If I was going to do this post right, I’d have fireworks and a confetti shower to accompany it.  No really.  I would.  My life’s work is to help people make big things happen.  In business.  In life.  In every moment.  When I started the Making Things Happen Intensive three years ago, I never imagined just how much of a 180 my life would take.  Just read my blog from three years ago.  You will SEE the change.  Some of you have been readers and friends since I first got into weddings almost a decade ago.  What a remarkable decade it has been.  I’m 32 and I can honestly say I have done everything I ever wanted to do.  All I want now is to know God more and more every day.  I want to give my all and share my experiences to help others until I have nothing left.  That’s it.  I want to give my all without fear.  CUE THE FIREWORKS!!!

During the last 32 cities that we’ve visited, I’ve met some pretty incredible people who have gone on to do some pretty remarkable things.  From leaving full-time desk jobs to pursue their passions to finding balance in their lives, witnessing transformation sets my heart on fire!  Mind you, the MTH alum have made big things happen because they did the hard work on their own.  Nothing magical happens in the workshop.  MTH is just the spark that lights the fire.  They showed up, dove in and made. life. happen.  CUE CONFETTI SHOWER!!!

You know how important my family is to me.  Time with Grace is my number one priority.  So, setting out on a 10 city tour this year was a huge decision. And one I have zero regrets or fear about. Oh, yes, I will cry when I leave.  For sure.  But, I’ll survive because this is the work I am supposed to be doing.  It is worth the sacrifice of being away.  For me to say that is huge.  I hope it shows you just how important this work is to me.  This work opens doors, challenges self-imposed limits and makes people make things happen.   It brings people together.  It makes collaboration happen.  It makes creativity happen.  It makes balance, peace, friendship, marriage, and life happen.  It makes happy happen.  And it makes me take big scary life-changing action, too.  Emily, Gina, Natalie and I get just as much out of giving the Making Things Happen Intensive as the attendees do.

Double bonus? So many of the MTH alum are now my closest friends. Making things happen isn’t just about coming to a workshop one day.   That doesn’t do anyone any good.  It’s about accountability for a lifetime.  It’s about community.  It’s about being supported AND supporting others just as much. It’s about being surrounded by like-minded passionate creatives who want to take things to the next level.   It’s about doing the hard work. If you want to make things happen, you have to decide to do the work, but there will be a huge community of people doing the same things right along side you. They will cheer you on. They will lift you up. They will remind you why you do what you do when you forget. And you will forget. I do sometimes and there are always friends there to lift me back up.  They will text you just to tell you you CAN do it. They will shower you with high fives. They will also offer to shower you with confetti when you do a scary speaking engagement (thank you, Michelle Edgemont! HA!). The MTH alum are the best encouragers around, hands down! I’m so grateful to be a recipient of such awesome encouragement on a daily basis.  Hi friends! I love you!!!

The intensive itself is pretty simple. We spend a day talking in a small group. We talk about our fears, our dreams and how we are going to make them happen. We spend a good 8-10 hours together, so we really get to know each other. When you spend a day talking about your fears and dreams with someone, it challenges you to take the leap.   Whatever that big leap is for you.  We hold each other accountable.  And the incredible thing for me is that, as I grow, so does the power of the intensive.   I know the same is true for Emily, Gina and Natalie as well.  Oh, what incredible progress we’ve made in our lives since this all started!  We are so grateful!  I’ve been through it in the last year.  My heart is more focused than ever. My companies are on the most grounded clear path they’ve ever been on. Things are at a whole new level. I can’t wait to share all I’ve learned and all I’m doing to simplify my life and make what matters happen.

People ask me all the time if we can do an online version of Making Things Happen. It’s like picking out a wedding dress from a catalog.  You could do it, but there is nothing like feeling the magic of slipping into that gown in person. OK, for the guys (or gals, too!) out there… it’s like fantasy football. Awesome, but not at all the same as being there on the sidelines. You can’t phone Making Things Happen in. You have to sit in the seat and look in the eyes of the person next to you.  You have to take a risk and be present.  You have to sit in the seat to really harness the change you want in your life.  Quite simply, you have to show up.  As you are.  Fears and all.  Everyone else is in the exact same boat. We tell people to come in comfy clothes.  No heels.  Leave the decked-out duds at home.  MTH is a place to come and just be yourself.  It’s the greatest feeling to just let go with people that get you.

As usual, we’ve chosen cities for the 2012 Tour that are easy to travel to.   Registration is now open for ALL 2012 CITIES! The Spring Tour: Chapel Hill, Atlanta, DC, NY and Boston! The Fall Tour: Austin, Phoenix, LA, Chicago and one last city yet to be determined.Every intensive (except NYC) will be by the airport, too, for convenience. About 60%-80% of attendees fly or drive in from another state to attend. Lucky you, if you happen to live in one of these cities!  By the way, people are always looking for roommates if you want to share.  You might make a friend for life, as I know so many alum have done!

We have are so passionate about this work that we have given a lot of partial scholarships in the past. We want people to be able to make things happen, no matter their financial situation. So, to give EVERYONE the chance to get a partial scholarship, if you enter the contest below, you will automatically get 50% OFF until the regular rate, just for telling us what you want to make happen! (West Coast cities have till July 4 for early-bird registration at the same 50% OFF rate.)  We also have very flexible payment plans.  Just email Marissa to get set up with one. 

We want to make this easy for you.  Y’all, I’m going to push you on this because I believe in this work so very much. If you think this is right for you, do yourself a huge favor and apply so you can either win a scholarship or get the half-off rate. Save the other half to invest in your business or your family or whatever sets your heart on fire. You will thank yourself. And register before your city sells out. I’ve been doing this for three years and it sells out every time. I want you to make things happen with us. I want to get to know you. Really, I do. Because your story will teach me something and I hope mine does the same for you.

Want to know more? Read the post that started it all and take The Challenge and read and this and this and this or any of these posts from alum.  Ask an alum about their experience.  I can’t wait for you to be inspired to make big things happen!

We have had some very generous alumni step forward and donate to a full scholarship fund yet again. Year after year, the generosity of so many amazes all of us!  So, we’ve decided to match that and give two full scholarships this year.

Two ways to enter:

The Alum Scholarship: Leave a comment here an tell us what you want to make happen.  Also, please tell us the city you would like to attend. Anyone who applies for a scholarship will be given the ability to register at 50% OFF if they are not chosen. So, you have nothing to lose and EVERYTHING to gain by entering.

The MTH Match Scholarship: Leave a comment here telling us what you want to make happen AND spread the word! Tell your friends about Making Things Happen, too! Tweet, Facebook, Blog, Pin this, send smoke signals… whatever you want to do to tell people about Making Things Happen and just link to this post.  Leave a separate comment here telling us you did so. We will pick a random winner for this second scholarship, so the more entries you submit, the better!

