I'm (we're) back!

It's been a whole year since I last posted. Instagram has been my thing lately, and it was just easier to post quick recaps of our day than make posts. BUT, in that time I'd been feeling a bit lost and have been trying to find my voice again, so I thought I'd start it back up. I think the blog, while staying mostly our family blog, will eventually become a bit more of my journal. At least that's the plan, anyway.

Starting in the new year I've been thinking about what to do, how to stretch myself, what talents I have, what talents I should have, what talents I have or could develop to bless my family, what talents I have or could develop to monetarily bless my family...and I've been coming up short.

BUT.

I've been feeling really good about who I follow on Instagram lately. Social media can be a force for good or a force for distraction and self-loathing, and lately I've tried to clean up who I follow. I follow women who are inspirational to me. Who are real. Who are helpful for me right now. It can change month-to-month, but a few women have been especially helpful to me as I've prepared to give birth, as I have been recovering and finding my voice again (I know, I never really lost it, but I feel like I was wondering for a bit last year...).

Alison from @thealisonshow said something on Instagram recently that just CLICKED:

thealisonshowFor a really long time, like forever 😂, I was so obsessed with the idea of "WHAT AM I DOING?!" Or "What should I be doing?!" Or "what's the best thing to do?!" That it made me nuts! Scroll back and read like years of IG and blog posts if you want. 💁 But can I just say it's SO FREAKING FREEING when you realize ⭐️ it doesn't matter WHAT you're doing, nearly as much as it matters HOW you're doing it. ⭐️ Our old mailman of 7 years (from before we moved into our new house) stumbled into my office yesterday because he was filling in for a coworker and ended up being on my office mail route. I was (and still am) so obsessed with him because every day he delivered our mail with so much love and light and awesomeness, that he'd make my day better EVERY time I saw him. And seeing him yesterday made my day better yet again. The way he delivers mail makes the world a better place because of HOW he does it. 💌 So I just share in case like I was for years you're feeling overwhelmed with the "WHAT AM I DOING?!" conundrum. And I'll even give you an answer: as long as you're doing your best at something, and you're moving from love and not fear...IT DOESN'T really matter. Or it doesn't matter nearly as much as you think it does. 😘 Trust me. 

And then the day after I read her post I read an article from the Ensign about living the good life, about putting the gospel of Jesus Christ above my worldly aspirations. About living a life of gratitude. About putting the virtues I would want said at my funeral above the virtues needed for a good resume.

And THEN, I remembered another instagrammer (ok, she's got a blog, but Instagrammer is a pretty fun name to say),  @simplysadiejane, mentioning that she meditates every morning, she loves who she is and her journey, and that it only makes sense that she was blessed with an opportunity because of that.

All that to say, go check out these women, read that article and stay tuned. I think I've figured out that by staying true to who I am, writing down my thoughts, what I do with my family, things that I'm learning, it will all fall into place, little by little. I'll write up Theodore's birth story soon and can't wait to share it, as well as some of my favorite pictures of his short 9 weeks here so far.