Heart Stories

Play in the rain

Friday was the last day of school for my little men.  While Noah was at the lake with friends, all Oakley wanted to do was play football.  So we took the top of the jeep, gathered some friends and headed to The Star.   They’d only been playing for about 20 minutes when a whopper of a rain storm blew in.  I knew we couldn’t leave without the top on the jeep, that was thankfully parking in the parking structure.  So what else would I do, but to tell them to keep playing?!

Play in the rain!

There was hardly a breeze and no lightening to be seen.  That rain took the temperature from a scorching 98 to what felt like 70 in a matter of minutes. They could have waited under the patio for the storm to pass, but instead they just kept right on playing.  What at first seemed like it might ruin our afternoon …

by Crystal Gornto Inspirational Words Love In Action Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
read more

Keep on going

The new skate park in Frisco is directly adjacent to one of fields where the boys play sports on the weekends.  So naturally, we make day of it, by throwing the scooters in the back of the jeep before heading that way.  I’m always amazed at the feats of the kids, young and old, who tear up those pipes and bowls like it’s nobody’s business.  They effortlessly glide from side to side, up and down.

They make it look so easy.

But if you’ve ever tried it, or even looked at it from this angle, you know it’s anything but easy.  And if you stay around long enough, you’ll see those kids who make it look easy take some concrete to the face every now and then.  While it’s fun to watch them soar, my mama heart is always on pins and needles.  My palms are always sweating, hoping they stay upright, …

by Crystal Gornto Inspirational Words Motherhood Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life 2 comments chat
read more

Social media is not the truth

I was honored to be invited to a birthday dinner party last night celebrating my beautiful friend Britney.  It had been on my calendar for quite some time, but in this world of showing and selling our house, my schedule is constantly up in the air.  I’m working to anticipate that the showing call will almost certainly come at THE most inconvenient time.  (But oh, how I hate that!)

Yesterday was no exception.

Dinner was at 6:00 pm in West Plano.  At 4:45, after making all the preparations, the boys, both dogs & I piled into our sweaty car, loaded down with dog beds, food and water bowls.  We parked around the corner to stalk the house, waiting for someone to arrive, so we could return as quickly as possible.  (Yes, yes we did.)  Our 4:45 showing arrived at 5:35 and stayed until almost 6:00.  Then I unloaded the dogs, and all …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Inspirational Women Love In Action Love in Friendship Loving Yourself The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
read more

Better than you found it

Having a “red carpet” at the step & repeat for a party seems like a minor detail.  Like a simple little unrolling of a carpet and throwing a banner up.  Let’s just get that straight right here.

It is not. 

For the Derby-Style GNO on Thursday, we borrowed my sister Kim’s red carpet as well as her step & repeat stand, to set up the photo-op with my friend Kim’s Kentucky Derby banner.  Rolling out the carpet was easy, done in no time flat.  That stand though, it was a bear.  (Thank heavens for Gary with Texas Photobooth for jumping in to save the day!) It turned out darling and all the ladies clearly loved posing in front of it!

But the fun didn’t end there.

When it was time to clean it all up, getting that stand to fit back into that tiny bag was something like trying to untangle a giant pile …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Inspirational Words Love In Action Love in Friendship Loving Others Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
read more

Nothing gets in the way of family

I remember this day.  Maybe not quite like it was yesterday, but I remember it.  I remember the cabin we stayed in on that trip, it belonged to a friend of a friend, who graciously offered it to our family for a road trip to Colorado in the summer.  I remember sitting inside, at the log table eating, what felt like millions of grapes, until my stomach felt like it might explode.

Aren’t we a motley looking crew of sisters?

With an 11 year span from oldest to youngest, we were in completely different life phases in this photo. (But at least our fashion game was on point!) Back then, I was a self-focused 12-year-old.  One look at this picture now, as an adult, I have so much understanding and empathy for what each of those girls must have been going through.  It brings back so many memories.  It reminds me …

by Crystal Gornto Inspirational Women Love in Family Priorities The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
read more

The beauty of the dance

This is, apparently, my cork board selfie.  While we’ve been endlessly purging this home we’ve lived in for almost 15 years, the hardest things to let go of are the keepsakes.  The creations of art made by the boys over all the years are like little one-of-a-kind treasures.  Letting go of the stained glass, pottery, paintings and pictures of years gone by is emotionally difficult for the boys and me.

Clearing out the giant cork board in my office was no exception.  

It was covered, top to bottom, with their handwork, so I asked the boys to do it.  They each got a basket to stack their work neatly inside, with the promise that we’d take a photo of each piece.  At first it was so hard, but then they started laughing and enjoying the process.  I left them there to get it done while I moved on to another room.

When I …

by Crystal Gornto Loving Others Loving Yourself Motherhood The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
read more