Deadline: You have until midnight on April 1st to apply. Again, if you enter to win a scholarship, you’ll still be given the chance to register at 50% OFF the regular rate if you aren’t chosen.  We want you to be able to make this happen no matter what!

It’s a remarkable coincidence that I’m posting this on Leap Day. Today is your day to take the leap, my friend. I have goosebumps typing finishing this post because I am genuinely so excited to read your entries.   We all are!  I never cease to be inspired by what makes people really come alive.  So, what do YOU want to make happen?  Join us!

P.S. We’re working hard behind-the-scenes on a brand new Making Things Happen website as we speak! So, the main site is currently offline for a major overhaul.  Yeah!!!  Get ready.  It’s packed with phenomenal inspiration and incredible alum stories!  Your story could be next.

P.P.S. THANK YOU for the outpouring of support and encouragement I received from my last post.  WOW.  So many notes and messages and letters and open hearts.  I am sincerely grateful.  Your kind words helped me and so many others.  You just never know how much even a blog comment will encourage someone else.

UPDATED:

If you want to be inspired, just reading the scholarship entries below will do it. This was such a hard decision for us to make. There is so much fire and determination in every single entry! No matter what, all of you are destined for great things, regardless of if you attend MTH or not. Just your words alone, and your ability to share so much of your true selves, shows your passion and your drive. Thank you all for sharing your hearts! Amazing!

Making Things Happen started in the spirit of paying it forward and, after 30 cities, we are just overjoyed to continue on this track! So, if you are not the main scholarship winner, don’t fear. You may be getting a phone call from us in the next day or so. Check your email and check that voicemail over the next few days!

CONGRATS to everyone who entered! If you applied for the scholarship below, you get 50% off registration! Email Marissa@laracaseyreps.com for your special registration code. The tour is almost sold out now, so let Marissa know ASAP if you need a payment plan as well.

Congrats to scholarship winners, April Foster and Emily-Claire! (email Marissa to get your registration set up) We CANNOT WAIT to see everyone in a few short weeks! Time to make big things happen, friends!

The first weeks of motherhood were not what I expected when expecting.  I never thought I’d be writing a post about how I weathered the baby blues and postpartum depression and how it changed me for the better in a billion ways.  I’m so grateful that this challenging journey has a very happy outcome.  It taught me more than any other period in my life.  But, 99% of me does not want to write the first part of this post.  It’s hard to write about a time you want to forget.  I just want to tell you, I went through a rough time and here’s what I learned...  I want to just skip to the good stuff.  But, there is this little voice – that 1% left over – that hopes writing this will help another new mom not feel like the only person on earth who experienced life with a newborn like I did.  So, the 1% wins.

Every new mother’s experience is different. There are lots of moms who have had a much harder time postpartum than I did and there are lots of moms who experience none of this.  No matter what you are feeling, if it doesn’t feel normal, talk to your doctor. Talk to your loved ones. Ask for help. This is just my experience and I hope and pray that sharing this will help you or someone else know that they are not alone. There is a great light at the end of the tunnel that smiles and coos and sleeps for six hours a night on occasion. As a wise friend once told me, motherhood does get better. A lot better.

I don’t remember a lot of the chronology, but I remember intense feelings. To list them all would take me the many weeks it took to get through them. So, this is just a very small collection of my experiences with some of my personal photos and a few from Nancy mixed in.  The pretty ones are Nancy’s; the blurry ones are from yours truly via my iPhone : )

Early in my pregnancy, I remember moms saying that they loved everything about being pregnant. I thought they were nuts when I was going through morning sickness. I just kept thinking, Never again! We’re adopting from now on. But, when I turned the morning sickness corner, I started to get it. I genuinely felt happy all the time. Joyful. Radiant. Hopeful and centered on what mattered most. I became one of those women. I loved being pregnant. Everything about it. Even despite any complaints I may have had about having to pee every 20 minutes round the clock. I felt great. I was in the gym every day until the day before Grace was born. I ate well and never really had any crazy cravings. Business was booming. Ari and I were closer than ever. I just felt very well and very grateful.

As Grace’s arrival grew closer, my deepest fear was postpartum depression. I went through a bout of depression early in college. I fought it hard with a great therapist and major changes in my thinking (i.e. learning how to become an “imperfectionist”). Over a long span of time, I kicked depression to the curb. I work hard to continue to build joy and focus in my life. It has not been easy. So, post-baby, I just didn’t want to go there. I feared losing the bliss of pregnancy I had come to be so grateful for. I feared things falling apart.  I tried to set myself up for success before Grace’s arrival. I pre-scheduled weekly therapy sessions again, got the house in as much order as I could, turned my email off, read every book I could find, etc. Well, it hit me like a Mack truck and no amount of preparation could have helped. God had a greater plan.

I remember those first days in the hospital, feeling like my strong healthy body was suddenly very fragile. The aftermath of my painful labor felt like recovering from major surgery and an emotional trauma at the same time. I couldn’t walk around well, I was dizzy, tired, dehydrated and I just felt off.  My center of gravity had completely changed. There was a bunch of loose tender skin where there used to be a kicking baby.  And I was sad.  It was an odd feeling. I kept thinking, This is supposed to be the most blissful time in our lives. This is supposed to be the happiest occasion ever! Why do I feel so off!? I tried to focus on the positive: my healthy baby, my caring husband, my wonderful family. God had blessed us immensely.

We would stay up all night watching Grace, making sure she was OK. She ate round the clock. Nurses would come in and out and, between that and the hospital PA system blaring pages all night, I think I got 20 minutes of [interrupted] sleep at a time. We both really wanted to go home, so we only stayed two nights. We were ready for Thanksgiving (Grace was born on November 22) at home with my family and our own bed.

The first days at home. Oh, those first days! We genuinely survived by the grace of God. I had a lot of really irrational thoughts, hormone drops and countless moments where I said to myself, “This is not normal.” People will tell you that feeling all of the “typical things” is normal. Normal? No. Common? Yes. Rarely discussed? Yes.

I remember just wanting my mom. She and my dad and brother had to fly back to Florida four days after Grace was born. The day they left, I felt like my life was over. Really, I did. While Ari took them to the airport, I sat in the living room with Grace in my arms and just cried and cried and cried. How am I going to do this by myself? I have no idea what I’m doing. What if I mess up!? I’m not cut out for this!!! Ari came home and tried to console me. He just kept reminding me that this was just my hormones changing (“baby blues”) and it would pass. When you are in the thick of it, it’s hard to believe it will pass.

Giving birth and all the emotions that followed left me feeling my most vulnerable ever. I wanted to be alone. I wanted to retreat. I wanted to protect Grace. I wanted to protect my very vulnerable heart.  I felt a strong sudden need for privacy. I didn’t want to share pictures of Grace at first or talk about her except to Ari and my mom and dad and close friends. I couldn’t write and I missed it terribly. I was really torn. I felt like I couldn’t share any of this at the time. I had a lot of social anxiety. Sweet friends would text me and I just had to ignore them all. I didn’t want to burden people with how I was feeling.  I kept hoping it was temporary – just the typical “baby blues” and it would pass in a day or so.

