In 2012, I wrote 232 times. Over the course of a single year, I wrote every single day for a year. Lately, I've been missing this. Writing. Words on the page. My brain on the page, really. 

But writing everyday is hard and a huge commitment. And honestly it's not really a blog when I write everyday; it's more of a journal. I know that. And I'm okay with that. 

Maybe a journal is what I need. I watched several youtube training videos that I recorded in 2012. It was the year that I wrote every single day. It was the year that we had 4 babies in our house (2 of them, foster babies), and I was better then, than I am now. 

And I want that back. I don't know why writing makes me a better person, but I know that I'm better when I write. I don't do it sometimes because I worry about what people will think. Isn't that silly? 

So I guess this is an announcement?.....I'm writing everyday again. 

That's a hard and weird thing to say, but I need to. So if you're up for some crazy, because I'm sure you're going to get it (since it's every single day), follow along. It'll be interesting to say the least. You'll get what's rolling around inside my head most days. 

Here's to a year. Because I'm better when I write. 

Thanks for the encouragement and accountability friend. I love you so. Let's write everyday and see how the Lord gets glorified through it. 

Why do I have so many condiments?

Seriously? Does anyone else have this many condiments? I mean, maybe I should join some kind of support group for people with issues like this.....does such a glorious group exist? If it does, I bet they have tasty potlucks. I'm just saying. (And I found more at the back of the fridge later too). 

I guess cleaning out my fridge without planning to do so means I'm officially nesting. My baby brother-in-law is moving in with us on Thursday for his senior year of high school, my kiddos go back to school next Monday, and we could very likely have a foster baby in our home by mid-September.

In addition to all that, I have this strong urge to have our home set-up to serve. I want to have people over. I want to host. I want to feed people, but that means I have to have systems in place in our household that work and work well. We do all those things all ready, but I don't want to stop doing them because we have a foster baby in our home. 

Since we moved very soon after Wyatt was born and I did most of the packing while I was pregnant, I didn't get rid of the things that you normally would when moving. I just packed it all! And now, two years later, I'm finally going through my house room by room to do what I can to create sanity and systems. 

It's a crazy process people! But it feels good to get settled and organized and have everything in it's place. It's a process, but it's happening. 

What have you been up to this weekend? Do you have this many condiments? Or should I really seek out that support group? I will. Just tell me I need help.

Happy Sunday! 

Home Study {Our Foster Care Journey 2.0}

This will be our second time being foster parents. But we aren't ready. It's not something you can really ever be ready for. 

There are too many unknowns and variables to truly be ready to welcome a child into your home. There is no "what to expect guide" or "how to be a great foster parent book." None of that. It's mostly about trusting the Lord in what he's called you into, knowing that he has someone prepared for you. 

Brian and I sat across the dining room table from our case worker today as she updated our previous home study. She seems smart and compassionate, and I'm excited to have her on our team. 

I attempted to line out the perfect placement for us. They want you to provide a 2 year age bracket, so we said we would be willing to accept children 0-2 years of age. But I lined out why anything other than an infant wouldn't work. 

We don't want to have to put a child in childcare, but we still have to be able to work from home. Wyatt is almost 2 and into everything and I can't spend my days chasing two toddlers around the house. 

We would prefer an infant. A non-mobile one. One that I can wear and take with me to coffee and work into our lives. 

Those are my perfect little outlines of how I would like all this to play out. In reality? Our 1st call will probably be for two-year-old twin girls. Who knows?

I know that me attempting to plan all this out in my mind is simply a coping mechanism....a way to deal with the chaos that comes in foster care. 

It's not that being a foster parent means there will always be chaos. It's just that you you have no control over so many things. You have to learn to let go of control.

That was the hardest part for me the 1st time. Losing control over situations that I desperately wanted to control was nearly maddening for me. 

Our "criteria" for the perfect placement is my attempt at one last swing for control. Ultimately, I know the Lord has already planned out something great. There is a child (or children) that He has in mind for us. To love, to serve, to give everything to. And we will. 

Now we wait for DHS to approve our home study, and our home will officially be "open" mid-September. 

Here we go. It's time to be brave. 

To Be Brave

I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be brave. The culture we live in is perfectly fine with people being average, normal, ordinary. 

It's not a bad thing necessarily, but being average, normal, ordinary.....those things don't require any kind of bravery. 

I've been talking to several people lately about what it means and looks like to start your own business. And whenever I talk to people about doing something like that, I can't help but think about the things I thought when I started selling Scentsy. 

I was worried that I didn't know enough people {no one does}. I was worried that I wasn't a salesperson {I wasn't then and I'm not now}. And I was worried that I had no clue where to start {and I didn't}. 

