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

There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” ~ C.S. Lewis   I’m a woman with a bit of eccentric character. I get this. I don’t keep with convention. I’ve never been the kind of girl to follow the crowd. I wasn’t raised to. I’ve never fit the mold or conformed to the world’s standards. Being like everyone else has never been my goal. Never will. I’m a daughter of the King. I trust in Jesus. That’s just who I am. But the reality is I’m about as far from perfect as they come. I mean I walk into walls on a regular basis for goodness gracious sake. If I were you, I wouldn’t exactly be  followin ' in my footsteps. I’m a hot mess after all.  I know, it’s unconventional to color outside the box or with broken crayons, but I do. This is the thing. I love who I am, despite the consequences. I wasn’t exactly raised to be normal. I guess you could say I’m anything but. Pretty much my mind is a little strategically bent most days. In my defense though, I...

If you had asked me a couple of years back what I do for a living, I’d have looked you straight in the eyes and told you straight up, I’m a mom, need I say more? My resume would have included the following description and then some. Nonstop cleaning lady, 24 hour a day short order cook, personal assistant, finance adviser, loan officer, troop grocer, personal organizer, stylist, motivational coach, trainer, storyteller, fixer upper, triage nurse, detective, school volunteer, advocate, and yes teacher. I won’t mince words I loved being a stay at home mom. Looking back, I wouldn’t trade easier days for any of the difficult ones.  They say, “Love what you do and do it well.” Guess that pretty much sums me up then. Lately Johnny and I have been reminiscing, taking a stroll down memory lane, evaluating our lives. You could say we’ve really stopped to smell the roses. We’ve talked a lot about how we met, retelling stories, pulling old pictures out of our boys, ourselves, my parent...

What is your why? Do you know why you're here? How have you figured out or come close to clarifying  your purpose? Or have you ever just stopped and looked around at your life and had an “ah ha” moment? You know the, I get it now; “bing, bing, bing”, light goes off reality check moment?  Ever realized it wasn’t about you, but who your life is meant to impact? Over the years I’ve found myself considering my real, true purpose in life. I mean what do I contribute, what do I have to offer? Honestly, if we’re going to really get into it, why was I created in the first place, what can I bring to this great big world? Truthfully, I don’t think I ever really knew the answer until I heard the beating of my children’s heart right under my own. See when Johnny and I married we knew we wanted to be parents, to start our family early. We talked for hours about the importance of family, of sharing our youth with our children and never being too busy to play with them. So from the ...

This past weekend we celebrated Micah, Johnny and my youngest child, all his quirks, likes, randomness and amazing abilities. After all it was his birthday weekend, his 16th to be exact. If we do one thing right around here, it's celebrating birthdays. Now don't get me wrong, birthdays don't always entail hoopla, a bunch of hullabaloo or grand parties, but they always include family, good friends and a good time. So when the topic of Micah's big one six came up, we knew we had to keep it low key and at the same time recognize everything that makes Micah unique, rare and beautifully divergent. Believe me I'm as surprised by this as you are that my baby boy could be anything over 10. It's beyond my imagination to think Micah could actually be 16 years old or for that matter how I could be anywhere near old enough to say my son is of driving age. But he is. Micah is a joy, he's sharp, witty, honest, loving, logical and of course debonair and handsome i...

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...