A Season for Everything

I love reflecting (yes, Enneagram 1 in the house) on how things are going for our family. I've been working outside the home each day for three months now. Is working beneficial to our marriage? My ability to parent? My mental health? Overall, it has been a good thing making me feel more whole. This isn't to say that working outside the house is what completes me, it's part of it – just like being part of my hockey team!

Thankful Thursday

*Warning: There is a photo of a pork heart in #7*

This week I am thankful for:

Thankful Thursday

We are in a very bittersweet phase; transitioning our foster daughter back to her mom. This is awesome because mom has done the hard work and this is what we hope for. It is hard because I like to have some control in the situation (like, I know what her days will look like here) and she's a sweetheart that we love. The other sweet part (of the bittersweet) is that we will now have more time/energy/space in our home to focus on our own kids. I look forward to pouring more into our biological kids over the rest of this school year as one of our kids in particular could really benefit from even more of us.

By the way, if I ever write a book it may have "Bittersweet" in the title because I have grown and stretched so much in those moments of my life.

Okay, so what am I thankful for today?

The Coquitlam Crunch

If you are looking for a good little workout you may want to check out the Coquitlam Crunch. Our kids ages 6 to 12 love a bit of a challenge and completed it no problem. It is 2.2 km each way with an elevation gain of 244 meters and took us about one hour to complete – I probably held them back a bit to be honest although Nya did not love the last 200 meters to the top.

Thankful Sunday

I know I haven't been consistent on here lately but family and work take priority. In February I definitely plan on being back to blogging more–besides, we have a few trips coming up in 2019 that I'd love to share about! I was hit very hard by a virus this week and mistakenly tried to power through it thinking each morning I'd feel better. I took a lot of time to rest over the weekend and cannot wait to be 100% myself soon! I have a huge appreciation for health each and every day and feel the only way I can do what I do (parent four kids including fostering and work outside the home) is that I need to be healthy.

This week I am thankful for:

Thankful Thursday

Well it's Thanksgiving weekend so I better have some thankfulness to share! This week I am thankful for:

Thankful Thursday

One of the reasons I started Thankful Thursdays years ago was reading Anna Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts and started practicing gratitude more but the other is because I loved sharing photos from our week. Now? Um, no photos to share. I'll try my best with the sub par photos I have on my phone.

This week I am thankful for:

Going Back to Work

Back in 2001, I started teaching science and that is when I met Gary who was a fellow first-year science teacher. I always imagined I would teach my entire life but through circumstances (health, kids, travel) I ended up having a variety of roles. I volunteered in Kenya, we started a photography business, I worked in social media and we became foster parents. I stayed connected to teaching through substitute teaching but it has been nine years since I've had a classroom of my own.

 If I have learned one thing over these past 17 years it would be that it's nice to have a five-year plan but be open to change and opportunities.

This is wild for me because Louise is a five-year plan kind of girl. I mean, probably even more like a ten-year-plan one. Committing six months or a year of your life to something might seem scary but it doesn't need to be forever and the growth that can happen from it is so worth it. I have learned so much and I'm glad I said "yes" to opportunities that came my/our way.

Thankful Thursday

Well, what a transition this year is! Now every morning we head out as a family of six to go to work and school. Our toddler goes to daycare, Nya is in primary, the two boys are in middle and then Gary and I are at a high school. A whole lot of preparation goes into it the night before to make sure we can get out of the door by 7:30 AM.  What am I thankful for today?

Could You Do a Year of Less?

Do you often buy a specialty coffee on work days? Get a manicure as a pick-me-up? Purchase new clothes because you're going to a wedding? I recently read The Year of Less by Cait Flanders in which she not only purged and decluttered over 50% of her household items but she decided not to buy anything new for an entire year unless it was consumable or on the "approved list" such as one new sweatshirt because she didn't have one. I've written about decluttering several times before specifically after reading Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. This book gives some food for thought and here are some of mine...