Brave Heart, Brave Soul. She who is brave is free.

"Some days I wish I could go back in life. Not to change anything but to feel a few things twice." ~ Anonymous Johnny and I would both tell you our boys, these amazing children we've been blessed by God with are the greatest gifts of our lives. Joshua and Micah are by far the most precious blessings to come from the merging of our lives and families. I often say I'd love to have a couple days a month with our children, as little boys again. Just one or two a days a month to experience our boys as the small little arrows they once were... to hold them, to brush their curly locks for a moment or cuddle up and read them bed time stories together one more time. If only we could right? For 20 years Johnny and I have raised our tribe, our arrows. Teaching them both to shoot straight, be humble, kind and to be fully and completely themselves. We have worked hard to keep them covered under a tent of unconditional love, stitched together by God's grace and forgive...

"My cirlce is small but the love is enormous and genuine, it gets no better." ~ Alex Elle Life Lesson #117 ~ Un-biological Sisters. the glue that keeps our lives together. I often wonder how I would make it through life without the strong women in my life. I'm so blessed by this small group of tight- knit,close fierce women in my world who somehow keep  me together when everything seems to be falling apart. These friendships, these women are my closest confidants, true kindred spirits, and yes my un-biological sisters. I often think of Philippians 1:3-4 when I'm with my sisters, "Every time I think of you, I thank my God. And whenever I mention you in my prayers, it makes me happy."  So what are un- biological sisters and why do we need them? Well these are the women who know us better than we know ourselves. These women, mad at us or not we can call at 3 am in the morning and find the encouragement we need. These women are our champions. they do...

A while back I learned a great lesson involving thankfulness. Not just an appreciation for my marriage, family and the life I lead but a real genuine heart felt thankfulness. When I least expected my world to turn sideways, it did. And it did so from a completely unthinkable direction!  The problem is more often than not we get so wrapped up, so busy in this life we forget to stop and smell the roses as they say. We end up so lost in our lists, our tasks and in our self-contained worlds we take for granted the foundation holding it all together. It's not in any way we mean to overlook our blessings, no matter how small, but we do. We slowly begin taking not just our material possessions for granted but more importantly our relationships. Sadly we stop tending our own patches of green and begin admiring, desiring, craving and wanting our neighbors sparkling gardens a little too much, a little more often. Before long the beauty in our own lives has dulled, seemingly losing the...

It's crazy how quickly time flies! Just yesterday Joshua was turning 8 now he’s 18. How is it possible that was 10 years ago? Life was so much simpler back then it seemed. Johnny and I were still babies ourselves, the boys were holding on to 1 digit birthdays and thirty was a novelty. The early 2000’s was also long before words like breast cancer, autism or traumatic brain injury became a staple in in the Olachia household. Now some 10 years later we are preparing for Joshua to graduate high school, Micah is half way through the 10 th grade and Johnny and I are well past 40. It’s unbelievable how you just blink and life has suddenly raced ahead of you. Life has a way of moving forward whether you are ready or not. I’ve learned in my 40 plus years, you can’t hold it back and you can’t predict anything life has to offer or where it will ultimately take you, all you can do is buckle up and hold on. Life lesson #19: Raising boys to men… Life doesn’t come with a manual. It tak...

If you’ve ever taken a drive through the back roads of Texas, you know how beautiful it can be. You also know you’ll find yourself alone with your thoughts down our country roads. There’s not much playing on the radio but you are sure to find a country song without much trouble. That’s where I found myself recently, on the back roads, singing to the radio, listening to Texas country, lost in my thoughts. Personally, what I love about country music is the fabric, how it mirrors real life, the way you can find your own story in the grains no matter where you’re from. If you listen closely you’ll find yourself in a country song. I found my story down an old dirt road, passing through numerous county roads while the radio played on. It's actually quite beautiful how you can find and lose yourself in country music, deep within the many layers of its uncomplicated storytelling. And if you so happen to be driving down an old dirt road listening to the radio you can bet it will both s...

