My science loving self spent today at Nasa Johnson for the NASA Social – learning, doing, and discussing all the coolness happening on the International Space Station and the future plans.

While Bryan and the kids weren’t able to go with me, (they spent the day at the Space Center) the knowledge and experience that I am able to bring back to them (the kids especially) is priceless.

And it doesn’t hurt when you go out to dinner with an astronaut afterward. <grin>

Maggie-Peyton thought it was so cool to once again hang with an astronaut. But truthfully, she was quite entertained with the Google Glass a friend of mine had.

Nicholas, on the other hand, was star struck when speaking with Astronaut Mike Fossum.
I have never heard ‘Yes, sir’ come out of his mouth so many times consecutively in my life.

Mike talked to him about his current involvement with the Civil Air Patrol and steps he needs to take to apply for the Academy.

It warmed this momma’s heart to see Nicholas so engrossed in all Mike was saying – because goodness knows I could tell him (and have told him) the very same things, but it rolls in one ear and out another. Go figure. But when you are 13 and have a real live astronaut encouraging you, it is a different story.

Mike, what a blessing it was for you to take that time with him. I am forever grateful.

My day today began at Rocket Park, and quickly advanced to tours, presentations, a live press conference, and a web conference. {You can see many of my Instagram photos here}

I will share more later on many details of today and of the many different programs NASA has to offer everyone to get involved. Adults and kids alike – there is always something you can do to help make this world a better place.

Astronaut Mike told a story this evening about his journey to working for NASA.

He was once in the service. At the time of him getting out of the service, his mother (who lived in Texas) had fallen ill. He said he knew it was time to ‘move back home.’ He said he had always known he wanted to work with the space program. But he didn’t have the experience of just applying to NASA and getting hired.

He was rejected 7 times.

After a few rejections, some of his friends, many who were astronauts, encouraged him to go back to school.

And he did. He continued to apply himself.

He continued to try to be the best he could be in his field.

He wanted to stand out.

All while he continued to apply with NASA.

Eventually, he was hired.

He later served on STS-121, STS-124, and Expedition 28/29.

He has logged more than 194 days in space, including more than 48 hours of Extravehicular Activity (EVA) in seven spacewalks.

Today he still serves as an active Astronaut.

His advice to all of us – young and old?

Follow your passion.

Find what you love to do and be the best there is in that field.

Whether it is engineering, the medical field, a pilot, whatever – do it. And do it with all of your heart.

Don’t do it to be noticed. Do it because you love it.

People will see your passion. They will take notice of your determination.

They will see a joy about you, because you will be happy.

You will be living your dream.

And if you are doing what you love, you will one day be able to look back on a life well lived.

{i shared on facebook a few weeks ago, asking for prayer for a dear friend who had suffered a stroke. she is the mother of our children’s god-mother. late today, she went to be with the lord. bryan and i both agreed she was perfect example to all of us of someone who lived life as it should be lived. she enjoyed every day. she enjoyed her family, her friends. she served to help make this world a better place. she will forever hold a special place in all of our hearts. she is already missed.}

Can y’all hear the extra twang in my voice when I write that?

Bryan said earlier today that he could get used to this state because everybody here sounds a lot like us. ha! So, we tip our hats to y’all here. We are huge fans.

We got into Houston late last night and barely got our stuff sat down, and all four of us passed out tired.

You name it, we have done it, seen it, and eaten it over the last few days.

I guarantee you.

I originally had in my mind we were to leave last Friday. Turned out it was Saturday.
Which ended up being a great thing, because we had many loose ends we had to tie up before we left.

And y’all, Saturday morning was worse than us trying to get out the door on time to church each Sunday. Everyone had just ‘one more thing’ to check or grab.

Finally, we were off. Texas bound.

We have a {well planned} Google Doc shared between all of us with our agenda.

It has each day listed with our ‘plan’ for the day – pit stops for sight seeing and tours, how many miles we will be driving each day, and where we are sleeping.

It has columns for the expense of each activity, each day’s gas, and lodging.

While we have a plan – it’s a loose plan. Very loose.

With a trip like this, there is no ‘running behind’ -

I only had to be in Houston by tonight for tomorrow.

Other than that, we are pretty much going at our own pace.

In our world? That’s the best way to travel.

If we see something on the side of the road that looks interesting, we stop.

If we decide we are craving watermelon, we grab one from a peddler, throw out a blanket, and dig in.

