erica danielle

This week was jammed packed with everything summer. We did Willow River (6/6 on my state parks), a friends house for a craft day, Como Pool with cousins and the cabin with Jen and the kids. Our evenings were a blur of unpacking and repacking bags and I am tired. Phew! July starts a month of travel for us and although that comes with its own challenges, I’m really looking forward to time with family.  1.  My flowers bring me so much joy. I love walking up to the house and getting a peek at these colorful pots. I heard recently that in giving up people pleasing and perfectionism one author thought about how short life is and how that gave her the push she needed to stop doing things she didn’t want to do. These flowers remind me to "DO ME". Flowers bring me joy, so plant the flowers-- and enjoy them. Stop filling up all of my time with things that don’t bring me joy.  2. There were many happy moments of this week-- it was a constant adjustment for me of remembering that I *...

I was telling Sten the other day about how easy it is to forget what an older stage of parenting looked like. When Lucy and Olle were 1 and 2, that was hard! But I don’t totally remember how hard. This stage is hard, but when I go to bed at night I can’t really name what it is that actually makes it hard... and then I see this picture that I snapped a couple days ago. These 2 working collectively on a picture of an "apple hotel" with "100 swimming pools" and "chairs" and a "couch". I wish I would have video taped their little voices encouraging one another as they colored. Lucy: "Buddy! You’re staying in the lines, good job buddy!" Olle: " Lucy, this is our hotel, this is no one else’s, this is just  ours"  In a world where 99% of the time I think I’ve completely screwed up as a mom, this was a glimpse into how somehow along the way they actually love each other and have the ability to be kind. And they really are kind. They a...

Whoop, whoop! FRIDAY IS HERE!  1. I’ve been getting up before my alarm this week and have been witnessing the most beautiful sunrises. I have found them so comforting and such a reminder of Gods power, faithfulness and presence in my life.  2. Cousin sleepover at the beginning of the week left us tired and happy, and talking a whole lot about Amos and Olive. Olle woke up Tuesday morning crying because Amos wasn’t there next to him in his bed. So sweet. Time with these 2 is precious and constant playmates are the greatest.  3. Set out for a long run Saturday morning and cut it short due to this sky. I got home and it poured. I sat on the front porch and just watched sheets of rain fall. It was so exciting trying to beat the rain on my run, that I didn’t even mind cutting it short!  4. I unfortunately didn’t snap a single picture yesterday but we had a great day, with an afternoon trip to a new park that Lucy has affectionately dubbed "our park". We ran around, played ...

Olle is napping right now and Lucy’s little voice is trailing off in the living room as she pretends something with 3 different voices for each of the characters she’s playing. What a funny time of life. So much freedom for me as my kids become more independent, yet on the complete otherside, I feel so needed  still. It’s almost as if time is taunting me. And I can’t tell if I’m sad that this next stage of life is coming, or excited to watch them go.  We were at the children’s museum this morning and I just loved watching them play. I don’t often go there without meeting up with another mom friend, but this forced me to just watch them do their thing. They are really good kids and when I stop and think about how big they are and how perfect they are I just want to weep. If you could ever describe something as "big and little" I think my kids right now would fit this description to a T. Like people always say: the days are long, but the years are short.  XO. edc. 

This week went so fast I’m not even sure what we did. I had to look back over my pictures to see what we’ve been up to. My summer days are all spent the same way, a mix of inside and outside, running, and grilling -- and a lot of bandaid-ing, and bathing. I love my job as a mom, but lately I have been wondering what I can shift my focus on a bit to make life even more fulfilling for me. What makes me, me? I am determined to find the answer to this question.  1. There happened to be a fire truck down by the library last Saturday morning. We met up with our buddy LT, and got to honk the horn, make the lights go, and meet the firefighters. Then we took a walk to Knokes for a ring pop. All in all, it was one of those fun mornings, just me and the kids, doing our thing. 2. Sunday night our kids team got together in Cami’s backyard for a shrimp boil. It was a magical night of delicious food, a bonfire and really fun people. This team works sooooo hard every week, and each one of them mea...

Tuesday was our last Small Group gathering, we've been together for 9 weeks, and it's been just the greatest getting to know everyone in our group. We decided for our final gathering to have a last hurrah at my parents cabin. It was the dreamiest night. The kids swam until 7pm, and then we grilled out, and then headed back down to the beach for a bonfire and s'mores. I am the type of person who really like to "let people in". I meet someone and I instantly want to do life with them. When I do this, when I let people into my life, my mess, and my faith, I feel fulfilled. Even tho it was CRAZY with our 15 kids running around our house over the last 8 weeks, I wouldn't trade it. I loved getting to know each couple deeper, and my kids LOVED being with other kids for 3 hours on Tuesday nights. Sharing prayer requests and details of life with strangers in hard, and this group rocked at it. I'll be sad when next week rolls around and our house isn't full. ...

We had a good week that was full and fun, and fairly documented. Here are a few of the highlights: 1. My cousin got married in Chippewa Falls on Saturday, and it was fun to get all dressed up and see all my family, (that we really only get to see when a cousin gets married). It felt like the night flew by and all the sudden it was time to go :( Which cousin will be next?!?!?!  2. I used my Viva Voche gift card and got my hair done, the gift card came with a makeover and although I don't usually wear that much make up it was fun to be at the salon for 3 HOURS! It really is the dreamiest place and everyone that works there is soooo sweet. My friend Mary was getting a treatment in the chair next to me so we got to chat away, it was a great morning!  before and after :) 3. morning coffee on the front porch. There is nothing better. 4. Our house became that obnoxious "kid house" this week when I blew up the pool AND we got a swing set! The kids have been n...

It’s easy to talk about my sister. And it’s hard at the same time, because I usually can’t contain my love for her and I get all choked up. To this day I can’t believe I made it through my speech at her wedding.  Today is her birthday! What a lucky day it is. I’m beyond grateful she was born. As kids we fought a lot. We spent a lot of time in our separate rooms "thinking about what we did to each other". I certainly remember that, but I also remember after a few minutes we’d start knocking on our adjoining wall, and at one point we had made our own secret code with 2 knocks as hello , 3 knocks meaning isnt mom the worst for sending us to our rooms.  She was older, cooler and way more fun than me and I worshiped her. I wanted to be just like her. She’s always been a leader you want to follow. Our special bond got stronger in high school, and when she went away to college there was a gaping hole in our family. I missed her so much. I took over her babysitting jobs and wore her ...