Latest News: Update On Team TLC Christmas Miracle

It’s been just over a month since posting and sharing “Help Team TLC With a Christmas Miracle”. It has been overwhelming to keep up with friends wanting to know how things are going so I thought I’d share an update.

In just two weeks $8,400 was raised! Your sharing and donations came from and traveled the world. Indiana, Tennessee, Louisiana, Kentucky, Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Illinois, Hawaii, California, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maine, Maryland, Utah, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, Colorado, Kansas, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Missouri, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Virginia, Wyoming, Canada, United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand.

I thank you from the depths of my soul and cannot wait until I have the opportunity to pay your acts of kindness forward! Thank you to my Jr High School friends, my Mississippi friends, my Chromosome 18 family, my Mississippi family, Nevada friends, facebook friends and people I don’t even know … Oceans of love and hugs to all y’all!!

This house was supposed to be sold on December 26th and we found out a few days later that it got postponed for two weeks. The sale did happen on January 7th. That gave me more time to get the house packed and to search for a new place for us. The plan is to move the second weekend in February.

I have no idea why the sale of this house got postponed for two weeks but it has allowed for perfect timing with another factor. We have been gifted a few raffle tickets for a “Dream Home” that’s being raffled by Builder’s Association of Northern Nevada on February 6th.

Starting on January 6th I began teaching a class at High Desert Montessori Charter School. It’s a creative expressions class which is an elective for 7th and 8th graders. I’ll be teaching it through March 14th and I’m there every day from 12:30-2:30. The class I’m teaching is titled “Success for Teens” combined with learning how to blog. The students are blogging about the class and I’ve created a blog for the class titled “Their View”. I was supposed to teach it last quarter, from October – December 2013. It got postponed to this quarter. I appreciate this amazing opportunity more than words could express.

I continue to have faith and continue to be in awe of the timing of these two events and so many other interesting synchronistic occurrences. Whether we make our new home in the raffle “Dream Home” or another home, the outcome will be perfect. I will see and believe that either outcome is in answer to my prayers. I will be grateful and appreciative and will make whatever address is to be ours in February, our “Dream Home”.

The plan is to continue packing only what we feel we need and releasing attachment to things we don’t need. I’ve created an absolutely get rid of “pile” and, depending on where we move, we’ll take less furniture or almost all furniture. On February 7, 2014 we will know which direction we’re headed!

The past month has been an emotional roller coaster. I shared with a friend the other day that I hear silence where there was not silence previously. I absolutely knew that would happen and am making my way to being okay with that. She said, “That’s alright. Go where the noise is.” That’s my own advice being shared with me, when I can’t see it fully! Right on!!

I continue to be open to and research income generating opportunities in line with my own happiness and desire and commitment to devoting most of my time to being a full time Mom to Thomas and Lillian. I had a meeting last week with an organization and have one this week with a local business.

When I was nudged by my inner voice to openly ask for help and share my situation, I almost didn’t move forward. I had fears and thoughts of unworthiness. Yet, at the same time, my inner voice urged me onward as my asking for help was going to benefit others as well.

Sharing my situation and asking for help was and did help others by letting them know that it’s okay to ask for help and by letting others see the goodness and kindness in our world. I have received many messages from others sharing with me how this has helped them, inspired them, and re-ignited their faith.

I continue to have faith and be aware of the direction my inner voice nudges me to take. Thank you to everyone for your support, love, prayers, and positive thoughts.

Help Team TLC With A Christmas Miracle

**Before reading this … If you find yourself beginning to have feelings of sorrow, sympathy or other negative feelings, please stop for a minute and flood your thoughts with those of gratitude and love. Negative feelings are not helpful for us or you. ** xoxo

It is time to turn the page on this chapter of my life’s journey. I choose to do this with my face turned to the sun with a heart full of happiness, gratitude and excitement.

This is taking every ounce of courage I’ve got in me. I rarely ask for help for myself. Perhaps I’ve been saving it up for a big whopper!

