Thilltribe

the grass isn't greener

It happened to be called Mother’s Day

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Mother’s Day…………

Why does that evoke so many emotions in all of us?

For Mother’s…. it can be day of feeling less than adequate. As you look longingly at all of the posts of everyone thanking their beloved mother’s and you wonder why your kids don’t feel the same way.

For those that are not yet mother’s…it is a day where you are made aware of your lack of children. When that is what you want the most and yet you still don’t have it.

For those that have lost children….it is a reminder of how your child is not in your arms. It is a reminder of what you are missing out on because your child is not here with you.

As an adopted mom, this day has always evoked negative emotions. It is a day where some of my children are reminded I am not their birth mom. It has always been a day that is one to endure.

This year, as I have been working on affirmations and becoming self-aware, I realized it is just a day with a label. How will my life really be impacted by this one day? It really won’t. Because, the next day will come. I will not be any different than I am today.

As a result, of my inner strength and resilience, I was able to treat yesterday as just another day. You know what? It was a wonderful weekend. I was calm. I was uplifted. I was aware. I was understanding AND I was so grateful. So many of my kiddos remembered me. I was able to be genuine. I was also able to be appreciative.

Am I glad I am a Mother? Yes!

But more importantly, I am grateful to be a righteous woman. I am glad I living by my high moral standards. I am glad to be relying on my Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. I am amazed at the influence a righteous woman has on those around us.

Sisters, we are more than a day! We have eternal value and influence.

Thank you to all of the valiant, strong women who influence my children and myself. Your “worth is far above rubies” (Proverbs 31:10). Thank you noble and virtuous women.

I am blessed to associate with you.

Happy Mother’s Day dear women.

Ownership

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Example: Student ownership is the level of investment a learner has in learning, teaching and leadership anywhere throughout the education system.

I went on a trip to San Francisco last week to learn about schools who are actively involved in 21st Century learning and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math). These schools, while still working on the common core, take education to the next level by doing more hands on activities and learning. This kind of learning also allows students to take responsibility for themselves, it teaches real life problem solving and how to interact and work in groups, as well as a variety of other things.

As I was touring the schools one common thread kept coming up, ownership.

I was pondering ownership in a variety of different ways.

First, I will apply it to school. Too often students/ parents/teachers place blame on why something isn’t working. They feel the need to justify that they are not the ones causing the concern. They need to shift blame to something that alleviates the responsibility from their shoulders. We have to be very careful in this type of thinking. We need to teach students to take ownership of their learning. I talked to a 7th grade girl who said this, “I am responsible for what I am learning. It is not the teacher’s responsibility if I don’t do my part and work hard to understand what is required of me.”  Our society has slowly been changing from taking ownership to blaming educators. It has no longer become about the students behavior but what the teacher is or is not doing. Often, I feel defensive as I try to explain what I am doing in the classroom. I also need to take ownership of why a child is struggling.

Second, I was thinking about life. I have several kiddos who blame me or John for their problems. As I as thinking about ownership, it occurred to me, they are not taking any responsibility for what they did. They are only blaming us for the end result. As a parent I feel like I take on far too much responsibility/ownership of the problems that arise in our family. I analyze and second thought my decisions all of the time. I apologize and try to be better next time. However, that in no way excuses my child’s behavior. In the course of life, we are all going to do things we regret. We are going to make mistakes of all different magnitudes. When do children begin to take ownership for their part in what has happened?

I get so tired of the blaming. There is so much of it going on in the world. It is this persons fault that I______________!  Why don’t we recognize more of the good that has gone on and continues to go on? We need to be able to take ownership of our problems and our lives. We are not being inflicted upon. We have control of our lives.

It is way too easy to lay blame than to look at ourselves and make the changes necessary in our lives. I feel like we all do this to some degree. I often look at my childhood and blame my reactions today on things that happened as a child. While yes it is true, earlier experiences have helped to wire my brain in a certain way, I am still responsible for my reactions.

Ownership can be hard.

I am going to start now. I am going to start today in teaching ownership. I am not exactly sure how to do that. (So, if you have any ideas…please share!)  I do know, it will start today.

I will no longer allow others to determine what kind of person I am.

I am me.

Mistakes and all.

I will determine who I am and what I do with my life.

Are you ready to take ownership?

