Pool Party!

Friday was the 11th birthday of Diesel Eugene, and we celebrated with a pizza party by the pool! =)

Whitaker fam + Aunt Lindsey!

2023 and 2025

The water felt great, and it was good to catch up on life with Kristin whilst watching the boys and Frankie do all kinds of jumps and tricks!

I had them pose together, knowing I was recreating this 2015 pic... love how it turned out! 

The sun was at just the right angle for fun sun-flare pics! 

Love these boys!!  And Eagle One pizza did not disappoint!  We also had rice krispie treats and cupcakes + Pokemon themed gifts. =)  (His official bday party was on Saturday, but I missed it due to being in Tulsa, so I'm glad we got to celebrate on his real birthday!)

I hope it was a fun birthday weekend and hope it's a great year ahead for Diesel!!

❤ ❤ ❤

"I'm Back."

So I'm rewatching The Last Dance lately (incredibly slowly due to school + counseling + court work).  When Michael Jordan temporarily retired in 1993, I'm very convinced that decision was made out of deep love and respect for his dad (murdered earlier that year).  He wanted to be able to say that his dad saw his last game, and he wanted to honor him by trying baseball, which his dad had strongly encouraged.  A couple years later, he really missed basketball and decided to return.  A speechwriter for the Bulls press conference worked hard trying to convey the nuanced details and complex emotions behind his decision, offering him 3 or 4 different versions to choose from.  Michael told him none of them quite reflected how he wanted to say it, so the writer asked MJ to draft his own version.  He grabbed a pen and wrote: "I'm back." which became the official press release. lol  No lengthy explanation or justification needed.  I love it so much, and I love him and his fiercely competitive spirit!

"Winning has a price, and leadership has a price.  So I pulled people along when they didn’t want to be pulled.  I challenged people when they didn’t want to be challenged.  And I earned that right... Once you joined the team, you lived at a certain standard that I played the game, and I wasn’t going to take anything less... I wanted to win, but I wanted them to win and be a part of that as well."  ~Michael Jordan, The Last Dance (episode 7)

And yes, a shorter version of that quote made its way into my leadership philosophy paper! =)  I'm thinking about leadership in everything I watch and read and listen to lately, and I'm enjoying that.

In other news, after 10.5 months without counseling a single client, my LPC-Candidacy has finally begun.  As of today, I'm back!  

I brought Rach's clipboard with me today, and it was comforting to look down and see this! =)

I also wore my fav "peasant shirt" from my vintage 2009 collection - still a fan! ;-)

My first session back took every bit of two hours, but it went well!  I'm mildly overwhelmed but also super grateful to be communicating with five new clients and more referrals coming in from ITSOK, and apparently a local pediatrician has been recommending me based on a younger client who enjoyed working with me last year, which was a surprising but flattering turn of events this morning. lol

Three memes I've saved recently with a very clear common theme:

If that didn't make it clear, everything in me was nervous about getting started again - but I didn't talk myself out of it, so that's a mini-victory.  Having session one over with helps a bit, but I will still have to push myself with my "calm and confident, warm and competent" mantra and my strong desire to nonverbally communicate, "You are safe here, you can trust me, and I can help you!"  It's such a learning curve in the beginning with all the new software and mountain of paperwork and regulations and more, but the actual real life connection and the sense that (with God's help) I am capable of helping someone improve their life in a real and lasting way makes the rest feel very worth it! ❤  I'm thankful to be back and in a setting with more autonomy in my approach and the clients I choose.  Trying to reframe the nerves as being excited - and honestly, both are true.  Prayers appreciated as I move forward!

Feelings fade.  Purpose is forever.  Keep going.

❤ ❤ ❤

Listening Library

1.  The Silent Patient  by Alex Michaelides -- Well written, but not really the type of book I enjoy!  It's a thriller or crime fiction book - I tried it because Alicia and Katie highly recommended it and really loved the plot twist, so I wanted to know more.  It was interesting, but I get enough crime stories in court. lol

2.  LeaderShift: 11 Essential Changes Every Leader Must Embrace by John C. Maxwell - The first of his books that I've read.  Good, but a little formulaic.  I'm on a leadership kick, so it was helpful to think about the ways my thinking needs to shift to be an inspiring leader (soloist to conductor, team uniformity to team diversity, pleasing people to challenging people, etc.)!  It also added some good content for my Leadership Philosophy paper, so yay for that!