I’m asking now. I believe this to be a beneficent and abundant world and I am moved by something larger than my ego to do this. I am infused with a mysterious strength to put aside my own fears of alienation, self-judgment and guilt … actually, not just putting those fears aside. I have released them. They no longer serve me. Getting this out and releasing certain thought patterns has been incredibly healing. If need be, may you take this as an opportunity to release your own fears and judgments around asking for help.

This “thought” ignited as a spark in my heart this past Saturday morning as I was focusing on thoughts of a solution. It grew into a consuming and powerful flame Saturday night while watching Frank Capra’s, It’s a Wonderful Life. George Bailey didn’t think he was worthy of asking for and receiving help. In the end of the story, he was proved wrong as the entire town came forth to help. “No one is born to be failure. No one is poor who has friends.” …. from the movie.

May this bring you good feelings by way of deciding to help and share or, if not moved to help, by way of engulfing you with feelings of gratitude for your own life and situation. Perhaps you may want to share this with your kids, your family and loved ones to shatter the illusion that they need more ….. Indeed, to be grateful for all that they have.

I’m asking for a non-random act of kindness from at least 15,000 people.

On December 26, 2013, at 11:00 a.m., the house we live in will be sold on the Washoe County Courthouse steps. By the Grace of a higher power we’ve been able to stay in this house rent free. It is owned by a relative who chose to let the bank have the house back. Team TLC has gratefully been calling it home while the paperwork caught up with the scenario.

Honestly, I absolutely dreamed and thought I’d be in a different financial situation by this point. I currently don’t earn enough to pay a consistent rent. I have no credit and, indeed, have bad credit. Everything was in my name during my 10 year marriage which ended in 2007. After the divorce, I paid for things as long as I could, until I ran out of money and had to file bankruptcy. I still owe Sallie Mae for my ex-husband’s school loan as it was in my name.

My Mom and Step-Father are renting their house so moving in with them is not an option as there’s not enough room for another family and it wouldn’t be acceptable to their landlord. The housing authority in our area is not currently offering assistance and has closed the waiting list.

I know that I am accountable and responsible for all that I am, all that I do, and all that occurs to me and for me. I choose to stand firm in my choices and my direction. All of my decisions have been perfect as they have cleared the path for my own growth and coming home to compassion, non-judgment and love.

I made a commitment before Thomas and Lillian were born that I would be a full time Mom, that I would be with them until they entered school and I would be with them before and after school and during school breaks. I chose this path so that I could be there …. be there to answer life questions they have as they travel their own path. Questions and answers which I very often share with y’all on facebook and on my blog.

I am asking for:

  1. A $1.00 or $5.00 donation or
  2. **Hire me (see below) and
  3. Share this with everyone you know through facebook, twitter, pinterest, blogging, email newsletter subscribers, old fashioned mail, and word of mouth.

You can use the Paypal button or mailing address below:

[sdonations]1[/sdonations]

Mailing address is:
P.O. Box 19812
Reno, NV 89511

If we can get 15,000 people or more to donate $1.00 each, that would be a miracle indeed! Or if this blog post lands in front of the exact person that would benefit from hiring me, that would be a miracle too! The miracle of helping us to have a place to live … a home.

Mountains of blessings to everyone who is donating. My eyes are sweating and my heart overflows with love …

In just over week, your sharing and donations have come from and traveled the world. Indiana, Tennessee, Louisiana, Kentucky, Texas, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Illinois, Hawaii, California, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maine, Maryland, Utah, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, Colorado, Kansas, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Missouri, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, Virginia, Wyoming, Canada, United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand. I thank you from the depths of my soul and cannot wait until I have the opportunity to pay your acts of kindness forward! Thank you to my Jr High School friends, my Mississippi friends, my Chromosome 18 family, my Mississippi family, Nevada friends, facebook friends and people I don’t even know … Oceans of love and hugs to all y’all!!

I KNOW that everything is going to be okay. I KNOW that my kids and I will have the perfect home and living situation for us come January 1st.

I attempt to live my life from a place of love, compassion and non-judgment. If you are moved to help, I send you oceans of blessings and love. If this request for help angers you or brings forth negative feelings, I send you oceans of blessings and love. I don’t do drama. I don’t do confrontation. There is only love in my heart.

