Fill the Resevoir

I have been humming and hawing over what to post today so I thought best to turn to my own reflections. Last week was a hard week for my family mostly because I was a stress case.  At the beginning of last week I was sure I would conquer the world if I just kept at it. My awesome plans failed me. I felt like I was doing the same jobs over and over and I could never do anything fun because I had to do laundry or do dishes or pick up the floor for the billionth time. Then I would squeeze in work and finish every day feeling worn out and frustrated that I hadn't  spend enough time with my kids. This week I am trying something new. I am going to follow my own advice. I'm going to relax, give myself personal time and be with the kids. Seems simple right? I already had my own personal boxing match. My practical side reminded me that I didn't have time for me time, but my happy self  persisted and I enjoyed 30 minutes with my book.  Julia is now begging me to do a color by number with her, so off I go to be with the ones I love most. Enjoy the following excerpt from chapter five of "Family Ever After."


Our body, mind, spirit, and brain need repose. If we are not given this repose, we will quickly find ourselves with a depleted crater that was meant to be our much-needed reservoir. In any relationship, sacrifice must be made. If you never take care of yourself, you won’t have anything left to sacrifice. Build your reserve through relaxation and allow your family to do the same. For me, relaxation is found in walking peacefully near the apple orchards, mentally savoring the delicious photos in my favorite food magazine, or penning my life’s work in my journal. Maybe relaxing to you is enjoying a quiet cup of tea, or maybe it’s mountain biking, carpentry, interior design, or baking. Whatever it is that soothes your soul and fills your reserves, make time to do it. As long as you are living, the work will never be done, so, like play time, you must be intentional about relaxation time.

How can we show love to our family if we become so tired and so hardened that we have no love left to give? How can we enjoy the ride of our life when we are too tired to take in the scenery? We can’t lock ourselves in our room every day, gorging ourselves with spoonfuls of Nutella, as delicious as that sounds, and live happily ever after. To be happy, we need to find joy in the work we do, play and make memories with our family, and give ourselves and loved ones time to relax and enjoy the ride we call life. 
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A big thanks to those who participated in our Geocaching Mania. I hope you had fun! Congratulations to Andrew and Sarah Flake in Texas. They are our winners! If you just didn't have time to get geocaching or doing the activities no need to worry. We still have books to give away. So until I give them all away we will continue our Geocaching Mania. So play play play and send us those pictures!

Sarah and kids. Can you see what they found...look closely.