From all small things...

My brain has been in overdrive.

Ideas have been simmer for quite some time.
Stewing and bubbling waiting patiently for the moment when all the flavours come together in perfection.

The time has come.
I am ready.

I can say 'I am ready' with conviction. But it has been hard to come to this place.

It has been a struggle.
A struggle with my ego.

It took some time and personal growth to get past 'it'.
I had to stomp out the negative self talk.

I kept hearing and believing,
" what makes you good enough?"
" what do you have to say that is really important enough for people to listen to. "
" who says you have any skills people want to learn."

Well ego, I say I can. And I am in charge.

I say I have skills.
I say I can teach them.
I say I am capable.

I am ready.
I want to teach.
I want to help people.
I want to share the knowledge I have been blessed with.

I have developed workshops.
Some for kids.
Some for 'mama's'.
Some for families.
All with the intention to help people live more connected and joyfully.

I have planned two workshops for March.

The first one is 'Clear minds' for preschoolers. It will be on Sunday March 10th from 3:00 pm till 4:00 pm. It is a combination of yoga, guided meditation, creative play and storytelling. All designed for 2-4 year olds. The intention is too allow our children to relax, calm and slow down, hopefully allowing them to connect to their creative and imaginative potential.

The second workshop is 'meditation for moms'. A meditation workshop designed for 'mama'. It is on Wednesday March 20th at 8:00 pm. It is a time for quiet, serenity and peace. The intention of the workshop is to allow 'mom' to reconnect to herself and leave with some tools on how to take the time each day for herself.

Each workshop is $10.00 and is being held at my home.
I am so excited about them!

If you are at all interested, email me at jessicakennedy1985@gmail.com

I intend for great thing to happen :)

"From small beginnings come great things." -Proverb

Much love,
Jessica


( The space were tranquility will occur :)

Feelings of firsts

This was a great weekend.
It was jammed packed with super awesome 'soul nourishing' events and moments.
A gong meditation to fuel my spirit.
Babysitting our great friends daughter while they enjoyed a much needed date night.
A quiet and much needed breakfast at my parents.
First 'real' crawls by my little man.
Some great quality time with my family, which included watching my husband teach my daughters to play Wii bowling. I love seeing them basking in the 'awesomeness' of their daddy, and almost just as much, I love seeing my husband shine in his role with the kids.
And if all that awesomeness wasn't enough, I got to do one of my favourite things, see a movie solo.

I went to see 'safe haven'.
It is the type of movie I tend to see alone.
Impossibly romantic, heart wrenching, and powerfully emotional.

It was typical Nicolas Sparks adaptation, predictable and very familiar, and I loved it.

I left the movie feeling reminiscent and romantic.
I was reminded of first times and the feelings that come with them.

First time he grabs your hand and caresses your palm with his thumb. How if made your heart flutter and your words disappear.

The first kiss and how he tasted faintly like scotch mints. How his embrace enveloped you with a feeling of pure safety and love like you had never experienced before.

The first time he said 'I love you' and how your world seemed to stop turning for that moment.

The first time you made up after a big fight, and you said you would never fight again, knowing you would fight again but it was ok because fighting with him was better then not having him.

The first time you knew he was the one. The straw to your berry, the apple to your pie, the peanut butter to your jelly. The other half to your soul.

I was reminded.
And how easy it is to forget.
To put away those extraordinary feelings, allowing them to simmer in the back of our psyche.

This weekend the fire in my soul was relit.
I am blessed to have been reminded.



"How far away the stars seem, and how far is our first kiss, and ah, how old my heart." -William Butler Yeats

Much love,

Jessica

(He is the peanut butter, to our PB & J sandwich :)

A closet full of joy

I posted a picture earlier today.
The picture below.
My beautiful girls dressed in their own creations.

Charlotte in her favourite tee shirt. A cute tee with a picture of people carrying umbrellas in the rain. It is embellished with some gold and silver glitter. She matched it with a pair of stretchy jeans and a tutu. She wanted her hair to be up, with clips in it.

Chloe found a pair of pink tights and her 'sun' tee shirt. It is her favourite. She says it looks like the sun and summer. She was insistent she wanted her hair down with a head band. The way her hair was naturally falling was flipped out. It resembled a vintage hair style. She had a very 60's style to her today.

I asked my girls why they chose these outfits. They simply told me it was their favourite stuff and they liked it.
It made them happy.

I was thinking about it all day.

I want to dress like that.

A tee shirt that reminds me of summer.
Colourful skirts because they make me feel like a princess.
My favourite stuff on, just to make me happy.

Simply dress in a way that produces pure joy!

