Living intentionally: My 2017 Report Card

2017.

Is it really the last day of 2017? Why is it that, once again the year seems to have to passed so quickly?

365 days.
8,760 hours.
525,600 minutes.
31,536,000 seconds.

I hate to break it to you, but you guys, this is actually quite a lot of time. And since we're not guaranteed any of it, consider yourself blessed that you are here to talk about it 😁

But I'll let you in on a little secret... though time is finite and you CAN'T make it actually last longer, you CAN live more intentionally with the time you are given.

One thing that has helped me over the last year was to set goals! I know, it sounds simple and somewhat cliche, but it works.

Let's take a look back at the beginning of my 2017 and the goals I set for myself ...

•  Start a blog ✔️
• _-             Run a half marathon ✔️✔️
• _-             Run a full marathon ✔️
• _-             Become a Beachbody Live instructor/Group exercise instructor 🚫
• _-             Run a race with my husband and kiddos ✔️
• _-             Read every night to my kids 🚫
• _-             Go on a date night at least once a month with my husband 🚫
• _-             Participate in more church activities ✔️
• _-             Continue to help people on their fitness journey as a health and wellness coach ✔️

No, I didn't achieve everything I set out to accomplish, but I know that if I wouldn't have challenged myself at all, I wouldn't have ANYTHING to check off a list. And just because I didn't exactly achieve these as written doesn't mean I didn't make strides toward getting there.

When you set goals and are striving to reach them, your actions become more intentional. You aren't just "getting through" each day, but rather living in the moment and not letting the days just pass by. Have you ever gotten to work or your destination and wondered how you got there?!? That's what I mean. Be present.

I encourage you as this year comes to a close to take a moment and reflect back. How did you spend your days? What do you value most? Does that match up with how you spent your time?

Here are 7 steps I encourage you to take as we close out 2017 to help you live more intentionally and have a great 2018:

1. Acknowledge your blessings, even ones that seem small.
( Food in your belly, the clothes on your back, a vehicle to get you where you need to go)

2. Find your peace from any hurt you may have experienced.
( Acknowledge your pain and get help by talking with a trusted friend or professional)

 3. Set your goals and determine who will be your accountability partner.
(If you're overwhelmed by yearly goals, break it down into weekly or monthly goals and share those with someone you can trust to hold you to them.)

4. Set priorities based on these goals and spend your time accordingly.
(Don't overextend yourself and know it's okay to say no to things that don't match up with your goals or values. Also, use the calendar on your phone to set reminders to help keep you on track)

5. Know that perfection is not achievable.
(You'll have good days and bad days. Acknowledge them both, learn from your experiences and move on 😊)

6. Ask God to be with you to help encourage you and to guide you on the right path.
(We are all human and therefore capable of slipping up. But God is perfect and loving and wants to be invited into both our triumphs and struggles. Don't forget he is always with you and listening even when you feel abandoned by others)

7. Be hopeful.
(Life is hard, but when we lose hope it becomes even harder. Keep your eye on the prize: (Heaven ✝) and continue to pray and give thanks always)


Happy New Year!!! Wishing you and yours peace and blessings for anything that comes your way in 2018 ❤️

Alicia

Oliver Queen: Saying good-bye to our furry friend

For the sake of full disclosure, before I started dating my husband, I was NOT a cat person. Growing up, we had dogs and birds as pets. I suppose like many opinions growing up, you start out by sharing those of your parents :) My parents weren't cat people, therefore, I wasn't a cat person.

But when I moved into an apartment in college with no roommate, my husband (boyfriend back then) highly encouraged me to get a cat. He really felt I needed a companion... another living creature to keep me company when he couldn't be there. HE was a cat person :)

After a little push-back I agreed to go to the shelter to meet some furry friends. That's when we met Ali and immediately fell in love with her. Almost 15 years later, she's still with us and we consider her part of our family.

 

Fast forward to May of this year when we brought Oliver Queen AKA The Green Arrow, into our home. Another rescue kitty, Justin saw a fb post, went to meet him and it became not a question of IF he would be coming home to our family, it was WHEN would he be.  Justin and Oliver met and the two immediately bonded ❤️

This was NOT the case with Oliver and Ali. 

A kitten still at just 12 weeks old, the two fur balls struggled to get along - the older, established, territorial female and the sweet and innocent, adorable and energetic male.

Really it was Ali who didn't seem to be a fan of Oliver,  but nonetheless Oliver loved both playing and tormenting Ali 😁

He was playful, cuddly, great with the kids and loved long naps both on Justin's chest and his favorite spots on top of the couch and SOMETIMES he and Ali would "accidentally" takes naps next to each other on the couch ❤️.

