What I Learned From the Wiegands...

Casey and I started to become friends the beginning of last year as we both

started this blogging and business journey at the same time. 

You can imagine how excited I was to be able to spend real life time with her in Dallas

after talking to her on the phone for so many months.

The Wiegand's graciously let me stay with them, which means that I got to spend

SO much fun time with their sweet family. I knew going into it that I was going to have a blast,

come home missing them, and want to plan my next trip up there asap.

What I didn't know, was that I was about to learn so much more about life

that I didn't even realize I didn't know. 

Today I want to share 4 things that I learned from The Wiegands.

1. Pick Your Battles. And actually, most things don't even have to be a battle:

I don't have kids yet, but I've been around a lot of parents,

am the oldest of 3, and have spent a lot of time watching other people's children.

I notice a lot how frustrated parents get with their kids, which makes crazy situations even worse.

I've always wondered what kind of parent I'll be... especially because I'm really impatient...

But after watching Casey and Chris, I know what kind of parent I want to be.  

I'll never forget the first night I was there...We were eating at Chili's.

The sweet babies hadn't had naps that day, everyone was so tired, and we were hungry.

The service had been incredibly slow, the kids were antsy, and there were chips literally

crushed everywhere. I was giggling.... I loved it.

To say our table was a mess was an understatement. I wish I would have taken a picture.

Ainslee, the 18th month old, was shaking her cup getting water everywhere, 

during the same time Casey had to run Aiden to the bathroom.

Chris just looked at me and said, "You know, I could take this cup away from her so that water

stops getting everywhere, and I could have her just sit here and be quiet. But she would never

understand why she can't have that cup. So instead of tormenting her with
something she can't yet understand, I let it go."

I really don't think that I will ever forget that.

2. We're all created for a purpose, and happiness comes when you fulfill it:

Casey and Chris are amazing artists. From owning their own art studio where they teach

others to have that same passion, to creating amazing films, this couple is so talented.

But it's not easy. In fact, they've sacrificed a lot to pursue their dreams.

And even greater than that, they were talking about how they'd sell everything to allow their

kids to go after their dreams.

Being surrounded by people who believe this way was sooo refreshing for me.

3. Patience always wins:

Over all the tears, long days, and some crying...

Never, not even once, did either of them raise their voice even just a little bit.

Not even once.

4. Greater things happen when we support each other:

Casey reserved their studio, A Little Artsy, all day on Saturday so that we could

use it for the Shine event. They were always making sure I was comfortable in their home,

that I had everything I needed, etc, etc, etc.

They supported what I was there to do, and it made me feel confident.

Wiegands, I stinkin love your guts. Thank you for your hospitality and friendship.

Now come move to Phoenix :)