Certified Yoga Teacher 200 Hr

I started doing yoga a little less than two years ago. I didn't even own a mat. A friend told me to come to this yoga class with her. I went and instantly fell in love. I'm not saying I was good at it, but things did come naturally to me. It was low impact for my joints and I actually got a workout. From then on, I was getting a regular yoga practice in three days a week. Then it became an everyday thing. Then it just grew into this passion that I couldn't stop. 

I then was approached by the yoga teacher to see if I was at all interested in teaching yoga. I NEVER thought about it and really just wasn't interested at the time. I was so new to yoga and thought how could someone like me teach?! 

The thought never left my mind. I had a million reasons why I couldn't do it with kids, husband and church, so I put the thought out of my head. As my yoga practice continued and progressed I knew that it was something I really wanted to pursue, but just truly didn't have the courage to do it. I was scared. Really scared. 

Then we moved and I learned that the next YTT was going to be super close to our new house. It was my first sign I needed to do this. I pushed it off some more because I knew the trainings were on Sunday and I had a hard time justifying missing church that much. Then we met with our Bishop for the first time because we were new and explained the situation. He was incredibly understanding about it and at that moment it all just felt right. Even when I was called in Young Women's they completely worked around my schedule. I couldn't believe it. I felt like this was all just falling into my lap. Second sign. Then Dan REALLY REALLY STRONGLY told me how much he supported it and how he really wanted me to do it. I was hesitant but knew how he felt. Sign three. Now YTT is not cheap by any means. We just bought a house and had to furnish it, but somehow we ended up with extra cash on hand that it worked out where the financial part wouldn't be a bother. My last sign. I knew if I didn't do it now, I never would. 

I sent in my application and waited patiently to be accepted into the fall 2017 program. 

I had a couple of months before training started but then it all came so fast and I was about to start my training.

It was every other Sunday for 12 hours. 7am-7pm. 

Then in the months December and January it was every Sunday until graduation day. 

It was really intense and I can truly say, life changing. I grew so much in myself and learned more than I thought coming into this yoga training. I never expected to grow so much in my thinking and my perspective on life. 

I cried a lot. I opened up a lot. I became strong, and I obviously learned proper technique in yoga and how to teach a class. I'm learning how to better myself and better others. We had multiple workshops, we had three final tests and had to generate income. It was a lot. But worth it! 

It was an incredible experience and I came out the other side much more different than I thought I would. 

My yoga teacher Joseph Stingley and my beautiful Yogi Sisters. We started out with 15 girls and we graduated with 12 of us. These girls will always be a big part of my life. They loved me and supported me through this whole process. It's crazy how complete strangers can become so important in your life. 

After all our finals we broke a geode so we each could have a piece. Meaning we are all cut from the same rock but all so different. 

I am so incredibly grateful to Dan who man handled the kids at church and all day long. He has been so amazingly supportive through it all. He even became my practice buddy and let me lead him through classes while I was studying for my tests. He's the best!!! 

So now I am officially a certified yoga teacher. I can teach anywhere in the world that I choose. Things are coming along in that department of what I plan to do. I am really optimistic and happy with how it should all turn out.  I think. Haha 

All in all this was such a fantastic experience. It changed my yoga practice and my life. I am so grateful for all I learned and hope to continue to practice it all from here on out. 

Hello 2018

Well hello 2018. Though we are already almost done with this month, I can't start a new year without a welcome on the blog. I am actually really looking forward to this year. 2017 was a big change for us and I am hoping for a more calm, steady pace year. It never happens but it's always a good to think that way?! Haha.
There are a lot of goals we have set as a family, and personal goals. I'm really optimistic about these goals and how we are going to achieve them. The biggest one that I am personally working on is my priorities. I have learned a lot about this through my yoga training and how I am setting myself up for failure most of the time because my priorities just aren't in the right place. It's a work in progress for sure, but it's something I am really working on for this year. I'm actually really pleased with the progress already being made in my thinking thus far. A lot of that has to do with my thought process.
    I am so looking forward to the fun to be had, the progress to be made and hopefully continuing on with a happy family.
We have a lot coming this year and we can't wait for all the adventures to be had. Bring it on 2018!

Goodbye 2017

Another year gone. They seem to just keep going faster and faster. I have to say how grateful I am for this past year. Though it was crazy and full of so much change, it was all good and necessary change. Change that impacted my life and my family's life. I personally feel I had a shift in perspective and what I want out of life and how I want to see things. Everything is in the blog this past year, so I won't go into crazy detail, but I'm a bit sad to see this past year go. I really liked 2017. The year was good. It was strong for us Lancaster's and looking back it felt like we took some big challenges and changes and made them our own. I feel like we grew a lot this year. The kids grew up physically, but there was also a lot of emotional and mental growth. For everyone.
     I am so optimistic for this year that we have started. There are things planned that give my butterflies in my stomach. Plans that make me nervous and adventures to be had that get me giddy with excitement. I can't wait to see what 2018 holds for us. The good and the bad. Thought I do hope there is more good than bad. I hope there is a lot of love and kindness that we share with others. I can't wait to continue blogging this year and all the things it has to offer us. We are all in with an optimistic outlook on 2018.

