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by lindsaymwright

friday’s feelings

February 20, 2015 in Blessings, Blog, Family, Inspiration, Kids, Love, Marriage by lindsaymwright

**Originally titled, “Thursday’s Thoughts” but I forgot to schedule it to post…thus, “Friday’s Feelings.” Lol..whoops.**

I’m sitting here at the kitchen table (my “office”), sitting criss-cross-applesauce, listening to Clara sing to herself as she colors (beautifully, she colors so beautifully). The song is nondescript. She makes up the words as she goes and the melody sounds something similar to Frozen’s “Let It Go” only with her own words added in. Five minutes ago, I nursed Porter and laid him down in his bed for his morning nap. He’s now babbling from his crib and saying “dadadadada” in the sweetest little voice. Henry’s on my team and every time he hears Porter say “dada”, he quickly scolds him and says, “No. Say Mama. Maaaa-maaaaa.” I like having people on my team.

It’s snowing.

Like legit snowing.

On Monday the weather people called for snow and all we got was 3 inches of slippery, horrific ice. I had to cancel Trackstars because of it and that made me angry because exercise keeps me sane on “snow” days. Now it’s snowing and they may have gotten it right.

I recently made the mistake of visiting a certain website that hates on bloggers. I won’t link. Reading angry words from dark, anonymous people = things I’d rather not do. I have more to write on that….but not today. Not on my snow day.

Today I wanted to type out all of the things that make me happy. I’ll limit the list to twenty five but only because I still have chores I’d like to accomplish before Porter wakes up. Sometimes (no ALL the time) writing out these blessings helps to change my perspective. A great reminder that WE are in control of how we feel and not anyone else.

And today I feel awesome.

Things that make me happy

A burn-your-tongue-off HOT cup of coffee.

Snow days.

Warm days.

Sweet conversations with Clara that start with her saying, “Mama, when we go to heaven…”

A good sweat.

A good cry.

Planning our trip to Colorado in May.

SLLLLEEEEEEEEP.

Raising my kids.

Homeschooling my kids.

A husband who can ROCK a man-bun.

The “explore” feature on Instagram. #timesuck

Easily conveying the message with hashtags.

Burpees. And squats.

Group texts with Janetha and Lauren.

Blend Retreat and all the amazing things that have come from it.

Eating all the cookies out of cookies n’ cream ice cream.

Porter’s chubby feet.

Living in a small town.

The therapy I get from swiffering my floor.

Clean sheets (I actually need to buy a new set – any suggestions?)

Comfy clothes and no bra.

Singing on the worship team.

The excitement and thrill that SMOOOOVIE night brings my kids.

Cheering for others.

I love all of those things and so much more. How rich this life is. How blessed we are. Thank you, Father.

QUESTION: Three things that make YOU happy! GO!!!

splendid…lindsay

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by lindsaymwright

on the weekends we….

January 26, 2015 in Blessings, Blog, Family, Friends, Kids, Love, weekend by lindsaymwright

On the weekends we….

…play with new robots.

..attend ribbon cuttings.

…make the most of our time with dad.

…make cookies for bible study.

…then let mama lick the bowl clean (it’s what mamas do best).

…track our steps! (11,000 for Saturday, 10,000 for Sunday – wootwoot! This is the Garmin Vivofit Fitness Band .)

…spend an hour sweating with some really fun people.

…drink a leisurely cup of coffee over pancakes.

…feed our fish, Mert.

…eat raw fish (which just seems weird after the Mert picture…).

…take long walks with friends who also happen to be siblings.

…celebrate a friend’s birthday with some tag football.

…and spend LOTS of time in pajamas.

It’s just what we do.

QUESTION: One awesome thing YOU did this weekend?

splendid…lindsay

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by lindsaymwright

playing legos

October 8, 2014 in Blessings, Blog, Homeschooling, Intentional Living, Kids, Motherhood by lindsaymwright

I’d estimate that Henry spends an hour (or two) playing with Legos each and every day. The way that I homeschool allows for free play at various times throughout the day (read: we school for 20, play for 10) and Henry’s preferred “play” is Legos. I’ve yet to break it to him that he’s actually learning SO much while he plays.

How Legos provide a great school experience:

Lego provides tools that develop lateral thinking in a fun environment.
Teaches kids to think in three dimensions.
Improves literacy as kids work with instructions.
Develops problem-solving, organization, and planning by construction.
Improves creativity.
Enhances communication and critical thinking.
Boosts kids motor development.

{source}

As a mama who wants all of those things for her son, I’m SOLD. And Henry is SOLD as a builder. This kid, you guys. He is amazing when it comes to building with Legos. Yesterday (like most every day), he invited me into the front room to watch him build. I usually brush him off because …you know, I’ve got a billion other more important things to do like play around on Instagram or watch New Girl. But yesterday I chose a different path and plopped my pajama-clad bottom down with my son.