It’s those times we will all remember.

The memories at the theme parks? Sure, they will hold scrapbook pages, too.

But the simple moments we enjoy together are the ones that tend to stand out to all of us.

you can follow our adventures here: twitter  |  facebook  |  instagram  |  vine  |  google +

The topic: teaching kids to deal with anger.

(don’t we all look so happy to be talking about anger?!) ha!

Truth be told, I’m not the best teacher of this subject. I recently took the Unglued Assessment, and it told me I am a stuffer who builds barriers.

Imagine that.

Things tick me off or upset me and I push it down deep inside and carry on about my day – until something else (of non-importance) triggers those buried emotions and I explode.

Yep. That can be me.

That has been me.

This is probably where most of of you are rolling your eyes and wondering, ‘Why would you ever do that?’ Well, if I knew I would flip the switch to turn it off. It’s called being a human with flaws. Don’t y’all have any of those?

I am guilty of not addressing things as they needed to be dealt with. I am guilty of stuffing feelings into a hole in my heart and just ignoring them. Or at least I try to.

Out of sight – out of mind. It’s often what I try to convince myself works.

Until the hard times come. And when those times come, everything seems to rise to the surface at once and explodes. And maybe it’s not even the hardest times that have to happen. Bryan or the kids can do the slightest little thing to tick me off and trigger anger in me – and I explode. And unfortunately they are left standing there wondering what in the world they have done so horribly. When truth be told. I’m not angry at them.

I’m angry at an outside source that I have allowed to steal my joy and trump my contentment. I may be angry at something I should have already dealt with. Or maybe at something that at the end of the day – is really out of my control.

And very possibly that something is something that I need to completely let go.

Lysa talked about this very thing in her book Unglued.

Those moments that we feel the world is unraveling thread by thread – and we want to scream?

Those moments that we feel we have no control over – and want to take on the reigns of the world and steer them our way?

Those are hard.

Whether they are moments that we as adults are facing – or our children.

They are hard. And they are very real.

Just call me old yeller.

I admit it. I am a yeller.

I have no idea why – my parents aren’t yellers. Yelling was never the norm in my house growing up. Truth be told, you will most likely never hear my dad say a cross word about anyone. He will give his opinion about things he doesn’t agree with  – politically, bad sports calls, etc. – but he is not an angry person. I wish I had gotten that gene. Because me on the other hand? I stew.

And unfortunately, I have the memory of an elephant when it comes to things I wish I could forget. But everything of real importance in life must be written down.

This chat covered a pretty taboo topic.

So many people don’t want to admit how they handle many emotions behind closed doors. And so many people (me included) easily judge others for handling things differently that we think they should.

At the end of the day – we are all human.
Do we all make mistakes? You better believe it.
Can we all as parents improve in areas of life? There’s not one of us who can’t.
The days I have yelled at my kids? I ended up wanting to crawl in a hole.

Heck no – I’m not setting a good example for them when I am yelling at them to stop yelling at me.
What good is that doing?

I don’t always do a great job of showing them how to handle the stresses of life that they will eventually to be served. I am an imperfect parent.

At some point, we all mess up. What’s important is we own our mistakes, especially with our kids – recognize the areas of our lives that need improvement, have accountability, and take steps to make changes. And above all – forgive ourselves.

What’s also important is that our children feel loved. And safe. (I talked about that more here.) They need to be encouraged to communicate their feelings – in a healthy manner – and work through them.

Kids of all ages need to understand that all of these crazy emotions they feel from different situations – anger included – are not only normal, but healthy.

Books on dealing with anger:

• Hot Stuff to Help Kids Chill Out: The Anger Management Book
• Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions
• I Am So Angry, I Could Scream: Helping Children Deal with Anger (Let’s Talk)
• How to Control Your Anger (Before It Controls You : A Guide for Teenagers)

You can watch the Bonfire chat here —> http://youtu.be/1-9wAFljG6Ul

Meet the panelists: Carolyn | Darcy | Gigi | Jennifer | Jenn | Mary | Shannon

Monday night took Nicholas took the test for Staff Sergeant – and passed!

I laugh when I tell people this, but he is living his life dream.

He is only 13.

As I said before, he has had his eye on joining the Civil Air Patrol since he was 10.

He joined when he was eligible, at the age of 12. And has been living his dream since.

The hardest part of this program for us personally? We like to travel, and attendance is imperative.

