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hard work

It’s SERENDIPITY!

They say life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.  I believe “them”.  Especially when I see this picture.  This is Amanda Acreman.  She’s the Lab Manager at Serendipity Labs, which is a beautiful new upscale coworking space here in Frisco.  We met serendipitously through a tip from my friend Elizabeth, who curates events at another venue here in town.  Elizabeth and I had been working for several months to see if there was a way HeartStories could grow into their space as a next step in our Girls Night Out journey, but it seemed that no matter how we sliced it, it wasn’t going to be a fit.  I wanted that venue to work, so badly.

I was sad to even need to consider another space.

I couldn’t imagine that a co-working space would be a fit for what we were doing.  I couldn’t see how they would have a …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Inspirational Women Love In Action Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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Love + Fairytales

In our fifteenth year of marriage this year, Scott & I had the privilege of attending the wedding of our first niece to get married.  It was a “fairytale” wedding in every way.   Set on the sprawling lawn of a vintage mansion beside a serene lake, on a stunning Florida afternoon, there wasn’t much more one could ask for.

It was the perfect start of a fairytale love story.  

Except for that one part. . . when it was time for the perfect couple to run through the tunnel, leading to their getaway car in the front drive, with all of our sparklers waving in the air.  I guess we missed the minor detail that sparklers = fire, which = smoke and in a tunnel = low levels of oxygen.  Not to worry.  Everyone survived and the pictures were gorgeous! It all went down in the books as a beautiful end to …

by Crystal Gornto Love Love In Action Loving Others The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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The adventure is worth the effort

While we were in Florida over the weekend, our family planned a little excursion to go shark teeth hunting in the Peace River.  We hunt for shark teeth often in the creeks near our house, but I’ve never been on a guided expedition like this one.  Scott and Oakley met Fred with Paleo Discoveries on their last father-son trip to Florida.  They had such a good time that we decided to squeeze in a day trip after all the wedding festivities.  Somehow I imagined a leisurely float trip on a sunny Florida day, roaming around, sifting for shark teeth, sharing stories of great finds, laughing, splashing and enjoying the bag full of snacks I packed.  I wasn’t entirely wrong.

But I certainly wasn’t exactly right either. 

After we carried the heavy canoes from the car to the water and loaded the kids in the canoe with Fred, I thought most of the …

by Crystal Gornto Inspirational Words Love In Action Love in Family Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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Something will grow

“Something will grow from all you are going though.

And it will be you.”

When I saw this quote yesterday, I instantly did a double take.   Those 14 words pack a giant punch.  When life is moving at record pace and you’re just trying to keep all the plates spinning, it’s easy to forget that the final destination isn’t really the ultimate goal.  There are so many story lines in my own life, and in my circles, I could tell you right now about how this plays out, but I’ll choose just one.

The one that’s closest to my heart today.

It’s not entirely mine to tell, so bear with me as I navigate that tenderly.  This week, Oaks finished a grueling seven-month-long mental and physical training program.  It’s been by far the hardest thing he’s done in his short little life.  It has required hours of intense work during the week, after …

by Crystal Gornto Inspiration Inspirational Words Loving Yourself Purpose Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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Difficult and optional

It seems impossible that summer is almost over.  Wasn’t it just yesterday we were hosting end of the year pool parties?!

My not-so-little babies aren’t super stoked about this.  

They’ve enjoyed this summer so much and they are both a little bit nervous about the level of academic difficulty and strenuous schedule of the upcoming school year.   They’ve missed their friends and can’t wait to get back to seeing them again every day. But when they weigh that against the pressure of the hard work, they end up looking for every reason in the book that they need to skip this entire year of school.  They’d much rather become beach bums and skim board all day long.  (I’m empathetic, promise.)  

But it’s become laughable.  

We’ve started making jokes about all the things they could, and could not do, in life with a 3rd or 4th grade education.  When that …

by Crystal Gornto Inspiration Love In Action Loving Yourself Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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If anyone can do it, you can

When it was time to head home after one of our family adventures last, Oaks found himself in a predicament.  The path he and Scott rode down to the creek on was covered in tall “weeds” that apparently didn’t bother him on the way down.  But when it came time to head back up, they looked a little more daunting.  So he decided to take his bike up the concrete embankment on the underside of the bridge, in his water-filled mud boots.  I offered to throw his bike in the back of the jeep and give him a ride, but he was insistent.  My instinct was to demand that he ride up with me, because we were all hot and tired, and ready to get home.

But I paused, and consciously made a different choice. 

Of course it would have been easier for him to ride with me.  We would have gotten home …

by Crystal Gornto Inspiration Loving Yourself Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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