Falling. No Matter How Hard.

No matter how cautious, no matter how prepared ... 

Life knocks you down.  

The bravest of us truly embrace the fall.  

Falling isn't a sign of weakness, 

It's a willingness to breathe the freedom of letting go.  

Standing in a safe place, 

never taking a risk, 

isn't freedom at all.  

It's a shackled existence bound to an inevitable end. 

Both frightening and exhilarating, falling is how we grow.  

Growing comes from enduring trials, 

overcoming obstacles, 

letting down our guards... 

and living life.  

Living not only in the moment,

but living in the present.  

Becoming who we are doesn't happen because of some mysterious plan;

It becomes of all the decisions and mistakes we make,

and how we chose to face the consequences.

As people we have a choice ...

Life life to the fullest - or simply die.

I choose to live. 

I will take the risks.  

I will let myself fall.  

I will grow from each new day.  

I will give everything I have to the unknown, 

and accept the outcome as how I am meant to 

BECOME.  

Just say "Yes"

I grew up in a sheltered little box.  I am not ashamed of that, but it is the truth.  I loved the security that came from always knowing exactly what to expect from life.  I was comfortable for a long time.  There were things I never tried; things I never cared to experience.  I wasn't missing out on things I knew nothing of...

That's all over now.  

I moved to this little mountain town a couple years ago and until six months ago, I only left my house to go to the library and the grocery store.  I had no idea what I was missing.  This place has so much more to live for than I ever dreamed possible.   It wasn't until recently that I decided to try new things as often as possible.  At the time, I had no idea what I was in for.

Now, when someone suggests I should try something new I jump at the chance.  I find a way to say "Yes".  I've broken out of my shell and am living as hard as I can, while I can.  I had this crazy idea that I had to wait until all my kids were in college to start living for me.  I was so far from right, it's a shame.  I can live for them and for me.  It's a simple matter of working that balance.

I am grateful for every new opportunity that's come along.  Sure, it's a little scary to just say yes and run with it... but it's equally exhilarating too.  So to the future for my life, now I say ... BRING IT ON!

Scouts

I learned that a Scout is a truck, not at all like a Jeep.  (and if you call it one a Scout owner is bound to kick you out of his truck)

                                                                                                                   I learned that climbing rocks while riding shotgun 

in a Scout is one hell of a good time.

I learned that when you go out 4 wheeling, something always breaks 

and that alone is not enough to end the adventure.

I also learned that demolition
doesn't always involve an arena.  

Sometimes it starts with a broken truck.   (a Jeep in this case; one that had it coming - or so I'm told by a Scout owner)



I learned that riding shotgun during a demolition is way more fun than watching!

Best of all I learned that a Jeep is much smaller than my car.
Well, this one is now anyway!

Drive

I don't know how tomorrow will end, but I am excited to face it head on! I am learning to embrace the power I have to make the changes in my life happen.  I sometimes need to remind myself that I am the one in the driver's seat.  

I have spent the last few months taking on new challenges, meeting new people, making a few new friends and building a life of my own with one new experience at a time.  I realized that God didn't shut a door and open a window, he shut a window and opened a hundred doors.  Every person I've talked with recently has heard me say it.  I am embracing that with everything in me.  Every day is a chance to try something new!

  

Last week I was invited to go 4 wheeling with a crowd of people almost 50 strong!  I thought to myself 'Now that's something I have never done before'.  It's completely different from the kinds of invitations I normally encounter and I am really excited about that.  In the past I would have declined.  I admit it took me several days to realize how important it was to me that I accept the invite and so I quickly arranged to co-op some babysitting with a good friend.

Tomorrow I will walk through one of those "hundred doors".  I am nervous and excited and grateful for the whole opportunity to participate. Most of all I am looking forward to the adrenaline rush that comes with trying new things. 

Birthday Magic

A little girl 

With a brilliant smile

Turns seven today.

She sings when no one is listening.

She dances when no one is watching.

She rocks out on the piano and the guitar.

Her heart loves without abandon.

She tells the truth without regret.

She has faith stronger than anything.

