Becky’s Elderberry Syrup Kit

Life is messy. A lot of it. Every day we’re cleaning up messes, some negative, some positive, but the fact remains that life is filled with unexpected mess. As much as I still fight the messiness of life, aka: hello complete and utter messiness of grief and how it unhinges all things emotionally & physically, I’m slowly learning to embrace it more. To fight it less. To accept that there is very little we truly have any control over and oftentimes in order to love well, we have to also learn to love the mess of it all and within that find peace and restoration. Whether it’s the physical mess of creative time, extra laundry from kids playing hard or the extra dishes and sticky finger drips from hosting precious friends or family for dinner. Or it’s the emotional mess of holding space for a hard conversation or your own unpredictable pain as well as the pain and heartache of those around you. The tapestry woven thru these experiences is stunning. Positive, negative, neutral. All of it. Did you know that the deeper you experience sorrow the more joy you’re able to contain? Mess is inevitable, but don’t minimize or down play it. This doesn’t mean you can’t find ways to grow and learn from messy things, but when you’re in the thick of the mess the least helpful thing is for someone to try and dismiss it. As a country we’re a mess. Everything feels messy and complicated and “on edge”. In the words of @loswhit “don’t stand on issues, walk with people.” “Be Human. See Humans. Free Humans.” I pray every day that the hard and messy stuff would make me soft and more compassionate, because it’s much too easy to let it harden and embitter. I pray that for you too. I pray for our country. For our leaders, even if I don’t agree with them, their policies or their methods. Why? Because that’s what I’m called to. In the mess and muck of it all, we are still living, breathing humans with far more in common than we like to admit and we’re all a mess. #unitedwestanddividedwefall #embracethemess #loveyourneighbor #progressoverperfection #behuman #wellnesstips #griefquotes #griefawareness

Seriously! The internet is literally screaming at the most insane level of decibels that you just as you are will never be enough and that you must embrace all the things to be different. It takes intentionality to refuse the narrative. To tune into what YOUR body actually needs. To find voices that are grounded sharing actual helpful info that is attainable with time and budget constraints. In this space you’ll always find the simpler and more sustainable approach, because what I share is what is actually sustainable for me and my family too! It’s a journey, one we get to keep walking together! Are you following me yet?

Summer is upon us. The pressure to do all the things is intense. We choose slower summers. We choose to carve out space that allows us to be spontaneous, to relax, to connect, to just be. I loathe the commentary on “you only get 18 summers”, mostly because it’s often front of mind already, so I don’t need to be reminded🫠, but also because it makes me feel unrealistic pressure to make “every moment count”. I prefer to just stay curious about my kids while we all go wild down the pool slide and actually getting my hair wet, staying up late with sticky, dripping popsicles on the front porch, running barefoot through the sprinklers, or laying around on a hot summer afternoon reading books together. In all these small ways I get to be a kid again too. So cheers to a pressure free summer where we can be reminded to savor enjoying our children in their kid era and relive a little bit of our own😍. #cleanlivingmama #healthyhome #beakid #summer2024🌴☀️ #nontoxicbeauty #nontoxicskincare

As we grow up we realize it becomes less important to have more friends and more important to have real friends. And real friends thrift😉! J/k, but really, if you’re not buying at least some things second hand, you’re not only missing out, but you’re not contributing to the more earth friendly holistic life cycle of goods. So next time you are ready to go grab something new, pause and consider if you could find a great alternative second hand that would serve you and your family just as well! I’m apart of a local chapter of Buy Nothing in a Facebook group. It’s phenomenal! Highly recommend looking to see if there is one in your area! #thriftedfinds #secondhandfirst #ecoconscious #earthfriendly #sustainablehabits

I got one of the good ones🫶🏼! “A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets of our society.” - Billy Graham #strongmen #fatherslove #marriagegoals