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I want you to experience life with your family
as the joyful, soul-stirring adventure it’s meant to be.
I invite you to lay the foundation of your Nourished Home that at once brings soul-stirring adventure to your life AND let's your whole family know that you are all loved and safe.
Stay in touch and get to know me by entering your e-mail and name in the boxes above. I'm so glad you're here!
With warmth & light,
It's time for me to tell you what I've been up to... What I'm about to birth into the world. Let me begin here.
I believe in my bones that every woman, whether she ever has a child or not, is a
Mama on a Mission.
When I became a mother I felt I knew who I was for the first time in my life. Before that I’d been wandering… Dabbling in various interests… A lifelong student who didn’t dare to commit to any notions of what my life’s work could or should be...
And then she came. My first born.
I knew who I was in this radical new role. I was a Mama and it was my mission to love her, nourish her, create a beautiful life for her, help her make her way in the world… Of course those early days were dominated by nursing and diapers, but you know what I mean. I was her MOTHER.
I want to introduce you to one of the great teachers in my life today. Her name is Emily Bessey. She moved to my small town with her husband, Ethan, daughter, Daisy, and baby boy, Ezra in 2012. I met Emily shortly after Ezra, at eight months old, passed away.
I've never before started a new friendship with someone who is in the middle of such unimaginable grief, whose worst nightmare has become reality.
But Emily is the kind of woman who lets love in.
Laila, my first born, turned seven on February 27th. Seven.
Her birth feels like a lifetime ago yet when I allow myself to slow down and remember, it all comes rushing back to me.
Damian and I taking that epic car ride to The Birth Center, feeling so ready, so excited, with total trust in each other... Pushing for 2 and 1/2 hours... Feeling the pain, adrenaline, joyful anticipation, the grand adventure of bringing her into the world. And then she was with us.
I was so exhausted and so alive and so in love. And life was never the same.
Last week was a tough one for me and my little family. It was also the fourth week of From Hectic to Harmonious: Cleanse Your Home ~ Connect with your Family, where I've been helping a beautiful group of mamas from around the world create more ease, joy, connection, and soul-stirring adventure in their family lives.
One common theme that's come up in our H2H community is that we need to know we're not alone in our struggles.
I want to be REAL with you and I'm being called to talk more and more about how connected we all really are.
I want you to know that I struggle with the very same things you do. So I made a super spontaneous video for you yesterday when I was singing and playing with Flannery in the woods.
I first published what you're about to read in January 2011 on a little private blog I shared with family and friends when we first moved back to my home state of Maine.
I'm currently leading a truly beautiful community of women through From Hectic to Harmonious 2014 and what has been hitting me time and time again is this.
You're not alone. I'm not alone.
We're all in this together.
I want you to know that I'm just like you. Doing my best to live in alignment with my core values, create the best life I can for my children, and journey through the wild, intense, beautifully overwhelming adventure of motherhood with calm confidence.
But it's not always a graceful path, is it?
Instead of choosing a bunch of resolutions this year that focus my energy on things I hope NOT to do but may fail at, like "I resolve to not eat ice cream. For the whole year."
Or lofty goals I aspire to but may be too hard to maintain, like "I resolve to exercise 7 days a week."
Instead of writing out resolutions that felt restrictive or impossible or just no fun, I did this:
I chose my word of the year.
I'm reflecting and looking back on the beautiful moments that felt so good and real and right for my family this past year.
Like this moment at camp six months ago. Flanny felt so free and strong and confident. She was happy and immersed in the moment. She wanted for nothing.
Yesterday was a tough parenting day for me...
As my girls get a bit older, I find that the challenges of mothering are only MORE challenging. Yesterday was a doozy with my almost seven-year-old.
When a big storm sets in for my darling girl, it pushes all of my buttons. It’s stressful. It’s hard to take.
Here’s what I do during such storms to ground myself.
Wow. I can't believe that we're already here on our final day of the From Hectic to Harmonious Holiday Interview Series! One of the major themes I've noticed for each woman interviewed is this:
(1) Their favorite memories of childhood and current traditions with their families are simple and all about being connected to the ones they love, and (2) they don't want to focus on the "stuff" of the holidays (the excess of material gifts). They DO want to embrace the spirit of connection, joy, presence (over presents!), and gratitude.
If you're feeling a similar pull, I invite you to join the From Hectic to Harmonious MOVEMENT of over 1,000 families from around the world.
Okay. Onto our final interview. I'm so happy to introduce to my dear friend and colleague, Maddy Vertenten of Vibrant One.
CLICK HERE to gain access to Laura's FREE video series so you can simplify your home, connect with your family, and feel ALIVE (instead of exhausted) in 6 days.