Be. IN. Every. moment.

You don’t always do things the way I like them. There are some things about you that I would like to change. You do things your own way … in your own time … with your own flair.

But lately I have been stepping back, and letting you be who you are.

And when I do, the more I see that my way might not be the “right” one after all.

The more I see what I thought needed changing, doesn’t need changing one tiny bit.

The more I see something courageously brave and beautiful.

Because when I stop correcting long enough to listen, love, and be inspired by the uniqueness of you, I see colors I don’t have.

But I wish that I did.

© Rachel Macy Stafford 2014

Dust In The Wind – All We Are

Towing a 20 Foot Travel Trailer

Living in a camper…

I learned you need space to spread out. Space to claim as your own. I thought it would only be an issue for my oldest boy who seems to obsess over possession and having THINGS and STUFF and everything lined up just right in order to calm him and make him peaceful all over…. but in reality we all needed it… I needed my own pillows and blankets. My daughter needed her photo album and ducky with winter hat (it was always between 95-120 degrees but this duck NEEDED it’s winter hat)….. and my son.. well he just needed his ‘cars, trucks, and pushing toys’ — he’d lay content with his vehicles and just vroom them around in his space…. but without them he was a mess.

Put 3 small children… (then ages 5,4, and 2) and a crazy outgoing mom in a camper only 20 feet long and send them off on a journey into the unknown…. It was so much of an adventure that I could dedicate an entire blog about THAT trip… perhaps another day.

I digress.

I just think this upcoming trip will be much more exciting and worth our time. No rush. No deadline to show up for a ‘job’. No worries about money (slight worry about money is ENTIERLY different than a HUGE FEAR of not knowing if I had enough to actually REACH my destination)…. lol…. 🙂 🙂 BTW we made it just fine.. and had enough left over to pay for our new home. With the help of a few local good places we were blessed with some donations to help us find a “real” living space within 3 months as well. This said living space was a sad transition though for us because we loved our RV park place. We loved the people there. We loved our own little private beach. The kids loved having the freedom and safety to ride their bikes around and see new things (California people with BIG GIANT BOATS and JET SKIS who were on a weekend getaway from their own reality 4 hours away).

This new trip will be a different set of learning objectives. There will be a boat load of new things to discover and check out and modify along the way.

I can’t wait to get started.
Seriously.
When’s the next time I’m going to be in Arizona… having to head back to New York… with three very awesome outgoing adventurous hooligans????

My only wish is that I could take an adventure this awesome every year with them….

22 Years Old was a lifetime ago

Family. Grandparents.

I Wish You Enough.

Update on my grandmother….

She made it through. Recovered from all surgeries.

She finally got back “home”.

She is healing. She is in less pain than before.

She gets strength from places only God knows.

*happy day*

*****My MOTHER used to read me this poem…. but she had to have learned it from her MOTHER….. and I am proud to say I try very hard to pass this concept of “having enough” onto my own******

My Nana has taught me some of the best lessons. When my father died when I was 4 she helped my mother raise me. She had one of the biggest influences on my life. I dislike being 3000 miles away when she’s facing pain, discomfort, surgery, recovery, etc….. but I am sighing a bit of relief today because she made it back home after a very long time (since October) dealing with not so much fun health issues.

She still has some more surgery on the “to do list” but for now … she’s at peace and it brings me some calm.

Thank God For Kids

My Life.

My Joy.

My Peace.

My Purpose.

I
love
every
single
opportunity
I
have
been
given
to
be
their
Mother.

🙂

Teaching Exhausts Me Some Days

The 3 of them. When they play.

Make my heart happy.

Days like this night – Family fun night… Make me FILLED with great JOY!

However…. watch what happens when they are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired. 🙂
They get a little FEISTY. UGH. *sigh*

I still love every moment.

I can’t wait for the “summer” so we can unschool again…. so I can focus on real life schooling things with them…. make sure they hit all the ‘public school assessment marks’ — Haha —

The school year is exhausting… and as much as I love teaching others….. I miss them so much during the day and would MUCH rather be spending my time teaching my own……