It didn’t pass.  I started to feel like I wasn’t meant to be a mom. When Grace cried, I felt like I was doing eternal damage to her because I didn’t know how to make her happy. I cried more than I ever have. I blamed myself. I felt helpless. I couldn’t just make it better. I couldn’t “fix” her. I remember feeling very protective. I didn’t trust anyone with her. The first weeks, I would stay up most of the night just watching her and making sure she was breathing. I’d be up every two hours or so to feed her, too. “Sleep deprived” is an understatement.

All of the “pretty” photos of me in the blue shirt were made possible by a lot of makeup and Ari watching Grace for two hours so I could shower and blow dry my hair for the first time. Grace cried for 90% of the session. I so badly wanted those cute newborn photos that everyone else had. I wanted the picture in my head of “normal”. But, I learned many weeks later that what I got was actually better. These are very real moments captured. Some of these are the “outtakes” that ended up being closer to my heart than the pretty ones. This is just how it was.

The first diaper I ever changed was Grace’s when she was three days old. I was scared I was going to do permanent emotional damage to her if I messed up her diaper. Seriously. I remember my hands shaking as I changed her for the first time. I was petrified of Pampers.

Just six days after giving birth, I was back in the gym. Before you call me crazy, I’ll do it for you! I didn’t need exercise. I just needed “normal”.  I pushed Grace around the track in her stroller at a snails pace. We could only go for about 25 minutes before she would have a meltdown and I’d be in the gym bathroom trying to nurse her to calm down. It was awful. I cried in the gym bathroom every time. I felt like I’d never ever get my life back.

It felt like my body deteriorated overnight.  The stretch marks were more like stretch gashes.  I cried over the loss of my “youth”.   I felt like I’d never be happy in my skin again. It made me feel hopeless. It ended up, like all of this, teaching me so very much. Letting go of my old self ended up giving me more true confidence than I’ve ever had.

Nursing was a huge challenge for me. It was so painful. And after my painful labor, you’d think I wouldn’t consider anything painful.  I cried when I nursed her. I was so desperate for relief. Ari took me to see the lactation consultant at the hospital, I read everything I could get my hands on and we bought everything under the sun to try to help me. Nothing helped.  I felt like a failure even though I knew I couldn’t do anything about it.  Rational thought didn’t matter to me at the time.  Being the perfect picture of what a mother is “supposed to be like” was all I focused on.  I felt weak and like I wasn’t meant to be a mom.

And then, just a week after Grace’s birth, in the thick of the worst part of the sleep deprivation and recovery, I got the flu.  Man, looking back on all of this, I am so grateful it’s over!!! I hadn’t been sick in years. And I got it bad. I didn’t get out of bed for two days. I couldn’t sit up to eat. Ari had to bring me food in bed.  I passed out in the shower.  I’m so grateful that Ari took such great care of me during that time. I don’t know what I would have done without him. Between the flu and everything else, nursing just became an impossibility in my mind. So, Ari rented me a hospital grade pump and Grace has been happily bottle-fed since. I felt such mommy guilt having stopped nursing so early, but it was the biggest blessing in disguise for so many reasons.

The day after my fever broke, Ari had to go back to work. He had paternity leave for just one week and we have no relatives near us, so I dreaded the day I’d be alone with Grace for the first time. I was so afraid to be alone I literally would not leave my bed except to get Luna Bars (because I could eat those in bed). I was afraid I was going to make her cry more or hurt her by putting her down somewhere to even take a 3 minute shower (which now terrified me having passed out there the day before). I would spend much of the day worrying and texting Ari about how hopeless I felt. Emily, Natalie and Gina were huge helps to me, too, during those weeks. Emily would text me encouraging verses every day to reassure me that this would pass. I am so grateful for that.

I would hear new moms talk about not having time to get dressed or eat or brush their teeth. I didn’t believe it. All the books say to prep easy food ahead of time and freeze it before you have a baby. I thought I had that in the bag. It only took me a couple minutes to fix some food for myself anyway, right? Well, showering became a luxury, Ari ended up having to make up huge batches of food for me and freeze it so I could eat during the day (my appetite was huge!!), I lived in my PJ’s and there were many days I didn’t get to brush my teeth till noon.

Grace looked just like daddy which was wonderful at first. I felt very connected to him. But, after a while, I started to wonder if this was really my child. I couldn’t connect with her. Newborns grunt and cry and eat and sleep. That’s about it. They say the first three months are the “Fourth Trimester”. They are. I felt like we suddenly had a little alien in our lives who couldn’t communicate with us. Every moment was like a crap shoot, trying to blindly guess what was going to make her happy. I always liked being a confident leader. I relished the ease I felt in business. There was no such confidence or ease for me in the early days of motherhood. No one really tells you that your child won’t show a whole lot of love for you until about three months. This was so hard for me. It was like loving a brick wall. A brick wall that cried a lot. But, then this thought kept creeping into my heart: that’s exactly how God feels about ME. He loves and gives and nurtures and soothes and sometimes I just don’t even acknowledge Him. But, He loves me unconditionally anyway. He gives and gives and gives, no matter what I do. That was a huge lesson that I am now really grateful for.

I wanted to be like all those moms I saw on Facebook (being on Facebook was my first mistake) who were posting pictures of their adorable little newborns and saying how grateful they all felt. I did not feel that way in the least. Those moms made me mad. Those moms would say to me, “Isn’t motherhood the greatest thing ever?!”  No.  It wasn’t at the time.  I was depressed and felt like I was the only mom on the planet with a baby I couldn’t connect with.

Truth be told, I was on Facebook because I felt alone. I was in bed all day long feeding Grace and trying not to make her cry. I desperately craved the comfort of friends and family. But, I didn’t call anyone for fear I’d wake her up or make her upset. I Googled everything under the sun to try to find help, including things like, “new mom blog when will I sleep again???”. That’s when I found this post entitled, You Will Sleep Again… Someday, and instantly wanted to high five this lady. Finally, someone felt like I did! And she had a sense of humor about it. Speaking of, I like to title the two photos below, “Yeah, Mommy Feels That Way Too” and “Lara vs. The Boppy”.

I am an INFP (introvert). I like writing because it’s just me and the computer. I work by myself most days in my office because I crave solitude.  Solitude is very different than feeling alone.  It’s a sense of peace.  Solitude, for me, is how I recharge. I need time to process thoughts. I need time to just be and let my guard down. The gym would give me this, too. I’ve always loved being there with my thoughts, headphones in, letting my mind unwind. Suddenly, there was no solitude. I had to learn to fight for it.

