on this past month,

and I can't help but feel SO thankful for this oil journey

and what it is becoming.

At our Essential Families retreat in Nashville this past month,

one of our speakers encouraged us to

"run as fast and as hard as you can to the things God has called you to".

Hearing her say that was an exact affirmation of where my heart was already feeling led.

And I'm so grateful for the clear and tangible ways that continue to prove to me this is right where I need to be.

Truthfully, at the core of this whole thing is an opportunity to serve and love others. Sure, we talk about essential oils in terms of health and wellness, but it's also about striving to do better and be better, and for me, will always be about serving and loving others along the way.

So thank you ALL for this amazing opportunity you've given me to serve,
I'm truly SO grateful for it!

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!

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1. The years I had with my Grandma. I can hardly believe it's now been 5 years since we said goodbye to her.
2. Six weeks with Zachary already, wow time is flying.
3. Tons of baby smiles and coos. I can't get enough of my sweet boy!
4. Big Sister Claire - we couldn't have asked for better out of her as we welcomed Zachary into our family.
5. Semi-decent stretches of sleep.
6. Continued help from family.
7. Learning so much during our Advent series at church.
8. Lots of sunshine today, it was so refreshing!
9. Almost all of my Christmas shopping is done, phew!
10. Looking forward to Eric's days off from work and lots family time coming up.
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What are you most thankful for today?

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!
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1. Another week and feeling more settled in to our new normal.
2. Eric plus others who have paid special attention to Claire making her transition very smooth.
3. Watching Claire & Zachary together - she really does love him and it does this mumma's heart good to see.
4. Over 10 meals delivered to us by church, friends and family since Zachary was born, each one with enough for leftovers the next day. We've been eating pretty great around here!
5. A good report at Zachary's 2 week check up.
6. Our family is back to health again after a small round of colds and such.
7. Fun plans and surprises that Eric and I have in the works for our family this holiday season.
8. Seeing my pillows on display at Beneath the Tree - so fun!
9. A continued great relationship with Rebel, I feel very fortunate to have a small part in their awesome shop.
10. It's Thanksgiving week - I'm most looking forward to some low key days spent with family.
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What are you most thankful for today?

Monday's 10 Things

(Monday's 10 Things, finally posting on Wednesday,
because that's how it goes with a newborn in the house)
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Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!
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1. A full week with Zachary, we already can't imagine life without him!
2. A completely healthy baby boy.
3. A safe and non-eventful delivery plus hospital stay.
4. My doctor. I so appreciated him all through my prenatal appointments, and was so happy to see him walk through the delivery room doors as my contractions were becoming so strong.
5. Coming home to begin our life as a family of four.
6. Having Eric home for the entire week. He and Claire were best friends all week long making our transition go very smoothly.
7. My mom for putting in the hours with Zachary so I can take naps, or with Claire so I spend extra time with my little guy.
8. A very easy, mellow baby so far.
Think it'll last?!?
9. Getting a decent amount of sleep each night.
10. Watching Claire & Zachary together. She certainly loves him, and he perks right up to the sound of her voice.
~
What are you most thankful for today?

Monday's 10 Things

It's been a while, time to get Monday's 10 Things up and running again.
Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!
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1. Reaching the final week of this pregnancy and holding up okay.
2. Feeling this little guy kicking inside of me on a very regular basis giving me constant reassurance that he's doing fine. That's one thing I will miss once this pregnancy is done.
3. My doctor - I have a new one this time around and he has been wonderful.
4. Having almost every item on my way too long Fall to do list checked off,
I feel like such a weight has been lifted!
5. Another Fall weekend, more gorgeous weather.
6. A great morning at church for all three of us. We love hearing Claire's excitement for what she learned in the kid's program.
7. An entire Sunday afternoon spent outside with neighbors.
8. We hired a cleaning lady!! I'm so excited to no longer have house cleaning as a distraction from quality time with my kids.
Can I hear a hallelujah?!?
9. Eric and all he's been doing around here lately without being asked. Projects, grocery shopping, dinner making, you name it, he's doing it! Making this pregnant girl's life so much easier.
10. A very pleasant 4 year old the last few weeks, we're loving our last bit of time just the three of us!
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What are you most thankful for today?

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!

