Archives for March 2015

What I learned in March

March 30, 2015 by HappyGoStuckey 20 Comments

March was something of a month of stripping away. When March began, I had high hopes and lofty goals. But, it took us a solid two weeks to not feel like we were perpetually jet-lagged due to the time change– (I know what are we, a bunch of newborn babies??!)

In March I didn’t write like I wanted to, read like I wanted to, get up early like I wanted to, or exercise like I wanted to. Life just happened and kept right on happening. But even in the absence of the rhythms we may hold dear, the days were still quite meaningful and often still very full of wonder.

In March I….

was given this piece of fancy footwear and the frustrating, “avoid the cardio for 6 weeks,” from a Doctor who cared very little that I would miss my 1 year anniversary of going from episodic-exercise-girl to can’t-wait-to-get-to-the-gym girl. She’s still in here somewhere, hanging out on the weight machines and counting down the days.
learned that I will always love Fairytales, especially Cinderella. We saw Cinderella about a week ago, and I LOVED every minute of it. Having only ever seen the animated version, there were so many elements of this story that came alive for me for the very first time. I appreciate Disney’s care with the story itself and how they told it in such an exquisite way. Go see it!!!!
I realized afresh that you absolutely, always need your parents. Something scary happened with one of our family members this week, (they are doing much better now!) and I immediately called my Mom & Dad. They listened as I gave them the emotional details and then I sat on my kitchen floor and listened to them. All at once I was seven years old again and looking for words of comfort. I’ll never outgrow that.

What I’m loving lately–

Amazonian Clay 12 Hour Blush in Fearless. Okay. This blush is fantastic. Ever since Tiffany mentioned it, I have been wanting to give it a try– and it seriously does stay on that long! Many cosmetic products say 12 hr. or 18 hr. wear but what they mean is, “somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 minutes.” Not this one, it STAYS! And, you only need a tiny bit. And don’t let the “clay” part scare you, it goes on just like regular powder blush, but apparently it is solar-baked or something– I know, so FANCY, right?!!

StitchFix. Yes, I drank the Stitchfix kool-aid. I heard so many good things and it was time to test it out. Shopping is really only fun when you actually find what you’re looking for, right?

I am not super-picky, but I don’t enjoy spending all day looking for an item and striking out, especially if that whole time I’ve been trying to entertain kiddos and keep the little darlings from disappearing into multiple clothing racks.

So, I’m trying the online route. I have heard amazing reports from others who have used the Stitchfix service and this month I tried it for the first time! I’ll be honest, my first fix was slightly disappointing, but I did come away with the prettiest textured, grey cardigan and I cannot wait to wear it again!

What’s that? You want to see it? Hmmm… ok, here it is!

I love how light and airy it is, perfect for all those warm days we are about to have. The quality far exceeded my expectations– even for a cardigan wearing girl like myself. (Sorry for the Squinty-Spring-Sunshine-Eyes)

Sadly, I sent everything else back because it wasn’t right for one reason or another. Okay, so “loving” may be a strong verb. But I have high hopes that this time next month, I’ll be loving it even more. I have heard the more feedback you give, the better your next fix will be. And I certainly did LOVE all the little touches Stitchfix provides. The cost is $20.00 per fix which applies as credit to whatever you buy and free shipping either way! Not to mention the sweet note from my stylist and the style suggestion cards they send. Such FUN.

If you are at all interested in trying StitchFix, I recommend you give it a shot! You go online and fill out this extensive style profile that really helps them know “who” you are and what you like. Another thing I did was create a style Pinterest board, and then they get the link to it to assist them in knowing what I like. If you DO decide to try Stitchfix, will you consider using my referral code? Click HERE to hop over there! They give credit when we share the Stitchfix love with others. <3 Also, I definitely want to know if you have tried it in the past and what you thought!

Well that about wraps up my March! I’m linking up with Emily over at Chatting at the Sky and Leigh Kramer sharing what we learned and what we are in to! What about you? What did you learn this month?

Check out all my other “What I Learned” posts here.

Real Moms Need Grace

March 20, 2015 by HappyGoStuckey 16 Comments

I am often shocked by how much grace I need. How many new mercies I find myself requiring each and every single morning.