3.  Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament by Mark Vroegop - (Recommended by Alicia when she heard I was interested in grief counseling).  This explains lament from a Biblical perspective - the author is a dad grieving the loss of his child, and he writes about how the book of Lamentations offers a blueprint for venting frustrations and expressing hard emotions while keeping our hearts turned toward God.  Heavy, but good and aligned with my heart for helping people move forward with grief.  

4.  The Coffee Bean: A Simple Lesson to Create Positive Change by Damon West and Jon Gordon - Very short and not worth the money for the audiobook, honestly - it would've been 100x better if Damon had told more of his own story rather than stopping with the short metaphor.  He was on the Jefferson Fisher podcast (video HERE)... Damon had served time in prison, and he shared the advice another man gave him just before going in: Think of prison as a pot of boiling water... and you can be like a carrot that is weakened and softened by that environment.  You can be like an egg that becomes hard inside... Or you can be like the coffee bean that gradually changes the water surrounding it.  Y'all know I love metaphors, and this one works in all of life - wherever we may find ourselves, it's important to remember we have the power to color and change our environment rather than allowing it to weaken or harden us. ❤

5.  The 5 Second Rule by my friend, Mel Robbins - Mel is the queen of audiobooks!  She reads them in such a natural, conversational way that it's much more like listening to her podcast (which I also enjoy).  She's also the queen of expounding on a simple concept and giving you loads of practical examples and stories to help it stick.  The concept here is giving yourself a 5-4-3-2-1, GO!! countdown for any task you do not want to do - pushing forward and interrupting the part of your brain that overthinks things and talks you out of it.  Sounds simple, but it's effective, and it's revolutionizing my morning routine at the moment (no more snooze button). =)

6.  Visioneering: God's Blueprint for Developing and Maintaining Vision by Andy Stanley - So good - my favorite of the three books on this list recommended by Alicia! =)  Andy writes eloquently about vision-casting, leadership, and the inimitable value of moral authority!!  He goes through the story of Nehemiah as he led the rebuilding of the temple - "I am doing a great work, and I cannot come down."  My favorite part was definitely the section on moral authority, also known as the anointing of God on those who have a clear conscience before Him.  Andy said, "On the path to any big dream, you will be tempted to compromise.  We have to be willing to let go of our vision or dream before we would compromise our moral authority."  Embracing that concept has already cost me several hours of extra work, and paid off in higher self-respect, a deeper connection with God, and greater confidence in my creative writing and academic research abilities!!

Okay then, Happy Monday!  I love you and believe in you,

and I'm confident God will finish the good things He has begun in us and for us and through us!!

❤ ❤ ❤

An Adventure of Endless Adjustments

Happy Sunday, friends and family!  Here's me, Katie, Ashley, and Jennifer - my women's lifegroup!  We met for 3 hours and had an impromptu group therapy session of sorts on Saturday - I'm grateful for each of them and happy to have these new connections here!! ❤

Nurse Kristie (our CHA friend who helped care for Mom a couple years back) celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary last week! =)

And Sarah Elizabeth celebrated her 37th Birthday yesterday!

Love this - "an adventure of endless adjustments" feels perfectly phrased. lol. God knows the details, so we don't have to!

Judge Brockman and Judge Tupper (at a Cleveland County lunch event I didn't know about, but probably would've skipped). lol

The Miss K made us a Google Slideshow of her Birthday Wishlist!

She is all about her birthday this year, and I'm here for it! lol

Seeing this the day they added it made me happy!

Why I'm always likely to have a blog or journal...

Ashley Campbell opening the box of her first published book + Ruth celebrating her 70th birthday in Scotland! ❤

Jennifer brought these InnerActive therapy cards - we each chose 3 to represent a part of our story, then shared those stories with the group - which led to super interesting and deep conversations! ❤

You are capable.  You are worth it.  You are still in the game.

Keep going!! ❤

Today started with At the Movies at MWC Life.Church followed by Pelican's lunch (a classic throwback), then my first supervision session with April, then tonight was a fun movie night seeing Superman with Rach, Jaceman, and Kyndal Faith!  The 4D motion was intense - we needed seatbelts! lol

Yes, there's chocolate in my teeth, but still a cute pic! lol

Clearly, I save a lot of Jeff Moore's posts - the encouragement to keep going and press through hard things is needed in this season!