This month, always is a mixed bag of blessing and conflict for me. A solid month of Pink, celebrating survivors and remembering our loved ones lost to Breast Cancer. Truthfully, I have spent most of October in reflection.  I quietly wear a small pink ribbon year round because breast cancer is not a once a year, for one month disease. So what did I physically do for Breast Cancer Awareness Month this year? Well for starters I began each day as I always do, with thankfulness.   No, I didn’t walk; I didn’t put out any survivor ribbons in the yard, wear a pink T-shirt or purchase anything in honor of my own survival. To be honest, I haven’t actually done anything this year outside of supporting a particular amazing fundraiser whose goal is supporting those affected by this disease. What I have really done though is reflect.  Interestingly enough, I haven’t experienced all the fanfare usually associated with October which I found to be a relief honestly. Instea...

So ever have those days when you step outside only to see the train tracks in front of  you are in serious need of repair? Ever worry they won't be able to carry you to safety? Maybe not but I have them often! The truth is after facing the beast, most of us feel fairly brave even if we don’t realize its courage leading the way out of our den of despair, into the darkness while the train of destiny is chugging along. We tend to overlook this strength so often we don’t even realize we have buried this ability deep inside us. It’s not that we aren’t unafraid, leading the way for those who follow behind us, it’s just we have been battling the beast so long, sometimes close to the death, we take it for granted. We  have been found our way out so many times we begin to believe we can rise above the trails of this world without feeling the pain of yet another scar. Then there are those days when we feel fairly broken down, as if ca...

                                                                                                                            How do we ready ourselves for Mother's day? As we begin to think of lunches, family gathering and gifts exchanged I want to challenge you to take a moment to thank your mom not just with a material gift but simply remembering the times she chased the monsters away, the days she sat next to your bed, feeding you soup, or when she was up late finishing that report you forgot. Being a mom is never easy. It's down right exhausting to be honest, we are always three steps ahead, to have to take one back. Now try mixing it up and throwing something like cancer i...

Have you ever stopped and thought about what you would do, how you would react or even how you would cope with a breast cancer diagnosis? It happens everyday, to both women and men, to families, mothers, fathers, wives, husbands and the list goes on and on. I know because I am one of them. Honestly, if you saw me on the street now you wouldn't look and say , "hey that women, had breast cancer!" Nope, honestly those of us who have walked a mile or two with Beastie here, the truth is we have gotten fairly good at hiding our scars from the world. Once we live past the initial shock, after they whack off our breast(s) and all our hair falls out, then grows back in, we get pretty good at disguising our experience with the Beast. But the truth is we still Tango with cancer, with her consorts and with our scars, sometimes they are reminders of pain, other times they are bittersweet memories of victory. The Beast, the monster within, well she's clever. She may allow ...

Today is Wednesday. Just a typical day around here. You know how it goes? Let's see... get up, get the family fed and out the door, clean up, dress myself at some point, have my IVIG infusion, wake Micah up and feed him, make sure he is dressed for his home bound teacher, pick up Joshua from school, get homework done, answer emails, take a call or two from the school, come up for air and breath, then start on dinner and sit down to watch a movie with the family. OK stop to breath again then clean up the end of the day mess, shower, and get into bed. Whew! OK now I have to remember nothing to eat or drink after midnight which is about the time I will get into bed and be back up by 4:30 AM and out the door for surgery at the hospital! I didn't tell you? Opps, I am really sorry. Where has the time gone? I have meant to sit down all week and fill y'll in. Life has just been very stressful lately. You know the typical stuff that has caused my hair to literally fall out? Really,...

If we stop, we can hear the seconds passing us by...one by one they tick away. .. Just this past weekend we celebrated my parents 40Th wedding anniversary. It was beautiful as it was celebratory. Still I felt as if I were hurrying around so much at times I didn't get to sit and breathe. I felt guilty, as if I were not spending enough time with our guests. Most celebrations are like this though. How many times do we plan a celebration and actually take it all in, see everyone? Usually after all the crowds have gone home, the decorations have been put away and the food is cleared do we finally breathe. Do we not live our lives just like this? Hurrying around, planning, and tidying up our days? We can be merciless in our attempt to get things right, perfect in every way. But then something happens, changes our plan leaving us with the option to fall to pieces or to laugh. It kinda reminds me of my own wedding to my husband Johnny. We were married in April and planned an outside ceremo...