My kids think I pooped in my panties, and I hardly ever know what I'm doing. It's been a rough day, folks. 

I wish those were exaggerations or lies, but both statements are very, very true. 

My children do very much believe that I pooped in my panties a little today. My daughter found a pair of panties soaking in one of the sinks in my bathroom. She was horrified and wanted to know what on earth was in my panties. My son, of course, knew exactly what it was....has to be poop. What else could it be? 

I really hope you're laughing and not completely grossed out, but this is life people. Sometimes you need to soak your panties, and sometimes your above mentioned children conclude that the reason you are soaking your panties is because you pooped a little. {For the record, I didn't poop.} 

"Mom, did you think it was just a toot?" questions the 5 year old. 

"Yes, baby. I thought it was just a toot." 

Things are not always what they appear. Very rarely are things the way they appear actually. The more years I spend on this crazy planet, the more I understand that. 

I really hardly ever know what I'm doing. I mean, does any parent really have any clue how to do this successfully? And not even in parenting or foster care, I very rarely ever know what I'm doing in business or life either. 

Really. Hardly ever am I sure that I'm doing the right thing. 

I've observed that many successful women operate in the same belief. They don't know what they're doing....they mostly just fake it until they make it. That phrase is popular because it's real. 

I was talking to a girl who I would absolutely love to have on my Scentsy team today. She reminds me of myself. 100%. She doesn't want to misstep. She wants to do it right if she decides to do it, but she has everything it takes to be a successful business owner. I was telling her that I really had no idea what I was doing when I started as a Scentsy consultant. I just always acted like I knew exactly what  I was doing. 

To be successful, you don't have to have all the answers, you just have to be willing to find them when they arise. It's really pretty simple. 

If we always waited to do things until we thought we were equipped or ready or fully qualified, we would never accomplish anything. I think that's why so many people sit back and wait for things to happen to them. Maybe when they lose 10 lbs or when they have more time or when they feel better about their circumstances....maybe then. 

What about now?

I fail everyday in so many areas of my life. I have no idea how to parent 3 kids and a foster baby. I have no clue how to be the best wife for my man. I don't know how to inspire other people or lead them to success. I really don't. But I do it all. Every day. Somehow, all those things happen. 

We can't just sit around waiting for things to be perfect. 

Perfection doesn't exist. 

Maybe today is the day. Maybe today is the day that you hit the gym for the 1st time in months or maybe today is the day you start a new business. Maybe today is the day you love your spouse the way he deserves to be loved. Why can't today be the day? 

You're never going to figure it out. I'm never going to figure it out, but that isn't stopping me. Get up and do it anyways. 

Whatever it is. You don't have to know what you're doing. I hardly ever know what I'm doing. But that doesn't stop me from charging the darkness or doing things that I think are bigger than me. Fake it until you become it. You can. 

And even if you have a day when your kids think you pooped in your panties, pretend you did (even if you didn't) because maybe that's easier than explaining the truth to a 5 and 7 year old.  

The things we inherit {A BRCA1 and BRCA2 diagnosis}

We recently inherited a set of copper lined pots and pans that were my grammy's. They are pots that fed my family, pots that my mom remembers her mom cooking out of. And they are a treasure to me. I've come to love washing them in the sink every night. A simple act of daily living that has suddenly brought me great joy.

Today I learned that I inherited more than just copper lined pots and pans and serving dishes from my grammy. Today I got the call that told me I was BRCA1 and BRCA2 positive. 

I hesitated to share here, but I don't know why I wouldn't. The truth about my DNA doesn't change who I am. I was the same person yesterday that I am today and the same person that I will be tomorrow. Mutation and all, I was made exactly the way that I was made by the creator of the universe and placed in this tiny spot in history to tell a story only I can tell. 

I believe that I am equipped with everything I need to overcome the overwhelming odds that I could develop ovarian or breast cancer. I am grateful to live in a time in history where we know what these mutations are and how to proactively decrease the risk associated with the BRCA 1 and 2 mutations. 

More to come....

About Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer syndrome (HBOC): 

HBOC is a genetic condition that increases an individual's lifetime risk for cancer. HBOC is caused by mutations in one of two genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. These genes make proteins that are important in keeping tumors from developing. Mutations (or changes) in either of these genes allows cancers to develop in certain areas of the body.  

Preparing to be Full

We are definitely in a season of transition. My brother-in-law moved in last week to spend his senior year here playing golf. He's a good kid, and we love having him here. It's going to be a great year. Our kids love having him here despite Wyatt's face in the picture below. {I think he was concerned about the candles Brad had just blown out...ya know...our kids never see real candles.} 

Not only did Brad move in, but my kiddos went to school this week! I won't pretend I didn't cry on the 1st day. I lost it, and wanted to go back and pick them up, but it only lasted a day. After that, they were happy, we were happy, everyone was happy. What's not to love about happy? 

Plus, they only go to school Monday-Thursday. It's pretty much perfect {except that I thought it was Saturday all day today, and I took 3 kids to Target....who does that?} 

So I'm here, preparing for this house to be full. Full of family, people, kids, and love. Oh and food. Lots of food. 

As I've been looking through my journal from our Italy trip, I found a page full of a list I titled, "How I want Italy to change me." On that list was fullness. To be full of life. Full of love. To have a house always full of people. 

We are definitely getting that. My in-laws will be here this weekend and my mom, so I get to practice that full-house thing this weekend. 

