Growing Me

I have had a helping attitude most of my life.  Mom might argue about the teenage years, but as a whole I would say it's true.  I would attribute a lot to my dad who passed when I was a small child.  He would have wanted me to help others.  He couldn't, so I will and it brings me great joy and peace.  There is so much pain, confusion, hurt, frustration...  you name it, out there!  If I could settle the dust somewhere for even one person then it was worth whatever discomforts I had.  I can be a bit shy sometimes, so this can be a challenge.  But,

IF I DON'T HELP WHO WILL?

This is the question that always plagues me. It is also what urged me into this new stage of my life with the company NSA (makers of Juice Plus) and what propels me further and further everyday.  I can't rely and rest assured that those people in my life will get the help they need (even if they do not understand they need it) from someone else.  I needed to step up.  I can't be the person that passes those on the side of the road that need assistance thinking, "surely someone else will stop and help them!"

What if no one does?  I was called here to this position and I have faced every shy bone in me over and over again.  I am quite certain I still have a few more hurdles to continuously jump over, but you know what?  I have been able to help some amazing people and create some even more amazing stories from this road thus far.

Reaching out to strangers can be terrifying sometimes, especially well-accomplished people because who am I?  I am just Nellie.  BUT, I do know something worth learning about and it could be the vary thing that turns their wellness around.  In fact, I am sure of it.  We don't have magic beans or fairy dust.  It is simplicity.  It is whole. It is just fruits and veggies.  Natures own cure for so many things.  It in itself isn't the magic.  It is the magic our bodies can do when given the right building blocks.

Surprising to me, though, is the fact that the hardest people to reach out to are the ones I do know.  Those closest to me in fact.  I can be whoever I want with a stranger.  I can be confident, knowing and relateable, but these people that have known me for months, years or decades. They know the "me" they know.  They aren't willing, many times, to listen to the Nellie who has something to say.  That is the hardest because those closest to me, who I desperately want to help, put up those walls.  Then comes disappointment and some frustration if we are being honest.

I was told, however, when I started this business that more than any business growth I will ever have, I will have personal growth exponentially more.  Coming up on my six month mark from starting this adventure I couldn't agree more.  I have reached out to those I wouldn't have before and been rewarded so many times with smiles as their bodies start to feel better and tell a story of their own.  I have met gifted people that I wouldn't have had in my life otherwise. I have been stretched, pulled, molded and built stronger from the inside out with my own wellness and my own ambitions.

Joining this team and beginning this journey in my life has been a tremendous gift that keeps on handing out more and more and there is no end.  I can't wait to see how many lives I can help benefit from the simplicity of real nutrition and being a part of a real team.  But, mostly, I am anxious to see how this path makes me a better person in our family, our community our country and our world.

I have to go and put on my big girl pants now and make some calls!

Live Well! Love Well!

 

Our Time to Breathe

It is no joke or exaggeration that the days pass sometimes with one breath or within a blink.  The tasks I have set before me are still sitting there because a whole new set of surprise tasks decided to jump and demand attention that day.  I want to sit and play with my kids, roll around and giggle, taking mental pictures of every smile.  But, instead the laundry, house cleaning, and general maintenance of this house and family take up a majority of my day.  

Oak Island North Carolina is our breathing spot.  We have visited there 8 times now and spent some of the best times of our lives there.  Last year we had our Vow Renewal there and this year we just needed a renewal of spirit, patience and vigor.  This was the first time we had ever been there alone without family or friends joining us.  It was time just carved out for us.

 The ocean waves and smell of the salty air were welcomed after a LONG night in the van.  

During the week we spent a lot of time playing in the waves, getting sand (oh, so much sand) in unmentionable places, watching Olympics, eating, snacking, laughing and sleeping (the name of our house was "The Nap Monster" after all).  There wasn't any profound adventures or new places we visited.  It was a week just about being us.  It was what we needed.  A re-centering.  

Here is a Photo Journal Tour of our Moment to Breathe...

