Friday is for Friends, #KindText and a Sprinkle of Magic!
/
I pray every day and night for this child. We are so blessed to have healthy, vibrant children. There are a great many things Joel and I hope to instill in Hayden and his big brother Huck. At night, when I'm holding the baby or saying goodnight to Huck, I just want them protected forever. And I want them to grow up protecting others.
Right now, their innocence is palpable. Huck has such a vivid imagination. I want Hayden's imagination to flourish, too. I hope he believes he can do or be anything. And mostly, I want them both to believe in themselves. I pray that God enables me to be the best step-mother and parent I can be. I think of Proverbs 22:6: Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not part from it.
I have great friends that are creative and are supporting healthy, positive messages for all of us, especially our kids. I'm no different than any other parent that wants their kids to dream big, be brave, but never ever compromise kindness. If you saw my instagram post, you know I'm thrilled to spread the good works of a friend's project called #KindText. Chrissy Kling started this movement with her pre-teens to develop healthy, kind habits for kids with phones and social media. As Chrissy pointed out to me, the world will always have bullies and mean girls, but let's not raise them! Our kids learn from us. If we are not being kind to one another, they see that. KindText is a fun but heartfelt (and sometimes very serious) movement worth sharing, promoting and getting involved. I love that the idea is to promote kindness in tweens and teens on social media, but it's working on adults, too. Pay kindness forward. It costs us nothing and slowly changes our world. If someone has done something like this for you, the feeling is magical... which leads me to...
My multi-talented friend Kimberly Brown has her own etsy store. I really appreciate the messages on her soft t-shirts like the "I believe in magic" one she's wearing pictured below.
She has another one that reads: being normal is vastly overrated. This is a quote from her character Marnie in Halloweentown, the iconic movie in which Kim starred. Who else can quote lines from that film? I love this message. I've never felt normal! It's taken a lifetime to understand that is actually a good thing! I hope Hayden and Huck determine what's their own version of 'normal' and not let the world determine for them!
I be remiss if I didn't also mention the t-shirts are under $18. Kim's site does a great job at describing the sizing and fabrics, so check it out! And you can check her out if you are anywhere near Salem, Oregon at the Cherry City Comic Con this weekend!
And follow #KindText
And for the lighthearted, fashion portion, see below! This chic, very light sweater (you have to see it on) is on sale for $47 right now;) I also wore it the entire weekend my friend Ali got married. It was perfect with boyfriend jeans at the beach, dinner, morning breakfast, sunset walks with Hayden, etc. I'm into bell sleeves on unexpected pieces like this one and on the hoodie I wore in this post. I'm also into stripes; this sweater has both!
ps- Hayden never turned around in these photos, but if he had....a little frog prince!
As always, share any thoughts! Share your own experiences of inspiration when someone else sent a #kindtext or paid it forward to YOU. xoxo Ashley
