This Is The Day

I had a tough weekend...visiting my aunt in Waco who is very ill. It was an intense reminder to me of how short life truly is, how important family is and how we should never take our health for granted....ever!! When we are faced with situations like this, I have determined that we can either crawl up in a corner somewhere and bury our heads, or we can cry for awhile, send prayers up to the Lord and then look for the lesson....it's what I call the "take-away." So I ask myself, "What is this situation in my life here to teach me?" or "What can I learn from this?"

I have been praying a lot the last few days and thinking about what I can take away from this weekend and here are just a few of my thoughts:

1. I simply MUST get more serious about my health.....I need to put regular exercise back on the to-do list, drink more water, eat more vegetables (actually, adding any vegetables to my diet would be an improvement) and begin to cook more healthful meals for my family

2. Happiness is a choice that we make every single minute of every day.....I know this, but I need to remind myself that negativity is an easy trap to fall into and it doesn't help ANYONE

3. Being in nature is soothing to me, my husband and my children.....GET OUTSIDE MORE

4. The love that I feel I am not receiving, is really the love I am not giving.....I don't remember where I heard this quote, but I LOVE it and when I am feeling wronged by someone or pouty about how I was treated, I go back to this quote over and over again

5. I need to practice Extreme Self- Care every day....OK so I am reading a book right now called "Extreme Self-Care"...this is a radical concept for some people....some people call it being selfish, but the author explains that we all need to be selfish so that we can give our best selves to those that we love....I get this...I am on board with this concept...I will be updating you on my progress

6. It is time to get serious about some of the clutter hotspots in our home....more stuff is simply draining and it doesn't leave room to let our house just breath

My children are a blessing to me each and every day....I was only gone one night this weekend, but I missed them so much.....looking at these photos from our park outing last weekend just reminds me how precious life truly is!!