Our Happy Place

The pool is our happy place. 

In the water I'm not defined or confined by my wheelchair. 

I can hold William on my hip & even WALK with him. 

It's truly MAGIC!

I didn't even realize it, but I use one hand to hold onto Will & then I single arm dip us down to the ground to transfer into the pool. 

Then I set Will to the side while I transfer into the water first. 

Once we got used to the chilly water temperature & started splashing and 

playing Willam warmed right up.

When it comes time to get out I set William on the edge first and then I get myself out of the pool, which is more challenging than you'd think. 

Since I'm mostly paralyzed from the waist down, I'm basically lifting dead weight. But once I get the majority of my legs out of the water I do a little twist so I'm back sitting on the edge.

Daddy's able to get way more height & all the smiles. 

It's not hard to get smiles out of this kid when we are in the 

water splashing & being thrown around. 

I love how these photos capture how I get in and out of the pool without fully-functioning legs. 

First I have to push myself up out of the pool high enough that I can twist my body and sit on the edge. 

After getting out of the water my legs go stiff and I have to force them down so I can get back into my wheelchair. Meanwhile, William was on the runaway. 

It was so much fun working with Mersadi Olson Photography to capture the 

simple & magical moments in the water.

LESS IN 2019

For the past DECADE, I have chosen a word or phrase for each new year. It crazy to use the word decade because that makes me realize how much older I'm getting. Here's a quick recap of the past 10 years:

BEING BOLD in 2009

RECKLESS in 2010

SOPHISTICATED in 2011

AUDACIOUS in 2012

LIMITLESS in 2013

RESTARTING in 2014

AUTHENTIC in 2015

PERSEVERING in 2016

SIMPLIFY in 2017

 BEING STILL in 2018

When I first started a yearly theme I'd also make a yearly bucket list things that I wanted to accomplish that year. I'd scribble them down in Crayola markers on printer paper taped together in a long list. As the years have passed, the way I set goals and review my year has changed, especially since I had a baby. With an overall theme for the year, I have a few larger overarching goals. But I try and break them down month by month and keep myself accountable so I don't get to the end of the year & wonder what happened. I break my bigger goals into smaller more attainable goals to get me there.

The past two years, my themes have come to me rather easily. These past few months I've felt this phrase pulling at my heart& mind to CONSUME LESS & CREATE MORE. When it came time to choose my word, it was clear:

 LESS in 2019


(I started off the new year of less in less clothing, thanks to my Albion Fit swimsuit.)

Less hustle, less distractions, less junk, less comparison, less media & less of what does not bring true & everlasting joy. My hope is as I do LESS, consume LESS & have LESS that I will find MORE - more stillness, more joy, more writing, more connection, more beauty, more present moments with my ever growing baby & family and 
MORE of what matters most. 

Last year, I made many trips to the local DI and donation centers. I've tried to get rid of excess and live simply, but it seemed to be never ending process. Then I listened to The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up & I've already started the tidying up process. 

Part of my goal this year is consume less and create more. For me writing is my creative outlet - hence this blog & all my journals. So with this new year and wanting to create more I plan on incorporating more writing, both publicly and personally. With this theme I've also set other goals, but with an ever growing baby I want to keep it simple & have less goals and check lists so I can focus on what matters most. 

The years seems to be speeding up & so instead of reflecting on my theme at the end of the year, one of my goals this year is to reflect each month. That way I can reevaluate & set small goals to make sure I'm staying on track. To be truthful, being still in 2018 was not as still as I was planning & I wish I'd taken time each month to reflect on how I was doing with my theme. But overall 2018 was a success, I'm not going to reflect on 2018 here because this post is for the future, for the new year, for all the hopes, dreams, goals & intentions I have for this new year.