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1. Access to my parents cottage for an entire week which means lots of time catching minnows and taking paddle boat rides with my girl.
2. Several play dates last week at the cottage and chances to catch up with friends.
3. An entire Saturday spent with just the three of us.
4. Slightly cooler temperatures, I just want to be outside as much as possible!
5. Another healthy check up for our little guy.
6. The reassurance that comes from feeling him moving constantly,
(although if he could find a way to be still in the middle of the night, I wouldn't totally mind!)
7. A newly cleaned craft room,
for the two seconds it will last!
8. Major progress on my garage sale project. Trying to price 3.5 years of girl clothes at once is a bit more overwhelming and time consuming than I thought it would be.
9. Looking forward to Claire starting school next week which means a little bit of a routine will return to our lives!
10. Hanging out with neighbors tonight when we all just happened to be at the same playground.
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What are you most thankful for today?

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!

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1. My mom, who will be celebrating a birthday this week.
She always has and continues to do so much for all of us.
2. Only a few more days until we finally get to meet our new niece or nephew.
3. My brother is coming home this week!
4. Air conditioning in this 90+ degree weather.
(yes, that's the pregnancy talking!)
5. The ability to just spend days at home when it's this hot out.
6. New highlights in my hair - I love a good freshening up!
7. Getting bumped to the top of the cancellation list when my appointment
wasn't actually until the 29th. (thank you Lisa!!)
8. A freezer full of freshly picked Michigan cherries and raspberries.
Now bring on the blueberries!
9. Date night this past Friday which meant some good, uninterrupted conversation with Eric.
10. Claire's bedtime prayer tonight including "thank you that today was a good day"
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What are you most thankful for today?

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!
~
1. Eric's week and a half long vacation, we loved having him around!
2. Having a summer place in a great town that we can escape to.
3. Almost two weeks of being "unplugged" from the computer
(hence the really lame blog lately!)
4. Surviving being the "mother of the flower girl".
Whew! It was awesome, but stressful all at the same time.
5. Watching Claire itching to get on the dance floor,
then breaking it down with Eric!
6. Great new family pictures, and I've only had a sneak peek of a couple so far.
7. Another week, another load of veggies from our CSA.
And I'm finally starting to figure out what to do with them all!
8. My brother will be home from Hawaii next week for an extended visit!
9. A new niece or nephew that's scheduled to make his or her appearance next week as well!
10. A good report at my monthly check up today, baby's growing just as he should be and his little heart is just beating like crazy!
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What are you most thankful for today?

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!

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1. My older brother Michael who is celebrating a birthday today!
2. Evening trips to the beach, my favorite.
3. Watching my girl dip into Lake Michigan, clothes and all.
4. A new family tradition starting of eating out after church.
5. A rainy Monday to stay in and rest up after a crazy, busy weekend.
6. Checking things off my to do list, this early in the week.
Whew! What are the chances I can keep more from being added?!?
7. A short work week for Eric and then lots of family vacation time!
8. Feeling baby boy moving every day, love it.
9. Instagram - it's just so addicting awesome.
10. New Cora Anne business possibilities, so exciting!
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What are you most thankful for today?

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!

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1. Eric and what a great dad he is to Claire.
2. Knowing how hard Eric works to support our family.
3. Also knowing that when his work day is done, he gets home just as fast as he can so we can have quality family time.
4. My dad. I love that I can still call him any time I need help with a project or have a question about something. (Would you believe he has a part in the production of my ruffle pillows?? It's true!)
5. Celebrating 8 years of marriage tomorrow, and it just keeps getting better!
6. Date night tomorrow night to celebrate, sweet!
7. Hearing the report from our ultrasound that our baby is healthy and developing wonderfully.
8. Outside of being tired and a bit achy, feeling very good through this portion of the pregnancy.
9. Enjoying a very nice weekend with highlights including a Lake Michigan boat ride, a trolley ride and eating lunch outdoors after church on Sunday.
10. After two crazy weeks, having an almost completely open week to feel caught up on life again!
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What are you most thankful for today?

Monday's 10 Things

My dear friend Abi is turning the big 3-0 today! In honor of her special day, today's 10 things is all about my memories with Abi, things I love about her, and things about Abi that I'm most thankful for!