But what I've learned after 7 years of running a Scentsy business, is that none of those things matter. No one knows enough people to run a business like this, that's why they call it network marketing. Networking is key. You have to do it. 

I'm still not a salesperson, but I'm passionate about the product that I sell. I'm crazy about it actually, and it turns out, that's what it takes to sell a product...not a sales pitch. 

Honestly? No one knows what they're doing when they get into direct sales. 

Direct sellers are usually a bunch of moms and grandmas, and professionals, and leaders all looking to achieve something that we can't achieve by working for someone else. 

We're looking for something more. We're looking for a way to be brave. 

But the hardest part of it all? 

It's the 1st step. Making the commitment to try is the hardest part. None of us want to fail. What if I say that I'm going to do this and it doesn't work? Then what? Then it looks like I've failed. 

What's amazing to me is that the people who decide to try don't do it because they're not afraid of failure.....we're all afraid of failure. They decide to try because there is something bigger. Something more important that makes them overlook that fear of failing to step out in bravery and do something great. 

But so many people won't do it. So many people won't try because of that risk.....

How will you ever know if you don't take the 1st step and try. Whatever the Lord has put on your heart and in your mind, pursue it. Don't hide from it. Explore. Try. Do something new and different. 

Go ahead....be brave. 

The Return of the Sunday 7

Over the past couple weeks, I have had several questions about the way that I plan out my week. If you've followed this blog for any amount of time, you know how serious I am about planning and being intentional with your time. 

Last week, I will admit, I got overwhelmed. I usually get out of sorts when returning home from a trip, but this was different. We came home from Scentsy's Family Reunion and had a launch party for a new recruit, a huge team get together, a Velata tasting, a full day of foster care training, an amazing surprise party from our leadership team, and a huge fundraiser for Oklahoma City's Hope Link , a team play date, and then finally.....a weekend to relax and catch up. 

Catching up is good. Since this weekend was a nice little catch up for our family, I thought it would be a great time to re-introduce The Sunday 7. 

The Sunday 7 is a simple tool to help you map out the 7 most important areas of your life and then make sure you have scheduled time for each of those things in a given week.

The seven areas you choose are up to you. Below you can see my personal Sunday 7. Every week, I map out the 7 most important areas of my life and then make sure that they each have a place in my weekly schedule. 

If you're interested in creating your own Sunday 7, I've created a blank Sunday 7 template that you can save to your phone or computer and print out for yourself. 

For a more detailed explanation of the Sunday 7, click here. Happy planning friends! 

The day there were 2

We weren't always the best of friends. Jacquelyn lived with Brian and I while she was in college, and while we liked each other, we were far from good buddies.

We're the same age. We were both born in 1983. Her birthday is in October. Mine in December. 

She pretty much thought I was crazy when I started selling these "candle things" and claimed that I wanted to use this business to quit my teaching job. But she supported me. She hosted several basket parties at the hospital where she worked, and after she returned yet another successful basket party to me, I told her that she should just do this. She would be great at it. {She was basically already doing it.} 

Those words would change my life in ways I never could have imagined. Our relationship would never be the same again. 

Our Scentsy journey is completely intertwined. There was only about a 6 month period where Jacquleyn didn't really take her business seriously. She didn't need to. She had a great nursing job, and Scentsy was just a fun hobby. Then all of a sudden, something clicked, and there was no stopping her.

Orville Thompson, gave a beautiful keynote presentation this week at Scentsy's Family Reunion about journeys and living a life of significance. He used the phrase "a journey of abundance," and that is exactly is what our story is. 

We started working our businesses together. Celebrating every success. And every misstep. 

We overcame obstacles and tried new things. We earned trips together and travelled the world together. 

We've rocked each others babies and tackled Thanksgiving dinner for over 30 people year after year after year. {And that's saying something.} 

We have challenged each other, inspired each other, prayed with each other, and we constantly remind each other why we are a part of this "little candle company." 

Jacquelyn and I at Scentsy's Leadership Retreat in 2010 

The Bahamas 2014 

Hawaii 

Hawaii 

Jacquelyn with Luke when he was born in March of 2009

Leadership Retreat 2010

Scentsy Family Reunion 2013 

Boot Camp at the Shipping Container 

Spring Sprint 2012 

Throwing a baby shower for Amy Marc-Charles 

Convention 2010 Denver 

Convention 2010 Ft. Worth 

Leadership Cruise 2011

Leadership 2010 

Leadership Cruise 2011

Our Leadership Retreat 2014 

Hosting a mini convention 

I can't search for anything significant in my Scentsy journey without her being right by my side. 

