Look at the view from here...

If I could have known at 14 that my life would lead here, living next to the Rocky Mountains with my childhood love & our two hilarious little boys, I would have thought my future life turned out  perfectly... But what I wouldn't have seen are the real life mountains I had to climb to get here. I wouldn't have seen how low the valleys are in-between. I couldn't have understood the childhood trauma I'd begin to unravel: the anxiety, the confusion, the pain of losing what I once had. The journey and process of  beginning to find myself again every day as an adult.

There's no way I could have comprehended what I know now and thank God I didn't know then. But damn, I've made it far. I'm working hard and grateful every day that driving towards the mountains means going home.  I'm still chasing this boy from church camp, living out my dream as a mother raising two of my very best friends.

I wish 14 year old Gillian could see this picture and I'm glad it would make her happy. It makes me smile to think of the joy I'd feel and how naive & hopeful I was then.

Life is far from the perfect fairy tale I would have imaged looking at this photo, but wow- look at view from here...

Holidays 2019

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

 

Here's to the fact that I got my boys to wear matching outfits and smile (begrudgingly) for the camera. These were taken on Thanksgiving after we had 16 inches of snow in Fort Collins. Today is Christmas and I think I was more excited about waking up this morning than the kids and I hardly slept last night... Seeing my boys peek into the living room on Christmas morning is one of the happiest moments of parenthood for me! Santa brought bean bag chairs and a foosball table this year. Roman's face was absurdly cute when he was genuinely excited to see the foosball table after ripping off the paper. :) 

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas Day; thanks for stopping by. ☺️