Especially as a mother. Way back when I wore purple yarn ribbons in my pigtails and unicorns on my sneakers, I wanted to be a mom. My mom practically has a Master’s degree in nurturing others. She served us all so well that she often fell asleep at red lights just to catch up on rest. She loved us all and loved us fervently. I saw what it meant to truly sacrifice for another and I wanted to be someone’s mother way back then.

And now, when I look into the little faces looking up at me, I cannot help but wish sometimes that I didn’t mess up so often. But more than I would ever want them to have a perfect mother, I want for them to have a REAL mother. To see that real moms love big and mess up sometimes.

One day, I hope they will be in my shoes– and when they look back as I often do, I pray that they will remember that in this imperfect house, we loved big and forgave much.

As they look at themselves, I pray that they give themselves the GRACE to know that love is risky and people are flawed.

And more than anything that we would want to teach the upturned faces that look up at us and follow close behind us, I pray that they see that REAL moms need grace.

Real moms can be tired and cranky and impatient and oh yeah– sinners in desperate DAILY need of a SAVIOR.

And maybe just one day in the far off future, they will grow up to be real moms in need of grace too. I pray they grab hold of that grace from God’s own hand every day. That they never lose sight of the fact that grace is more than just something we need when we mess up, but it’s the lifeblood that keeps us daily in His service and always at His feet.

“Grace isn’t about having a second chance; grace is having so many chances that you could never use them throughout all eternity and never come up empty. It’s when you finally realize that the other shoe isn’t going to drop, ever. It’s the moment you feel as precious and handmade as every star, when you feel, finally, at home for the very first time. Grace is when you stop keeping score and when you realize that God never was, that His game is a different one entirely.”

–Shauna Niequist, Bittersweet

I’m back linking up with the Five Minute Friday Party Girls today! Check them out over here—

Growth in the Quiet Places, (or why I only need one shoe.)

March 10, 2015 by HappyGoStuckey 16 Comments

Confession time: I am a terrible gardener.

That is not to say I don’t love plants and flowers– because I do. I love the idea of having produce and flowers at my fingertips year round– and I love a little trip to Lowe’s garden center as much as anyone… but that is usually as far as it goes. I forget my plants. I neglect to water them. I love them and take photos of them to plaster on Instagram like any mother earth would– and then I completely forget they even exist.

It’s Lorelai Gilmore and Skippy the Hamster all over again.

Until the plants die, and then I’m crushed and I curse the Georgia clay and the beautiful shade-producing trees in our backyard and then my sweet husband reminds me that they lived a half life of being dehydrated most of the time. Oops.

So this year I purposed to be different, starting with the hydrangeas in our front yard. So much so that I pinned thoughts on taking care of them. Quickly learning I needed to “winterize” them by pruning before the buds came in, I marched outside armed with my pruning shears and big fat plans to get them ready for spring. (Spoiler alert, hydrangeas have to be pruned way before winter is nearly over, so if you’re reaching for your own pruning shears– I have to break it to you– we both missed the boat this year.)

As I approached my brown, spindly dead-looking hydrangeas, I was completely startled to see them bearing new buds. In a yard full of dry, dormant plants, and without any help from me– they were pushing forward to the next thing. These tiny buds of spring were startling to me and I thought about them for several days. Even now, they remind me that not only is Spring coming– and we can’t stop it even if we try.

New growth comes after these seasons of quiet, of rest, of space where it seems nothing is happening for crying out loud.

And though I know I need rest, I want specific rest. I want rest in my way, in the manner and form that I think I need it. So often I think of rest as something I willingly choose and enjoy with a good book or a pedicure.

But sometimes rest is exactly the opposite of desirable.

Sometimes rest is that which puts us in a place that feels ten steps back.

Two weeks ago, I had the amazing honor of speaking to a group of women on the topic of rest, margin and whitespace. I told them something along the lines of, “Beware of not allowing yourself to rest– God knows you need it, and He just might give it to you.”

And then. Two days later I sat in an Orthopedist’s office as he gave me this:

Stress Fracture. Hello, six week boot. I am not pleased to meet you.

And I pitched a royal fit. Not in his office because well, I have some decorum.

But after, and I’m somewhat ashamed to say that every day since then I’ve asked the question with all the whine of a petulant child, “REALLY? Why now?”

