Note from 2025: 

This is from the archives of 2017. One of my original, first ever blog posts shared on a blog that I don't think I ever told anyone about. I stumbled upon it a few months ago and it filled me with so many memories! I am a little sad I don't remember a whole lot about that time of my life - postpartum took its toll on me along with the after effects of preeclampsia (which no one really talks about). But this was something that was so special to me to make for our sweet little Claire's Baby Blessing Brunch. As well as to reminisce on the very beautiful, wonderful times of young, young children and motherhood. Thank you for letting me share this with you, now please excuse me while I go find a tissue.

Back to 2017:

I thought I would start things off by sharing one of our secret family recipes with you.  Cinnamon Rolls topped with a Maple Buttercream Frosting.  My sweet mother has been baking these cinnamon rolls since before I can even remember.  So to say this recipe is tried and true is probably an understatement.  The Maple in the frosting was my Grandmother Ruth's trademark.  They are amazing fresh out of the oven, but just as good the next morning for breakfast.  (If they last that long!)  So we thought these would be perfect for Claire's Baby Blessing Brunch, served with fresh fruit and milk. Normally, we simply frost the cinnamon rolls by sweeping a knife back and forth across the top [think frosting a cookie].  But we decided to pipe roses on top for a little flair.  

I was brushing my teeth one night and the words came into my head like the lyrics to a favorite song.  When I realized what was happening, I ran to my bed, grabbed a notebook and pen and began writing the words almost as fast as they were coming to me.  

Let's go back a few years, 17 to be almost exact.  I was with my 10 year old cousin at the time - and we had just been talking about life.  I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up and she said, "The most beautiful woman in the whole world."  Her answer surprised me a little, and made me really reflect on little girls, their self-esteem, and the true definition of beauty.  After graduating Cosmetology School, I worked in the salon for several years before having children.  I noticed something interesting, little girls under a certain age had so much confidence.  

They believed they could do anything.  

They believed they could be anything.  

They knew they were amazing.  They inspired me.  But something shifted in many of these girls as they grew up.  That spark dimmed.  When a tween or teen would sit in my chair, they pointed out every single flaw they wanted to me to fix, or imperfection they wanted to hide.  

I then began noticing that same type of thinking in many, many more of my clients, no matter their age.    

I made it my goal to find something beautiful to point out to every single one of my clients while they were in my chair.  I wondered if it would be difficult to give a genuine compliment to so many ladies, but it never was. 

 I found something beautiful about every single one!   

I realized that the definition of beauty is so misunderstood.   Everyone is beautiful, and the differences between us are even more beautiful.  If everyone had the "ideal" anything, the unique beauty of this world would be gone.  Did I always believe these things?  I have to confess that I didn't.  I thought that I was a very plain, ordinary, everyday kind of person.  Easy to miss, easy to forget.  Once during my own very impressionable years, someone had even asked if it was difficult for me to have two perfect and beautiful sisters?  I suppose it was easy for me to recognize the thoughts and feelings of others because I had felt it so many times in myself.  

During those years, I suppose a message began to form.  A message that we are enough.  A message that it doesn't matter what we look like - we do not need to "cover" ourselves up with anything to be truly amazing.  My clients seemed to listen when I shared this with them.  When I would give them their genuine compliment, a sparkle began to return.  They began to see themselves differently or in a way they had forgotten.  

I had always loved writing, and wondered if this message could possibly be shared in a different way. A storybook way that might stay in a child's heart and help them when they needed it the most. I filled notebooks with ideas of how it should be done.  Years passed with a lot of crumpled pieces of paper.  I could not come up with just the right idea.  I did not give up entirely, but it was pushed to the back of my mind.  

After having our second daughter, I found myself in the depths of Postpartum depression.  I had a bit of a difficult pregnancy and my recovery was more challenging than I had anticipated.  My confidence in myself was at an all time low, and I did not even want to look in the mirror most days.  As I look back, I find it ironic that a book about feeling beautiful, confident, and knowing you are enough would come to me at that time.  

But it did.  

I was brushing my teeth, and it came.  But you know that part of the story.

I felt as if those words were divinely inspired.  There was really no other explanation.  And as I looked at the words that formed the story, I realized this could be exactly what I had been waiting for. 

A Note from 2025: And it was, my book was published! But that is another post for another day. (I will be sharing all of the behind-the-scene details of traditional publishing in the very near future.)

Over the years, I have been deeply moved by the stories parents and grandparents have shared about how their little ones have found courage in the pages starting school for the first time, how it opened up conversations about confidence and kindness, and even helped children feel safe talking about bullying they have experienced. Others have shared that it has become a bedtime story their family continues to reach for, with one sweet family mentioning to my husband that they were on their third copy. Please excuse me while I go cry my eyes out. 

These moments aren't mine alone - they belong to the children who saw themselves in the story, and to the families who welcomed it into their hearts. I will carry those stories with me always, so grateful for the way a book can become a bridge between hearts.

If you have ever had a desire to write a story - to share the message that is in your heart - I hope you can find a glimmer of inspiration here for your own writing journey. I cannot wait to hear the story behind your story!