Life Lately & How I'm Keeping My Chin Up

September is proving to be quite a challenging month.



We're in the groove of back to school and all the activities have started back up. Thankfully, we don't have a whole lot going on. It's just enough to wear us out, though, for sure.

As a mom to 3 kiddos, you may imagine it's pretty easy to feel like you're getting pulled all over the place with their lists of activities they would like to do. My hubster and I choose to not get yanked around. We allow the kiddos to pick one activity...and for now they're all taking swim classes. As soon as they can swim independently they don't have to take any further classes. (unless, of course, they would like to continue.)

My 6 year old daughter would like to be an olympic swimmer.
We'll see how level 2 goes. ;)


Earlier in the moth, we were camping in Mackinaw City, MI. I need to write a completely separate post on how we enjoyed our trip in Northern Michigan. It was gorgeous. A few highlights from our time up there was the morning I got to go running with the hubster from our campground, through town, to the Mackinac Bridge, and back. It was challenging since I'm not the one used to running between the 2 of us, but it was nice to have that time with him. One other highlight was walking over the Mackinac Bridge on Labor Day. There were SO many people but the only ones who mattered to me were with me. My 3 kiddos, my hubster, and my father-in-law walked across the 5 mile bridge together. If you ever get the chance to get to Mackinaw City for Labor Day, you must walk the bridge. It's a memory worth making.

On a more personal front, this month has been tough.




Following my announcing our desire to adopt from foster care and the beginning of our licensing process, we have been hit hard in other areas of our life. It all seemed like it came out of nowhere. I don't really want to get into the details of all that went/is going on, but I can say it's painful and stressful to live through. I've had stomach aches from stress and a few restless nights. I've had a few times when I had to just let myself cry and release some of what I was feeling.






But listen.

No matter what I feel, no matter what is going on around me, I'm careful to keep myself from staying stuck in the stress. I keep my mind set in positive places as much as possible. I enjoy time with my kiddos, I rearrange furniture and decorate my home, I stay on my workout plan, I fill my home with worship music, and spend time literally counting my blessings.

This is the only life I get to live and the truth is, life itself is a gift. I get to choose how I approach each day. I get to determine my attitude. I don't want to waste this one life being bogged down by things other people are doing or things that are out of my control.

And believe me. It's easier to type this out than to live it. But I choose to let it go. (Somedays I have to let it go over and over again). I choose to believe that I'm strong enough to continue forward. And I also choose to take care of myself by allowing the tears to fall and saying the words "Things aren't OK right now" when I'm speaking to someone I can trust. Being honest with myself and those who can support me is really important.

One day at a time, things will begin to look up. I believe it with all my heart.