I have seen a difference in this child since joining The Civil Air Patrol. There is more discipline. And (because it is a requirement) he likes to keep his hair cut. <grin>

The goal of the Cadet Program is designed to give the Cadets the opportunity to develop leadership and technical skills and learn about aviation and space.

Benefits of Civil Air Patrol

• CAP introduces cadets to Air Force perspectives on leadership. This is done through classroom instruction, mentoring, and hands on learning. Cadets are first followers, and then progress to leading small teams. The best leaders are first followers. Leadership skills are developed that will be used throughout their adult lives.
• CAP inspires in youth a love of aviation, space, and technology. (Well, this is right up our alley) The participants study the fundamentals of aerospace science as well as fly an aircraft. Cadets who wish to fly can develop their skills – from beginner to licensed pilot - through local flight encampment, national flight academies and flight scholarships.
• The Cadet Program program promotes fitness and a lifestyle. Calisthenics and numerous physical activities, the cadets are taught and led to make good decisions for their body and live a healthy lifestyle.
• The Cadets are challenged to live out the Civil Air Patrol’s Core Values – integrity, volunteer service, excellence, respect.
• More than $250,000 in academic and flight training scholarships are available to cadets each year.
• The activities available are endless. Weekend activities may include O-flights, train for disaster relief and search and rescue missions, or take part in camping adventures. Basic encampments are offered each summer and winter, as well as specialized camps based on interests of the Cadets – aerospace, engineering, photography, radio communications, and much more. While there are some stipulations to many of these encampments, every participant will have the opportunity if he or she applies himself. The best part of all of these activities? The cadets have a blast! They are surrounded by peers with many of the same interests. Experiencing some of life’s greatest adventures along with good friends? It doesn’t get much better.

My momma heart is thrilled Nicholas is involved in this program. And even more so that he is progressing as he is. But mostly, I love that he is driving this ship.

Remember the youth sports programs where everyone gets a trophy?

The Civil Air Patrol is not a program where everyone wins.

It is up to each Cadet individually as to how quickly he progresses.

Dedication, discipline, determination. It’s required to be successful in anything in life.

The Civil Air Patrol is no different.

While each cadet is surrounded by support, tools, and encouragement to succeed, it is up to him (or her) individually to make it happen.

Eligibility for Civil Air Patrol

• A cadet must be at least 12 and no older than 18.
• A cadet may remain in the program until age 21.
• National, state, and regional dues are required on a yearly basis. Dues vary from state to state.

Do I believe the Civil Air Patrol is for every child? No. Nor is homeschooling, football, violin lessons….

Every child is unique. Let them be.

But if your child has an interest in aviation or aerospace, it will provide a great foundation for them – as well as offer one of a kind opportunities throughout the years.

In a nutshell, Bryan came home from Amelia Island. That job was finished.
He has outstanding bids on different jobs now. And now we sit and wait to hear something.

That waiting period? It’s hard.

At the same time, there is a source of income that he has had for a while now that we have grown accustomed to, but have also known for quite some time that he needs to let it go. He needs to break away for many reasons – and with that decision there has come a peace.

Taking that step to break away? That’s hard too.

Especially when you are in that waiting period.

There’s still a lot of ‘what ifs’ rolling around in our heads from time to time; we are human. But we also know if we are holding onto something in life that is not to be ours, how are we to be blessed?

It’s almost like we have just been keeping it in our back pocket – just in case.
Just in case The Lord doesn’t provide something else as quickly as we think He should.

Although He has already shown us to let it go.

There is difference between faith and foolishness.

Taking a step of faith is trusting that the Lord knows all and is already steps ahead of you.

Taking that step of faith admits that you aren’t in control.

We like to be in control.

Being foolish is quitting a job without a new one and sitting back on the couch with your feet up, with the attitude of God will take care of it.

Yes, God takes care of things.
But there is also this thing called self-will.

Have you ever seen the movie Bruce Almighty?

Bryan has always been the one to preach stay in motion. You don’t just sit back with your feet up waiting on the world to serve you.

God will direct those who are in motion.

Sometimes life calls for throwing a whole bunch of stuff at the wall to see what sticks.

But be prepared. Because what sticks may surprise you.

Is this an uneasy time around here?

It could be. Easily.

For whatever reason, I don’t have the anxiety that I normally would.

Neither of us do.

Bryan said earlier today, “…. life may get to my head but it NEVER gets to my heart.”

What a difference that will make in a life!