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1. We've experienced so many of life's major milestones together. We met and graduated college together, shared the same employer post-graduation, we were both married in 2003 and both had our first child in 2007.
2. My daughter and Abi's son have turned out to be great friends who play so well together.
3. She is an amazing mother and is doing a great job of raising a very sensitive, caring and thoughtful little boy.
4. Many of her recipes have become staples in our house. Eric would like to personally thank Abi for her Chicken Salad Squares recipe, his favorite! I've yet to make her Oreo Truffles but think I might just have to this week, in honor of her birthday of course!
5. She could win a trophy for her home organization/list-making skills.
6. She has an amazing eye for design which is obvious by just one look at the treasuries she puts together, and by her adorable sets of blocks in her Etsy shop. One step into her home and you know she's put a lot of thought into every last piece of its design.
7. She's a very gracious host and does a great job throwing showers and other celebrations.
8. In a world of emails and text messages, she is keeping the art of handwritten notes alive.
9. She also always picks out the most thoughtful gifts.
10. She's very intentional, thoughtful and gracious in all she does.
~
Happy Birthday Abi!!

Now head on over to Abi's blog or Facebook page and show her some birthday love!

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!

~
1. My Grandma, whose life we were able to celebrate this past week.
2. A very nice funeral service and time spent with family.
3. Having my brother Steven home from the Navy,
it had been over a year since we had seen him last!
4. A spontaneous date night on Saturday, courtesy of Eric's planning and my in-laws willingness to take Claire for the evening.
5. Reaching 15 weeks into this pregnancy, and feeling good!
6. Another doctor's appointment this week, I can't wait to hear that little heart chugging along!
7. Claire's teachers, they've been so amazing this year, and I'm definitely not ready to say goodbye to them next week.
8. The Chris Tomlin station on Pandora Radio, I've got it on in both my kitchen and my craft room all.day.long.
9. Having a craft room with plenty of space for me to spread out my supplies
(and a door that I can close when the room gets crazy messy!)
10. A very productive week so far, two Monday items got crossed off my list already on Sunday! (maybe that's the difference of no longer feeling the need to nap every day?!?) Let's hope it keeps up!
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What are you most thankful for today?

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!

~
1. Feeling so proud of my baby girl up on stage at her dance recital.
2. Grandparents for coming to watch.
3. Spending an enjoyable day at the antique market with my mom.
4. Coming home to hear about the fun Eric & Claire had together.
(including being fresh back from a bear hunt in the woods!)
5. A successful new product launch!
(as of Saturday noon, two of the three pillows were already sold, eek!)
6. The smell of fresh-cut grass + doing yard work as a family.
7. Grilling out on a Friday night, it doesn't get any better than that!
8. Waking up to reports that at least a small amount of justice has been given to the victims of 9/11.
9. My brother, serving in the Navy.
10. All of our troops who are willing to take such huge risks and make sacrifices for our freedoms.
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What are you most thankful for today?

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!

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1. Having Eric home for an extra-long weekend.
2. A really nice time at church + eating out with neighbors on Thursday.
3. A huge answer to prayer this week for a family at our church.
4. Hanging out with our awesome neighbors Saturday.
5. New plants + flowers popping up in our yard.
6. Having our Children's Director at church pull me aside and tell me the sweet things that Claire said during Children & Worship, melts this mumma's heart.
7. Claire reminding us over and over, "did you know that Jesus died on the cross for us!"
8. Safety for my parents traveling back from Africa, it's good to have them home!
9. Hanging out outside in the sun this afternoon when we thought it was going to be a rainy day.
10. Wrapping up a very fun, but very challenging project this weekend, I'll share a sneak peek tomorrow!
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What are you most thankful for today?

Monday's 10 Things

I had a Monday's 10 Things post started, and just sat down to finish it.
But since my day looked a lot like this...(and that's no joke, let me tell you about her ear-piercing screams)
~
I think I'm going to just forget about my Monday post this week, turn off the computer, put my feet up and eat the very large bowl of ice cream Eric is scooping me at this moment instead.
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Happy (calm & quiet) Monday everyone!