When you “play Legos” one person is the builder (Henry) while the other person is the helper (me). The helper simply picks up the Legos that are needed next and holds them in their hand while the builder goes to work. In being the helper, I was able to just sit there and watch my son’s brain work.

I learned a few things.

Henry is patient. He took his time and didn’t become flustered when the pieces didn’t line up correctly or something fell apart. Twice I noticed he calmed himself down by taking a big breath and refocusing.

Henry has a great memory. The set we worked on yesterday was one that he’s done probably 10-15 times. He didn’t need to look at the instructions (but he did because he wanted to make 100% sure it turned out right – Type A like his mother).

Henry is really fun to be around. As he built and as I sat helping, he cracked a couple of jokes that made me genuinely laugh. The kid is six years old and I enjoy hanging out with him. I know you’re rolling your eyes and saying pat yourself on the back, you like your son….but have you ever met a six year old boy?!? They aren’t always the best. But he IS.

I also learned that if I don’t take the time to be more of a “YES mom” to my kids I’ll be missing out on some really important stuff. Overall I’m pretty good at being present these days (that’s taken quite sometime to learn if you’ve been following along for the past few years) but I can always use a reminder.

“Playing Legos” – it’s been added to my task list.

QUESTION: Ever play with Legos?? What was your game of choice growing up?

splendid…lindsay

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by lindsaymwright

an easy reader

September 30, 2014 in Blessings, Blog, Faith, Family, Homeschooling, Intentional Living, Kids, Motherhood by lindsaymwright

The process of teaching a child to read is …. interesting. A struggle at times but with THE BEST rewards for both mama and child. The foundations are laid loooong before the child ever reads his or her first word. I’m already teaching Porter to read. That may seem silly but studies show that children who are read to during early infancy have a better aptitude for learning letters, their sounds and then piecing those sounds together to form words.

Last year was our first homeschooling year. I wanted to prove that I could do this – that I could teach my children. That’s the sad part – there is a level of success that you need to show. You must beat the critics. Any homeschooling mom feels this pressure – any teacher feels this pressure. So with the help of my MIL, I set out to teach Henry to read. I gave us until Christmas (because I can’t half-ass anything). Using Sing, Spell, Read & Write and as many workbooks as I could get my hands on, Henry and I set out on this adventure. He won. He learned how to read. I helped but only in the most minute way. I realize not all learning experiences have that satisfaction – we certainly had our own moments of frustration and angst. But we stuck with it. We read book after book after book. Then we read some more books. I got to watch his little brain work, sounding out each letter and then forming those sounds into actual words. Oh my word. It was (still is) a beautiful, GRATIFYING thing.

A year later and my son is reading chapter books with ease. Yesterday I came up with the idea that our afternoon assignment would be to create an easy reader book. From storyline to spelling to illustration, Henry did it all. ALL!

I just sat back, mesmerized by the grace that God has poured out on this endeavor. He’s blessing this decision to teach. To be home during these precious years. He’s blessing this time. All I can do is humble myself and lay down all my notions of perfection and the idea that I must prove myself because that’s so ridiculous. All I can do is open up my arms and ask for more. Because I have nothing to give. Read that again: I have nothing to give. I need more. Patience, drive, grace, love, desire.

More God. MORE.

And He just keeps pouring….

splendid…lindsay

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by lindsaymwright

my latest venture: MoveMore Fitness

September 8, 2014 in Blessings, Blog, Bootcamp, Goals, Inspiration, MoveMore Fitness by lindsaymwright

I’m excited (a little too excited) to share what I’ve been working on behind the scenes over here. May I introduce you to my latest venture: MoveMore Fitness!

(Travis did well with the logo, yes?)

MoveMore Fitness, LLC is my new group personal training company here in Franklin, NC! For about a month now, I’ve taken the steps to create an LLC and get trainer’s insurance (when I trained before I had it through my gym). Travis created a logo and I started securing clients. I’m even working on custom-printed tanks right now! I’m proud to call this business mine!

MoveMore gives me the opportunity to train FROM HOME, which is something I’ve dreamed about doing for quite some time. If you’ve followed along on Facebook and Instagram, you’ve probably seen pictures of all the basement gym updates that we’ve been doing over the past few weeks. We cleaned everything out, painted the floors and acquired more and more pieces of equipment (some new, some used).