A day devoted to her every whim, 

Every desire. 

A day she'll live joyfully.

A day to remember forever.

Happy Birthday

Precious Rockstar!

Craisy about Christmas, Craisy for life!

This is a time of year when Christians come out in droves to tell about the coming of their savior.  A birthday.  A day I believe is celebrated like Presidents Day ... not on an actual date, but a day of remembrance - despite it's clear misplacement on a calendar.  (The census that drew them to Jerusalem was a springtime event, after all.)  I am not discounting religion, it too has it's place during this holiday season.  I do believe in God.  I do believe that all paths to God are worthy ones.  I don't believe in the corporate control over organized religion.  I am one who thinks it's just as noble to celebrate God in the quiet of your home as it is to sing in a choir of 500 others on a Sunday morning.  To each their own path; this is after all, a free nation.  I am hoping to highlight another side of the holidays.   

As a mother to four angels, 'tis the season to be watching endless movies starring Santa and his entourage.  The holidays, after all, aren't over. There's the wise men, the feast, the New Year's Eve thing at Time Square - to name a few stops on the seasonal celebratory calendar.  Anyone who put their tree away already is really missing out on the 12 days of Christmas.  Once the shopping is done and Santa shows up, some people like to just hurry up and quit the holiday altogether.  I blame that on the malls.  They pump us full of impulse shopping highs, so naturally we crash as soon as the last gift in unwrapped.  

But I'm the Christmas Chick.  Christmas Craisy.  Call me whatever you want, Christmas, I can do!!!  We celebrate Christmas in stages in my family.  Christmas part two will be on Friday the 6th, as it should be.  We'll drink cider, toast to our love for each other, relish in the gratitude that comes from all the fine things we now aspire to become.  

There's a great line in a fun Christmas movie called "Elf".  Perhaps you've heard of it?  

I like to smile, I like to see smiles, I like the contagious nature of smiling.  I like the joy; the pure happiness it creates.  You can smile on your darkest day, and for that moment you won't be able to deny that it does actually feel a little better.  You can smile at a miserable old man too and chances are, he will indeed smile back.  Smiles are everything. 

Christmas isn't just a season of giving and receiving, as we have all come to know it as.  Christmas is a children's holiday, predating Christianity.  It's a holiday we all should remember begins and ends with children, their smiles and their very nature to experience unabashed joy at the delight of their families!  Children understand the holiday season to be much more than a trip to the mall and a late night of wrapping gifts and bandaging paper cuts.  They behave to the best of their abilities and hope to be rewarded for that with a gift, sure, but more importantly they expect to be loved, hugged and cherished.  They long to be with the people they care for and they delight in the togetherness the holiday brings.  They anticipate kind words in a Christmas card and happily bake cookies for the man in the red suit who took the time to notice how good they are.  

Children sing songs and smile and live every single day with that same joyful smile we plaster on our faces one morning a year.  If we can channel the generosity and joy of a child, we can truly appreciate Christmas for what it is.  Next year, I hope to live every day with that kind of hopefulness.  I don't intend to allow the spirit of the season to fade and then somehow mystically return again for a few weeks next winter.  Christmas marks one day in a long year.  It is my opinion that every day should be lived, not just to it's fullest, but to it's most joyful.  

From Scratch

The holidays are here and a new year is approaching.  This is a time to reflect on the past, face the future and appreciate all the blessings life has served up in a year.  

It's not an easy task, amid the hustle and frenzy, to be truly appreciative and joyful.  Children have it easiest this time of year.  They're allowed, even encouraged, to feel it genuinely.

My life, this year, marks a stop in the road, a landmark - if you will.  Starting over from scratch is no easy task, and yet I've been happy, grateful and positive about it from day one.  

God didn't shut the door and open a window, he shut a window and opened a hundred doors.  

All this hard work is shaping me into a person I can face in the mirror.  I stand back and honestly admit that I am better off at rock bottom than I was at the highest point with "him".  

I could not be more grateful for the lemons life handed me!

I am starting from scratch.  

I could not be more blessed in this fact.