Embrace Awkward

A Better You. Be Brave.

I've never considered myself an athlete nor have I ever considered myself physically strong. I was the girl that was more of the "artsy girl". I sang, acted, and loved the stage! Athletic was never part of describing me.

I have never really done hard physical activity. I've never pushed my body to do difficult tasks. I've always stayed in the comfort zone. Yet, as I get older, I feel my body and mind needing another push to stay young and healthy. It's not really about a "diet" for me as much as it is finding ways to push myself physically... so I started being brave to try new things. I think most of us have this fear of looking awkward or silly and so we don't try the things we've always wanted to do. Yet, I decided a month ago that I wasn't going to worry about awkward or silly:

1. I started going to an adult dance class. 

I'm kind of awkward at it and a lot of times I end up just laughing at myself, but it's something that I've always wanted to do and it pushes me physically!

2. I started doing more yoga

This is another thing that I feel pretty goofy doing, but I feel so much better after I try a few different poses. It's making me stronger!

3. I'm pushing myself to go harder than I thought I could!

You see me back there? Yea, that's me trying my best to not pass out! Riding a bike up a giant hill is stinking hard!!!! But, I am learning to push my body because I am stronger than I think I am. 

New things have helped me to see a new part of me. They have pushed me outside my box. They have helped me to be alright with awkward. And most of all, they have inspired me to LIVE life more fully!

What new things are you trying?

-She

Enough. A Battle in Motherhood.

Let’s imagine that you and I are sitting at a little coffee shop, chatting over our caramel macchiatos…just catching up on life. At which point we delve into the topic of motherhood. For me, this is such a huge part of my fight with feeling like I am enough…and I would venture to guess that this is the case for a lot of moms. What would your advice be if this were the topic of conversation? Do you struggle with the same things? Do you constantly fight the battle of feeling as though you are enough for your kids? I would LOVE the chance to be able to talk to each of you about your journey through motherhood. Here is a little bit of mine.
 

It is a lot of pressure to be a mom…I mean, haven’t you heard? We are raising the leaders of tomorrow!! This is pressure, people! For me, that pressure immediately makes me feel as though I am lacking…and I’m not talking about lacking a little here and there, but rather lacking in a HUGE way.  

There have been so many days in the last four and a half years where I have felt like a complete and utter failure. So many days, where I look back on the whole day and just see situations where I could have done so much better; where I keep having to take a breath deep so I don’t lose my cool, or where I accidentally do lose my cool..so many days where I feel like its just such a losing battle and I will never be enough…enough for my kids or enough for my husband.

It is after those times, that I realize, those moments, bring about some of the best lessons – both for me and for my girls. It is those moments that teach me, form me, and grow me into a better mom. Also, after those times, I realize that my girls, more than anything else, need someone to love them. Unconditionally.  I cannot do more than to start each day striving to and praying for the strength to choose love in each situation that is placed before me. I cannot do more than to try not to repeat the mistakes of the day before. I cannot do anything more than bring my girls to the Lord in prayer and let them be His for the day….to accept my position as a tool of Him, rather the one who is charge of making everything happen. I am enough for my girls, just as I am. I am not perfect, but I am enough.

-A

Step One.

A Better You. My Health Project.



For months, I have been back and forth, wishing I was smaller, healthier, and back to my college sized jeans. (Let's face it...I've had two kids, and its been 9 years since I was in college. It's not going to come easy.) It's been months of trying and slipping...hoping, but never truly committing to anything. The other day, I decided that it was time to really make a change...not just talk about it, but actually DO something about it..












For me, this meant signing up for the 21 Day Fix through Beachbody. This means that for 21 days, I am committing to changing my eating habits, working out daily, talking with my accountability group on Facebook and staying in contact with my fitness coach. But it was more than just this...It was me committing to making a change...a change in the way I see food and exercise. I want this to be a lifestyle that I adopt...not just a three week fad. Each day, each meal, each plank and burpee...each one of those matter...and it will only happen as long as I decide I am worth the work. I am worth the sweat, the early morning workouts...all of it. I am worth the change. I know that 21 days won't fix all of my "problems" or change me completely. But it's a start. It's the first step.