Clearly, I don’t mind slowing down on my terms. Every afternoon around 2:30 I slow down with coffee and words. Each night around 10PM I slow down with Wild Orange Oil and a fluffy pillow. But slow down in such a way that makes me miss my favorite form of exercise for six weeks and leaves me hobbling eight steps behind my children like a frustrated female version of Downton Abbey’s John Bates? No, thank you.

Le Sigh. But there is a purpose to this “rest time” and as much as I come into it kicking and screaming, I certainly do not wish to waste it.

If the budding Hydrangeas have taught me nothing else… I know that the quiet should not be underestimated– for growth is happening under the surface.

And that things happen when we embrace the rest. Embrace the empty-spaces. Embrace the time where it appears nothing is happening.

And even though this lesson is one I have been learning way back when it was still last year,

I am choosing again, anew, to respect the process and soak it all in.

What process are you soaking in today? Would love your thoughts. <3

Prepping for Easter (and a book review!)

March 4, 2015 by HappyGoStuckey 2 Comments

Growing up, my parents were always careful that Jesus and His resurrection were the focus of Easter. Sure, we had chocolate bunnies and new clothes for Sunday– but all of that was a far second to the beauty and hope of Easter. I remember sitting in church on Easter Sunday and staring down at my white lacy socked feet sticking straight out from the red pew and listening to the message filled with Salvation and Truth. Probably while also wondering if I could sneak a bite of bunny ears after church and before lunch. Easter has always been extra special to me, as I actually came to Christ as a result of a Easter Flannel Graph story. My sweet school teacher shared the story with us one morning the week before Easter Sunday. If you don’t know what a Flannel Graph is, I am very sorry to have just dated myself.

Now as a parent, I face a different challenge when it comes to preparing our family for Easter and it isn’t Easter clothes and Reese’s Eggs. It’s Golf.

Where we live there’s a little sporting event every April, maybe you’ve heard of it– The Masters?

The Master’s is a HUGE honor for our town and we, as a city spend much of the year preparing our homes, lawns and businesses for that one week.

We even commonly rent our house out that week so that adds another element of preparation.

Most years, Easter falls very soon after Masters and therefore, Easter always seems to sneak up on us.

No matter what we plan to do in preparation of our hearts, the last few weeks prior it to find us running ragged and being far from home.

This year in particular, Easter Sunday will be the Sunday before the tournament begins– adding even more crazy!

So what do we do? Well, in a few words, we have to be much more Intentional as we prepare for Easter Sunday.

I am planning early and planning to take our “Easter” with us. That way wherever we are in the days leading up to and after Resurrection Sunday, we can have the tools we need to be purposeful in teaching our children and in preparing our own hearts. I am happy to have a few neat, creative tools to assist us in doing just that.

One thing we love are these Resurrection Eggs! They allow our girls to interact with the story, and the hands on learning is perfect for their age level.

I recently had the opportunity to snag a free copy of The Beginner’s Bible Come Celebrate Easter Sticker and Activity Book by Kelly Pullen to review and I’m so glad I did.

This full-color book has story pages, color by number sheets, over 50 stickers and more activities to further teach the story of Easter. The book takes you step by step from when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem all the way to His ascension. The illustrations are typical of the Beginner’s Bible, colorful and happy. Though the pages are a bit glossy, they are rather thick, making it a great book for coloring. My kindergartener is perfectly content with this book for quite a while. What I love most about the sticker & activity book is that it is exactly on her reading and artistic level and as she enjoys the activities, she’s learning more Bible truth.

I think this would make an excellent little gift to stick into a child’s Easter basket. It would also be the perfect thing to go ahead and pick up now as we look ahead to next month. There are many sweet spring books available and even a few quality books that focus on the true meaning of Easter, but this is the first interactive book I have seen. Its’ engaging and colorful pages have been poured over frequently in our house lately. Consider picking up one for the littles in your house!

I am appreciative for the opportunity to give my honest opinion of this book, thank you BookLook Blogger Team!

I was given a free copy of The Beginner’s Bible Come Celebrate Easter Sticker and Activity Book in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

What I learned in March

Real Moms Need Grace

Growth in the Quiet Places, (or why I only need one shoe.)

Prepping for Easter (and a book review!)

*All amazon links are affiliate links.

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