This morning, as we drove the boys to school, Richie in the back seat right along with the rest of the crazies, everyone singing along to The Beatles (my absolute favorite band), reading family scriptures, having family prayer, and then shouting our “I love you’s” back and forth as the boys piled out of the van and bounced joyfully into the world. . . I was filled to overflowing with gratitude and joy.

We’ve worked so hard, Richie and I, to set up our lives intentionally. Early in our marriage, we sat down together and decided upon staunch priorities surrounding what we wanted our life together to look and feel like. (NOTE: It’s no surprise that the majority of those goals centered around the kind of life we hoped to be able to provide for our children).  I’m so happy to report (to myself more than anyone else) that despite pitfalls, roadblocks, discouragement, and outright failures (yes, plural), we’ve remained committed to the things we deemed (together) to matter the very most. Case in point the ability to drive the boys to school—together—in the mornings, and the luxury of picking them up—together—in the afternoons. This is a small example of a bigger picture reality we have worked so hard to achieve.

Not to say that we’ve got it all perfect. We still have SO (so so so so so SO) far to go, but we’re on the right path—the pathway toward our intentional life, and it is so absolutely energizing and fulfilling that my heart nearly bursts with joy just thinking about it.

Intentional living will look different for everyone, but friends, do the work to get clear (about what you want your life to look like) and then get busy (creating the life of your dreams). You CAN do it, and you’ll be so glad you did!

Allow me to leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Ms Karen Lamb: ”A year from now, you’ll wish you started today.”

xx,

N

 

I love a good laugh. We all do, right?

No, I seriously LOVE a good, sincere, hearty, belly laugh. It’s high on my top 10 list (FOR SURE).

Twitter makes me laugh. All the time. And I love it.

I wish I could tweet just about every word that comes out of Uncle Richie’s mouth, but unfortunately that man simply can’t be contained to 140 characters. Sorry world. You’re missing out.

Here are a couple of other things that just can’t be contained to the space of a tweet. I hope they help to make your Tuesday bright.

Things I Can’t Tweet: Episode 1

Shelly and her new friend, Skip.

Did I ever tell you about the time my sweet mother-in-law, Shelly, was forced to ride the bus? A considerable distance, that is. I’m not being a bus snob; city busses are cool.

Her (male) seat mate, in complete sincerity, asked her to scratch his back and call him “Skippy.” (Yes, Skippy. And yes, this story is the gospel truth.)

Later, a different seat mate (female), after reciting her entire medical history, family saga and a million completely inappropriate etceteras, noticed Shelly’s blatant cues that she was no longer going to engage in the conversation but was in fact going to take a nap. The woman responded, “Oh, you go ahead and close your eyes; I’ll just lull you to sleep with the sound of my voice.” She continued talking for the for the remainder of the trip.

Things I Can’t Tweet: Episode 2

Richie plus Zach.

One morning, I was standing in the bathroom, ironing my blouse. (No, I don’t normally say “blouse,” except for just then, because it came to my mind  . . . and I thought, “Ok. Sure.”)

Richie walked in and said, “What ever happened to Zach Efron?”

Me: “Well, I have less than zero idea what happened to Zach Efron. Wait, didn’t he just do that Dr. Seuss show?”

Richie: “He got a nose job.”

Me: “How on Earth do you know this?” (Note: we don’t have TV and hardly make it a point to know what’s going on in the world at large, let alone Hollywood.)

Richie: “I saw it online.” ***Looooooooooong pause.*** “When I was online searching for stuff about Zach Efron.”

?

Chirp, chirp. Have a good day! Mwwwwwa!

PS. Be sure to enter this week’s giveaway! A customized watercolor portrait by the fabulous Ashely of Birds of AshMae.
PPS. Have an engaging story that you simply can’t tweet? Submit your stories to aloha{at}natalienortonblog{dot}com. Make us laugh out loud (by us I’m pretty sure I just mean me. . . well, and Uncle Richie, I suppose), and you may find your story featured on this here blog in a future episode of Things I Can’t Tweet! NOTE: I don’t think profanity is funny, well, except for the D word; that pretty much always makes me laugh (against my will!). Keep submissions within the PG range, por favor (see, I’m practicing my Spanish already—who ever said I don’t have what it takes to make a dream come true??). Subject line should read: THINGS I CAN’T TWEET.

Love this guy.

Times infinity.

Every single day, he reminds me to get up, put a smile on my face, and consciously live out the gratitude of my heart.

Who could ask for anything more?

My wonderful man, Richie, is finally on the www!  Aaaaaand we’re celebrating this looooong anticipated launch in crazy exciting ways!

3 ways to connect with Richie and WIN:

1. Head on over to www.richienorton.com/blog and be a part of his exciting launch party! Enter to win a FREE Kindle Fire!
2. Take 2 minutes to read a little bit about Richie and get the scoop on his brand spankin’ new social media presences! Aaaaand you could win a prize if you. . .
3. Follow Richie on Twitter (www.twitter.com/richienorton) before he makes his first Tweet (sometime in the next couple of days) and you’ll be automatically entered to win an exciting secret prize from Richie and a second exciting secret prize from yours truly!

Download Richie’s E Book Absolutely FREE!

For a limited time, you can download Richie’s POWERFUL E Book, Resumés Are Dead And What To Do About It ABSOLUTELY FREE! This version is new and improved! It also contains videos clips that weren’t included in the initial release! Don’t miss out—the opportunity won’t last long! You can also access the audio version of the book here!

Enjoy Richie’s Infinite Awesomeness Live!