erica danielle

  Merry Christmas! I have started this post a few different times. How do I sum up a year that has been so full? and has also gone so fast that I actually can't believe it's over?!  We started the year in Michigan, spent a snow-less winter in Hudson, did all of our favorite things over the summer, 4/5 of us started school in the fall and now we end 2024 staying warm and cozy in our Christmas-decorated home trying to slow down time. Lucy age 11 is almost as tall as me. she is the kindest human you will ever meet. She loves everything. She especially loves reading, playing, making up plays and girl dates with mom. I love spending time with this gift of a child. She makes my world a better place and I can't believe she's mine. Olle age 9 is all sports all the time. You will rarely see him without a football, wearing something pertaining to football, talking about football or asking to have a friend over to play football. He loves our family so much. He loves traditions and...

Olle rounded up a bunch of boys from the hood after school and put together a flag football game. I don’t know how their little fingers don’t freeze! I think it was 10 degrees outside this day.  I made this African Peanut Stew when Bryce and Raine visited and it was SO good and so easy! Will definitely be making again.  The whole fam decorated cookies on Saturday afternoon and as a mom, who lives for this kind of stuff my heart was FULL.  I also took everything out of all my drawers and vacuumed out the crumbs. It was rewarding and also slightly unnecessary during a Saturday in December when I had about a million other things I should have been doing! Saturday morning pancakes hit different with the gingerbread spatula  Sigge had a field trip to Willow River Tree Farm and got to be in a group with his best pal Olen. I’m not sure why his teacher put these 2 rascals together. But he said it was 2 thumbs up! I sit in my car and collect myself before work most days. If t...

The last month of 2024? there is no way this is happening. This year absolutely FLEW by and the fact that it is already the 3rd makes me feel like December will be the fastest month of all.  In what felt like a long/short (time is weird) break, we packed a lot in. Sten and I got away for our anniversary, we headed to Chippewa Falls for Thanksgiving with family, we got all our Christmas stuff set up, we hosted Bryce and Raine, got to see Great Grandma Kay, took in an IMAX and watched a couple Christmas movies... phew! My goal for December:  Enjoy each day and the people I get to spend it with.  This means- getting outside, drinking water, cooking food we love, reading Christmas books, dancing to Christmas songs, not letting the un-important things get me down and moving my body each day.  T-minus 19 days until this lady is 100!  the most freezing cold light up the night DT turkey trot in many layers Starbucks on the way to thanksgiving with a gift card from a stu...

 Year 16! What a dream of a 24 hour getaway. We 🤍 the North Loop. We ate the yummiest food, drank the tastiest wine, walked almost 20,000 steps and sat in the rooftop hot tub/ sauna for hours. It was seriously the best and now it’s over and I’m sad 😭. But I’ll be re-living these memories for a super long time.  xo. edc.  These photos needed to be in color. 😍

 Mon-Fri felt like a longgggg week! I came home last night and the kids were playing with friends from the neighborhood and sten and I had the BEST happy hour chats while heating up leftovers and it was exactly what I wanted my Friday night to look like. It was restorative, fun, and the bright spot in my week. Thankful for Sten. Who makes the most ordinary things feel special.  xo.edc. 

Over the weekend our speaker talked about finding ways to be thankful for the hard things of your day. For instance. Think about the worst part of the last 12-24 hours and then search for the nugget of gratitude within that moment. I’ve been trying it and it is not as easy as saying: I’m thankful for Sten. But I do think something happens when you find gratitude in the yuck, in the messy. It re-writes the story in a way that’s helpful for me.  My humanity coming into play in relationships: thankful that my heart cares so much and that God created me this way My class being rowdy and hearing my name 3,000x a day: I have little people that look up to me and think I’m the best.  Not waking up for my run like I planned: I gave my body a break and have the coziest bed with fresh sheets to sleep in.  What a mind shift it is. Try it!  Today is Thursday and after work I am going to see The Best Christmas Pageant Ever with my mom, sister and kids. I can’t wait.  xo.edc....

  Even tho it was such a short trip, this has been the highlight of November so far. Chicago. Dancing with Sten. Being with friends I miss.  Thankful for this memory. xo.edc. 

 Grateful for a weekend full of connection, sauna time, Gods creation, my family, our church, and a reminder to front row living.  xo. edc

 It’s Friday. I missed multiple days of my month of thankfulness. On Wednesday I went for a short run. You can’t see it so well in the picture, but there are rays coming out of that one sunny line in the sky. Those always make me feel like that’s Gods goodness and glory being proclaimed in the morning. And I needed it. I needed the reset and the reminder that God is good and he is for me.  I went into Wednesday with a shifted perspective and I am finishing out the week strong. After work today I’m driving up to the women’s retreat with 2 friends and I am excited to see how God moves in the lives of the women of our church. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be part of it all.  November is 1/2 way through! Wish I could slow time.  xo.edc. 

Working brings on a whole new appreciation for the weekend. Saturdays in particular, as Sunday is a busy day in our home still :)  Last night Sten took the boys to the cabin for a little getaway and I was prepared for reading, game playing and pasta night with Lucy. She ended up sleeping over at her friends house last minute and I found myself alone in my home. It was weird. I actually don't know if I have ever slept alone in our house... I didn't know what to do with my free time. I ended up cleaning the bathroom. WHAT?!  This morning I slept in until 6:15! then went to Willow for a run WITHOUT wearing a headlamp with Haley. I came home and made protein pancakes for myself and it's actually just lovely. An unexpected 15 hours to myself. I like the slow nature of home. I like my house and my kitchen and my bed. I am thankful that home is a place I want to be. A place of safety and comfort when the world feels swirly. I have a lot coming up. The women's retreat. a thanks...

I missed my thankful day yesterday! On Wednesday while cooking dinner the boys were playing football and practicing flag pull drills in the backyard. I looked out my window and spotted a handshake being made. At the end, Olle taught Sigge how to “answer the phone” and do a little end zone shuffle. It was my highlight of the day. So cute and big bro-ish.  I’m grateful they have each other. They are wildly different, but each seem to celebrate at times what the other excels at and join in on the others choice.  Haley made these granola bars and they are the AMAZING! Is there anything better than a surprise left on your front door?????? Thankful for friends who drop off treats and make days infinitely brighter ❤️ xo. edc.   

 Thankful today for reminders on my phone: Lucy loves me. (I didn’t even know this was in my pictures! What a sneaky little girl!) And 1 of my November goals is to drink water before coffee… and so far I’m crushing it. :) xo. edc. 

 Yesterday I got home from school and I went to work roasting things. Neighborhood friend Gabe was over and the boys were playing football outside. Lucy was playing at her friend’s house too. So I cut and chopped and drizzled with oil and made: Buttercup squash (new to me! Thanks Haley for sharing your bounty!) Acorn squash  Baby potatoes  Sweet potatoes  Broccoli  I love roasted vegetables. I found myself thinking: I’m thankful for neighborhood friends. Because time in the kitchen feels so good and simple.  xo. edc. 

Sometimes we get dressed up and go downtown to a new restaurant (in matching beige) and eat pasta.  Happy birthday to Jenny. So glad you were born!  Thankful for friends who are always up for an adventure and who make life meaningful and fun. Grateful for the opportunity to celebrate life’s highs and lows with these ladies.  xo. edc.

 It was so fun to get dressed up and celebrate Andrew and Kara on their special day!  Feeling thankful today for my favorite person by my side all weekend. I loved reminiscing, laughing, dancing and being with sten all weekend. These are the kinds of weekends that make Monday even harder!  xo. edc.