If you want to consider your donation as a loan, use my contact page to send me your address and you will receive the money back as I am able to pay. Browse through my blog posts and if you find something useful, perhaps you could consider it a tip for the content I provide.

**If you would like to hire me, check out my Work with Camilla page. I have a Paralegal Degree and 10 years of experience as a paralegal. I have been heavily involved in the digital world and blogging since 2007. I enjoy researching topics, creating solutions and writing about my discoveries. I’ve been involved in the special needs world since Lilian was diagnosed at age 3, back in 2004. My current passion is mindful, inspired and simple living. Perhaps you or someone you know would benefit from hiring someone to research topics and write blog posts?

I recorded a video for those who don’t know me personally …. so you can see the person behind these written words …

In addition, for those who don’t know me, I freely share my life, including my 2 children, via this blog and facebook.

I take Lillian to speech, occupational and physical therapy every Tuesday from 1:45-4:00. We lead a very simple life. We rarely eat out and when we do, it’s considered a wonderful treat! By choice we don’t own a television. We rarely attend events that have a fee. I am wearing the same clothes I’ve had before Lillian was born.

Most newer clothes I own have been gifted to me by friends or my Mom. I haven’t had a haircut in nearly 2 years. Thomas wears hand me downs from the neighbor next door. Bless them to pieces! They have two boys older than Thomas and pass along all of their clothes to us! My Mom and Step-Father help to keep Thomas and Lillian in clothes and shoes that fit them. They outgrow things so quickly!

For our entertainment we go for walks in nature, have outdoor picnics and visit parks. We don’t go on vacations. However, we do attend the yearly Chromosome 18 Conference with the help of grants or sponsorships. I make this into a vacation for us and Thomas and Lillian love it!

We do NOT feel deprived and do NOT feel as if we are missing out. We are HAPPY!

I spent last school year and the year before that working with Thomas to help him through some difficult challenges. I chose to stay focused on helping him so that we could address these challenges now rather than later. Between that and a change made at school, he is doing awesome. He loves school, loves his teacher, and loves learning.

Want to know even more about me before helping to create this miracle?

Read my blog posts here, read the blog posts on the 501(c)3 I founded with the slogan of Different iz Good, read my facebook posts (they are open to the public), visit our YouTube channel, and visit my kids’ websites, Thomas Darnell and Lillian Darnell. Lastly, visit the very first blog Lillian and I penned together titled Pink Elephant Books and our Team TLC website. We call ourselves Team TLC to correspond with the first letter of each of our names. You can also read my book. If you have an Amazon Prime account you can check it out from the Kindle library for free.

Below is an excerpt from my book:

” … Reflecting back, I now see that I do indeed have a vein of courage coursing through me. I know I can count on it to be there when I need to tap into it. In December of 2006, I made the decision to remove myself and my kids from the marriage I had been in for ten years. I was mentally exhausted! It took courage to go against my own morals and values. I believed that when I got married I should and would stay married. It took courage to remove myself and admit I had made a mistake.

The next two years took real courage to get through. It took courage to accept my decision and be at peace with being a single parent; courage to face that all assets and all debts were in my name; and courage to separate myself from my glowing credit score. I faced times when I could no longer pay the bills.

When I could no longer make my car payment, it took courage to have a going away party for our car, instead of the repossession being a somber, dreadful time. You see, when I mentioned to Lillian that someone would be coming to take our car she became upset and sad. She doesn’t like change. She likes things to stay familiar, to just be like they are supposed to be and always have been. I made the decision that we needed to turn this event into a celebration to clear the way for a new chapter. So that’s what we did. The afternoon before the “pick up,” Thomas, Lillian and I wore party hats, baked cookies, and listened to party music while cleaning out our car. We took pictures, we had fun, and all three of us accepted this event with a happy and smiling face.

“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows. It’s what the sunflowers do.” – Helen Keller

With Mountains and Oceans of Gratitude,
Team TLC
Thomas, Lillian and Camilla

For Chris Brogan, per the message sent on 12.16.13:

I Am An Artist

As I completely lean into writing and blogging, I am tweaking the website a bit to bring more clarity to the type of content one can expect to find here.