God has full power to speak things into existence, and His plan prevails - praying for deeper faith and peace as I lean into what that means for my own life!!

That's all for today.  Thanks for being here, and goodnight!  I love you and believe in you, and I hope you've had a great weekend!!

❤ ❤ ❤

Thankful Thursday #228!

"Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters:
You must all be quick to listen,
slow to speak, and slow to get angry."
❤ James 1:19

Today, I am thankful for:

1.  This crew all being available on short notice for a fun early birthday dinner for Sarah Elizabeth last night!! ❤

2.  Charleston's potato soup and thickly-grated cheese and honey-butter croissants + The Big Dipper's Ultimate Cookies n' Cream ice cream... yum!  Also, catching up on life whilst the kids watched Baby Groot for a while!! =)

Kate and Parker being cute besties on our pre-dessert Brookside walk!

All the kids had fun playing with Uncle Steve!

3.  A brief pre-dinner walk at my fav Addison Creek trail + CAVA lunch and catching up with Kristin Renee for a couple hours!!  (All in all, it was a great random Wednesday off work, and today, I'm just covering the office phones and catching up on homework... and blogging! lol)

4.  Dr. Burkhart grading via video with more personalized feedback and explanations - loving that!

5.  Making this childhood fav Fruity Pebble Rice Krispie treats - quick, easy, and tasty... and gluten free, apparently! =)

6.  Rach taking a minute to email me at the new address - made me happy! =)

7.  My new "leadership routine" - I'm trying to establish a really consistent and sustainable morning habit list to get my days off to a strong start + setting my daily priorities early on, throwing in more veggies and protein, and getting to bed earlier with a brief wind-down routine that doesn't involve hours of TV!  I'm calling it a leadership routine bc that makes mundane things feel more meaningful to me, and because Dr. Burkhart is heavily emphasizing building up daily disciplines and understanding: "You are the most difficult and most important person you will ever lead and manage - start there!"

So I'll end with a meme that feels related to that. lol

Also grateful for an awesome long weekend (see the past 3 posts), and looking forward to a fun family dinner tonight!  Hope you're feeling better, Kristin Michelle!  And Happy Thursday, friends and fam ~ I love you and believe in you, and I believe in your ability to set healthy boundaries and routines and create a life you love!!

❤ ❤ ❤

A Fond Farewell Fiesta!

Last night was a Farewell Fiesta party for the Shoemaker family, who are moving back to Texas next weekend!  Here's our bright and summery group picture, which delights my soul!! ❤  (JEM was also there but had to leave a little early with Henry and Holly.)

Chet Lee grilling the fajita veggies on the Blackstone (after the tortillas and before the chicken)!

The food was awesome!

Parker Elizabeth and Zealand being cute friends (and classmates)!

Tate Haywood ready to swim!!  I was happy he conquered his fear of the poolside slide on Saturday!  Also, their flippers make me happy!

Heidi Claire enjoying the photo wall of memories!  I printed around 75 photos of the Shoemakers and our friend group over the past six years!

Wilsons and Shoemakers!  Two of my fav families!! ❤

Pinata time!!  (Harvey, Parker, and Sophia)

So much candy!!

Mark and Rachel are both counselors, so we've had lots of great conversations about that!  I'm super grateful for their friendship, support, advice, and encouragement!!

Parker Elizabeth wanted a picture with the moon. lolol  LOVE IT.

Exactly six years ago today (7-7-19), Chet invited a few friends to help his clients paint their new home.  That was my first time meeting Mark and Rachel.  They came to Friendsgiving that November, and to nearly every fun friend group event over the past six years!  I so appreciate people who show up and participate and engage in conversation, and they've been top-tier, dependable friends in that way through the past six years!!

With this move, they will be closer to their families and better able to support Rachel's mom through her cancer treatments.  So I'm sincerely happy for them, while being genuinely sad to see them go!

Much like myself, I think Tulsa will always have a place in their hearts.  Unlike myself, I don't see them moving back down the road.

Our random patriotic final pic with Chet's flags - I couldn't love it more!!

That's all for today - proud of myself for getting these written before work!

Happy 7-7, friends!!  I love you and believe in you, and I pray God gives you the daily grace and strength you need to have an awesome week ahead!

❤ ❤ ❤