I wanted to create a space where I can host small group training sessions with my children are right beside me (or usually napping upstairs). It’s the perfect fit for us as a family and it provides a way for me to stay in the fitness field while also wearing all the other hats I wear (there are too many to count). God just keeps blessing me with PEACE about this decision and while my mind wants to race from point A to point B hyperFAST and overcommit (I kinda wanted to open up a fullblown gym there for a second….), I’m being cautious and careful about creating something that fits both my needs and my clients. So it’s small right now. And it might stay that way. More than anything, I want to follow His will…His plan. And I see God enveloped in this decision.

Currently, MoveMore Fitness has three focus areas: small group training, Trackstars and Outdoor Bootcamps. As far as the small groups go, I’ve got 10 ladies who I train three afternoons a week. Last week was our first time meeting and I can already tell that I’m going to love this group of girls. Trackstars is something I’ve been doing for almost three years now on Saturdays and only recently added a few mornings during the week. The outdoor bootcamps? Well you already saw the awesome Labor Day Bootcamp that I put on – so much fun for our community – there’s another one coming up on September 27th so mark your calendars!

All three pieces contain one key aspect that has my heart: FELLOWSHIP!! COMMUNITY!! YES!!!

So what does this mean for the reader in another state? Not much. I know for certain that I’ll have tanks and t-shirts to offer for purchase – I’m working on the price point right now! I’m also open to the idea of online training but won’t take that on for a bit. I’d like to make sure that I’m not taking on too much at the start.

What does this mean if you’re local? It means there’s a new way to exercise in our town. And I don’t mean that in a competitive, snarky way – I think there’s room for everyone! My goal is to HELP, not compete! If you’re interested in learning more about prices/times/all that jazz, feel free to email me at lindsayslist at gmail dot com!

**Give us a like on FACEBOOK please!**

QUESTION: What’s your favorite way to workout? Alone or with others?

splendid…lindsay

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by lindsaymwright

flashback friday: the season of no

July 11, 2014 in Blessings, Blog, Blogging, Faith, Family, Goals, Rambles by lindsaymwright

It’s been a year since I quit my job to pursue my family. It’s been a year since I took a full month away from the blog. It’s been a year since I took the words and made them into action.

The year of many changes.

There are no words (actually there are more words than I have time to write)…but rather a sense of fulfillment. The calm of knowing that I’m right where I’m supposed to be. And though each day brings it’s own headaches, I can’t imagine going back to that place of RACING through each day.

Here’s the post that announced my last break. I’m planning to take another in August – not a full month, but maybe a couple of weeks. Blogging isn’t as stressful these days. Because life overall isn’t as stressful.

Maybe YOU need a season of NO.

———-

First, thank you for the AMAZING comments in regards to this post. If you haven’t read it, go back and do so – today’s post will make much more sense.

As my title alluded to, I am entering in to a season of NO*. Let me tell you – this has been a YEAR in the making. A year for the stress of all the activities and duties that I’ve taken on to come crashing down around me (multiple times). I’m finally to the point where I need to step away from a few things. I need a season of no.

I need to take ACTION against what I struggle with.

Because busyness does NOT equate to productivity.

Because God is literally MAKING me lie down in green pastures.

Because my family and I deserve more.

What does that mean? What does that look like?

In this season, I’m saying NO! to….

Working at the gym for the month of July (training and subbing). <-this led to me stepping away completely
Blogging for the month of July (writing and, sadly, reading).
Theater shows for the Fall.
Anything else that takes me away from my first two callings – wife and mother.

I think everything on that list is pretty self-explanatory, but for today, I’ll address the blogging aspect as it kinda-sorta impacts my readers.

I need a break from the blog.

When I started this blog nearly two years ago, my life looked very different. I had the convenience of TWO NAPPING CHILDREN who gave me two full hours of alone time a day (I miss those days!). I wasn’t doing shows. I had just started teaching at the gym and had no clients. Basically, I had more time. And my focus was more home-centered.

Flash-forward to now. Henry no longer naps. Clara’s naps are shorter and some days she doesn’t sleep at all. I’m at the gym for at least two hours a day, training clients – usually three. I’m at the theater two hours at night. I have no time to sit down and write. And honestly, when I get time to myself, I don’t WANT to sit down and write. I want to read a book or my Bible or work on a house project.

Blogging (the act of writing) is something I LOVE! But everything that comes with it (reading other blogs, social media, self-promotion) …..I just don’t love that aspect anymore. Some days it feels like my phone is super-glued to my right hand. It’s simply not fair for the people around me to be “absent” while I’m “present” online.

For the month of July, I suppose I could blog sporadically or line up guest posts, but I don’t even want to give myself that option. If I did, I would just devote thoughts to blogging and right now, I simply do not want to think about it.

This isn’t goodbye necessarily (notice the month of July thing above), but I suppose it could be the start of goodbye. Who knows??

I’m taking a month to find out.

Catch you on the flip side**!