“Be Mindful … Super-sized thoughts with a wee bit of photographs, recipes and tips.” (And, possibly soon, some other type of art. We shall see where my experimentation leads with this.)

This website and blog bring together all the pieces of my life, like a snapshot. I am a writer, author, blogger, photographer, an artist, and a life coach. I am Mom to 8 year old Thomas and 12 year old Lillian. (**Update: Lillian is 14 years old now and Thomas is 9 years old.)

Lillian has a chromosome abnormality simply called 18p-. This means she is missing a piece of the short arm of chromosome #18. Her younger brother, Thomas, is an amazing and loving helper!

I love taking pictures with my mobile devices. Currently an iPhone 3G and a Samsung Galaxy Tab (mine is a Model gt-p3113). I purposely shoot all photos with these devices as I don’t choose to invest in a fancy camera and/or deal with and learn all the details involved and to show others we can easily and economically capture the beauty and awe of nature anywhere and anytime. (**Update: Now using an iPhone 4G and I have an instagram account for posting pictures as time allows … @camilladowns …)

I love writing about mindful, inspired, simple living as it relates to the choices I make, daily living, being a parent, experiencing nature and …. food.

I am inspired by this place I have chosen as our home … Reno, Nevada. When he was 7 years old, my son, Thomas, summed it up with one beautifully crafted comment. “It’s like we are at an art show and nature keeps changing the art for us.”

I freely and openly share my journey as I sail through life. The ups, the downs, the loop the loops. I have good days, I have bad days. I share in the hopes that you will find at least one nugget to take away and apply to your own life. My wish is that you become inspired, your own passion to simplify life is ignited, or a path to mindful living is illuminated.

I am available for freelance writing opportunities and guest blogging. I’m a life coach too! Contact me here to inquire further.

**Disclosure: I am not an expert on how anyone should be or could be living their life; except for my own …. and that’s only sometimes! I attempt to be non-judgmental and to allow others to BE! Go forth and BE MINDFULLY YOU!

(To help support my blogging I will include an Amazon link to items I use or you will see google ads from time to time. I LOVE sharing my journey and choices with you and this just helps to keep me going!) 

He Swam Into the World on November 13, 2005

… And continues to give the gift of himself every minute of every day …

Some people say, “I can’t believe (s)he is already 8 years old.” I think to myself, “I cannot believe he is only 8 years old!”

Having not been able to give birth to Lillian at The Birthing Center, I was so excited to be able to deliver Thomas there and for it to be a water birth also.

Honestly, I had a rougher pregnancy with Thomas than Lillian. He was absolutely healthy, but I felt horrible. I was so nauseas and tired the entire time.

In the late afternoon on November 13th, I began having contractions. Naturally, I decided that this was the very time I had to get caught up with the Wall Street Journal print editions I had gotten behind with reading! There I was pacing around the house reading WSJ and stopping to have contractions in between!

We met the midwife at the birthing center about 9:00 pm. Things were moving along pretty quickly as I was doing my best to stay relaxed so that things could progress. After she checked us both and filled the huge bathtub with water, I got right in. I was having tremendous labor pain in my back but kept visualizing this young man making his exit and relieving me of my pain!

I didn’t have to wait too long as he moved his way right along and joined us pretty quickly! After waiting for my temperature to get back to normal, the three of us made the 10 minute drive home. It was about midnight when we arrived and Lillian was sleeping so she got to meet Thomas the next morning!

Today, November 13, 2013, on HIS special day he came and got me, told me to close my eyes and led me to his room. He said he had a gift for me. When I got to his room I removed my hand from my eyes and he had beautifully made his bed! Take my breath away … HE had a gift for ME on HIS special day! This was more of a gift than a nicely made bed.

I feel that ALL children are a gift and that some of us fail to see the gift they bring to us. Not on purpose. We just seem to forget all that we knew about life when we were young. As some of us get older, we lose the pure love, compassion and generosity that were our nature during childhood.