Marriage before Grace’s birthday was blissful. It had been our best year ever in a billion ways. Marriage in those early weeks with baby was a huge challenge. We were both sleep deprived and trying to figure out our new roles in life. Deciding what to call ourselves was weird, too. Suddenly you have new foreign titles: Mommy and Daddy. We started awkwardly referring to ourselves in the third person. Mommy is really tired and wishes that daddy could produce milk, too. It was just weird. In the desperate moments, in the wee hours of the night, completely exhausted, I remember wishing we could turn back time and go back to the pre-baby days of our marriage. I remember thinking that people who haven’t had babies would think we were insensitive or didn’t love our child for even thinking that. The moms and dads out there would get it. God sure had a plan here, though, friends. Our marriage is stronger than ever now. Imperfect but centered on what matters most… this beautiful little girl who now lights our hearts on fire.

I remember going to see my doctor for my five week postpartum checkup. Kathryn, the nurse, gave me an Edinburg postpartum assessment to fill out. As we waited for Dr. Evers to come into the exam room, Ari said, “Lara, you better be brutally honest filling that out.” Trust me, I planned to. Dr. Evers read it over and told me how surprised he was. “You are one of the happiest patients we’ve ever had. I’m surprised to read your answers.” Yes, I was surprised to be feeling those things, Doc. We talked for a while and I explained to him what I’d been feeling and that I was talking to a therapist weekly already. He thought I’d be fine with time as long as I also started to get more sleep. Agreed. Ari and I made some big changes after that. I had been staying up all night with Grace, feeding her every two hours AND pumping, so I was up for at least at hour at a time every two hours. I was miserable. The “sleep when the baby sleeps” advice didn’t work for me. I wish it had, but I am just not wired to take naps during the day. And I had to let go of feeling like I had to be up making sure she was OK every five minutes.  I had to put my trust in God 10000%. I made myself sleep with earplugs in again (I’d slept with ear plugs every single night for the last decade up until Grace was born) and we changed things so Ari was getting up to feed her and I was getting up to pump, cutting my time awake in half. This sounds like an obvious solution, but it was tough to implement. Ari had to be bright-eyed for work the next day and those early weeks took a toll on him, too. All of that left me feeling guilty that I wasn’t Super Woman. I just had to get over that. I couldn’t stay up all night with Grace without feeling like a basketcase the next day.

On top of all of this, lest I forget… I had a busy business to run. Yes, I was “on maternity leave” but, as any small business owner knows, you can’t just hang up your work hat completely and walk away for three months. As much as I worked my tail off to clear my plate 100% before Grace’s arrival and as much as my staff worked really really hard to handle things without me (they were awesome!), the realities of being the boss were still there. I took my work email off my phone, but I had to crack my laptop open a few times a week to make sure things were running smoothly. Even the tiniest work concern becomes a mountain when you are sleep deprived.  I tried to ignore it at first, but I found that tackling it made me feel better than just letting it go.

One thing I fervently avoided those first weeks though, was making big business decisions. I genuinely feel like that is one of the biggest benefits of taking maternity leave – to avoid making dumb decisions on two hours of sleep. I’m still on maternity leave and things have changed and grown beautifully. I’m still not checking business email except from the ladies in my office and I’m not taking meetings, but I am working very hard behind the scenes to streamline the business in powerful ways. I’ve never felt more sure of our path ahead. I’m so grateful for this time to be with Grace and build things from the ground up…. from a renewed place of focus and confidence.

There were, of course, miraculously beautiful moments in those first weeks. Those were the moments we relished because they somehow “erased” all the rest temporarily. I loved the way Grace smelled. Her little head smelled like Heaven. Her skin was so soft. That was one of the first things that struck me when she was born. Baby soft perfection. Grace was wonderful. She was healthy. I had nothing to complain about and everything to be grateful for when it came to her. The thing that is hardest to explain about all of this is that my depression really had nothing to do with the baby. It had everything to do with my expectations and control of my life before her. It had everything to do with my heart needing to change to be able to let her in.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God… – Ephesians 2:8

There’s a lot more to those first weeks, but it’s time for the good stuff now!   “The past is an anchor holding us back. You have to let go of who you are to become who you will be.” On to what I learned (and some happier pictures from just a couple weeks ago when Grace was 2.5 months old.):

I’ve learned that the stretch marks are badges of honor. This body is just my earthly tent anyway.

I learned through all of this that I need solitude to be happy and I have to fight to get it. It it means putting Grace in front of the TV for an hour to watch Baby Einstein, then that’s what I do. My image of the “perfect mom” whose child didn’t watch TV had to be tossed out the window. Taking time to reset my mind gives me the ability to be a mom the other 23 hours a day.

I’ve learned to be much more compassionate and aware of others. I want to hug every woman with a stroller that I see at Target. Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. - Plato  I also learned to be so much more compassionate with myself.  Done is better than perfect.

I learned that I need help. Therapy helped my thoughts settle. I’m so grateful for that. And I needed physical help, too. I needed to be able to take a shower every day. I needed to feel like a human again. I needed time to get our lives in order so I could transition to work well and be a great mommy. I needed to recover. So, I started searching for someone to help me a few days a week.  I wanted to find a nanny/assistant who could help me be the best mom possible. Financially, it was a huge decision for us and the thought of trusting Grace with anyone besides my mom and Ari (and even that was hard sometimes) seemed like an impossibility at first. I still struggle with this. But, I had to learn to face reality: Grace will not have permanent emotional damage if I leave her with Susan to take a shower or work on our family budget (so we can continue to afford said nanny) or lead my staff meetings so the business stays booming. I had to let go. Big time. I have kicked and screamed all the way there, but I have let go a lot. And I have a long way left to go, but I have become a happier more balanced confident mom in accepting the fact that I cannot do all of this alone.   Having help doesn’t solve everything though.  I still have anxiety on occasion and I fight the sleep deprivation and feeling like a failure when she cries. I get overwhelmed. I get tired of being a mom. I worry. I fight the mommy guilt off with a big stick. But, life is much much better. I am not depressed anymore.  Thank you, Lord! I am taking action even when I “fail” over and over. Fall down seven times, get up eight.  Every day as a mom holds a new challenge and a new joy.  I’m learning. I don’t feel like I have to just put on a happy face. I’ve become much more honest with myself and brutally honest with others and I feel less of a need to please people. My motto now: Honesty, Humility, God’s Peace. My happy is coming from within again and from a truly new place.  And everything is better because of it – business and life.

I learned that there are no shortcuts to any place worth going. A huge transition like this takes time to settle. Gaining mommy confidence takes time. It takes letting go every day, not just once. There are layers upon layers that have to unfold and, as much as I like fast change and quick results, I have learned that God’s timing is perfect. I just have to listen to Him and nothing else.

