returning to my roots

hello blog.

can we get reacquainted this month?

i think i'd like to come back. not for pins or stats, but because i began this project five and a half years ago as a personal documentation of life as annalea.  in my own words...

my hope is that our family and friends will be able to experience life with us. i want you all to hear the funny stories, to see the sweet smiles, and to laugh at my frequent failures. i also love the opportunity to reflect on being a mama. i don't want this time in my life to fly by without taking a moment to pause. i won't get it all, but one day in the future i want to look back at this record of my life and remember that between the diaper changes, feedings, and temper tantrums, my children were shaping me just as much as we were praying to shape them.

the focus has shifted to be less mama-focused. that is okay. those early parenting years can be all consuming. but my life is not only about being their mama and blogging helped me see that more clearly. i latched onto the tag line: joy choosing, beauty finding, story telling. oh does that so perfectly describe my heart.

but it was that perceived pressure to grow an audience, write on a schedule, and all that jazz that weighed me down. i'd like to return to my roots and blog just because. more of a journal and less of a professional platform. there are some fantastic blogs out there that handle that just fine. i read them. i love them. but i don't want to be one. that is not where i need to be right now.

so where am i?

as pictured above. . .

i am learning how to parent an autistic son. it is full of joy and heartache. and it often requires laughter at unexpected challenges.

i am turning to craft-therapy when life is overwhelming. i am thankful for the gift of creativity from the Creator.

i am dealing with month long illness, passing from one of us to the next. right now, i am curled up on the couch with flu-ishness. yuck.

i am working on making this new-to-us rental house a home. gia's sweet space is complete and it makes me smile.  

i am taking on a new job that required me to fly away for training last week. a sweet benefit was meeting in person lovely blog friends, heather and kate. our nearly 6 hour conversation helped me find my voice again. love you ladies!

i am sipping lots of cups o' comfort.  ginger-honey-lemon is my current fave to help the sore throat and a heavy heart.  my prayer is He would be made greater in all of our struggles.

for those of you have stuck out the past nine months with me, thank you.

xoxo,

annalea