HAPPY STARTS.

(FREE PRINTABLE FOUND BELOW!)

hello there! 

Where have I been? not anywhere glamorous, to be sure. I've been here. In the walls of our home, back and forth from laundry room to bedroom to couch to rocking chair. Back porch to swing set, to Walmart and back home again. 

It's been the summer of... of... I'm not even sure yet, as I'm still sorta kinda down in the fog of it all, but I can tell you this, I'm seeing light more and more every day again, thanks to good people, good doctors, good meds, meditation, prayer, sunshine, and just the sheer passing of time. 

Perhaps little by little I'll share more here and there, as I tend to do it seems through lettering and short essays, but for now, just know that I've been in the trenches. and I've come face to face with my faith and trust and surrender to God's will. I've been stretched and twisted and felt broken and frankly, hopeless, wanting to run far far away. 

But I haven't. 

I am still here. 

And I wanted to share with you one of the very simple things that kept my feet on the ground when everything else seemed to be spinning out of my control. 

HAPPY STARTS.

(the original that we used all summer)

It started as a heartfelt prayer really wanting to know what my children needed this summer. The answer? Routine. yuck! I am not someone who thrives on routine typically, and especially not in the summer. Little did I know we would lay around for months fighting whooping cough, and the simple routine established before the storm helped us ALL cope and stay mentally, spiritually, and even physically as well as possible. 

A simple little printable that I cut up and had by each kids bed for them to grab when they woke up and work through one by one each morning. Nothing has made my mama heart more full than watching my littles sneak away to say their personal prayers and mark up every Book of Mormon in the house with all the sight words they know. 

As I watched how good it was for them to get into a routine, I decided my own mental health could use some of that magic. 

And so I quickly made one for me, and STUCK TO IT. and IT WAS HARD. 

But. worth it. 1000x over. 

There are seasons when we can do some coasting downhill in our lives. When peddling along doesn't require much exertion, we feel the wind on our cheeks and have the energy to look around, hear the birds, and take in the beautiful day. and there are other times when all we can do is keep our head down at the ground and pump our legs as hard as we can to keep moving. one after the other after the other. gripping tight to each handle, sweat on our brow, moving slowly up the steep hill. we can't look around and take in the day. we can't hear birds chirping. we can only focus on the 12" in front of us, and how we're going to pedal one more time around. 

These simple routines have kept us afloat this summer. Kept us close to one another, focused on gratitude, and reminded that we were never alone or far from our Savior. These simple daily practices brought faith and trust to our days and mighty prayer said together and individually. 

I wanted to pass on this inspired list of "Happy Starts" in case you too are looking for an anchor in the storm. 

We can also call this my "easing back into creativity & fighting off back to school anxiety" project. ;) The darling illustrations for our non-readers were done by my friend, Lisa at LDZStudios & if you haven't seen the amazing things she creates for children.. you need to! She is a talented artist and maker-- I'm so thankful she made these little happy starts come to life for us! You can also find her on Instagram HERE. 

Skimming this post? Go get your freebies!

Kids Happy Starts & Positive Affirmations Printable

Adult Happy Starts Printable 

Hugs!

Courtney