I learned I need community. Ari and I learned that we are not an island. We started getting involved in church more. We made new friends. We strengthened relationships. I worked hard to build support networks. Speaking of, new moms, feel free to join the New Moms group I started. Join even if you are just pregnant and want to have a supportive community around you! We even have women in the group who are just thinking about taking the leap into motherhood. I can only relate my own personal experience, but I would love to be a support to you if you need one. I’m so grateful for my dear close friends who helped me.

This is a big one. I’m learning how to say NO. And I have to say no a lot. Saying no to one thing is saying YES to another. I’ve been using the majority of maternity leave to simplify our lives so I can work less hours.  I’ve been on a warpath to simplify, streamline how we approach business and save money in radical ways (thank you, Dave Ramsey) so I can refocus my time and energy on my most important job: being a mom. This involves me saying no to a lot of opportunities and choosing my clients very carefully and setting very strong boundaries on my time with others and letting go of things I really do not need.  I’m fighting for my time. I’m on maternity leave which means I’m not answering business email or taking meetings.  (Side note: I don’t check Facebook email ever. People tell me they send me messages there and I never replied.  My “About” section has said “I don’t check Facebook email” since I first opened my account.  Between all the spam there, I just can’t keep up with it.  So, I choose not to let it distract me from using my time more wisely.  And I deleted Facebook from my phone.  Real life > Facebook.)  When I do start taking meetings again, I will not be working on Monday or Friday.  And as usual, I can’t spend time giving out free advice.  It’s not free. It costs me priceless time that I can’t get back.  I’ve also prayerfully made decisions about travel this year.  Travel is a major sacrifice now.  If an opportunity benefits Grace and our family, I’ll consider it. But, she is my non-negotiable. Time with her. Her happiness and mine so I can be the best mom to her.

I’ve learned that things that used to be important just aren’t important anymore. Goodbye fancy sports car, goodbye dinners out, goodbye working the hours I used to work, goodbye everything and anything that will make me have to work more and prevent me from spending more time with this sweet baby. In the past, my solution to needing more money was to work harder and just make more money. I’m good at that. But, that requires time and brain space, both of which I now want to give to this little munchkin. So, working more just isn’t an option.  Working smarter and simplifying is.  I’d rather make radical changes in our lifestyle and in how I approach business than miss moments I can’t buy back.  Will I be happier at the end of my days having worked more or having given my heart to her? So, hello new budget and hunting for a used car and only taking meetings one day a month and cooking every night and scaling back everything in our lives to simplify. While all of this would have felt very restrictive and confining to my pre-baby self, it has been the most liberating part of this journey.  Learning to live with less feels really really good, friends. It’s changing how I see the world and giving me so much more confidence as a mom and faith that we are on the right path.  And most of all, it’s giving me my time back.  It is setting me up to have a really incredible first year with Grace.  Even though saying no is really hard sometimes and I hate disappointing people, fighting for time with my family fires me up!  Grace is worth disappointing people.  Her smiles are like money in the bank to me. Money she will get to spend one day.  I have a lot more to tell you about this – what I’ve changed and how I’m simplifying – soon.

I learned that there are three laws of real success:

1. You cannot please everyone.

2. Rest is required.

3. Honestly always wins.

I learned that I will never be the same. I’ll be on “maternity leave” till Grace is 18 and off to college. Having a baby isn’t something that happens to you and then, after maternity leave, you go back to normal. It’s a permanent change and there is a new “normal”.

Above all, I learned just how much I need God. My priorities had a heart change. God showed me the priorities that really matter. He showed me that He will always provide what I really need. Weathering this incredibly hard time showed me just how much I had to TRUST Him. Fully. Completely. With all my soul, strength and mind. Why? Because God always has a better bigger plan than I do. I learned that every single circumstance He put me in was for my growth. God wanted to refine my spirit. Big time. More growth happened for both Ari and me in these first three months of parenthood than in our entire lives. We had to have full faith that God had designed all of this for a reason. I kept questioning Him at first, wondering why I had to be so tired and so scared and so very far from my former self.  I had to learn to completely let go of ALL control.  God had a better self in mind.

This heart change is bigger than I can possibly put into words in a single blog post. God pulled away everything I thought was comforting in my life – sleep, confidence, the youth of my body, what I thought was a really great marriage, control of my schedule, joy in connecting with others, showers, solitude, all of it. And He left us with a new love, real priorities and the knowledge that this is just the beginning of this heart change. He left us with all we ever need… He left us with Grace. And there’s a lot more I’m not writing in this post. God blew us out of the water with the blessings He poured on our family since those early days. True miracles. Dear Lara, why do you ever waste time questioning God’s plans!?!? Oh, He brought me out of depression for sure and He put me on the best clearest path I’ve ever been on.

So, if you think I’ve become one of those moms who posts a lot of cute pictures of her baby on Facebook… well, I have. I’ve been through it and I finally want to share these joyful moments. Every moment of joy now heals a moment of despair from before. As I type this, Grace is cooing away, watching Baby Einstein. It’s hilarious watching her talk to the animals. She is so happy and fascinating. I truly love being a mom now. Diapers, late nights, baby toots (like the giant one during communion this past weekend!  Ha!) and all!  Lately, she has been learning how her hands work and loves to “sing”.  Seeing her explore the simplicity of the world is just breathtaking. God is awesome.

Unending thanks to so many dear friends – and perfect strangers – who encouraged me so much during those early days.   You just never know how your kindness will affect someone else.  I’m so grateful!

xo

Lara

The day has come! And what a blessed day it was! Grace Austin Isaacson was born yesterday at 10:24 am EST, weighing 8lbs 9oz and 21 inches long. Lara, Ari and this beautiful new
bundle of joy are doing wonderfully and are so grateful for this amazing blessing! And now… in honor of Grace’s birthday, a very special surprise from Nancy Ray (who is currently in the hospital capturing these precious first days with the new parents!) and Inkspot Crow Films that was just completed moments ago…

Lara Casey : Birth Announcement from Inkspot Crow Films on Vimeo.

Yesterday at 5am, I received a text message from Lara: “I think I’m in labor.” I thought my heart would burst and my eyes filled up with tears knowing what goodness was about to come into the world and join Lara’s little family. We love you so much, Grace, and are so happy you are here. Your mama couldn’t wait to meet you. She’s prayed for you for many, many months. Photographs of baby Grace taken while she was just a few moments old…

We love you so much Grace, Lara and Ari!

Lara is on maternity leave until March 2012 to spend time with her new family. If you need anything till then, feel free to email Marissa! What an exciting time! God is so good! Leave the new parents and this precious babe some love here, as Lara will not be checking her email during her maternity leave and will likely be away from her phone for a long while.

Welcome to the world, baby Grace! You are such a loved little girl. We pray your heart is filled with joy and your days are filled with love, sweet Grace.