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!
(consider this the "yay, it's Spring" edition)
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1. 84 degrees on Sunday, oh yeah!
(to anyone reading that doesn't live in a similar climate to us, you just wouldn't understand what 84 degrees in April does to us Michiganders!)
2. Feeling the warm sun again, ahh!
3. Open windows and airing out the house after a long winter.
4. Impromptu driveway meet-ups with neighbors.
5. Having neighbors as friends
(even if it means we're all in each other's business sometimes, that's okay!)
6. Eric + Claire for hanging out together all day on Saturday. It wasn't even planned but it sure was nice (and wow did I get a lot of errands and work done!)
7. Saturday morning breakfast with girlfriends.
8. Saturday night + Sunday night movie @ home nights with Eric.
9. Seeing how excited Claire was to be back at preschool today after Spring Break (and I have to admit, I might have done a little happy dance dropping her off)
10. Starting a week feeling caught up and refreshed.
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What are you most thankful for today?

Monday's 10 Things

(the three of us crashing on our hotel room bed...and yes, we look tired because we are tired!)

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!
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1. A really nice time on our family getaway this weekend.
2. A husband who takes the initiative and plans fun things for us to do together.
3. Having a daughter who loves to try new things.
4. Listening in on Claire "reading" in bed. Last night her story was all about how "the love of Jesus comes to each of us in special ways"
5. Safety on our drive home. Think freezing rain + snow + thunder + lightening + cars on their sides in the ditch, so not good.
6. The ability to just enjoy a nice day at home (in sweats all day!) catching up on rest after a busy weekend. Yes, I consider that an occasional perk of being a stay at home mom!
7. Crafting with my girl today, she loves herself some glue!
8. Blogging...I love having it as a creative outlet.
9. Some really sweet comments left in the last week, makes my day to hear from readers!
10. A husband who took my list and ran to the store for me tonight when I really didn't feel like it.
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What are you most thankful for today?
(Please share below, and it doesn't have to be a list, just anything making you thankful right now!)

Monday's 10 Things

(Monday's 10 Things on Tuesday,

'cause that's just how this week is going)

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!
~
1. A Saturday morning date with my man, even if all we did was run to Lowes, Target and a quick lunch, it was still sooo nice!
2. Eric's enthusiasm for firing up his grill this spring.
More grilling for him = less dinner prep for me. Score!
3. Claire's teachers at church, helping her learn and be excited about the Bible.
4. Baking with my girl, matching aprons and all.
5. A shop update will be coming this week, finally!
6. Lots of sunshine outside, even if its still f.r.e.e.z.i.n.g.
7. Eric's willingness to let me drop Claire off at his work for a bit while I had a meeting to attend. Wow, did that ever make that little girl's week to hang out at work with daddy!
8. I've now passed 50 followers on my blog! It's so fun to "meet" new people, including one this week from Michigan!
9. Safety for my parents on the first leg of their journey to Africa. (And praying for safety as they're somewhere over the ocean as I'm typing this!)
10. Our family getaway to the Great Wolf Lodge is just a few days away! Our plan is to not even tell Claire where we're going, and see how long it takes her to catch on. Wish us luck!
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What are you most thankful for today?

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!

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1. A really nice time at the women's retreat at our church this weekend.
2. Having close girlfriends at church who I love to be around.
3. Hearing the testimonials of 5 women who have been through so much, yet have never stopped relying on Christ.
4. Receiving text updates from Eric and Claire who were having a blast at the zoo while I was gone. (even if one of the updates was that they witnessed a bear going to the bathroom!)
5. Coming home to find Claire + neighbor kids playing in the yard.
6. First time firing up the grill for the year, yum!
7. Great progress on my never-ending To Do List today.
8. A spur-of-the-moment upcoming family getaway. (Thanks Eric!!)
9. Our first thunderstorm of the season last night, and wow was it a good one.
10. It's now officially Spring (at least according to the calendar!) We made it!
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What are you most thankful for today?

Monday's 10 Things

Here's what I'm most thankful for, right now!

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1. Safety for my brother in the Navy, stationed in Pearl Harbor.
2. SO thankful the tsunami decreased in size before reaching Hawaii!
3. Safe travels for my parents who are now home from Florida.
4. A very relaxing weekend which included multiple naps for all of us!
5. Two very nice services at church, the second following the ACTS model of prayer : Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving & Supplication.
6. Listening to Claire sing "Holy is the Lord God Almighty" louder than any of us at church.
7. Getting outside for some fresh air tonight, Spring may just be in the air.
8. Seeing neighbors out who we don't get to see as much during the winter months.
9. A weather forecast that shows 60 degrees later this week!
10. Michigan State made it to the tournament.
(Eric requested that be included!)
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What are you most thankful for today?