With Ali sleeping by my head, Oliver assumed a position near the foot of our bed at night and cemented himself as part of our little family - no longer just a pet.

And just like that of a human friendship/ relationship, when you've invested your time and heart into someone and you're emotionally invested, when they hurt, you hurt. 

And that's exactly where we find ourselves today. Hurting. 

Last night we came home after being out of town to our sweet Oliver in his litter box unable to move. Our amazing friend and neighbor didn't hesitate to agree to staying with the kids so Justin and I could take him to the emergency vet clinic. It was there they would tell us his prognosis upon initial exam was poor, only to be confirmed by blood work.

Oliver was in bad shape.

We asked the vet,"If he was your cat, what would you do?" His answer, though honest, was not what we wanted to hear. But we, both Justin and I, knew it was what we had to do. 

We each spent time holding him and were by his side when he passed.

Quite honestly, it's one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I fully understand how blessed we are that it wasn't one of our children, one of us or another family member, but it was real, raw pain that we experienced. The kind that makes you sob until your stomach hurts. The kind that's mind-numbing and blurs time.

Making the drive home with the box on your lap that contains the lifeless, but still warm body of your beloved furry family member is something I wouldn't wish on anyone. It sucks. It's heartbreaking.

 It's also one of the hardest things our children have had to experience. They've never experienced death before - human or otherwise - so close to them. Trying to explain it all had been though to say the least.

There are varying opinions about animals and Heaven - honestly some good arguments for both sides. Regardless whether you'll see your pet in Heaven or not, these animals that become pets that become like family are all creatures of God and God loves all of them. I believe in my heart that He takes care of them when they leave this Earth - wherever that may be.

Like many hard situations, the passing of time helps to heal. I have no doubt this will be the same, but Oliver is already greatly missed and it's not going to be easy.

Alicia

I've been a Mom for how long?!?

I'm sitting in bed thinking back to this day eight years ago. Wow. Eight years. That can't be right.

I remember the day pretty clearly. Work as usual with a doctor's appointment in the afternoon. Our due date was December 20 and we were preparing for a "Christmas baby."

But that was soon to be turned on its head.

Going through motions of another ob appointment meant checking my blood pressure. Never a problem prior to this day, my blood pressure was high.

"We're going to have you lay here for a few minutes, then we'll check it again," said Dr. Peck. So several minutes later, they check it again. It's even higher. Uh oh.

After a conversation about sending us home and having come back the next day, Dr. Peck ultimately decided he was going to send us directly over to the Birth Place.

"Ok, guys. Looks like you're going to have a baby!"

By this time, no one was left in the office except one lady at the front desk. She talked to us for a few moments, about what I can't remember. Then Justin and I walked out into the hallway.

It was eerily quiet.

We looked at each other with tears in our eyes, slight panic in our faces and just held one another.

Holy crap. We were about to become parents!

Ok. Game faces.

We quickly called our families and headed over to check in. My bag wasn't completely prepared, sitting half packed on our bedroom floor. But ready or not, this show was about to get started.

A few things about my very first labor and delivery experience:

If I couldn't have McDonald's, I at least wanted to be able to smell it :)

Those rooms are not nearly big enough for the crew we had there that night.

My papa can sleep ANYwhere.

Having nursing students observe your labor and delivery is very humbling.

Cone heads are not cute. 😂

My doctor was the best.

Thinking back, the evening and early morning hours of the next day were a bit of a blur. They had given me antibiotics for four hours before breaking my water, I'd gotten my epidural at some point and stadal to help me sleep. Not entirely sure what order that all too place in :)

But I'll never forget the hour and moment when God bestowed on us the most amazing blessing. Christian McCoy was born at 6:59am on December 8, 2009.

As it were, one minute before shift change, so double the everybody in the room when he was born. I remember one of the nursing students thanking me. Christian being born was the first live birth she'd ever witnessed.

We've had our ups and downs like all parents have with their children. But it's important to remember the past and keep moving forward.

Christian is growing into the most amazing kid. He's super bright and loves school, excelling at math and reading. He's also an artist in his own right and possesses more creativity in his eight years than I ever will.

But he's also just a boy who loves baseball, being silly with his friends, playing video games, laughing at farts and words like butt and poop.

To say Im proud to be his mom, well, that just doesn't do it justice.

Happy birthday, sweet boy. I'm beyond blessed to call you mine ❤️