With all my heart, Aunt Emily (and your future husband)

The last nine months of carrying my first baby have been blessed beyond measure.   They’ve been the most challenging and rewarding months of my life so far and I know it’s just the beginning. From two pink lines to a closet packed full of tiny booties and onesies, this time has been a gift that a blog post could never quite capture fully. God has changed Ari and I in profound ways with every little baby kick, fear we’ve conquered and every “first” we’ve experienced together on this adventure. In honor of our amazing Grace, due sometime in the next 20 days, here is a quick peek into the last nine months.  Photo above by my dear friend Nancy Ray.

February: The “decision” to have a baby wasn’t an easy one.  It wasn’t like we woke up one day and everything was magically in place and the timing was perfect.  Ari started talking about wanting to have a baby and all I can say is that God did a lot of things to warm me up to it very quickly.  For one, my best friend was pregnant at the time and, the first time I felt the little baby kicks in her belly, my heart exploded!  We had always thought it would be a few more years before we’d even think about kids, but God had other plans.  Despite all the logistics ahead of us and possible changes and unknowns (and yes, there were a lot of fearful tears!), we both thought, life is too short. Sometime around Valentine’s Day, our little miracle started to grow.  It was close to my mom’s birthday and, coincidentally, I had written this to her that week.  I was in Las Vegas at the time for WPPI.  Even that early, I just had a feeling I was pregnant. An instinct. I was taking my prenatal vitamins, taking great care of myself and just felt like God was making me ready for this.  Sure enough, during a visit home to Florida on February 28th, a craving for Chiclets led me to the drugstore for a pregnancy test.  I cried tears of joy as those two pink lines appeared!!!

March: We only told my parents and my best friends at first.  There was so much excitement coupled with thoughts of a whole new life ahead of us… translation = suddenly overwhelming.  My body changed quickly and the morning sickness soon set in.  Heavens to Betsy, this was no fun at all.   From week 3 to week 16, I was miserable – in bed, nauseated, no appetite, exhausted.  I actually prayed for those crazy pregnancy cravings you always hear about to happen so I could get my appetite back!  I had to keep at my same work pace and wasn’t able to tell anyone yet why I fell off the radar for a few weeks.   I’m so grateful for my friends who prayed me through that time, Ari for holding my hand through all of it and trying everything under the sun to make me feel better and to my parents for taking care of me for a few weeks and trying to feed me all sorts of goodness. At the height of all of this nausea, we had a trip to Grand Cayman planned to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary.  I spent most of the trip, once again, in bed.  At least it was from a bed with an ocean view, though!  At the end of March, knowing that we would soon need a lot more space for baby, we also started hunting for a bigger house.   Photo below by Nancy Ray.

April: On April 5th, we finally let the cat out of the bag! What an exciting day! And such a relief. I hated keeping our big news a secret for so long! Work-wise, it was an insanely busy month. With all the morning sickness, I had no idea how I was going to get through it, but by the grace of God – and with lots of help – I did.

2011 has been the year of making a lot of things happen, including some brilliant brands.  Photo above (with me covering quite the baby bump at the time) by Gina Zeidler. By the time our little one is born in just a few days, Emily and I will have launched 35 powerful brands this year for some incredible people that we are so blessed to call friends.  What started as one of those crazy ideas (sketched on a paper bag on an airplane somewhere over the Pacific on the way to Maui last November!), turned into my favorite work ever.  It turned into a mission that Emily and I have to help creatives take wing and live life to the full.  Life is too short to play small. In a few days, Emily and I (or just Emily, if I go into labor!) will be launching our new Making Brands Happen site where you can take a peek into all we have been up to.   I am so grateful for the last year of rewarding work – that truly doesn’t feel like “work”  because I love it so much – with the magazine and our inspiring branding clients. What a gift of a journey this has been!   It’s hard to believe that just a year ago none of this existed, nor did I have any idea it would:  a baby, a new blossoming business that sets my heart on fire and a magazine and blog that have had their biggest year yet! Back to April, though.  I digress. Prego brain. In April, I completed my last wedding with my event planning company – a gorgeous Indian wedding in downtown DC. For those of you in weddings, you know this was no small feat.  It turned out beautifully and I am so grateful for over a decade of wedding planning that turned into so much more.  I’m happy to finally put my very first company, Bliss Event Group, to rest after this exciting decade.  It was hard to let go at first, but there’s so much more on the horizon! Saying “no” to one thing in our lives means saying “yes” to something else.

May: A week after our DC wedding adventure, at 13 weeks pregnant, we had a fun Southern Weddings team photo session with Millie (where I delicately tried to cover my baby bump) and then three days after that, we moved! A new house and new office!  This was a whirlwind – as anyone knows who has moved ever – and such a huge blessing for us.  More space made room for all sorts of new growth in our lives, both personally and professionally.   And then… the day I hit 16 weeks pregnant, it was like the morning sickness cloud magically lifted.  Suddenly, the nausea disappeared and I started to feel like a human being again.  Oh my goodness, I was so grateful!   I even got some high-fives from the little one growing in my belly.   Thankfully, I started to feel better just in time to speak at Engage!11 at the end of May.  Just before I headed to California, I did my first maternity shopping and even posted the first baby bump pics for all to see. I got myself on a plane, spent a couple days with my 94 year-old Grandma Bunny (who was so excited!) and then headed to San Diego for Engage!11.  Between moving and maternity clothes and business booming as usual, it was an eventful time making all sorts of things happen.

June: Coming back from Engage!11, I was so fired up.  We had an epic team meeting when I returned that became the springboard for us to have our best year to date.  It’s remarkable to type all of this out and see that all of this happened in such a short time frame.  God is so good.  We saw over 200% company growth since that meeting in early June.  That fire I felt has just gotten stronger since and my team has sprouted some pretty remarkable wings.  Thanks to the return of my appetite, I also started to sprout quite the baby belly.  I gained a good 16 pounds that month!  Go baby, go!  Photo below by Gina Zeidler.

Let’s just say it was a month of growth in more ways than one.   I ran The Challenge again. I worked hard to rid myself of excuses for not being my best.  I knew that, if I was going to have a baby and be 100% committed to this baby when he or she arrived, I wanted to know I worked my hardest up to that day to get things in place.  That meant taking my company, staff, work, life and everything with it to the next level.   Ari and I traveled to DC together for a conference where he was speaking, I had a TON of branding work that month and – after much anticipation – we found out we were having a GIRL!  Yahooo!!!!

The moment we found out that she was a she, the fun really began!   Picking names, registering, decorating, oh my!  Do not – I repeat – do not attempt to be an overachiever and do all of these in one day, though.  I got a little overwhelmed while registering.  Understatement. Registering caused my first real prego meltdown. Despite said meltdown, all became well in registry land thanks to the help of my pregnancy angel, Emily, guiding me through it.  I could write a novel about how she has truly been sent from Heaven above as I’ve navigated pregnancy.  I love you, Emily Ley!  Ari and I finished June at my parent’s home in Florida and celebrated with my sister Kathy and my whole family.  Here is my June maternity session with Ms. Nancy.