Had the timing of all of this not been now, we probably wouldn’t be able to spontaneously take this road trip together.

All of our needs are supplied. And most of our wants.

I am grateful for The Lord’s provisions.

I am grateful for those valleys we have walked. They have allowed us to see the power of God.
Up close and personal.

I have seen God’s hand in so many situations throughout my short life.

Maybe I am finally starting to truly believe that He really does control it all.

I know that His timing is always perfect.

And all things of Him will come full circle. In the fullness of time.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:11-13

He had picked the flowers ‘in the middle of the night’ to surprise me.

He was so proud of his efforts. The purple flowers weren’t open when he picked them, but they were by morning.

I’m positive our neighbors still have no idea they are missing flowers today. <grin>

Maggie-Peyton had addressed my card from them.

Those words? Those words mean the world to me.

When all is quiet, those words reflect their hearts.

In the midst of the busyness and the loud noise of life, how easily tempers can fly and short words can be spoken.

Eyes will roll. Deep sighs are often given.

And that sassiness? It often prevails.

Especially at the ages of 13 and 11.

During the hustle and bustle of life, how often we don’t take the time to pick the flowers. Or make those hand-made cards.

This is a drawing I found this last week while cleaning out paperwork.

Maggie-Peyton drew it within the last couple of years.

It was how she saw me.

She didn’t care that my hair is usually in a pony tail. Or that I am in yoga pants – yet again.

She drew me as her little heart sees me. (and she gave me some fabulous earrings!)

she’s a pretty as the sunset
her eyes sparkle like the stars
her hair is a shiny as
diamonds but the best things
about her are she’s careful,
loving, and cool.

Melt my heart. I love that I am cool. <grin>

On the hardest of days as a mom, these are the moments on which I need to reflect.

How easily I let the stresses of life affect my responses and reactions to my children throughout the day.

How easily I let the busyness of the world and the tugs I feel from so many directions distract me from time with them.

Real quality time.

They are growing quickly.

These days? I will never be able recover.

Those nights Nicholas wants to sit up and chat at midnight? I need to soak those up.
Even if it means a little less sleep and making the coffee a little stronger the next morning.

And regardless how long it takes Maggie-Peyton to tell me a story. The details matter. Every single one of them.

This Mother’s Day, I re-commit my time to my children.

That precious commodity we can never get back.

That precious thing – that when truth be told – is all they want in life anyway.

Time.

Uninterrupted time. From mom. (and dad)

To be seen. To be heard.

To know that they matter.

These children are a gift I never want to take for granted.

A gift I want to enjoy to the fullest.

Because being their mom is the greatest gift I have ever received.

I don’t say that implying that every day this week has been full of fun and games.
They haven’t.

Truth be told, there have been some adjustments.

Big adjustments.

In the spirit of transparency, I (optimistically) expected Bryan coming home would be sunshine and roses.

Y’all. While it has been wonderful on many accounts, it’s almost like we are having to learn to live with each other again. And he would tell you the same thing.

I’m a {very happy} morning person. He’s not.

I let the kids sleep in. He doesn’t.

And while he is not fanatical about the house being spotless, he does like for the floors to be clean. Ahem…. that is not always my top priority.

Grace. It’s a great thing.

As is the fact that we are friends – and that we have found a lot of humor in our ‘re-learning’ together.

Tuesday night we attended the #RaysTweetUp at Tropicana Field.

I was invited a few weeks ago; I was able to snag tickets for the kids and me. And when I learned last week Bryan was coming home, thankfully, I was able to get another in our area. (and we were able to swap seats with someone else and all sit together)

While the kids don’t have Twitter accounts, their t-shirts were customized with @RaysBaseball. I wish I had known earlier Bryan was going to be able to go. I would have so had his customized to @OATUSH. <grin>

Bryan had to head back to Amelia Island on Wednesday for a meeting, and since the game would run until late, he got us a hotel room in St. Pete.

If y’all ever get a chance to stay in that area, you must check out the Indigo Hotel.

I was first introduced to Indigo a few years back in Nashville. And this one proved no less.

Fun, swanky – just a happy atmosphere.

It made me want to come home and paint everything hot pink and lime green. (Wouldn’t Maggie-Peyton love that?!)

The staff was superb and even surprised the us with a fun basket in our room after the game.

I hate we were only there one night. We will definitely be back.

We came home late Wednesday and saw that our eggs from a few weeks ago had hatched!

