Photo: Charlotte Bird With May just around the corner, I thought it was time for some wonder on display! Faeries remind me of the simplicity of childhood, and also keeping open to wonder in life. I was a lot like this little girl growing up, looking for the stars winking in the sky, waiting for something amazing to happen, or wishing all my stuffed animals would come alive at night. One May tradition I want to try this year is leaving flower bouquets on neighbors or friends’ doors. Precious! Photo: lfvaustin.blogspot.com Host a Faerie party! Some gardens and locations have…
Three Steps To Create An Elegant Bridge To Summer
With wisps of scented trees, bees at work in the gardens, and projects due at school, I realized it was time to really think through what we want out of this summer. When one boy left behind kids’ shoe sizes for good, and the other sprouted whiskers, I suddenly felt the slippery slope of time racing forward a bit too fast. Can you relate? So how do you put on the brakes, without hampering your family’s progress or running up a hefty tab for summer camps? Here are three key steps to create a more satisfying and meaningful summer plan….
Seven Ways To Put More Magic In Your Life
Are mundane tasks dominating your life and stressing your outlook? Here’s seven ways to add more magic into the everyday mixture for you and your family. Light a fire – Whether it’s a candle or a fire in the fireplace, the flickering light seems to signal something special is coming. Usually it leads to more laughter at our dinner table and loosening up for the parents, too. Turn on magical music – We often listen to a station from London broadcasting amazing classical music. Not the kind that makes you snore, but the elegant, heart-lift, gaze sparkling kind….
A present: Five Tips For A Resilient Fall
People keep asking, what can we do to make a difference with our kids, find our dreams, or make plans that actually help? Recently I visited the Dallas Museum of Art and saw this intricate painting by Gerald Murphy, with all the gears and perfect angles. It reminds me of how delicate and tremendous it can be to wind up new goals during a busy season of life. So to celebrate our one-year anniversary next week, I’m giving you Tips For A Resilient Fall. Here’s a five part, New Beginnings Series, just for you: Understand your dreams Have new dreams…
Goodbye Goodyear Blimp, Hello New Vision
Just look at this photo of the Goodyear Blimp – being retired! If the blimp community needs to keep advancing and growing by huge leaps, how could I be any different? Yet my stomach gave a little twist when I saw the title, “Goodbye Goodyear Blimp.” Immediately I remembered seeing it in the skies above stadiums or over the waters of the San Francisco Bay where I grew up. We’ve always loved glancing at it even just parked by the freeway when driving up to see the grandparents, too. I felt a little ill knowing its years of service were…
The Treasure Box
When you have to pack and run for it, you find out what is your true treasure. This week we’ve been in Dallas before some media work and it’s given me a renewed appreciation for generous hearts once more. People who accept you after many years, places bringing old smiles back to the surface, silly comments by our kids as they experience a new part of the world. Dallas has been kind to us once more, but mainly for the people and shared experiences that can bridge the distance and miles and years apart. As we head into uncharted territory,…
The Walk of Gratitude
After finishing my manuscript for my fantasy where the main character is a wildfire survivor, I was talking with a friend about those first weeks, months, and years—what it was like. And the words spilled out about all who helped us. Suddenly I knew what we could do with long hours on hot days this summer. We could each use our gifts to not focus on ourselves but on others’ goodness in a new way. Jonathan with his engineering side, Chief Tech and Director. Joey as Chief of Fun with dances and camera angle insights. Mom writing some of it…
The Heart Button
I have sons that I swear are part engineer. From a very young age they were curious about how things worked. At age two, Jonathan accompanied me to the mailbox and we stopped to say hello to the next door neighbor. Suddenly the neighbor grabbed my shoulder and stopped talking. “This has been nice and all but could your son please put together my light fixtures?” Jonathan had completely disassembled them. He quietly put them back together and smiled. Now he knew that was wrong to do. When about the same age, my second son was next to me at…
Camp Grateful
With summer about to descend and everyone discussing plans, my son Joey nervously waited to see if he’d need surgery on his hand. I saw us all skimming the edge of wishing away the next month due to his injury and the holding pattern we’ve been in. Perhaps you know what that’s like, to be on hold while the world around starts to move faster and you’re chief of “it’ll be Okay” and “we’ll get through it together.” It’s not my favorite place to be, but here I am once more. Facing a summer with an altered flight path again,…
The Blog Machine
A Year Ago… Touched By Sticky Grace I was trailing through the grocery store with my adventurous nine-year-old son Joey and he pointed toward the blood pressure machine, loving all things with buttons. “Mom, can I please play with the blog machine?” I love when he trips on an “oops” word still. There aren’t many these days. And I smiled ear-to-ear that he even knows what a blog is. As we continued through the store, I kept thinking that less than a year ago, really nine months ago, this fun journey through blogging began for me. Then the big AHA….
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