Some Joy To Spare

I turned 40 two weeks ago. Birthdays like this tend to illicit some reflection on and assessment of one's life. Indeed, I spent the week leading up to and the last couple of weeks thinking over my life, choices I've made, where I'm at and, as I used to say, who I want to be when I grow up. This reflection, conversations with my family, plenty of internet browsing and a healthy dose of comparison caused me to make some changes and ponder directions for my life. It was time to make decisions, I thought. I scolded myself for my inability to make decisions and so, began making them left and right. Some of these decision include recently, as I've mentioned in previous posts, giving up work outs for the month of October. I agreed to shop exclusively at Walmart for thirty days in a pseudo-stewardship challenge. I announced to the fam I was going to take a stab at the Whole 30 challenge. As I looked over the series of decisions I made I noticed one commonality: I was decidi

I love all things fitness and nutrition. I love reading about food & exercise, finding new, healthy recipes for my family to try and pushing myself to try a new workout or finish a a run just a few seconds faster than the day before. This stuff floats my boat and makes me giddy. For reals. For the hubs? Not so much. Don't get me wrong. He loves to be outdoors, he likes riding bikes and he'll do the occasional strength training routine if he has the time. When it comes to food, he doesn't just tolerate my healthy recipes, he actually likes them. And, if we're honest, as taste is his only criteria for a good meal, this is high praise from my guy. However, he really could not care less if it's low carb, Paleo, Whole 30, clean eating, real food or macro compliant. Seriously y'all, if it's straight up McDonald's, my man is happy. And, come on, who isn't happy with McDonald's every now and then. Golly, I do love me a bacon McGriddle...I

"She's fat." Writing those words even now feels like a fresh wound. They were words I overheard spoken by a girl with whom I attended high school and with whom I had previously been best friends. She uttered them to a mutual friend of ours not knowing I was just a few steps away and could overhear. Only, that evening, I didn’t just overhear them. The moment those words crossed her lips I took ownership of them, put them on and wore them as my identity. The truth is, they were just one more layer to a wardrobe of self-deprecation and worthlessness I had donned for years. From the time I was in junior high, I cannot recall ever not feeling less than, fat, unwanted and certainly not beautiful. As many teenage girls do, I compared myself to the images in the magazines and on television and quickly surmised that I did not measure up. As early as my sophomore year of high school I began skipping meals and avoiding certain “bad” foods to keep my weight under control. Des

I know fall doesn't officially kick off until September 22, but around my house, as soon as September 1 hits, we live and breathe the beginning of the "Ber" months. From candy corn and pumpkin spice lattes to pumpkin patches and Harry Potter marathons, we enter a full on love affair with all things autumnal. This year, to make sure we don't miss one minute of pumpkin palooza, we came up with our own Fall Bucket List. And, as is our tradition, fall will kick off with the inaugural viewing of my favorite fall movie, You've Got Mail , on my birthday. To say I'm excited would be a colossal understatement. 2017 Surrett Family Bucket List Pumpkin Spice Latte Paint Permanent Pumpkins Fall Photo Shoot at Pumpkin Patch Pumpkin Scones Traditional Fall Baking & Cooking Chili & Cornbread by fire pit S'mores Hiking Latte & walk by the pond  Harry Potter Movie Days with homemade Butterbeer Cabin trip Bike Ride Seasonal Pancakes at

The fam and I were completely spoiled last week with a nine day vacay in California. I am tempted here to write "sunny California" but evidently May Gray and June Gloom decided to live up to their reputations and provide an authentic Southern California experience. Please don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. When we roused our sleepy selves to drive to San Diego on day one, we were all too happy to bid adios to one hundred degree temps and don our sweaters and jackets as the breezy mid-sixty degree temps welcomed us. We started our vacation in San Diego celebrating the ten year anniversary and vow renewal of our best friends and finished by touring wine country in Temecula and sharing a gorgeous home with these friends turned family. Did I mention we were spoiled? Our first stop in San Diego was Lucha Libre, courtesy of a recommendation from a friend. And, by first stop, yes, I mean before we even went to our house. This is how much we love tacos, frien

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 As a family we've not been sleeping well. It's as though we've contracted some rare form of collective insomnia. Unlike the common cold, which after infecting your home can be traced back to that one kid you should've never held and kissed at church, our restlessness does not seem to have a singular cause. However, while causality may differ, the symptoms are the same: as soon as our weary heads it our pillows thoughts begin to plague our minds like ants at a picnic. For me, it starts innocently enough, perhaps thinking over the events of the day or planning tomorrow's meals, and then, before I know it, I'm lamenting how quickly my children are growing up, worrying about college tuition, fretting over making healthy meals, stressing about that family that's struggling at churc