What is your first step? Will you take it? Will you push past the fear and take that first step with me? This would be an amazing journey to go on together!!

-A

Enough

As Alicia and I have plotted the next steps of this blog, we dream for it to be a blog where real conversations happen and where encouragement and inspiration flows -not that this would be a result of our own efforts, but out of an effort to pursue LIFE more abundantly. In this attempt, we want to start a Monday series (we know today isn't quite Monday) that speaks to the struggles and victories in our lives. We hope that you can relate to some of the topics we dive into (and perhaps contribute to the conversation with your comments). We are stepping out into the unknown in good faith with this series... Will you come too? 

~ ~ ~

It was a conversation with Alicia that prompted this first series title, Enough. The conversation went something like this:

"I wish I was good at something. I mean, like really good at it. I'm tired of being the girl that dabbles at the surface of a lot of different interests and I feel like I'm just not good enough at most things..." I grumbled to my dear friend. 

"She, you know that you are more than enough! You know that just because one person may not see your talents and gifts for what they are doesn't mean that they aren't talents and gifts. When will you believe that what God has given you is exactly ENOUGH!?" 

I left the conversation with a tear rolling down my cheek and frustration overflowing. She was right. She named the struggle that I battled even as a young girl: the struggle of feeling like I am never enough. If only I was thinner, prettier, smarter, stronger, more athletic, more ambitious, more soft spoken.... and the list goes on of all the things I've never quite felt enough.

As I drove home, the conversation played over in my mind and I realized that this battle of not feeling enough dates back to the creation of the world. Eve did not feel like she was enough.... this is the lie that women believe and this is the lie we let defeat us every day. If only I was a better mom. If only I was better at my job. Why can't I be the wife I should be? Why can't I have the life she has? I wish I was better at that! I wish I could eat that and not gain weight. Do you hear lies like these in your own head? I do. Every day. 

But I decided today.

I'm done with the lie. 

I'm done feeling like I'm not enough and I'm done wishing I was more! Of course there are things I can work to change. There are areas in my life that I need to dust off, polish and brighten, but I refuse to believe I am not enough.

I want to face this insecurity and the best way I know to do this for myself is to write about it! So will you join Alicia and I on Mondays as we say Enough is Enough? Will you, too, say, "I am enough!"

-She

The Travels

Last week was Spring Break...to a teacher's wife, like myself, this is one of the most glorious times of year. This year, my family chose my Montana home as our place to adventure. For me, this place is a place I hold so dear. It is where I grew up; where I learned to ride a horse and drive a four-wheeler; where I spent the first eighteen years of my life. It is a place I love almost more than any other...and now, there is nothing better than sharing this place with my husband and two girls.

That place, my Montana home, is filled with so much for me. My family. My heritage. My memories. My childhood, adolescence and teen years were spent in the same house with same people. It is those people who have made me who I am...It is those memories that still influence the decisions I make daily.

Taking those I love the most to where I became me is one of my favorite things. They see the family ranch I loved spending time at and farm I grew up on. They laugh with the people I grew up laughing with. They build relationships with all the people who invested in me and shaped me. I get to see my girls run on the lawn where I ran as child, get whisker rubs from my Dad just like I used to.

 My Emma girl spent one morning riding on the back of a truck, on a much smaller version of the ranch we used to have, sliding hay bales off to feed the cattle. This is one of the things I remember, so very vividly, doing with my grandfather. To see her, doing something I loved as a child...well, it left me a little speechless.

There is just something about sharing something you value so very much, with those you love the very most.

Our most treasured family heirlooms are our sweet family memories.

                                   -Unkown

-A