Thanks 2017 for being so wonderfully chaotic. It was a happy year. One I look back on and will always smile about. Even through all the crazy. Goodbye 2017. You were great!

Christmas Break & New Years

I feel like I am so behind on blogging about all Holiday festivities but the truth is that we just started school back up today!! It was a crazy weird Christmas break but we enjoyed our days off and filled them with laziness, crafts, friends, so much food and taking advantage of all being together. It was long but it was also fantastic. 

We met up with some of our friends from Carrollton and enjoyed an evening of letting the kids play and catching up! We have lived by the Mott's for about eight years now, first starting that friendship in Waco. Moving to Roanoke has been the farthest we have lived from them. So we still try to make it a point to see each other. 

Our poor Christmas tree died and became so brittle. It was a PAIN to take down and get cleaned up! I'm still finding pine needles! 

The kids one morning all gathered around watching Kate's favorite show "Masha and Bear". 

Out town's Chick Fil A always has some sort of festivity or event happening. We went and made New Years Eve party bags. We also received our meal for free. Just because. There was no reason. The guy behind the counter just said they do that sometimes. It was really nice and it made Dan so happy. Haha 

 Daddy telling one of his awesome stories. June can never get enough of his make believe stories. 

Our Youth had their New Years Eve Dance on Saturday since actual New Years Eve was on Sunday. We all gathered and got the girls ready for the dance. They don't mess around with dances here. The girls all looked so pretty. I was so happy to be apart of it! 

Owen came down with a little 24 hour flu bug. 

It doesn't hurt that I got to fall asleep next to him. He's honestly my favorite snuggler. 

One random day just listening to music. I'm trying to get a good 2018 playlist for yoga and Dan's music is usually where I go to first. So I don't mind sitting with him. 

Slime is all the craze right now and it's the worst. I mean it's so fun and the kids love it but it's also messy. And heaven forbid they play with it. They have to be making it over and over again. We have so many containers of slime that were made over Christmas break. 

Kate chilling on the couch after waking up from her nap. 

New Years Eve we went to church and then made home made pizza's later that night. 

We couldn't do our usual Chuck E. Cheese night out but we still had fun playing games in the house and of course letting the kids stay up as long as they could. Kate made it until about eight. Owen made it until about Ten and of course sweet June made it to midnight and then begged to stay up later. We cleaned up our New Years Eve mess and let June stay up until we went to bed. She was a champ and honestly wasn't cranky the next day. I was shocked. 

We had the following Monday off with Dan and then he headed back to work the following Tuesday. Then is was just the kiddos and myself. We had a fun, super chill week. 

They love when the Target balls change. So when they were snowmen we had to get a picture. June was so excited. 

Lot's of cozying up by the fire. These two are the worst enemies and the best of friends. 

One day I went to check on the kids while they were having rest time, I found Owen playing Uno with his stuffed animals. Why is it things like this that just make you love them all that much more?! 

Aunt Brookie gave us a Shopkins making activity for Christmas and the kids LOVE it! It's been in use every single day! It saved us big time through Christmas break. 

June came in one afternoon telling me she found this "mysterious" letter that was for me. I took it and she was completely playing clueless. Then she ran off giggling to herself. 

This was the content. It made my whole day. 

One day we made a trip down to the Perot Museum. We spent the majority of the day there. We had lunch and hit every floor in the Museum. I couldn't believe we survived being there so long.

The kids got to learn how to make fake snow 

Then they playing with a sample of a tub of it. It was actually cold like snow. The kiddos thought it was pretty cool. 

We had a lot of performances by the entire family over the break. Including Kate. 

It couldn't be all play while we were on break. We did have to do chores and get the house back to normal. The kids like to help so who am I to stop them. 

One morning our neighborhood community put on a snowball fight for the kids. We walked and drove up to play for a bit. 

June went to play with a friend in Carrollton and we decided instead of meeting at halfway like normal, we would drive all the way to Carrollton to pick her up. Owen has been begging to play at the "bouncy bridge park" forever. So we spent the evening there playing and then went and had dinner at McDonalds. It was an all around good day. 

Kate my sweet sweet wild child. She is beyond chill. I could not ask for a better third child. 

We went to a little friends birthday party at a jungle gym place. It was so fun and the kids had a blast!! 

Kate was definitely was there for the cake. ;) 

We watched a lot of movies and played a lot of Mario Odyssey. One day while watching Dan play the Switch, Owen and I snuggled on the couch. 

Then about 20 minutes later, he went to get on the ground to color and fell asleep about a minute after that. 

Our little Cul-De-Sac besties. They have a jeep just like us so they now definitely own that space. We are so grateful for such good neighbors! 

June went with one of her friends to the park and play at her house for the afternoon so we had one of Owen's little buddies come over to our house and play. Slim was definitely a must. 

Then before we knew it, we were getting back to bed time schedules and packing backpacks for the next day of school. It was a weird feeling. I was ready for the routine again but I really do enjoy having my whole family home. We are all such home bodies so it was nice to be all together. But June was excited to get back to school, though waking up early again hasn't been so great. For everyone! Haha. 

We enjoyed our break and the time we got together.