In the beginning of motherhood I did not get this or choose to see and receive the gift. Being in my 12th year now with this parenting journey, coupled with my own awakening and learning journey, I see it so vividly.

Almost daily I have moments where a gesture or words spoken by Thomas bring forth the feeling that time does not exist, we are engulfed in a wave of silence and I have just been given a lesson that I needed right at that very moment.

By the words of wisdom and gestures I share with him, I am teaching these things to myself. For this young man doesn’t just act like he’s listening, he comprehends my words and actions and shares it with me at a different moment in time.

Yesterday he asked so gently if he could have an ice cream as a birthday treat while we waited for Lillian to finish her therapies. I reminded him we had ice cream at home and that he could have some. He said, “Okay, that sounds good.”

Lillian’s therapy center is only seconds from the fast food place that has soft serve ice cream. After I parked, I filled my mind with thoughts of abundance and generosity and changed my mind. After all, it was only a $1 cone.

Thomas had gotten out to play so I asked if he still wanted that ice cream cone. As I turned into the parking lot a homeless person was sitting on the curb.

In addition to ordering the ice cream for Thomas, I ordered a chicken burger. At least, I think it was me. I felt an overwhelming urge to order that burger and give it to the person we had just passed. I had Thomas hand it to him as we pulled next to him. I have NEVER done this before.

The man thanked us many times. As we drove off, I told Thomas that it doesn’t matter the reason that man is sitting there or even if he is really homeless. I felt moved to share kindness and I did.

I explained that we never want to NOT share kindness due to judgment of another or for fear that our kindness will not be well received. Once we perform an act of kindness it’s really no longer our business. I’m sure Thomas will remind me of this beautiful moment just when I need it most.

“The sage is kind to the kind and kind to the unkind.” -Lao Tzu

My heart is so full of love for Thomas. It adds to my own love of self and truly causes my heart to skip a beat at times. No matter what paths he chooses for his journey or where it leads him, I will always love him.

This amazing child with his wise old soul has brought much into my life. I am blessed daily by his presence, his love, his wisdom and his humor. I LOVE that I get to be his mentor and his mother and that HE gets to be my mentor and son! We knew what we were doing when we chose one another for this journey.

You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one …. And … It’s really none of my business what you think of me … xoxo

 

The Team TLC Bucket Lists

Some people call them bucket list. I choose to give it a different spin. Team TLC is calling ours an Adventure List! That’s right! Last week I gave a map book to Thomas and Lillian and told them to make a list of everywhere in the World they want to visit. Then I told them to make a list of everything they want to have, be or do.

The following is my Adventure List. It’s continually being added to so I will designate a dedicated page on this website for our Adventure Lists.

This is a list of experiences I want to have, be or do. They are in absolutely no particular order. I simply write them down as inspired.

Let me be clear. I make this list with detachment. If I get to experience these items then WooooHooooo. If not, then WoooooHoooooo. I’m still a happy and peaceful person. The way I see it, my happiness comes from within.

Camilla’s Adventure List:

  1. Dance in a theatrical play
  2. Look for 4 leaf clovers in a beautiful warm meadow with a light breeze
  3. Vacation or temporarily live in a house on a quiet lake with warm non-humid temperature
  4. Have my own garden and grow food
  5. Learn to and play a woodwind instrument
  6. Experience a natural/mineral hot spring
  7. Dance in the street … perhaps to Cindy Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” 😉
  8. Have honeysuckle growing in my yard
  9. Vacation in Tahiti – Done
  10. Receive in the mail a legitimate check made out to ME for 6 figures or more
  11. Live in a bungalow over the ocean in the South Pacific for 1-3 months or longer
  12. Go on a tropical cruise with Thomas and Lillian
  13. Learn how to paint and create at least one inspired painting
  14. Experience natural child birth – Done … Twice!
  15. Live or vacation in a cabin in the woods for at least one month if not longer.
  16. Start a flash mob dancing to Lady GaGa’s “Born This Way” and “We Are Family”
  17. Milk a cow ….. Hug a cow (updated March 2019)
  18. Visit England and Scotland – Done
  19. Be on a stage in front of thousands of people and at the least inspire and encourage them to ponder how they are choosing to think and at the most create a positive shift in their life
  20. “For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.” -Judy Garland … Be in a soulful relationship …
  21. Live on a boat for at least a month or longer
  22. Pick apples in an apple orchard
  23. Live in Reno – Done
  24. Collect fresh honey … visit a bee farm
  25. Live in a beach cottage on the beach in southern California and Florida
  26. Learn and practice yoga
  27. Anonymously and randomly share with and help others
  28. Get a degree – Done
  29. Picnic in a field of wildflowers
  30. Have morning coffee on a beach while watching the sun rise
  31. Have a full and uninterrupted month to myself to read and write … if not longer
  32. Make stretch bracelets that mirror food, flowers and nature – Done
  33. Experience a cross country train ride with Thomas and Lillian
  34. Visit Greece
  35. Own an almost new Cadillac – Done
  36. Go kayaking in Lake Tahoe and Washoe Lake
  37. Hike the Tahoe Rim trail with Thomas
  38. Live in a luxury hotel for at least a few months
  39. Visit as many libraries as possible in the United States
  40. Spend at least 3 months exploring California
  41. Be a Paralegal for 10 years – Done
  42. Learn and play lawn bowling
  43. Learn and play shuffle board
  44. Have orange, lemon and lime trees in my yard
  45. Live in a tree house for at least 3 months – Swiss Family Robinson style
  46. Live on an island in a hut for at least 3 months – Gilligan’s Island style
  47. Have an Airstream. Travel to beaches, lakes and campgrounds for a while.
  48. Live in a  town that’s so small you can walk to and from anywhere you need to go
  49. Visit Walden Pond
  50. Own and live in a 3 story house – Done
  51. Have a comfortable chair swing hanging from a nice big shade tree
  52. Stay or live in a place that has an outdoor living area with a view of the ocean
  53. Stay or live in a place that has an outdoor living area with a view of a meadow
  54. Attend and have fun at a luau on the beach
  55. Anonymously gift a vacation or some sort of respite/relaxation package to a family or person
  56. Vacation or live in a lighthouse for at least 3 months
  57. Live in a tiny home (We have lived in a 1 bedroom/1 bath 810 square foot condo from August 2015 – to current) Done
  58. See our Team TLC Bucket Lists page for further updates …

Thomas’ Adventure List:

  1. Make new Lego thing
  2. Plant my plant
  3. Find proof to see if aliens are real
  4. Find cool car
  5. Write a book
  6. Decorate sandals
  7. Laugh at beach
  8. Make lock
  9. Make device
  10. Receipt Machine
  11. Nintendo
  12. Northern California – Beach, Hotel and Sunset
  13. Las Vegas – Performance and Lights
  14. Florida – Disneyland
  15. China – Cool!
  16. Texas – Hot!
  17. Hawaii – Hula Dance and Water
  18. Georgia
  19. Louisiana

Lillian’s Adventure List:

  1. California – Lake Tahoe
  2. Florida – Sunshine
  3. Georgia – Dolphins
  4. Hawaii – Hula Dancing
  5. Indiana
  6. Maine
  7. Helena, MO – gemstone
  8. West Virginia – Marbles

Thomas and Lillian are still adding to their lists. They’re still getting the hang of all this!

This article is now part of my inventory in Inspired Living.

I enjoy taking the time to share information with y’all that I think is helpful and give you ideas to live an Inspired Life. So, if you feel this helped you in any way, toss a tip into the tip bowl on the way out of Inspired Living.

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If you can’t afford to donate, please feel free to pass this article along to others who might get some help from it. Thank y’all to everyone who has donated and shared in the past. I don’t always get a chance to respond, and the donations, shares and comments are my indicators that what I share is helpful. Thank YOU!

 

Team TLC Custom Stretch Bracelets

My 7 year old son, Thomas, and 11 year old daughter, Lillian discovered my stash of beads in the garage. I went through a short lived period in 2007 making stretchy bracelets as a creative outlet. They have decided they will make bracelets to earn money to attend the 2013 Chromosome 18 Conference this July in Savannah, Georgia!