Earlier in the week I tried to look in the bush to check on them, not knowing that Momma Mocking Bird was camouflaged very well in the nest with them. She came flying out ready to attack! I don’t know who was scared more. Her or me.

I got back on my ladder on Thursday to shoot a picture of them with my camera. Their eyes weren’t yet opened. I must have shook the bush a bit – and they thought Momma was back with food – because all three of their mouths popped open like buttercups!

It scared me to death at first!  I had never seen such a sight! And when they realized Momma wasn’t there, they all closed their mouths in sync.

Nature is such a fun thing.

Bryan arranged his schedule to be home yesterday and today to do a few number of neglected projects around the house.

Happy Mother’s Day to me.

Thanks to real life, the kids have assembled a new rabbit cage, helped to rewire a light for the pool, replaced the backer board and tile in their shower, replaced a headlight, replaced an eye on the stove, and more. (and have mercy we still aren’t done)

Y’all. We had the biggest laugh with Nicholas. He was to change the filters in the return air vents in the house, and in lieu of just opening the vent and replacing the filter, he took the entire casing out of the ceiling. He didn’t know you could just ‘open’ it to replace the filter.

Got to love innocence. And determination.

This week? Real Life Homeschooling at its best.

This is me (May 18, 2012) standing under Space Shuttle Atlantis in the OPF. It was in position for disassembling for permanent placement at KSC.

The experiences I have had over the years thanks to NASA have been priceless – not only for me, but for my children.

These memories could never have come from a book – or from a first class ticket to a theme park.

NASA has played a huge part in raising the bar in my life.

I have witnessed up close and personal some of the wildest dreams come true.

I have witnessed determination, perseverance, team work, and some of our generation’s greatest achievements by ‘ordinary’ people; people who not only believe in their mission, but more importantly believe in themselves.

Not to mention my kids think it’s all really cool.

As of an email I received a couple of weeks ago, I will again be taking part in a NASA Social – in Houston on May 22 at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

Home of Mission Control, this event will give me an opportunity to learn more about the International Space Station and the scientific research conducted aboard, as well as visit the laboratories on the ground that enable this research and speak with scientists, managers and astronauts.

And I get to take a trip to the ISS. Not yet. Still negotiating. (I jest)

Y’all. I’m already packing my bags.

But instead of only me flying to Houston for a few days, we have decided to make a family road trip of it << one of our all time faves to do.

It will definitely be a whirlwind of a trip, but nothing less than fun!

Here are a few of the highlights we plan to see along the way:

• Florida Caverns
• USS Alabama
• Lunch in New Orleans
• Space Center Houston
• George W. Bush Library
• Cowboy Stadium
• Crater of Diamonds State Park
• Clinton Library

To keep up with all things of our trip, you can follow #NASADaze on Twitter and Instagram. Or follow Daze of Adventure on Facebook.

For all things NASA Social, follow #NASASocial.

I am finally starting to gain ground on my inbox. There are so many emails and messages that I know I still haven’t responded to from the last couple of months – and from the bottom of my heart I thank you for grace. It is my heart to respond to each one personally – each of them mean the world to all of us.

I have had a method for the last year + on maintaining my inbox. Thanks to my girl Crystal for the tips and tricks one night over dinner, this method has worked for me for a great season.

I only check emails a couple of times a day.

I scan the inbox – make sure the world isn’t ending in any time zone – and delete all that I can.

The delete button is a great friend.

Anything that can be answered quickly, I hit reply and make it happen. Others that need a more detailed response and aren’t of dire emergency, I file in what I have labeled my 911 folder.

That 911 folder is addressed one day a week – usually on Friday or Saturday morning.
This system has worked very well for me. Maybe that will work for you.

——————————–

For the last couple of weeks, I have been trying something new.

I was one of those people who was about number 476,982 in line for the MailBox app.

Seriously.

If you have no idea what I am talking about – just know that it is now available (and free!) to everyone.

The MailBox app syncs with Gmail – and offers a simplistic way to sort through your inbox on your iPhone or iPad. (I currently only have it on my phone.)

Currently, you can add up to 5 Gmail or Google Apps accounts.

What do you do if you have more than 5 email accounts?
I have a number of emails forwarded to one house account.

When my inbox is zero, I hear the Hallelujah Chorus in the background. Every time.

The app also give you the option to tweet your zero inbox. Y’all. I just may be doing that.