Our view

The girls loved breakfast on the TALL chairs every morning.  The Mommy and Daddy "cooking show" with the funny voices gained many laughs.

Crafts were made

Waves were played in

How many heads do you see?

This is how we get sand in those places!

Low tide means time for kite flying!

kite spring injury around the ankle.  She's out!  But, she has Kitty, so all is good.

Craft table was constantly a high traffic zone.  Wish I had a space I could always do this at home.

Sisters!

Oh yeah!  We were there too!

Ferry to the Fort Fisher Aquarium

Grossly overpriced Hurricane Machine we just had to try.

Cowabunga Dude!!!

The things we let our children do to us!

Us...

Oh, so Journey.  Next performance coming right up!

Tranquil Trinity

Lana banana

Sunshine Skyla

Goodbye Ocean!  See you next year!!

Ocean, you will be DEARLY missed, but, as usual, you have given us loads of wonderful memories to cling to during our festivities of chaos.  

A Whole New World

This indeed is a whole new world for our family and Skyla especially.  

We had the summer to acclimate to the switch, but it was the Panther Picnic last week that got us excited about everything possible.  

Skyla, who is going into second grade, used to go to a wonderful private school in Indianapolis called Sycamore.  The finances and logistics of this choice caught up to us and this year it just... wasn't... possible.  We dearly miss friends and teachers, parents and staff from the school, but we had to move forward.  The switch to a public school was staring us in the face.  I think denial ran so deep and unconscious that I even forgot to register the poor girl until two weeks ago!  oops! Like I said, this is all new and I am treading in uncharted waters now.

We both went into the picnic nervous.  New people, new places, new challenges and new rules to learn and follow.  Even the building is brand spankin' new!  Just opened this month.  

We could not have been happier.  The school is beautiful and filled with the newest technologies.  Her teacher, Mrs. Lee, seems wonderful and really easy to talk to and work with.  She was placed in a high ability class and it is a PBL (Problem Based Learning) school and we have been assured Skyla will learn at her own level.  The homework system is unlike anything I have seen and everyday there is communication between teacher and parent.  I have to say we are LOVING Promise Road Elementary so far!  

We had to school supply shop for the first time ever.  It was fun though!  Skyla was super excited to find her own folders and binders for the year.  Plus, there is the annual back pack find.  I would splurge and get a nicer backpack from one of the super cute retailers out there, but honestly, her taste changes every year and she loves going to school with a fresh new backpack.  This year...  Zany Zebra!

The day came!  I didn't think it would, but it inevitably did.  I ran in the morning to clear my head a bit.  I passed the eager middle and high school crowds at the bus stops.  Some looked excited and others looked like they were about to throw up.  Freshman I am guessing.

Though Skyla's bus doesn't come until 8:07am, and picks up across from our driveway I might add, she was up and ready to go an hour earlier.  The excitement could not be hidden.  She picked the perfect dress for her first day.  Pants, shorts and skirts alike were skipped over in the straight line she made for the dresses.  Oh, she is so much like myself as a child. 

My girl--- one of them!  :)

The pictures were taken, the crowd had gathered.  Neighbors and friends she has known, but never gone to school with, were all going to be on the bus with her.  

Here is comes!

and there she goes...

She loved the bus, she loved her teacher, the school, the lunch, the classroom, the recess.  She made a new friend too.  Always a nice first day memory.  She had homework when she arrived home and did a great job with it.  

I couldn't ask for more.  She couldn't wait to go back today.  She wrote out her personal goals and her biggest goal for the year was to become the "BEST SCOLER EVER" (her spelling)  We will get there.  But, I am glad this is her goal and that she loves her school.  I can't ask for more than that.

We send our love and prayers to you at school my little Sky.  Pave the way big sister, because two more Harden's are coming in next year!

Everything Worth Something Needs a Little TLC

The Tower Garden is no exception to this!  growing 28 plants in a small area produces some fantastic results when done with the Tower Garden, but there is some upkeep when the storms roll on through.

