Fresh.

My brother, Mike, was in college when my oldest was toddling around. One of the rights of an uncle is to teach his nieces and nephews new words. At the time, one of these words Mike used quite often was FRESH. As in, "Hey, did you see my new stereo?" "Fresh." Or, "Hey, we finally saw Jurassic Park." "Fresh." Or, "Watch me do a cartwheel." "Fresh." Mike was really good at cartwheels.

Okay, I made the cartwheel thing up. But you get the idea.

So one day he was visiting and he turned to my 3 year old and said, "Hey, tell your mom what you think of her."
Chelsea stuck her little thumb out and said, "Fresh."
She was pretty dang proud of herself. And so was her uncle. It was adorable. For a few years if Mike asked my kids, "Hey, what do you think of your Uncle Mike?" The kids would grin and stick out their thumbs and say, "Fresh." It was way better than teaching them swear words. *coughUncleDougcough*

So anyway, I thought of that as I revamped this blog. I tweaked the title. I had to. I realized the reason why I was leaving this blog behind in my priorities over the last year. Things have gotten hard. We've been roughed up some by the words and actions of others and have struggled to know how to proceed, let alone continue with the pressures and opportunities of everyday life. My glass half full was clouded and I wasn't sure how to translate that onto a positive thinking blog. When you believe in the addage, "What do we live for if not to make life less difficult for each other?" and then are hit with a barrage of events proving people do otherwise, it's bitter. It's un-inspiring. It dampens the spirit of those who are only trying.

I'm still hopeful. I'm just more careful. I'm sure some of you are saying, "Duh, Krista." And I know. But there are all kinds of lessons to be learned, many different ways to lose innocence. I'm fortunate to be surrounded by friends and loved ones who stand by our family. I'm still trying to come out of these particular lessons stronger. I think a little differently now, but I'm still the one who is determined to say, "It will be okay. We'll figure it out."

Oh geez, I'm Frodo's Sam. LOTR-nerd alert.


So, bear with me as I figure things out with this blog. I still want it to be a place to share happy events, family news, and life from my perspective. I hope you'll still be able to read, enjoy, and stick your thumb out. New background, new outlook.

As Mike would say, "Fresh."