These little shoes

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In the morning, my husband and I “quick clean” our bedroom. It is our bedroom but it is also an informal family room. It has two couches and 2 recliners and since it is clean, my kids spend a significant amount of time up here.

Every morning, our room is full of kids shoes and socks.  Cups, bowls and food trash litter the floor. It is frustrating to say the very least. Well, a couple of days ago as we were cleaning, I saw my youngest shoes on the floor.  Instead of getting upset, I just looked at these tiny shoes for a moment. I thought of the hugs and kisses he gives me each and every day. I thought of the chubby hands of my baby. I reminisced about seeing him in the hospital for the first time. I thought about his baby smell and the joy he has brought into my life.

 

Then, I reflected on several of my friends who have lost a young child. My heart was bursting with love for them. I couldn’t imagine their grief, loss and pain.

It really made me think about the blessing my children are in my life. Do they drive me crazy? Well, yes they do. Do I get frustrated? Too often to count. Do I think about how different my life would be without them? Yes.  Do I cherish and love them despite their faults? Yes.

All of the sudden these little shoes took on a different meaning to me. They represented so much more than a pair of shoes I needed to clean up.

They are my reason for being. They are my mission in this life. They are the blessing I have of holding my sweet children every day. They are a reason for me to continually strive to do better. They are my eternal joy.

So, rather than pick the shoes up and toss them down the stairs. I picked them up and lovingly placed them in safer spot grateful that I had the opportunity to do so.

Cause you know what? They grow up. You begin to be less important in their lives. There will come a time that you will fight for their attention.

So, I decided I am going to be better and bask in their love and attention for as long as I can. I am going to cuddle more and argue less. I am going to cherish more and resent less. I am going to give more attention to where it is most deserved…to the little feet that are in my life.

Plexus for the first 3 weeks!

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Plexus has been good to me. I am not about to promote some lose weight quickly scheme. As a matter of fact, I have lost a couple of pounds but not a dramatic loss.

Plexus is about balancing your internal body. It is optimizing the bacteria that is in your body to allow your body to work the right way.

This is what the Plexus Triplex does for you:

Benefits & Features

  • Clinically demonstrated weight loss system*
  • Promotes the growth of good gut microbes◊*
  • Increases Lactobacillus by 365 times and Bifidobacterium by 290 times- contributing to overall health◊*
  • Increases the metabolism enhancing Akkermansia by 250 times◊*
  • Supports healthy glucose metabolism*
  • Helps keep intestinal yeast in balance*
  • Helps support a healthy intestinal tract*
  • Helps improve natural response to imbalance*
  • Helps cleanse the gastrointestinal tract*
  • Reduces gas, bloating, and discomfort*
  • Helps promote regularity*
  • Helps remove harmful microbes and substances*
  • Supports your body’s natural detoxification processes*
  • Supports weight loss when combined with a healthy diet and exercise*
  • Delivers 2 billion CFU per capsule+
  • No artificial colors, flavors or preservatives
  • Gluten Free

It has made me fell more energetic even when I have only gotten a few hours of sleep. I have felt more calm. All of my sugar cravings have all but gone away. I have not had a desire to have a soda since I started drinking Plexus and my water intake has easily doubled.

Because it is back to school time, I have slacked off on my new exercise habit and my eating has been not as healthy (the school has bought our lunch this week). However, I don’t eat as much and the desire to have sugar or carbs has gone away.

I never thought I would tell you Plexus is amazing but that is what I am doing. I am not trying to sell you something. I am trying to inform you of how wonderful I feel inside and out.

Go to my website and check it out.  http://shopmyplexus.com/caycethill

Just a FYI: it is cheaper to become an ambassador and buy the welcome kit. You won’t be pressured to sell…just experience the good health.

Bottoms up! 

Here we go…

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I just posted my current photos on my Facebook group. Wow! That was hard.

I actually started in June by stopping soda. I have since picked up my bad habit again but I am stopping it as well.

Then, I started running. the first week it was intervals of 2 minutes walking 60 seconds running. Week 2 was 90 seconds running. week 3 is jog for 90 sec walk for 90 sec jog for 3 min walk for 3 min two repetitions.  (a bit nervous about it).

I am going to try and incorporate some small steps to help me reach my goal.

I sure hope you can join me on my journey. But first, I hope you will find the strength to get up, get moving and set your own goals.

Post your picture(if you are comfortable with that) and your goals. 🙂

I really believe together we are stronger.

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