July: How did I do July!?  Looking back on it, this month was appropriately packed full of fireworks!  On the heels of that fire that started to burn inside me in June, July was my month of taking big rewarding risks. I was determined to take action and give as much as possible.  We started layout on our fourth annual issue – V4, I did the Making Things Happen July Tour (Pensacola, Atlanta and New York) and then went straight to Charleston for a big V4 shoot. Pictured below during our model fitting at Maddison Row in Charleston.

Amidst all of this travel and hard work, God was really working hard on my heart.  I started to feel a sea change come over me as pregnancy began to settle into my soul.  There is a lot of fear when you first carry a child.  There are endless unknowns and uncertainties and all of these have forced me to truly learn to trust God more than I ever have… and in ways I never thought possible.  My faith started to grow, I started to get more involved in my church, studied the Bible more and I decided to take a scary risk and write to our sweet baby girl. That was a big hurdle for me.  I had so much fear that somehow I would lose her.  Writing to her – and taking Emily, Gina and Natalie‘s advice and starting to talk to her – opened my heart to trust.  Ari and I took a tour of the labor and delivery wing at Ari’s hospital where she would be born.  It all started to become very real.  The work I did during the MTH tour in July with Emily and Gina really cracked my heart open.  What a blessing that was and such perfect timing!  I came home from the Tour fired up and so ready to surrender to the changes happening in my heart.  My July maternity session with Nancy.

August: I declared war on the month of August, as I knew it was time to start getting things in place for this little dancing baby in my belly.  I started the month by flying back to Florida to speak at the Stationery Academy.   That was supposed to be my last speaking engagement for the year (I ended up doing another branding presentation here in Chapel Hill in September) since I was about to be barred from traveling.  It taught me so many wonderful things.

On August 15th, I wrote one of my favorite posts ever where we announced our little girl’s name. I’m printing this out for Grace’s baby album because I feel so connected to every single word.  God is so good!  Grace Austin Isaacson. Oh, how I love that name!   My mom threw a wonderful shower for Grace .  August brought so much growth and gratitude in my heart, which – looking back – prepared me for a difficult personal transition in our family that we didn’t expect.  It just made me more and more grateful to God, Ari and my dear friends for so much prayer and support.  I love you Emily, Gina, Natalie and the whole MTH family! At the end of August, my parents came to visit us here in Chapel Hill.  This was a very special visit that I will never forget. My mom brought so many goodies for Grace, including many of my baby clothes, books, photographs and precious family heirlooms.   My August session with Mrs. Ray and my parents.

September: This month was marked by magazine layout, final shoots, long days at my desk and a whole lot of exciting baby kicks!

Grace started growing like a weed and, as I neared 30 weeks pregnant, new things started to consume my thoughts.  New questions.  New fears about labor, delivery and being a mom.  I started reading every book in sight.  For those of you that know me, you know this is not like me.  I readily admit that, besides reading the Bible, I’m not a big reader in general and I don’t like reading instruction manuals.  I’d rather just figure it out myself.  I like being hands-on.  But, it started to dawn on me that a baby wasn’t something I wanted to just figure out. For me, the changes in my heart have come in profound waves.  God really does have perfect timing. At first, you think nine months sounds like forever.  Turns out, it’s just right.  I’m so grateful for this time that God has used to flip my heart inside out.  I felt such deeper clarity and confidence as each day passed. The weather started to grow cooler and, seamlessly with the change in season, I started to see more what was most important in life. For me, it has been – and continues to be – a remarkable season of letting go of what I thought mattered to make room for real love and joy.  A peace that passes all understanding.  What a gift – no matter how challenging – that has been!  Ari and I both experienced this change and started to feel closer than ever. I started to set new boundaries to plan for my maternity leave and we sent V4 off to the printer at the end of the month.  Hallelujah!  My September session with Nancy.

October: October began my official transition into maternity leave. With all the hats I wear around here, I knew it would take me several weeks to get things in order for our company to essentially function without me.  It was not easy at first to think of letting go.  As with every month, new fears and questions surfaced.  From crafting my birth plan to strong realizations about my priorities to unexpected tears to the gift of Sundays and seeing the big picture to more tears and remarkable love from my husband to seeing Grace’s beautiful face for the first time (oh my stars!!!) …

… to realizing this is really happening soon, God has been stretching me to truly TRUST and let go.  I’m getting there.  And I’m so grateful for the women I work with.  Words just can’t express how they have all blessed me during these months and especially now during this transition.  Emily, Emily, Marissa, Whitney, Sierra and Nicole have truly made me – the slightly OCD control-lover – feel like I can genuinely let go soon and turn over the reins to them with confidence and calm.  It’s a gift I know Grace will thank them for someday, too.   This week, V4 is on shelves nationwide (YEEHAW!!!!!) and very soon I will be turning my email over to Marissa and the ladies here as I move into the last days of my pregnancy.   I plan to take three months of leave, so I won’t be taking on new clients, meetings or projects until likely March 2012.  I know I’ll never get this time back, so the months ahead are just for Grace.

So much has happened and I couldn’t possibly include it in one blog post.  Writing all of this out makes me see so clearly how radical change in our lives is so possible.  You just never know what God will have in store for you, but you will only know if you listen, welcome all the “failures” and mistakes along the way as lessons and just. let. go.   There have been tears and so much fear and – all the while – a new joy.  I’ve laughed more in these nine months than I ever have. Pregnancy has genuinely been nothing like what I thought it would be.  When this all began, I was scared that a part of my life that was ending.  Well, it certainly was.  I just had no idea that one chapter had to close in order for a much better chapter to open!

November: yet to be written.  Most likely to be awesome.  God is truly good and I owe all of these blessings to Christ.  From that blessed day in February to now, I have been changed.  I pray for more and more change every day.  Thank you, Jesus, for nine months of your amazing amazing grace.

I can’t believe we have less than 20 or so days before we meet Grace!  The days are flying by now and I’m so excited to be a mom!  A HUGE thank you to so many friends who have cheered me on through these nine months.  Words just can’t begin to express my gratitude.  Ari and I feel so blessed to have such a supportive community of loved ones and can’t wait for this little dancing babe in my belly to meet you all very soon!   You can follow my journey daily, as Grace’s arrival grows closer, here on my Tumblr.

Love,

So, over the last few months, a lot has been happening.  understatement

We spent the first months of this year searching high and low for two wonderful women to add to our family at Southern Weddings.  I’m thrilled to say that after hundreds of resumes and interviews, we found the perfect pair!  You’ll get to meet them very soon and we can’t wait. I’m so grateful for our growth and, most of all, that I get to spend my days with these inspiring women. 

