Hello, my friend!

I hope you’ve had a wonderful week so far!

My little ones and I had a delightful morning at the aquarium that included a surprise visit from Ben, my husband, during his lunch break. As entertaining, fascinating, and – in the case of the sea otters – adorable the animals were, I honestly think my children had more fun after we got home and they got to roam free outside for a while, pulling weeds (my son actually enjoys this!), searching for snails, and playing with caterpillars.

My daughter, who’s just 15 months old, has entered her “Dirt is Life” era and has taken to plunging her chunky little hands into any dirt pile she quite literally stumbles upon. Good thing I hover close by because I’ve saved those little hands from multiple anthills!

Today’s simple, but oh so lovely, outdoor adventure takes me to the first item in this week’s Top 4!:

7 Reasons Why Getting Outside is Great for Kids (from https://childmind.org/article/why-kids-need-to-spend-time-in-nature/)

Getting outdoors does all seven of those for me too and I’m an adult! (most of the time…)

Another Way to Get Your Thoughts Flowing

“The simplest way to clarify your thinking is to write a full page about whatever you are dealing with and then delete everything except the 1-2 sentences that explain it best.” – James Clear

When’s the last time you sat down to journal or otherwise write for pleasure? How did you feel afterward?

Control and Trust

I heard this quote on a recent interview between Dr. Andrew Huberman and Dr. Becky Kennedy and loved it so much I quoted it on my podcast last week:

“Control and trust are opposites, so I only control what I don’t trust.” – Dr. Becky Kennedy

A Big Blow to Birth Control

Birth control is ubiquitous nowadays, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing! After my own terrible experience with Paragard (a form of non-hormonal birth control) and learning that birth control isn’t as harmless as we’re made to believe (both physically and spiritually…), I love discussing the topic of birth control and NFP (natural family planning) with other women.

I chatted about birth control in my last two podcast episodes (found HERE and HERE) and also very much enjoyed the deep dive on women’s health and fertility that Allie Beth Stuckey did in a recent interview HERE. Hope you enjoy!