I dream one day of a screened in porch for many reasons, but until then our Tower Garden resides on the deck and is subject to the great winds that sweep down the straight wind tunnel created by the houses here.

Our Tomato Cage was damages in such a storm last week and we went to Lowe's to find a replacement.  The right diameter wooden dowels rods did the trick and all for less that $2!    

Through all of the storms and scorching sun this Indiana summer, our Tower is still producing lots and LOTS of produce!  I am not sure what to do with all of these tomatoes!  Our traditional garden's are bringing in about ten now, but we are getting about 5-10 a day from the Tower.  The brocolli is growing like crazy too and the leaves are edible and SO big!

Can you see all the tomatoes?  This is just one quarter of the Tower.  Tomatoes are all around!

We have peppers!  Hot peppers and bell peppers are sprouting up!

Our summer crop is starting to wind down and though we put some new ones in there, I think we are going to stop putting new in for now, harvest it all and then give it a GOOD CLEANING!  Then we will either leave it out for longer or move it in for it's winter home inside depending on weather.  Can't wait to share with all of you how the winter goes!  

It is going to take a while for this crop to be done though!  

(If you are interested in a Tower Garden, you can visit this link, or contact me on this site or through Facebook and I would be happy to get you set up with one of your own!  )

The Firsts and the Lasts...

When you have children it seems like the "firsts" and the "lasts" collide on a daily basis and when it is your last child they are followed with a big ol' exclamation point!  

Our "little" Journey, often refereed to as "firecracker" on this site, is going through these such things right now and everyday.  Honestly, when it comes down to it, we are all experiencing Firsts and Lasts everyday and we just do not realize or concern ourselves with them. But, Journey, being our baby of the house, we feel it even more.

Her first haircut was preceded by the last time I would brush through some of those baby fine curls.

(Lucky for us, she kept many of the curls!)

She had a last night in a toddler bed.  A first time wearing big girl underwear and a last time playing with all those infant toys before they went off to Good Will.  There was a first time she made the "c" sound and the last time she said "poppy" for potty and there will be a last time she says "c-wat" for cat and "c-war" for car (It's progress from just "wat" and "war"!).  She sits in big girl car seats in the van now and isn't always right behind me when I drive anymore.  The list gets added to daily.

(First dentist appointment!  Passed with Flying colors!)

I have a pre-schooler, 2 pre-Kers and a 2nd grader.  I know the firsts and lasts will come at me all the time and all we can do is embrace the Firsts, good or bad, and give a fond farewell, or an exuberant wave, to the Lasts.

Time for Grandma

To say that this year has been a crazy, emotional wreck at times would be an understatement. So, when Grandma said she was coming for a weekend visit for Skyla's baptism we were ready to cram in as much grandma fun time as possible.  Favorite restaurants, talking, playing, silly movies, a trip to Connor Prairie, a beautiful baptism, introducing her to so many friends she has heard about but never met and ending everything with a pancake exclamation mark!  It was a whirlwind weekend, but had some of those great moments of pause in there that you just want to hang onto and put them in your pocket for later because you know you can not possibly absorb all the warm fuzzy's at once.

It was so nice to see the smile on her face and my daughters faces too.  They love to have Grandma Doreen come and visit and play with them.  With life turning a page this year and unpracticed days ahead, we are hoping to see much more of Grandma down here.  Skyla is always willing to have a sleep over with her sisters while Grandma bunks in her room!

Trinity reminds me so much of pictures of my mom when she was little and yes,  I know I fit in there too.  The three of us are a trio of generational pictures.  It is so neat to witness.  

I just finished reading The Shack recently and it explained more how love is unending and limitless.  Every person that comes into your lives brings a new love.  A new love clothed in different colors and senses.  Lana, Trinity, Skyla and Journey share different loves with Grandma and give her unique relationships with each of her grandchildren.  To see their bonds grow, stretch and bloom is incredible to watch.

Here is to Grandma Doreen and her, so far, four grandchildren and many fun, active, smiling, growing years ahead.