processing.

 

 This picture makes me sick inside. Sick to my stomach.  Sick in my heart.

My heart aches for the mamas and daddies.

For the spouses.

The heroic teachers and staff.

My heart breaks into a million pieces thinking of those tiny innocent bodies.

My heart is even sad for the shooter--and that one human being is capable of such a sickness.

Because of my job as a school counselor, I am unfortunately used to having to daily process my emotions at the days end regarding the sessions I have with elementary students--grief, loss, abuse, depression, neglect, etc.  But, I am having trouble processing this as a mom, as an educator, as a Christian and as a human being. 

I think even though we may be far removed from the situation, this tragedy is finding a way to hit all of us hard in some way or another. It's another evil thing in this world to leave us raw.  Hurt. Questioning. Sick.

So now what?  How will I let this impact me?

Will I trust people less and fear more?

Will I believe in the evil over the good?

Will I question the goodness of God?

Or 

Will I be driven to let good overcome evil?

Will I  believe in hope and grace for all humans?

Will I push myself to be more aware of students' emotional needs?

Will I push myself to be more aware of my child's emotional needs?

 I cannot begin to imagine what those involved have gone through, are going through and the pain that they'll endure, but I do know these things:

God is good.

Those sweet children are dancing with Jesus.

This life is temporary and our home is not here on earth.

There is hope in the hurt.

We need to love each other more.

For whatever it's worth,  those are my thoughts.

Whisper those names in your prayers today.

Giveaway!

Check out this awesome giveaway on a pals awesome blog--I may or may not be involved in the goods! :)

ENTER HERE! 

Good Luck :)

Open for business.

A little apprehensive about it, but I'm opening up my Etsy shop again.  It will probably be slow going---maybe no going, but I like the thought of having a small eeeny weenie teeny business on the side.  It's kind of exciting :) 

In the shop now:

I'm kind of a fan of one of a kind, so each item is custom made to fit YOUR style.  

Check 'em out if you want! 

My Shop!

Michaels. AKA:heaven.

So, after work today I went to Michael's.  You know, the arts and crafts store.  We have a little history, me and Michael's.  It was my first job, you see.  I had the apron.  I had the buttons. And boy did I hate the smell when I went in to work...all that fragrant crafty stuff.  I just wanted to stay in the middle of the aisles and put stuff away.  Quiet, in my own little world, where I didn't have to talk to anyone and pretend I knew what i was doing.  Then they expected me to work as a cashier---are you kidding me?!  They should have known how socially awkward and anxious I was, how rude.  Ugh.  There would be times that I would go into a Michael's after I had no longer worked there and as I would walk in and smell that familiar smell and hear that familiar elevator music they played over and over and over and...ahem, sorry...I would get hit with disgust and anxiety over the job I previously despised.

Oh silly me.

I am a much different person these days.  It's like I shed my outer skin and now emerged into a crafty creative butterfly....shoot...I just described a snake and a caterpillar.  You get the idea.  I evolved.  :)

Today, and well every time I frequent Michael's now, I drink in that waft of fragrance as I walk through the doors, I stop for a brief second and I do a happy dance---inside my head of course---and I smile.  Especially this time of year--the scents, the overflow of Christmas crafts and falalalala-ness!  It's quite yummy.

I spent much too much time and money today on crafts, gifts, school supplies and a craft for Everett.  But hello there educator discount!  Boy, that little deal is sure a nice splice of goodness when I'm at the checkout.  Thanks for employing me district #279 so I can feed my Michael's addiction. 

And, thank you Michael's for bringing a smile to my face today.

Christmas Freak Flag.

We are flying our Christmas freak flag (as Kelle Hampton would say) high here in the Larson household.  The tree is up, the fire is crackling and Christmas tunes are buzzing in the background.  Next up,  the arrival of my parentals and yummy Chinese food to follow up yesterday's festivities of gratitude.  Love love LOVE this time of year!

Happy Friday.

Things I am loving right now.

1.

Licorice tea.  This stuff is the bomb.  Morning, noon or night I indulge in this treat. Pinkies up ladies, its tea time!

 

2. 

 

 

 This handsome little doll has caught my eye for awhile now.  I think he will find his way under our Christmas tree for a special little boy.  Hello...mustache AND lumberjack.  I die.  Found on Etsy here.

3. 

Yes, yes...a new bag.  But I couldn't resist.  It's actually a new old bag because I scored this at Goodwill!  Seriously loving it--great for all the mommy essentials I need to fit in.  AND its a Vera Bradley...I'm not a huge brand person, but I think that's a big deal.  The kicker...$7.00!

4. 

I have caved and created the ever so popular 'collage wall' in Everett's room.  I love that there are no rules for this.  It's coming along and I'm excited to add to it.  I actually just ordered the little treasure below to add to it!

5.   No picture can explain my love for Christmas music.  But I am LOVING listening to my Pandora Christmas station :)  C'mon now, who doesn't love Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas is You" or a little Bing Crosby.  Yeah....that's what I thought.

What are you loving right now?

Free fun for toddlers!

So, I was doing my usual ritual of of scanning Pinterest before I fell asleep last night and I noticed one of my friends pinned something really awesome (ok, seriously...everything is awesome on Pinterest)!  Its a website where you can turn your photos into coloring pages for your children--amazing, right? 

So, I used a few of our family photos and did just that!

Everett was very excited to see these and has proceeded to scribble color beautiful masterpieces! :)  I think these would be really fun to implement into my job too!!

original pin here

coloring pages website here

It's free to do.  It will say you have to pay...but just right click your pictures and save as and there you go!  

Happy Coloring!

It's been a long time comin'....

Finally.

FINALLY!

For those who know me well, you know that having these family pictures taken was a big deal.  I'll spare you the pathetic and ridiculously obnoxious sob story and just say that these pictures are everything I wanted and more!  Thanks to our friend Mark Fierst at www.markfierstphotography.com we have some pretty awesome pictures we will be PROUD to hang in our home and show off!  I feel so adult now having family pictures.

I think  its safe to say we were his most challenging family photo session by far, but with his expertise, he was able to capture Everett's smile in between all the tears, tantrums and snot.  By the pics, you'd never guess he was a little terror that day!

Here are my favorites from the shoot---so hard to pick!

Do yourself a favor and go take a look at Mark's website.  He's got great style, patience and he's affordable!

Thank you Mark for giving me a happy heart today as I look at how well you captured my marriage, my family and our love for each other.

Fall. Family. Fun.

Here are some pictures of some fall family fun we've had with both Curt's family and mine over the past few weekends.  Fall leaves....crisp air....hotel rooms.....cabins....family....I'm sad that both of our vacations are over!  At least I have some pictures to remember them by!

With Curt's family we took a long awaited trip to the Bayfield Apple Festival---somewhere we have not had the chance to visit again since we got engaged!  It was so great!  We rented out a large cabin for us all to stay in and it was---heavenly!  All tucked away in the woods and warm and cozy.  It was just what the doctor ordered for a fall obsessed girl like me!

This past weekend for MEA break, we (Curt, Everett and MY family)  ventured up to Crosslake for a fall getaway.  We had a yummy Italian feast, walked across the Mississippi River at Itasca State Park and had some fun pool time with all of the kiddos.  Not much was planned, but that made it all the better---utter relaxation.  Ok, so with a toddler there is only so much relaxation involved, but it was a perfect balance of chaos and vacation.

Have I mentioned I love fall?

Next fall centered activity in the books?  Family pictures next weekend along with pumpkin patch and Halloween party!  Yowza!

What do you do to celebrate fall?