Part of "preparing to be full" has meant that we're intentionally working through each room of our house to make it more functional to serve, host, and love others. Systems, a place for everything, a plan, if you will. It's all there. 

Even tonight, I sit here thinking about how we have a couple weeks to get in the groove of school and activities and business before Brian and I head out of town for almost 2 full weeks. We're headed to Boise for the 1st ever Velata convention. We are elated. Plus, we're meeting our friends there, and we'll spend a few days with them camping and dreaming and catching up. 

Immediately after that, we get to spend several days with Scentsy's top leaders at our annual SuperStar Director Summit. It's a time to re-charge and collaborate and learn, and it is sweet food to my soul. 

Brian and I will fly from Boise to Pittsburg to help launch the business of 3 new team members. 

To say it's going to be a busy week-and-a-half is an understatement. In addition to all that, when we come home from Pittsburgh, there is a very good chance that our home will officially be open as a foster home again which means, we will very likely welcome a baby into our home the middle of September (that's less than a month away folks!). 

When I say we're preparing to be full, I mean it. But full is good. Empty is bad. 

I want to be full. I want my home to be full. I want my heart to be full. So we're preparing over here to be full. Preparing to be full of love, full of Christ, full of community, full of good. 

More Planning tools and tips

Since we've been talking planners around here lately, I thought it would be helpful to show you a few of the other tools we use to maintain our sanity around here. 

In case you missed yesterday's post, I'm giving away 2 free planners. Check it out here.

Sunday is usually the day that I figure out exactly how the coming week will function. I've found that as a wife, a mom, and a small business owner, this is absolutely vital to my ability to function from day to day. 

Here's a snapshot of my dining room table today while everyone rested. 

So a few things, you can see my Driven Dreamer weekly spread there in the bottom middle. 

At the top right and bottom right are a monthly meal planner and a grocery list from Jones Design Company. There is a great paper works section on her site that reads: 

A monthly collection of stylish designs to help keep you organized. Choose from the digital (print on your own) version or the print + digital version (a set of prints will be mailed to you). 

I'm a huge fan. Go ahead...go check it out.

In the center of the picture above are: to the right...is our jumbo monthly calendar from Erin Condren and to the left is our Weekly Schedule Pad from Erin Condren. The jumbo monthly calendar hangs on our fridge and has everything that has to do with our family schedule. The weekly pad hangs in our kitchen as well and is more detailed and includes dinner plans for the week as well. It's a quick at a glance look for everyone to see what's going on at a glance. 

 Any whoo.....I thought you like to see that there's lots of crazy planning that takes place at my house. 

What about you? Do you have any great products that I don't know about yet? What works to help you keep your family organized? 

Last Chance....First Glance

To say I'm excited about our new Scentsy and Velata catalogs is the understatement of the year. I'm like a kid waiting for Christmas morning, except it won't be Christmas morning, it'll be September 1st. It's basically the same thing. 

I'm crazy over our September warmer of the month. It's nostalgically perfect. 

I'm also the most excited I have ever been about Velata and our upcoming catalog. As I type this, my mind is reeling with ideas to implement to help get families around the table this Fall. 

My mind is running a hundred miles a minute. The ideas and the things I want to do are begging to be put on paper. (I'm also thinking about how my friend called me out for a Velata ice bucket challenge which means I have to pour a bucket of ice over myself tomorrow and donate $10 to our local food bank). That'll be fun. 

But, back to the new catalogs. I'm thrilled and excited and can't wait for our new catalogs to launch, so I'm hosting a Last Chance, First Glance party. Stop by, Book your Fall Party, Shop at 10% off, and sample all our new Fall scents and products. (oh and don't forget about all our specials!) It's the best of both worlds...Spring and Fall all rolled into one night. Laid back and fun. 

It's going to be one great party. Hopefully you'll join us, or host your own! The most important thing is that you keep it simple and focus on connecting with your customers, friends, and family. 

Trying to Thrive

I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to truly thrive. I'm reading an incredible book by Arianna Huffington called Thrive. 

It's challenging me in the best kind of way. Being in direct sales, and being a team leader in direct sales means that I'm very rarely off when it comes to "work." That translates into I'm never really off when it comes to work. When you're passionate about what you do, it becomes part of your life. It's not a bad thing at all. It's an incredibly beautiful thing to have what you do collide with who you are. 

It just means I have to be incredibly mindful of turning my business and leadership and Scentsy brain off sometimes, and that can be challenging.

This book has reminded me that "the better people are at taking care of themselves, the more effective they'll be in taking care of others, including their families, their coworkers, their communities, and their fellow citizens." But it feels so selfish doesn't it? To put yourself 1st. To give into the things you know you need but often don't make time for?

I started a list....of all the things that re-fuel me, and inspire me, and just make me plain happy. Things like working out, writing, reading, cooking, studying God's word.  Those things ground me. They make me better at being me. They make me a better mom, a better wife, a better Christ follower, a better leader, and a better person all together. I have to remember that doing those things isn't selfish. It's fuel. 

I don't want to merely survive. I want to thrive. And as we face the next month with lots and lots of changes happening in our family (baby brother-in-law moved in today, school starts next week, traveling a lot in September, and then opening our home to foster babies again) I need to make sure that I'm spending time doing things that re-charge me. It's vital really. 

What about you? Are you good at putting yourself 1st? Are you good at indulging in and focusing on the things that make you better in all areas of your life? I'd love to hear what re-charges you. 

Because I'm Better When I Write

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.