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Courtney DeFeo
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Courtney DeFeo

Ericka Dunlap

A Story of Beauty

A Story of Beauty

It’s timmmmeeeee!!! Let’s do this. Kindness a It’s timmmmeeeee!!! Let’s do this. Kindness and generosity isn’t my idea - it’s God.’s idea. Our family has just loved using random acts of kindness to light up the hearts of our community. There’s so much need and all around us. When kids serve and give - they experience that it’s better to give than receive. They catch something in them and it sticks. I started #lightemupacts years ago as a way to just share ideas with other parents. Don’t over do it. Pray first. You can do something every day in Advent or just one thing! God will direct your heart. Check out the site for 100s of ideas. LightEmUpActs.com ❤️🌲🎄
A year ago today we found out there was a tumor on A year ago today we found out there was a tumor on Ron’s pancreas. It was a horrific and fast and furious December - and a Christmas we won’t forget. Ron got CLEAN scans this week and we are incredibly grateful. I will never get over the miracle of his story- how it was found, when it was found and every detail in between. We felt God’s presence like never before. In Ron’s words - it was providential. We are beyond thankful that we get him around for years to come. We can’t thank you enough for your prayers and how our community carried us through some super scary weeks. I’ll put full story in my reels today .
I love social media. I hate social media. Photos I love social media. I hate social media. Photos like this just make me smile. Looking back at Larson and the total thrill of fake snow. I’m also certain I was exhausted trying to do all and be all during the holiday season. I’m certain that I didn’t post or share all the hard things on social media. Same is true today. We’re having epic memories and moments. And we’re exhausted. Life is both. Elation. Exhaustion. Joy. Sorrow. Every single person is struggling with more than you know. We are loving teen years and we sometimes all cry and go to our rooms. We have work highlights and work stress. We love to serve and sometimes we (mostly I) get overcommitted. We grow and mature but still seek counseling to learn and process. All of this to say… you’re doing great. If you know all the hard behind every family and every cropped and edited photo - you’d feel so less alone and so seen. I’m challenging myself to scroll less and get with actual people more. Hang in there peeps in this glorious and frustrating world . Give me a high and low below!👇
Does anyone else get super emotional at birthdays? Does anyone else get super emotional at birthdays? On each kid’s birthday - I scroll back through thousands of pictures and just remember. Today, my first born is 17. I sit here bawling, with this overwhelming feeling of gratitude. One million memories all flood back and I just feel thankful. And also a little sad that it went so fast. Ella - you’ve grown up. And you are more than I ever dreamed. You are truly something so special. I believe God will use you in so many ways this year and the years to come. You’re discerning, loyal, tender, absolutely HILARIOUS, kind, wise, responsible, respectful, smart, trustworthy, loving and unbelievably beautiful. You shine. You honor God with your life. You draw others in everywhere you go. Happy 17th my girl. Insanely proud of you.
Happy to meet you! Welcome to some new faces arou Happy to meet you! Welcome to some new faces around here. Make sure you tell me two things in the comments. 1- your favorite holiday and 2 - what area of parenting feels overwhelming right now? Some random things about me. In no particular order. - My progress reports in school always said “talks too much” and now I get to write and speak and podcast @pardonthemesspodcast ! - I taught country line dancing in high school to senior citizens - I had a former career in marketing with Chick-fil-A headquarters and it was life changing - I believe kindness and really seeing people is essential -I have two teen girls and I love them and really like them too. Teens are awesome and hilarious. - Been married 20 years - he survived pancreatic cancer last year and is the funniest person in our family . - I thought dogs were gross until 2020 now I’m obsessed with one - possibly codependent - I love Jesus so much - Ron is in airline industry, so we love traveling together - Our family (aka Ron) cleans out drains often - see hair situation - I’m from ATL, lived in Orlando and now DFW - I could brainstorm or ideate all day long - but get less excited at execution - I’m a proud 3rd generation Auburn graduate currently brain-washing the 4th - I serve on boards of @forgirlslikeyou and @lighthousefr - I’m currently working with my counselor on how to love many people but also have proper boundaries - I love documentaries. People are so interesting. - I’m too tired (# perimenopause) to fix the above blurry pic . My heart’s desire is that you feel so encouraged, supported and seen when we connect at @pardonthemesspodcast . 💕 Your turn. Tell me where your favorite holiday and what’s overwhelming you as a parent right now. #fridayintroductions
Let’s talk about our kids. They are kids. They Let’s talk about our kids. They are kids. They are growing and learning. One of the ways I get tripped up is expecting too much and being too hard on them. My kids would yell an AMEN. Today, let’s try a few simple things together. 1) Encourage - tell them what we love about them 2) Hug -these kids need hugs. All of them. 3) Eye contact - preaching to me. Let’s put down the phone and look at them 4) Smile and laugh- they need to see we delight in them and they are not a bother 5) Grace- give them a break. They are trying so so hard to get it right Why the plates? Because I love them. Support my friend at @paper.clay.tabletop . She’s raising 3 beautiful kids without her hubby and building a new business.
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