And this week at family reunion was no different. It already feels like it was ages ago. Both of our names were called as Shining Star finalists. 

And we were elated. Overjoyed. I knew this was her year, and I was excited to be a close part of her success. 

We got to sit next to each other on stage on Friday during general session and tell part of our story. Sister-in-laws turned best friends thanks to our Scentsy Family businesses. We talked about how Scentsy literally changed our family dynamic.

And then it happened. Friday night at the awards ceremony. As they read the 1st letter, I knew it was Jacquelyn's letter. My heart filled with joy and pride. 

And then the 2nd letter described someone who claims to be an introvert. I knew Jacquelyn would never call herself an introvert. I started thinking that it must be someone else. 

And then, the shock.  Not 1, but 2. Two names. Two Shining Stars. 

My name and hers. And I threw my head between my knees because I couldn't believe it. 

And then I almost forgot to hug my husband because I was so anxious to hug her. But I did hug him! 

And then I ran to her. 

I don't have words to describe the joy I felt in that moment. I walked into that night knowing it was her night, and Orville and Heidi threw us a curveball.

I know that they partly knew how intertwined our businesses were. How each success and failure was walked together. But I never thought this moment would be shared together. I didn't know it was a possibility.

It still feels very much like a dream. I still can't believe it happened. But it's fitting and perfect and unforgettable.

Our story is one of friendship, family, trust, leadership, influence, and light. She is my light when I need an encouraging word, and I am her light when she needs a little spark.  We are so different. And it is our differences that make us one awesome team.

Her strengths are my weaknesses and vice versa. But together, we do great things.

I never in a million years could have made this business work on my own, so I'm incredibly honored and glad that we got to stand on that stage together last night. It is a moment we will never forget. It is a moment that affirms what we already knew to be true. 

This journey is not walked alone. It is walked with friends and family and strangers who become friends. And that, is the most beautiful thing about the Scentsy Family....it is a family. Through the good and the bad, someone will have your back. Someone will pick you up and encourage you. 

 We're better together. We really are. We cannot fashion our world on needing to be significant at someone else's expense. We have to fashion our world where our significance comes from the success of those we love and serve. 

In the words of Orville Thompson, "When were are connected, we can do so much." 

Yes was can. We really, really can. 

A Good-Night Kiss

Just a half hour earlier, he had been dodging my kisses in a mix of wrestling and tickling and I love yous and I love you mores. 

When I snuck from his bed several minutes after he had started breathing heavy, I was sure he was asleep.  His tiny 5-year-old body wiggled under the covers as his sleepy voice told me that I'd forgotten something. 

"What did I forget baby?" 

"You forgot to give me night-night kisses." 

His tiny voice, his desire for my love....it was almost more than my heart could contain. 

"Oh baby, I would never forget to kiss you goodnight." 

What a simple thing. A goodnight kiss. 

In the midst of us re-applying for foster care, I have many times wondered what on earth would provoke me to do it again. The paperwork seems to be never ending. The classes. The waiting. The unknown.

And then there is the opening of your home and your heart to a tiny person who will ultimately change you in the best kind of way. 

Sometimes I think the chaos of my life, with our business and our kids and everything we have on our plate, is enough. Why would we add someone else's mess to ours? 

Honestly? It's all about a goodnight kiss. 

It's been 2 years (almost to the day) since we said goodbye to the 2 foster babies we had in our hearts and our home for 6 months. They became a part of us. They changed us. 

And tonight, I sit in front of this computer sobbing because their story is so beautiful. The way the Lord carried them and protected them is unfathomable. I never could have written a better ending to a story. 

But in the same breath, it was one of the hardest things I have ever done. They will forever be a part of me, and almost 2 years ago, we had to say goodbye to them. It was this weekend 2 years ago that we spent as our last weekend as a family of 6. 

And exactly 2 years ago, on this night, I wrote these words, "This really is quite the process. It's not normal, not natural, but oh, so necessary. They had to be loved. Had to be cared for. And the Lord picked us to do it."

I find so much encouragement in those words....words the Lord placed on my heart. When those babies first showed up on our porch just 6 months earlier, they had been in a shelter for 7 days. 

And that's where I lose it. That's where I know that we are called and commission to care for those who are orphaned and alone. We are called to give "night-night kisses" to babies who won't get them anywhere else.  There is no child who doesn't deserve a goodnight kiss from someone who loves them. 

There are more than 1100 children in the foster care system in Oklahoma and over 397,000 in the system across the United States on any given day. 

If not us, then who? 

Just a little preaching to myself tonight.....and remembering where we've been and how much love we felt while we were there. 

Sweet dreams baby. Thanks for reminding your momma what it looks like to be brave.