Beyond the Garden Gate

Hi everyone, as promised in my instagram account I will start to share my journals and some behind the scene pictures of our adventures... Its Spring in our beautiful area and with spring comes the best season... strawberry season! Seriously eatting a strawberry when it is in season is a glorious experience the juicy sweet mouth watering flavors. Eatting seasonally is seriously the best way to experience food, hopefully I have inspired you to go to the farmer's market and try them out. With that said my in laws have a huge strawberry patch and I love picking the berries, it's almost like a meditation... the fresh smells of soil, the sun in my face, the breeze in my hair, being fully in the moment (the iky slimy slugs i can do with out but its part if nature so i guess I'll keep sharing the berries lol)  this past week we ended up with a ridiculous amount of berries and my father in law asked me to bake some muffins (they are not very sweet) and since they were s...

Hi everyone, I know it has been a while since the last post, a few things happened in our life and I gave myself the time I needed and grace to fully focus (more on that later) The good news is I am back and with a powerful topic! A few weeks ago I was feeling completely depleted as a mom and wife and woman. I realized I had been putting myself last and was feeling the consequences! It made me think of how us mamas by nature we are nurturers, we want to take care of everyone and yet we forget to take care of us, or feel "guilty" doing so. But let me tell you mamas WE are the ones that keep the family going, they depend on us, our kids, home and hubbies count on us, and we can't fulfill the calling that God sent us if we feel empty, we feel stuck, we are running on fumes, and snapping at everyone in our path. Yes, believe it or not we are the most important ones and yet we tend to treat ourselves like we don't matter. We need to make US a priority so that we can s...

By Luz Voehl Today I realized how important is for our life and mental peace our choices on how to view things... Take me for example, today we woke up to a freezing morning (literally everything was frozen) in the 20F and I had the choice to be bitter about it and go straight to the hassle it was going to be to defrost the car, get the little one ready for school, the fight putting on gloves/hats/coats (all mamas of toddlers out there know what I am talking about) getting me all bundled up and to school on time. I had the choice of seeing  it as a terrible day, setting my day up for a terrible rest of the day, being bitter and in a bad mood, complaining and just reacting OR just enjoy it, find the beauty in today, focus on all the good things of the morning. So, I chose the second (a few years back I would have ended up bitter) but today I decided to enjoy the crisp fresh air, play dragon blowing smoke with my little one, wear a cute hat and gloves, and focus on all the beau...

This week the blog post was a bit late because I have been in a major cleaning and working mode, I think part of it is knowing my little one will be starting pre-school and its a new season not only weather but in our family; How, when, what? she grew up so fast! so many feeling, so many fears, so many thoughts going around in my head. My main fear though is her beautiful soul and heart being shattered by other kids. I get it its going to happen, its a part of life I think, I was bullied and shames me to admit I was a bully too. There is nothing I can do to protect her, other than lock her up Rapunzel style, but even then it would just be harming her by keeping her in a bubble, I don't know. Part of what makes us grow and evolve is the challenges we face. A lot of people are amazed to find out I was bullied, but yes believe it or not I was and I was made fun of and that lead me to make pretty bad decisions in my life to try to "fit in" (more on that later) But one t...

It has been a while since I decided to stop "working"  and focus on my family (yes I still paint and sell my paintings as prints and postcards HERE but I am not active in the workforce). And since that moment I have had this nagging feeling, it shows up with more intensity with the feminism marches and movement out there, but I feel like I am betraying some kind of sisterhood! lol its kind of funny to write it out and say it out loud but its true, is anyone else out there feeling this way?  I feel like I am betraying "them" all the woman who worked and are working so hard for freedom, for us to work, to succeed, etc. and when I tell people I want to be a home maker it’s like I am betraying some sort code, “what? Why? After Women have worked so hard to get out of that role of the slaves at home with no say and can actually work and make something of themselves..." it feels like knife in the back betrayal to all those women because I actually want and like ...

I know I know it's the Holidays, I should keep writing about related things but most people fail to realize dissatisfaction can be a big part of this season. This is the time of year where we see our friends having amazing vacations on Facebook, Instagram is filled with perfect baking and cookies,  and Pinterest with home made ornaments, decorations, "traditions" to do... and we start comparing our lives with what we see in social media. This article applies to every day life but I thought it would be appropriate for this time of year... enjoy! Many of us struggle with dissatisfaction, whether it’s a constant battle or it shows up every once in a while, we can all relate. Dissatisfaction can be sneaky and if we let it, it can get a hold of us making us feel discouraged, frustrated, annoyed, and unhappy with the life we have. This usually tends to happen when we focus mostly on the idea of how things are or were supposed to be and we don’t realize that what we have...

  By Lucy Voehl I still can’t believe Thanksgiving is around the corner, which means we are in the Holiday season! This is the time we normally get together to spend with our family where laughter, joy, and chaos surround us. Let’s be honest, we have all been there, in a family gathering with that one- or more than one- relative that drive us crazy, or that one person who seems to love conflict and thrive in drama, or maybe we are the ones who drive others bunkers. Sometimes our first instinct is to blame others but very few times we stop and think that some of our attitudes and behaviors might be adding to the situation. I write this article for all you guys out there (and for me) with the best intentions to help avoid tension and enjoy the time with our families. First we need to understand we are all different, we were made with different temperaments and personalities, that’s what keeps life interesting right? But because of that some temperaments just don’t ma...