erica danielle

A friend at church has been finding "tiny summer joys" and posting about them on here instagram. I love it. I love finding the thing that maybe isn't glamorous to anyone except you and finding the joy in it. Here are a few of mine this summer: thrifting with friends. have you done this? WAYYYYYY more fun than thrifting alone and people find things for you that you'd never pick out on your own and then you buy them bc your fiends are right!  Lucy and I have gotten very into beading. She really is the queen of this and has been making lots of fun creations.  I'm sorry. this isn't a tiny joy: BIG JOY my whole family biking?!?!?!?!?! AHHHH I love it so much I can't even explain. To Selma's and back to celebrate the best dad. 12 miles!  water. boats. blue skies. bay lake. BINGO! Sigge won $5 family golf, where we all had a good attitude (for the most part). A walk with my favorite girl.  Sten bowling. He's the best Sigge with no front teeth.  belly flop...

One of the best past-times IMO  Re-creating a picture from 2022  You know I love a good tradition. And this is one of my favorites. I think the kids love it too. This year we picked 12.5 lbs of strawberries and got home and set right to work, washing, de-stemming, smashing, mixing, boiling and canning on strawberry jam. We finished around 6pm and I think we all were amazed at our accomplishment! I hope we have the same appreciation in January when we pull a jar out of the freezer for a taste of summertime on our toast.  🍓  xo. edc 

 I am compiling a list of things I am learning this summer, because I don't want to forget my growth. I think my greatest lessons happen when my body is moving. My legs get pedaling on a bicycle and all of the sudden I notice things I haven't noticed before. I am on a quiet walk with Sten and parenting moments replay in my head and I think of ways I want to repair and re-bring up some things I have fallen short on. Or I am speed cleaning and feeling grateful in ways that I couldn't even dream of during the school year. We have to work. We have to make money and it takes money to live and do the things that make us come alive, but what is the minimum amount you can work and still live? I feel during the school year like I am trying my hardest to stay afloat and then summer comes and I spend 4 hours weeding and sawing off buckthorn branches like a boss. Maybe tho, this is the sweet spot? Maybe the work-season leads into the non-work season so that the non-work season feels li...

I've been fortunate to be a part of many celebrations over the last couple weeks. There was the wedding in Omaha last weekend, all the end of the school year celebrations and this weekend we celebrated Mim's birthday, Jonah's birthday and Jessica's birthday.  We took a trip to Chicago land to surprise Mim. And what a special surprise it was! The whole fam together for the first time in a long time. We snuck in a special Swedish Pancake breakfast for Jonah where much fun was had and no one wanted it to end.  I love this picture. The noise would be labeled: “hub-bub” in my opinion, with many conversations being had at once and people eating, drinking, kids running and much laughing.  I got extra lucky bc while everyone was at the Cubs game, I was at Kate's catching up and forcing our kids to be BFFs. Love this girl with my whole heart. Luke and Lucy are destined to be besties as they have spent so many hours together as babies/toddlers. The pre-teen years may be a li...

Today is my first official day of summer and when I looked at my clock at 8:37am I thought: ahhh! I’m not at school welcoming kids into my room! I have so many thoughts//feelings//emotions. A chapter ending is always happy and also sad. The passing of time is something I will never fully understand, but I’m starting to realize that some of the moments are bigger than I give them credit for. This year in particular felt like a big one. I was worried about middle school and Lucy absolutely crushed. She made friends with other kids who love Jesus, she was a bright light and her kindness was infectious and recognized. I drove her to school on the last day and the song came on that says: “I’ve witnessed your faithfulness , I’ve seen you breathe life within…” and when it was time to pray over her day in the car, I started crying thinking over how faithful God has been this year to Lucy in particular. I worry and worry and worry and I want to use this as a chance to remember that God is alway...