I’m Back! SingleMomThriving Returns

Hello friends and followers….

I can’t believe its been more than a year since I have blogged about my single mom life. Life kind of crowded out all my good blogging intentions.

About 18 months ago, I took on a second job which came with a very busy single-dad boss with two kids. This found me and my kids caught up in an extended family that took all my time. I felt spiritually called to help this high energy, spread thin, single parent while he acclimated to his single dad life. We became good friends.

Before 2012 was out, I had decided it was time to make some serious changes to my life. One of these changes included finally selling my huge house and finding a house more suitable for me and my little family. It was like finally acknowledging and releasing myself from promises that I had made and could no longer satisfy. I held on to this house for the sake of the kids, like I would hold onto their baby shoes and their yearbooks. I desperately wanted them to feel anchored and secure and like they had a true place in this world. That they had a place to land when divorce and the rest of the world threw everything off balance. Maybe it was more about me than them, but still, I held on. And then one day, I decided it was time to let go.

The year 2013 was about transitions. Selling a beloved home, buying a smaller house, having to cull our possessions down and make decisions about what to move forward without.

My kids both transitioned to new schools as my daughter went from middle school to high school and my son from elementary to middle school. New house, new schools, new neighborhood, new routines.

More than just location changes, I have experienced so much churn in my personal life this past year with the departure of important people in my life. A long-time friendship ending suddenly, a new romance ending suddenly, a new friendship that started strong and then couldn’t be saved.

So, I have thrown myself into making my new home a place my kids will be happy to come home to and where I can invite new friends. I can only assume that while I cleaned up my finances and my possession in preparation for this new life I wanted, God was cleaning my spiritual house and removing people from my life that may have been a distraction to his ultimate plan.

All along I have thought about this blog. I have thought about what I would write as I took Before and After pictures of the projects I have been working on. I have built more, painted more, took on more challenging projects and wish I had been blogging and sharing this all with you.

But, it’s not too late. I have been taking those pictures and I have so much to share. If your game……

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Tea Parties, Blue Bonnets and Baby Showers ….

Spring arrived early here in North Texas, following a very mild winter, and the world has come alive with color, fresh breezes, songs of birds and the drone of lawn maintenance equipment.  I begin to feel the siren call of my beloved camera(s) and oh, the adventures we have together; the beautiful moments we capture.

While my furniture building projects have taken a back seat to the draw of being outside, tiding up my gardens,  admiring the artistry of our creator and basking in the warmth of the beautiful sunshine, my camera and I have been at the beck and call of family and friends to document their Rites of Spring.

The First Pool Party of the Season, March 31st

Sweet 13th Birthday Party

What a great party it was…. and included our favorite middle-schooler,  DJFlashh and the Swag Team Vets (a local dance team that has been featured on MTV).  The place jammed for hours (or at least until 10pm when the city ordinance forces us to tamper down the fun) .  I would not have otherwise been allowed to attend(by my own 13 year old) had I not been asked to provide some candid photography of the event.  With a camera in hand, I am the cool mom, not the helicopter mom.  🙂

An Afternoon with the Blue Bonnets

Single Mom Raising Boys

I can’t imagine a more challenging job than to be a Single Mom raising boys.  Except trying to photograph said boys.  They don’t exactly enjoy preening for the camera.  They would rather be running and jumping and rolling around in the blue bonnets.

Tea Parties

and Baby Showers

My step-daughter’s baby shower was held at a cute little Tea Room in Waxahaxie that had a beautiful garden area in the back.  My 13 year old daughter is a wonderful model when Mom gets an itchy shutter button finger.   It helps that she’s beautiful and has been posing me for since she was barely a single-breath old.  The gardens were filled with lovely fountains, archways and brick walkways that would be simply lovely for a wedding or reception.   I even managed to get some wonderful shots of my step-daughter and her little family, including my grand daughter, Aria.

And so my son doesn’t feel left out of Mommy’s Post, here one of him being awarded his blue belt during his Tae Kwon Do ceremony.  You can see I have a lot to be proud of…. If only I got a picture of that mid-field kick to goal at his soccer game that morning.   Still marveling and bragging over that one.

I hope you have a huge monitor, because I loaded these pictures up full size so you can enjoy them larger-than-life, too.

Top 25 Single Mom Bloggers – 2 More Days for Voting

The circle of Moms website is looking for the Top 25 Single Mom bloggers and I’m on the list. If you enjoy my blog, please go to this website and vote for me. I’m #61 …. Not my ranking….. I was just added yesterday.

Only 2 days left before this poll closes and you can vote at least 1 time a day. Check out this event as you may find other Single Mom bloggers that you might enjoy following.

Click on the icon above or follow this link:

Circle of Mom Top 25

Thanks for those that vote for me or even just check out my page on occasion! I appreciate your support!

~Dona~

It’s Spring Break

and I will be at Six Flaggs all day today with the kids. This is an immense sacrifice on my part, as I detest spending long hours, standing on concrete, waiting in line for a 2 minute adventure. And since I can’t find anyone to take my kids to this “Rites of Spring”, I must sacrifice my comfort and enjoyment to make awesome memories for my kids.