Fall Edition Newsletter Plus a Few Extras

The weather sure has not felt like it and I don't think it will for the next week or two, but it's officially Fall!!

In hopes that things will start to cool down soon, I bring you the Fall Edition of my Newsletter, The Simple Life. It's filled with the latest and greatest to get you in the mood for Fall. I have really enjoyed putting these Newsletters together! To grab a free copy, click the download button below.

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And if you missed the Premiere Issue, you can download it here ---> The Simple Life: Summer Edition.

Be sure to check back, this Saturday, for all the details on this year's Write 31 Days Challenge! This is such fun challenge that I have participated in, for the past 3 Octobers.  I will be talking to you about the topic I chose for this year, plus a little twist on how I will be participating. If you are interested in joining along with tons of fabulous other writers/bloggers, click the photo below for all the details. I will be kicking off the writing challenge with my "5 Days of Fall Favs" giveaway. A little incentive to get you started and hopefully you will continue to follow along with me for the whole month of October. 

Here's to a fabulous Fall season filled with lots of love, hope, joy, and peace!!

Many Blessings,

New Season, New Ideas

With Fall right around the corner, and my house almost fully decorated for it, I am finally ready to say goodbye to Summer.

As I a lay here in bed all day, thanks to some sort of stomach bug I picked up, I decided to look through some of the photos I took over the Summer.  We did a lot of fun things together as a family and I tried to make the most of every day. I used my Instax Mini Polaroid camera  to take photos of all the big, memorable things we did. I had so much fun putting this album together.

The highlight of Summer was our trip to the beach for a week. We rented a house with my husband's parents and his sister and her hubby. My mom was here from Montana during that time, so she was able to come down and enjoy the beach as well. We had some family photos taken on the beach, and we made it to a few concerts that were amazing! I also had a chance to finish reading my book, we renovated our basement, and I was able to cross off a few fun projects that I wanted to do. It was definitely a Summer for the books.

As much as I love Summer, and wasn't quite ready for it to be over, Fall is my favorite season, and I am excited for what is to come. I have lots of new ideas to share with you guys. I am ready to inspire and be inspired. Be sure to check in this weekend and grab the Fall edition of my newsletter, The Simple Life. I will also be giving details about my '5 Days of Fall Fav's' Giveaway that will be happening from October 2-6. You don't want to miss out!

Many Blessings,

Back to School

It's no secret, I love to create things!! I am always looking for new and fun ways to capture memories and record them, so we can look back on them in the years to come.

I know that most kids are back to school already, but this fun little activity can still be done anytime this month.

Word Rocks

Last year my son started preschool at our church. I wanted to do something different with him that would be fun and memorable each year. I know that there are going to be different things that he will be faced with or have to learn about every year. I thought about how I choose a word for myself every year. Something that I really want to focus on or an area where I need to grow. I decided to do this with my son, but in a more simpler form. For his first year we chose the word 'courage', because we knew that it was going to be a year of firsts. We knew that he was probably going to be nervous and afraid, but we wanted to teach him that God would give him the strength and the courage to get through these things. And he did!! It was a great first year!!

This year we decided on the word, 'kindness'. He is a little older and more familiar, now, with his school. He is no longer afraid because he went last year, plus it helps that his school is also our church. I want him to focus this year on being kind to others, especially his classmates, who he will be with most of the week. This is very important to my husband and I, that our son learn, at an early age, to be kind to others. With the way the World is today, this a quality that we can't afford to overlook when raising our kids.

A few other fun things that I did with my son were, the first day of school board with all of his current stats and favorites, and I also made him an adult sized t-shirt that says "class of 2032" that he wore in the photo. I plan to have all of his teachers sign it every year!

There are so many fun things out there that you can do with your kids. It's never too late to start! Having these things to look back on when your littles are all grown up and out of the house, will mean so much!

Before I go, I created a fun freebie for you guys, in honor of my birthday, yesterday, and starting back to school this week!! Print one out and hang it up as a reminder!

Many Blessings,

What I Learned This Season: Summer Recap

Wow! September, where did you come from?! Did anyone else's Summer fly by like mine? Every year it seems to go by faster and faster.

Most of you know that I took a break form social media and blogging for the month of August. It was fabulous. At first, I missed it, but if I am being completely honest, it was amazing. Not worrying about what to write or post about. No giveaways or aimlessly scrolling through feeds. No drama or feeling like I need to keep up. Just time.

Lots of time, and I loved it!! This leads me to what I learned this Summer. It's not a list of things or anything super crazy. Just one simple, life changing lesson.

Here it is...

I don't want to miss the actual fabric of the interior of my life, the beautiful child growing up right this second, in my own home, (my husbands needs & loving friendships), because I am working to please people somewhere out there.  -Shauna Niequist (adapted by me)

Basically, I don't want to miss out on what is most important in this life. I was on the road that leads to destruction. Cramming my life with too much stuff and trying to keep up with the Joneses. I was trying to prove that I could do it all and be it all. Part of the reason for this is because of what I see on social media. I am so glad that I took a break from it. I plan on doing at least 4 times a year, maybe not as long, but it's definitely needed.

This Summer was great, and I am sure that there were other things I learned (like how to use a Circut and make a bunch of really cool stuff), but this is what it all came down to. There is nothing wrong with having passions and desires, but when they are left unchecked they can ruin you. They become your focus and you start to forget what is most important.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Summer. I would love to know what you learned. Be sure to check out Emily's blog, where tons of other bloggers link up to share what they have learned each season.

Many Blessings,