Each bracelet is custom made when you order. Team TLC bracelets are made with different combinations of Swarovski crystals, fresh water pearls in beautiful, traditional, cool and funky colors, nut beads, lava beads, hematite beads, and much more. Not all beads previously listed will be used in each bracelet. We decide how and which beads to use for creating your bracelet according to your favorite colors. You can also choose to have an acrylic or Czech Pressed Glass Bead number 18 included on the bracelet.

Visit The Team TLC website to learn more about the bracelets and visit the article titled “Why It Matters” to learn more about why this is so important to us …..

Taste the Wind

(This post is part of an “I Dare You” series. Go here to see the “Dare” post that began the series and here for the most recent “Dare” post.)

Have you ever tasted the wind? I did for the first time this afternoon, Thursday, April 18, 2013! My 7 year old son, Thomas, and I went for a walk today. He’s doing this and I ask him what he’s doing. “I’m tasting the wind. Try it Mom. What’s it taste like to you?” Tasted like ….. Not gonna tell ya! I dare YOU to go outside and taste the wind!! Hopefully Thomas has started a wind tasting adventure y’all!!!

I help to support my family with my writings. I share my writings for free for the benefit of others. If you benefited from this writing, would you like to toss a tip in the love offering “bucket”? Oceans of gratitude … xoxo

Blessings,

Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

Did you know I wrote a book? It’s titled “D iz for Different – One Woman’s Journey to Acceptance” and you can read more about it here.

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This article is now part of my inventory in Inspired Living.  

I enjoy taking the time to share information with y’all that I think is helpful and give you ideas to live an Inspired Life. So, if you feel this helped you in any way, toss a tip into the tip bowl on the way out of Inspired Living.

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If you can’t afford to donate, please feel free to pass this article along to others who might get some help from it. Thank y’all to everyone who has donated and shared in the past. I don’t always get a chance to respond, and the donations, shares and comments are my indicators that what I share is helpful. Thank YOU!

Family Love Notes

 

At least once a week Team TLC writes a little short note to each other listing at least 3 things we appreciate, like or praise about each other. I normally keep this to myself. Something urged me to share tonight. Perhaps to encourage other families out there to give this a go in your household. This is a GREAT way by the example of what the parent/adult writes to each child to show them what life and loving one another is really all about at it’s core.

Thomas’ note to me says: 1) You are fun! 2) I Love You! 3) I will give you my book (when it’s done)! Lillian’s note to me says: Front Cover) Thanks for caring for me. 1) I like how you draw 2) I love how you want me and Thomas to be healthy 3) I love your ideas ……

This article is now part of my inventory in Inspired Living.  

I enjoy taking the time to share information with y’all that I think is helpful and give you ideas to live an Inspired Life. So, if you feel this helped you in any way, toss a tip into the tip bowl on the way out of Inspired Living.

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I Love the Smell of Fresh Honeysuckle

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Just some random personal stuff about me … I smile at myself in the mirror. I use organic extra virgin olive oil to remove my make-up and also use it as my facial moisturizer. When I choose to feel down … Continue reading

30 Day Journey of Life: Giving

GIVING

“Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.” –Mother Teresa

And so it is … I accept and realize that to become enlightened and enrich my own life I must stop searching, trying so hard, and waiting for some “thing” to happen. I must be that which I seek. I am embarking on a Journey of Life on this very day. For at least the next year, I plan to dedicate myself to a different 30 Day Journey of Life at the beginning of every new 30 days.

The first 30 Day Journey of Life begins today …. GIVING. I will give of myself like I have never given before. I will help those who need it, I will spread kindness, I will do whatever is in my power to help anyone who asks. I will live my life with this being my priority for every day for the next 30 days. I will do this for my kids (Thomas and Lillian), my family, my friends and complete strangers.

I will do this and expect nothing in return and ask for nothing in return.

I will write and share about this Journey as it unfolds …. (Go here to read how the first week went …)

“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” –Lao Tzu