Tuesday Tea Time!

Tuesday Tea Time!

I'm 2 weeks into not being pregnant any longer. This is still a weird reality. The first week after Kaia's birth & death was somewhat of an out of body experience for Z & I.

We are by no means the first or the last to have loved & to have lost a child in this way. And while every fiber of our being knows, believes, & trusts fully that Kaia is in the arms of God, it does not make us want her in our arms any less.

Our Spirit gifted faith & celebration of Easter helps carry us through each day into the next. Some times life starts to blur so quickly from one big event to the next, that it takes something to jolt us to a stop & focus on our breathes.

Kaia Gene's life & death jolted us to this stop. It's not how we wanted to be forced to stop, but most likely nothing would have been ideal if it was so big & disrupting to our very cores to make us stop.

Breathe, just breathe. That is what I've been doing to get me through these times. I've been focusing on my breaths. Especially the importance of deep breathing. And with each breath I take the time to give thanks for that breath, for the moment, & for the life that I still have here on earth. We are granted new perspectives in these life events that jolt us to a stop.

Reminded of how precious our time with loved ones is, we plan for the future, one step at a time. And let's be honest, we plan for the future one sip of tea after another, after another, after another, at a time.

Today I'm getting lost in my Tuesday Tea. Thanks for sharing the time!

Friday Favorites: One Word 365!

This One 365: healthy updates has become one of my favorite things to share. In the midst of the ups & downs in life I am constantly taken back to something I learned many years ago through the ministries of Spoke Folk, PMS check-ins. Yes, that's right, Physical Mental Spiritual check-ins. When my brain starts whirling & I'm overwhelmed for better or worse PMS check-ins with myself & others help me to be honest to where I am in the moment.

Physically: I'm having sympathy pains for a friend recently diagnosed with cancer & going through tests. I'm missing cycling & yearning to take a yoga class. Camp food is decent, but it is not what I would normally eat at home so that creates some other interesting physical changes.

Mental: Mentally I've been lingering in the over joyed portion of the feelings wheel. Just the other day I celebrated 3 wonderful years of being married to my best friend & as you can see from the photo it turned out to be a beautiful day. The people that showed their support & love for us either through cards, phone calls, & Facebook was over the top & wonderful. We wouldn't be the couple or individuals that we are without all yall in our lives. And then on the opposite spectrum my heart is aching, literally, for my friend & all those with unknown health roads ahead. In reality, I acknowledge that includes all of us, but many of us don't know of the health concerns yet to come.

Spiritual: The Holy Spirit, she's my favorite! Yes, I said it. Recently I haven't found or taken time to do my daily dose of drawing or journaling or blogging or writing poetry, but there is no doubt in any piece of me that the Spirit is acting in, through, & around me pushing & pulling me into each day with deep breathes reminding me where I come from & giving me hope in what is yet to come.

SO there ya have it. My PMS check-in as of late. My job is great & I'm constantly learning something new & working with new people & learning pieces of their stories. My call to being the church in the world through Diaconal Ministry couldn't be a better fit for my outgoing relational community driven self.

What's your PMS?

Tuesday Tea Time...with the English!

Tuesday Tea Time!

photo courtesy of Trip Advisor

This morning I am drinking English Breakfast Tea,so I'm not really with the English. Though I often like to reminisce about my time in Scotland & England. It's hard to believe that this Fall it will have been 8 years since I ventured across the ocean on my own. The above picture reminds me of several tea rooms that I enjoyed with friends while I studied at Stirling Uni. 

While the snow continues to cover my world, I daydream about being back in one of these places. Shoot, I daydream about being back in IN or OH where they haven't had snow for weeks! However, there is work to be done to finish out my degree & then the sunny shores of warmer weather & iced tea can be a reality. 

What are you daydreaming about being a reality?