Running My Own Race

Sometimes when I get up in the morning and things are more clear from a good nights rest I will have the most amazing epiphanies. This morning I had a beautiful thought and wanted to share.

I am fairly competitive in just about everything I do. So often times when I view the world I view it as a race. However lately I've been thinking that we don't always start at the same point as everyone else. Example: I know people who were raised in loving homes and that from a young age their main focus in life was to thrive in the world where they were placed. They had people to guide and direct their life, and help them to see there great potential. They seem to have started out ahead a bit in the race. On the flip side of that I know several people who grew up in homes that were merely about survival. From a young age they were in a daily situation of self preservation for their emotional and physical selves. They didn't have help at home on homework or science fair projects. They merely hoped to make it through another day and often times to remain as invisible as possible another self preservation tactic. From my race view of the world I have thought well they started behind the others. So my rationale for a few weeks as been that everyone is starting from different places and will therefore get to the finish line at different times.

Today my big breakthrough was that we aren't running a race against others at all. This life granted to us by a loving Father in Heaven is not about competing with others, it is all about our own individual race. In high school I ran hurdles. I was okay at them, and mostly ran them because my dad had run them when he was in high school. As I tried to beat other scores and compete with those on my team and others I often felt discouraged. But as I practiced and put in the effort and focused on only me and what I was going to achieve I improved. I didn't improve to the point of winning every race or even placing most times, but I improved enough to run at Region as a sophomore a huge accomplishment for me. I realized today that in my own personal race it is all about personal bests.

I am running my own race on my own course. My course can be on level ground sometimes and many times it includes steep inclines, grueling obstacles and often times stormy weather. But I'm not competing against anyone. I am fighting for my own personal best.

I look at those who started out on bumpy courses and see the strength that they have as they continue to race the good race. To continue to get up when they have fallen and to achieve their personal bests.

As a mother I have learned this lesson over and over again. When I compare myself, my children or my marriage to others and then try to compete with what I see of others lives I only seem to feel more discouraged. Mostly because it seems that when my course is particularly bumpy I often look over and think "oh so and so is doing so well" thinking we are running the same race when that person might just be on a level surface of their current race.

When my competitive streak is directed toward myself is when I see the greatest actual achievement versus when I am trying to best someone else I usually don't do as well. When I focus on where I am on the course. What I am facing, and how best to get through the next section and improve my own personal best is when I seem to find contentment, real improvement and success.

So here's to running our own race and besting our own personal best whatever that maybe.

Some lovin in the Kitchen

I found these yesterday...such happy inspiration. I would love any of these kitchens. Hope you enjoy. They are all from Better Homes and Gardens...Go here

Lovin the white so crisp and clean.

I think these are my power colors...every time I see yellow and red I feel happy and energized.


Gray cabinets...so in love.

So blue and white is one of my new favorite combinations. It makes me think of being at the ocean and for some reason England. Both make me feel at peace and happy.

Love the yellow and blue...doesn't it just scream summer, sunshine and blue skies.

I love the play with a few colors...gives the room just a subtle punch.

I Love these green cabinets. They are so soothing

I think this is my favorite room. I am so in love with it. I love the bowls. The crisp white with the bright blue and bold red. I think I would just sit in this room forever and never leave. LOVe. LOVe. LOVe
Happy Friday!!

What I want for My Guest House

If I had a big piece of land I would totally get this for a guest house. I LOVE it. It just makes me happy. This is the inspiration for a fun Cousin's Camp we are doing in a few months. For now lets just look and enjoy....so fun. Go here to see more pics.

Bone's Season Finale Party

I don't watch a lot of TV mostly because our nights are so crazy, but I am a huge fan of the show Bones. It has the who done it mystery with some forensics and science and a lot of chemistry between characters without being too scary or smutty. Last night was the Season 6 Finale. My sister and I had a little party and watched...waiting to see what happened. I won't give it away but it was a fun show. Our menu...consisted of Hot Blooded Tamales, Wong Foo's Chocolate Bones (pretzels)Take out, Lime in the Coconut Colada's in honor of Vincent, and since in this episode Bone's and Booth go undercover to a bowling alley...we had a Bones and Bowling Alley theme with Nachos. It was so fun.

Our Nachos

Wong Foo's is a restaurant from an earlier season and the Hot Blooded is Bone's and Booth's song.

My favorite were these bowling shirt plates I found at Zurchers. Aren't they awesome.

We were so busy watching we didn't take any pictures of us....oh well. It was a fun night to celebrate one of my favorite TV couples and a great show. If you are a Bones watcher what did you think? We were screaming at the end. Can't wait till September.

Check out these and many more amazing prints created by my friend Lindey. She is selling them on Etsy and they are not only beautiful but a great price. Go here. and hope you enjoy.

A Gift for Me and Something Extra for Another

Check out this video:

We had a family celebration on Sunday and part of that was an early celebration of my birthday. I have been wanting a pair of TOM's shoes for awhile and so my family gave me $ to put toward them. I am super excited to own my new TOM's shoes....plus I love that when I put them on, somewhere in the world a child will also have a new pair too. I love this concept of making a quality product and then making a difference albeit small in the life of someone else. If you're interested in checking out these shoes go here.

The Power of a Sixth Sense and the Power of Contentment

A few weeks ago Mr. M and I went on a quick date. We have been trying to go out weekly. Which can actually pose many challenges. This particular week I had scheduled a babysitter for a week/school night and so we had about 1 hour. I thought maybe a yogurt and a trip around the block and back home again. Mr. M had another idea...the library. It was such a fun date, even though we ended up spending most of our hour individually perusing books in different sections of the library. It was on this library date that I found a golden treasure. It is a book called Hannah Keeley's Total Mom Makeover: The Six-Week Plan to Completely Transform Your Home, Heath, Family and Life. It screamed at me to pick it up and I have been working on my total transformation for the last few weeks. I could go on for several blog posts about how much this book as truly benefited my life and helped me to create a clear vision for my career choice of motherhood.

Today however I want to share one of my exercises for today because it was powerful. She was talking about including your 5 senses in your home and increasing the beauty and peace you find. Then she came to what she turned her "Sixth Sense" " More information is communicated through your sixth sense than through all your other sense combine3d. Your environment can look taste, smell, sound and feel great, but if you don have a spirit of gratitude, something will feel a bit off."

And here is my favorite part..."You bless your home in powerful ways when you first consider it a blessing to you and your family. Even if it is not your "dream house," begin right now to appreciate those wall that enclose you and the roof that keeps you sheltered.....Let your gratitude permeate every nook and cranny of where you life, and it will light up your home with beauty."

I sat reading today and realized how powerful this statement truly is. I can decorate and fill, beautify and improve my surroundings but until I can recognize the blessings and focus on my gratitude I will not truly be comfortable or content where I am.

For me this rings true. I have a small home with many people. I often view this as a challenge instead of being thankful for the opportunities my children are learning to share and become closer together. Of the skills I have learned in organizing and simplifying. Of the considerably lower mortgage payment we have which will hopefully help us to better achieve our financial goals. I live on a busy street and don't feel comfortable letting my kids play in our front yard by themselves and because of my location we do not readily have lots of kids nearby. Again I realized I could see the blessings in my children learning how to work on friendships and find creative things to do in our home and our backyard. They are diligent about not going in the road and have learned how to be observant when they are out in the front. All skills that are useful and will benefit them in the future.

There is great power in using our sixth sense. Power in finding contentment even in not so desirable circumstances. How do you find gratitude in your surroundings? I would love to hear your input.

For more information on Hannah Keeley go here.

Have a wonderful Tuesday.

Emily