My girls didn't think about if what they chose was the most stylish choice or did they worry about their outfits ability to flatter their bodies. They don't think like that. Their minds are too pure. They have not been jaded yet by our society and its obsession on negative body image. They are not yet trying to maintain the impossibly high standards set for woman.
They only know how they feel and act on it accordingly.
Innocent and pure.

Oh, To feel that freedom of choice.
To know that lightness.
To have the monkey off our backs.
You know that monkey, that nagging presence telling us we are not good enough
How exhilarating that must be!

I want that freedom. To be able to own my choices and act purely and innocently.


"If most of us are ashamed of shabby clothes and shoddy furniture, let us be more ashamed of shabby ideas and shoddy philosophies. . . . It would be a sad situation if the wrapper were better than the meat wrapped inside it."
-Albert Einstein

Much love,

Jessica

Illuminating love

Valentines day.
Love.
Romance.
A holiday for lovers.

My lover, my husband, has never been a big valentine's day contributor.
He does not seem to like to be told when he has to express his love. He likes to do things on his own time, at his own speed.
I completely respect that.

He is great at surprising me with displays of his affections.
He is also very good at being loving and kind when it is really needed.

Today is not my day 'for lovers'.
Today is going to be a day for self- love.
I need to take a lesson from my husband and be kind and loving when it is really needed.
Right now.

I am my worst critic.
I am great at hurting my own feelings.
Self doubt and inadequacies riddle my mind, poisoning it with anger and frustration.
Today I am going to take a day to love me.
Be my own biggest fan.
Present myself in a way that shows the world that I know I am worth it.
Worth all the love the universe has for me.
I am spending my day loving me.
Teaching my kids to love who they are. To cherish every inch of their beautiful souls.
I am going to let the love radiate off of me, illuminating everyone in my life.

Let the love pour down.

"A loving heart is the truest wisdom." -Charles Dickens

Happy Valentines Day!

Much love,
Jessica

Princess at heart

In our house, the phrase "act like Cinderella" has become a very common one.
I use it, the girls use it.
It has become our shared mantra.
Let me explain to you how a woman who struggles with the idea of being saved has come to terms with her inner princess.

My little princesses were becoming quite rude. Hitting, stealing toys, yelling and bullying each other. The behaviour was wearing me down. I was asking them to stop, telling them to stop, yelling at the to stop, and giving time outs. Nothing was working.
I felt like I was the epitamy of the quote "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."
It was all becoming a little insane.
I needed a new method, a new approach.
One day after a weekend of watching Cinderella (1,2 and 3) I had a epiphany.
I would use their love of Cinderella to my advantage.
I took my 'guns a blazing' three year olds and sat them down for a heart to heart. I explained to them that Cinderella was a very nice girl. She was nice to everyone even if they were not nice to her. She had compassion, patience, love and joy in her heart.
As I explained, they were gazing up at me with eyes full of pride and respect for the princess they love.
I proceeded to describe the step sisters. They were bullies and acted in very hurtful ways.
I asked them who they wanted to act like, Cinderella or the step-sisters, and to try to remember to 'act like Cinderella' if they felt like doing something mean.
They seemed to leave our conversation understanding some of what I said.
I even heard them talking to each other on how to act more like Cinderella while sharing their toys.

I was happy and a little to 'cocky'.
I was on my high horse of 'awesome mama'.
I was thinking to myself
'Hell ya! You Rock! Nice way to squash nasty three year old behaviour! Mom of the year award should go to me!'
I was feeling pretty high and mighty about myself.
A few days later, I was in quite a state and losing my temper.
I was turning into 'Hurricane Jess' (a name my lovely husband has given my 'moods'.)
As I am stomping around the house in a blur of frustration and stress, only passing these feelings on to anyone who gets into my way, I was stopped by my daughters.

'Act like Cinderella' Chloe whispered
'Dont be a bully mama' Charlotte says as she looks up at me

In that moment I was kicked of my high horse, covered in mud and humbled.
I was preaching to them, trying to teach them, all the while forgetting my own insight in my life.
Thank you my beauties for reminding me that having a little princess in you can be a good thing. Even for a strong mama.

Much love,

Jessica

Strength in simplicty

You touch his hand,
Reach up for a kiss.
Your great grandpa,
A name you are truly blessed to say.
He smiles at you,
Something that can be hard to get him to do these days.
He loves you, even if his memory lapses who you are.

Watching your interactions is a joy.
Such intense emotion shared,
Transferred to each other through simplicity.
Simple touch and simple looks.
You teach me everyday,

Today's lesson being the importance of simplicity and strength of honest love.

Much love,
Jessica