Good gravy its almost time to celebrate the women in our lives who are champions of the mundane: our moms. It took becoming a mom to realize this, and every mama's day from here on out I think I will become more appreciative of my mom and the women who show up daily to pour themselves out. Because this job is not for the faint of heart. This job is a daily work of planting seeds in hopes that the ones in our care will know their worth and love the next generation well. 

Typically we celebrate by sleeping in (amennnnn), having brunch (egg casserole and cinnamon rolls, please!) and spending some time outdoors visiting our mamas. Fingers crossed the weather is warm so we can be lazy all day lounging on the patio. 

Of course it wouldn't be Mother's day without a thoughtful gift or a shower of kind words to show them how much we see them and adore them!

Here's to the mama's! XO

From February to March I read 2 books instead of 3 since I decided in January to slow down and lean into what I want from this year. My book round-up for 2021 is a wide range of genres (you can find the books I am reading each month here). This quarter I read one book that is a classic Courtney chick-lit whereas the other is work-ethic related. Can you guess which one I really had to really dedicate my time to read? It is fair to say I am not as easily drawn into reading non-fiction. BUT I am so thankful I stuck it out for the breadcrumbs I picked up along the way from Deep Work and also super happy about the time spent lost in another's story from Two Lives of Lydia Bird.

Let's dive in!

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird was nothing short of sad. Um yeah, I really asked myself about 10 times in the beginning of the book "why am I even reading this?!" Pretty funny looking back at it now, but I appreciate the vulnerability of this book. The main character, Lydia, loses the man she's planning on marrying right from the start, and we travel through her grief for the rest of the story. The twist is that she processes her grief through escaping in a certain way that I wont spoil. By the end I felt like a proud sister. Lydia finds meaning to life in a new way and there's some redemption for her in the cheesy way I love reading about in books. 

Favorite quotes: "You don't get over losing someone you love in six months or two years or twenty, but you do have to find a way to carry on living without feeling as if everything that comes afterwards is second best."

“Grief is an odd thing. It’s mine and no one can do it for me, but there’s been this whole supporting cast of silent actors around me in the wings.”

Yay!!! At long last our powder bathroom received a refresh and we really love how it turned out!! It was comical how many times I changed my vision on what I wanted to do with this space. From paint colors, to wallpaper, to finally deciding to add board and batten. Technically we're not "officially" done since the toilet paper holder has not been reinstalled and some of the chrome fixtures will be painted brass, but those small details can step aside. The big picture is finished and I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

 

The shutters just make me happy. And I'm sure that everyone who's been to our house will be much happier now that no one can see them from the patio... I apologize, friends. Probably should've been a priority from the day we moved in. Ha! Oops. 

I sadly could not find many before pictures but my, my did this bathroom receive a glow up from bland to charming! The long nights of painting turned out to be worth it. 

board + batten color // wall color // framed print 

This month I am learning to view my choices in a new light. For some reason this theme of choices is popping up all over the place (books, social media, scripture, life itself). I am receiving this gentle nudge of truth that I am not ruled by my endless to-do list.

My devotional says it best, "When we wallow in the idea that we have no say in our lives and we must do the laundry and shuttle kids to after-school activities, a lie is planted in our hearts. The result is distraction and frustration with anyone who doesn't seem to work as hard as we do. On top of that, were still left feeling not good enough." 

To drive this further the author points to the account of Martha and Mary when Jesus was at their home. Martha thought the house prep needed to be done, whereas Mary saw the option and determined it was incomparable to sitting at the feet of Jesus. I mean c'mon... this seems so simple yet do I do this? Do I see the choice? (not always). Do I choose to pick up kids toys for the 100th time in a day and miss out on simply enjoying the kids in the mess? (..yep)

I do not want to live in distraction from the people that matter because I am prioritizing things I feel I have no choice over. I want eyes to see the choices I have in front of me like Mary did. No, I am not boycotting laundry and dishes. I mean that sounds nice, but let's get real. ;)

This month I am digging in to uproot old habits. Literally too, I will be planting cut flowers for the first time! 

Keeping my eyes open to say yes to choices that will steer me/my family in the direction that matters.

Saying no to seemingly good things but fail in comparison to the essential thing. 

A relook at my yearly goals where I draw my monthly ideas from.

Revisiting March goals