With the Mailbox app, I can easily mark those emails for later handling with the date to be addressed.
(for example, Saturday) And voila! When I open my inbox (or Mailbox app) on Saturday morning, they are right there (filed) for me to knock out.

——————————–

The unsubscribe feature is my friend.

I see a deal for a (one time) purchase. I subscribe to receive the coupon or discount code. And 6 months later, I am still receiving sales pitches from the mentioned company – and any other company they may have sold my email address to. Can y’all relate?

It’s a racket, y’all.

While there are a number of emails I easily hit filter to trash a la Gmail, there are still some I may want to read, or at least glance at from time to time, but don’t want to shuffle in my inbox each day.

For this, I have found unroll.me.

Unroll.me is another great tool to help simplify the daily chaos of an inbox.

You login to unroll.me by linking to your Gmail or Yahoo account. It will find all of your current subscriptions, list them in alphabetical order, give you the option to choose Add to rollup, Unsubscribe, or Keep in inbox.

If you do choose to add something to your rollup, you can undo it at any time and add it back to your inbox. Or unsubscribe all together.

You will receive your subscriptions in your rollup in one email per day. It’s easy like that.

Some things in life shouldn’t be dreaded. Your inbox is one of them.

Simplicity in all things life is a good thing. A rewarding thing.

And simplifying your inbox – priceless!

It’s what we picked on Saturday.

We have local blueberry farm that is currently flourishing with some of  the most gigantic and delicious berries you’ve ever seen or eaten.

Y’all should be jealous.

Bryan introduced us to this farm a couple of years ago through one of his clients.

We make it a habit as often as we can on Saturday mornings during the blueberry season to venture out there.

We have to leave our house at 8AM to allow time for a pit stop at Starbucks on our way to the farm before the gates open at 9AM.

Some weeks they may open a little early.  You always want to be early.

This place is wildly popular. You can see why.

Nineteen pounds, y’all.

Two weeks prior we picked 6 – and I still have a couple of cups left.

We have been baking fools the last few days.

Muffins and smoothies. I even tried my hand at making blueberry jam. Eat your heart out, Martha.

Nicholas requested a blueberry pie last week. I knew it was in queue with all these berries.

Sunday afternoon, I began pulling out all of my flours to make a crust and realized I didn’t have all I needed.

I had just been to four grocery stores earlier that day – Wal-Mart, Target, Publix, and a local health food store  – and I didn’t have all I needed for a pie crust. Ever have days like that?

Thankfully, I did have in the freezer two frozen pie crusts. I pulled them apart and realized they were cracked and broken.

I didn’t necessarily need two crusts, I needed one pie crust and dough for the top of the pie – to press the edges down with a fork and make a much-desired design. Ya know – like Martha would do. Surely it would make the pie taste that much better, right?

I told Maggie-Peyton I refused to drive back to a store – we were going to use what we had.

We were going to be resourceful – what better timing to teach such an important lesson?

So we did.

Like a lot of life, I made up the recipe as we went.

I stirred and smelled.

If it needed more substance, I added a dash more of rice flour.

I continued to adjust as needed.

The pie crust was reassembled; the filling was made, and the time had come to add the dough to the top.

Maggie-Peyton was determined to do it.

She took those broken pieces from the aluminum pan and slowly reassembled them as she could as a cover to our sweet pie.

As she assembled, she said, I can’t tell where all the pieces go.

That’s ok – just do the best you can. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It will taste delicious!

I helped her find ‘spots’ for the last few broken pastry pieces and realized how much we were anticipating this pie for the last week – yet it wasn’t turning out just as we had planned.

We didn’t plan on not having enough flours. We didn’t plan on using broken crusts.

We had seamless plans in mind. But those plans were growing ragged edges by the minute.

Sometimes in life, we don’t walk the plans we had originally drawn.

Sometimes at the last minute we run out of flour and things change.

Sometimes we have to accept the current circumstances for what they are and adjust accordingly.

Sometimes, that’s exactly what the recipe of life calls for – adjustments.

We baked that pie just as it was. With all of its imperfections.

It by far wasn’t the prettiest pie I had ever baked, but it definitely turned out to be one of the best tasting.

It was a reminder to me that things don’t have to look perfect to be great.

From projects to people to life in general – and especially with pies – if we start where we are – with what we have – and just bake – the end result will most likely be one of the best experiences we could ever have.

Because sometimes in life, the greatest blessings come in the most imperfect form.

*for the recipe to this highly faved pie, click here.