Bloggers of the Day!!! (chosen randomly from yesterday’s comments)

• A Road More Balanced – Allie rock climbs and how awesome is that?! I also love her insightful thoughts
• Keep’n the Faith – Kat keeps a great balance of fun posts and post that share great tips and topics
• Embrace Your Skin – Camille has a marathon this Sunday! Good luck!!!!

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A dream is a wish your heart makes…when you’re fast asleep…Hold up. Fast asleep? Ha! No one in this house is fast asleep this morning. Including the rugrat who will no longer sleep past 6 am and robs me of my quiet time. I almost titled this post “A Grill Can Dream”. Yes, I’m sleepy and distracted. But I refuse to let a disturbed morning give my day a rocky start again. So, I dream.

Awhile ago, Gina shared her vision of her life in 10 years and how empowering it felt to picture. While I certainly feel blessed with my current life, that also doesn’t stop me from having dreams for what the future holds. Gina mentioned the personal nature of sharing such thoughts and how vulnerable it made her feel. I can understand that. I know I have mentioned during the 30 Days of Self-Love and other posts that I have hopes for my future, but still have never really delved into what those entail. So, grab a cup of coffee (like I most certainly did) and let me tell you all about it.

Family – I envision a family of four. We have the freedom to do many things together, including the hikes and outdoor activities we currently enjoy so much. We will also have traveled to some fun places and shared new experiences. On an everyday basis, I will be involved in my children's school and hobbies, able to cheer them on and provide for them however they need. Peter & my relationship will have continued to strengthen and our bond will only have grown closer. While things certainly may not seem as exciting and crazy as in the Kardashian family (thank God!), we will have love and never take it for granted.

Personal Wellness – In the future, I will continue to have a balanced approach to health. I will have reached my goal of getting back to my “happy place” years ago, about a year after baby B was born, and maintained it since. During these years, I will also have learned more and continued to make improvements to my value of food and understanding of what works for my body. I hope to be more mindful of ingredients, more skilled in food preparation, and 100% aware of the best choices for my body and my family.

Faith – I will feel closer to God than ever. Prayer will come even more naturally than it does now. I will have developed more relationships in my church and found my fit for how to serve. I will act as a great example to my children. I will be a bit calmer too…which believe me, can pose a struggle right now.

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Work – This one is probably the hardest to share on the blog, because it involves the blog. I cannot express enough how much blogging means to me. It is my special thing. My creative baby. I seriously would love love love for it to grow enough to help me earn a bit of money for my family, allowing me the freedom to work on my own time and “be my own boss” as they say. I do not have delusions about this at all, though. I never anticipate (or even dream of) becoming the next big blog or even it becoming something that would compare to a full income.

My main hope is for it to simply gain enough momentum to where it can compare to any extra pick-up work I would be doing when my kids go back to school a few years from now or for it to work easily alongside other ventures such as personal training, group fitness, or if I’m lucky, some writing possibilities while providing extra for my family. This is not the be-all-end-all hope for my future, but it is what I would love to do. And please, do not feel like I blog or connect with you all for this sole purpose. I blog because I truly love it and each of you.

If I knew this would go absolutely nowhere, it would not change anything right now or anywhere in the near future. I cannot imagine myself now without blogging because I value it that much. It truly is one of my biggest passions now and I can’t deny the place in my heart that says to pursue it - mostly because I love it, but also because who knows if it is part of a path God placed me on to become something a bit more. I hope that makes sense. I also hope you know I keep a realistic attitude and have no expectations but to keep on keeping on and wish you all to join me. 🙂

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I feel a bit odd putting all that out there. However, I never shy away from sharing. Even when it does make me feel a bit vulnerable and exposed (in general). Or silly/guilty (when it comes to the blog bec I don't want you all thinking that why I do it).

• What are some of your hopes and dreams?

Let me go ahead and spell it out for you. I did not like today. It was hard, tiring, frustrating, and really tested my patience. Makenzie woke up almost two hours early and remained super cranky throughout the entire day. The one day this week I hoped to have time to get things accomplished vanished before my eyes. I was in one of my hormonal induced moods and felt angry and stressed. Good thing Ashley from Nourishing the Soul helped squelch all that. She has started a special Blogger Series called Self Discovery: Word by Word which features a different word and topic each month for anyone around the blogging world to share. Check out the link for details on how to participate!

When Ashley contacted me, asking for my participation, I gladly accepted. I originally intended to do a more thorough discussion of the topic and something more profound. Well, I needed a dose of gratitude and perspective today. I just needed a reminder! I usually do a good job keeping things in check on my own, but I’m only human and some days I need a little help. Today I choose to listen to my gut. Instead of a more analytical and inspiring post, I will simply write what I need to remember – all the things which deserve my gratitude.

Despite her keeping my hands more full than usual today, I still could not imagine my life without her. She never fails to make me laugh. She gives my life purpose. And I am also so thankful that I have the blessing to stay home with her. I know how truly lucky that makes me.

You all know I love fall. Being able to enjoy the outdoors and see scenes like this deserves gratitude. Life is too wonderful to pass it by without taking a second look at our surroundings.

While at the park with friends, which I am also thankful for, I even recognized that I have gratitude for nasty public restrooms. I originally took this picture to gripe about “hover worthy” restrooms at parks. How about I appreciate the fact I have such luxuries as running water, plumbing, electricity, etc? After all, without electricity I would not have been able to easily whip up these….

Pumpkin Nutella Oats. I know my Twitter pals loved the idea of this one. 😉 Now looking at this picture I don’t simply see a delicious bowl of food for breakfast. I also see food. In abundance. I have easy access to food, which is more than many in the world can say. How thankful I should be for that!

I almost didn’t work out this afternoon thanks to stress. Then, I decided I need to show gratitude to my body for all it can do and treat it with respect. I know it longs for activity when I feel this way and I always feel better afterwards. So I did some TurboKick again. Today was no different and I’m so thankful to my body for taking care of me, my baby, and knowing just what to do at all times.

Most importantly, I need to show gratitude to God. Without Him, my life would likely still resemble a shattered mirror broken across the floor and trampled over by my own insecurities and doubts. He saved me and continues to save me. He loves me and gives me peace every time I open my heart to Him in prayer. No matter what inappropriate words may have left my mouth moments before. 😉

Blessing surrounds us and we need to walk into its sweet embrace every day. Some days prove more difficult than others. Believe me, I know. However, if we take a second look at things and pause to breathe, we often find beauty that leaves us with nothing but gratitude. I started my day overwhelmed with annoyance. I will end it overwhelmed with gratitude.

***Ashley’s post on gratitude today really inspired me. She discussed how it creates a new reality and even the smallest things deserve our gratitude. Katie wrote how sharing gratitude helps you feel it more strongly yourself. I highly recommend reading both of these amazing posts from these beautiful women.***

• What are YOU thankful for today? Small or large…it all counts!