We’re bursting at the seams for more space, so we’re also moving next month! My wonderful mom is here in Chapel Hill visiting and helped us pick out the perfect new house – just a few miles away – for the three of us. Me… Ari… and…

Oh hello, tears. I don’t know how to write this post. Here goes…

I’m pregnant.

Due 11.11.11

You have no idea how good it feels so good to finally say that! Keeping this a secret for what has felt like an eternity has not been easy, friends.  Especially considering the plethora of texts like this over the last months…

The moment those pretty pink two lines appeared I wanted to shout my gratitude to the hills!  Well, I did.  In the privacy of my bathroom.  I’ve never felt such joy!  God is good and Ari and I are very grateful. Baby’s first trip on an airplane: sunny Las Vegas for WPPI (below).

A few FAQ’s and things I’ve learned so far:

We don’t care if it’s a boy or a girl.  We just want a happy baby.  OK, I kindof want a girl.  Only because Emily Ley and my entire staff have already decided Brady is going to marry said girl.

Morning sickness doesn’t exist.  All day sickness does.  The first stretch has been the pits, but thankfully I’ve been feeling better and better over the last couple weeks. Yesterday was my best day so far – almost back to normal! I’m so grateful for my best friends, very kind strangers, McDonald’s ice cream, my parents (who let me retreat to their house for the majority of March to take care of me!) and my amazing husband.  Thanks to aforementioned All Day Sickness, the thought of eating a Luna Bar or getting on a plane has made me ill, but I’m totally OK with that. If sickness is a barometer for a healthy baby, I am totally OK with anything.

For now, you can follow the baby details on my personal Tumblr.

My favorite person to tell I was pregnant (besides my dad who I have never seen happier) was my very Southern 93-year old Grandma Bunny.  I’ll never forget that conversation.  Listen in…

Surprise! from lara casey on Vimeo.

Best phone message after the big news: definitely from dad.  He ended the message with “Take care of yourself, Mama.”  Melt my heart.

People keep saying to me, “do you realize your life is about to change?”  It already has. Drastically.  I know it’s just the beginning and I’m so happy for all of it!  I prayed hard for this.  I am leaning on Him to guide me.   I also have some awesome friends as mommy role models – Em, Natalie and so many MTH women – that I am so grateful for.  My mom is also a pretty cool lady and has been teaching me the ropes since day 1 when I burst out in happy tears and told her I was pregnant in the kitchen while making oatmeal.  I had to tell someone. I love you, mom!  Below with grandpa…

Thank you to my sweet friends Danielle Wolfe and David Kirkaldy in Cayman for blessing us with your hospitality as Ari and I celebrated 5 years of marriage this year, to Emily (and Bryan) for making Bman and letting me feel his frog kicks in your belly and hold him – what a joy!, to my ridiculously awesome staff for being patient with my baby brain and for volunteering to name the baby (oh goodness, that deserves its own post), to Elizabeth Messina who captured my very first pregnancy photographs, to Aunt Gina and Aunt Natalie and Aunt Emily and Aunt Jessie and Aunt Marissa and Aunt Melissa and Aunt Chantal and Aunt Harmony for being the best honorary aunt’s ever, and to my mom and dad who make me excited every day.  I love you.  Special love and hugs to all the Making Things Happen women (and men!) who have encouraged me every step of the way on the journey.   I wouldn’t have had the courage to let go and let God bring this blessing into our lives without you.  My list of gratitude is endless.

My mom got to come to my ultrasound yesterday and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Having her there with me to watch the little heart beat so strongly was a miracle. I had seen it before, but something about having mom there this time… we cried… the nurse cried… my doctor loved on us! My heart feels like it’s the size of Texas, y’all. I’m not one of those people who had a mental plan for when I would get married and have kids.  Ari and I thought babies would come well after he is done with residency (2 more years).  As my heart started to open to this in a big way, I could clearly see God had other plans.  His plans are always way better than mine.  This verse has been on my heart since we found out: If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you. – Luke 17:6 Carrying a child is indescribable. It has been impossible for me to not see God working in all of this. This little babe has already blessed us, humbled me and brought me to my knees.  Faith as small as a mustard seed can change everything.

Well, there you have it.  Spring has officially sprung in our little world!  Wonderful women to do this great work with, soon-to-be new bigger digs and a little southern biscuit in my oven.  The Biscuit…

Making Babies Happen,

photos (the pretty ones) by Gina Zeidler

2011 is off to a flying start! I just finished a week of Making Things Happen. Tampa, Atlanta, Charlotte and New York rocked my world.  If you haven’t been keeping up with my personal Tumblr and the Making Things Happen Tumblr, jump on it!  2011 is already the best year of my life.

My personal process for 2011 Goal Setting and my 2011 Vision Board:

1. Evaluate what didn’t work in 2010

2. Define what did work

3. Get clear and write out your fears

4. Evaluate the people you surround yourself with, cultivate vision and create an inspiring environment to flourish in.

5. Define your driving purpose.

6. Making things happen: Act.

Vision is everything.  As a creative person, you have to see where you want to go clearly in order to step into the life you want.  Every image has significant meaning to me – they make me feel something and clarify the vision I have for this year.   I have been researching scripture to support each goal and, as I do this, my goals become more clarified.  Vision isn’t achieved in just 6 steps.  This is just the beginning.  I’m committed to doing the hard work every day to uncover my full potential.  2011, I am filling you with all the love, peace and joy my heart can muster.  I am listening.  I am leaping.  I am creating.  I am standing up for my heart.  I am giving till it hurts.  I am using my gifts to serve.  I am taking the narrow road.  I choose Love.  My mission in 2011: love God, serve people.

images: I’ve been collecting these for a while, so let me know if one of these is yours and I’ll link it.  The ones I remember: bridesmaids (Stacy Reeves), the redhead (Max Wanger), couple on the blanked (Erin Hearts Court) and the woman in the desert (Dewey Nicks).

The year ahead holds a lot of mystery for me.  I have been working to clear my calendar as much as possible to make room for more family, rest, focus on my marriage, friendships and further-solidifying our brands. This year I am committed to working hard on life, giving as much as possible and walking the walk.

The SOLD OUT Making Things Happen 2011 Tour with Natalie Norton and Gina Zeidler (and the very pregnant Emily Ley just on the Tampa stop) was a powerful catapult into 2011. We’re working on adding just one more city to accommodate our huge waiting list. More info.

In a couple weeks, we’re off to Vegas for WPPI where I have several fun things lined up including Making Things Happen Vegas…

The black-tie Airplanes and Blazers party …

Harmony Walton and I have teamed up for the ultimate business, branding and marketing intensive, The Total Package.  There are only a few seats left, so jump on it and get ready to rock your business in 2011!

March 18th of this year marks our five year wedding anniversary.  We actually got married in Vegas. Yes, Vegas. Ari and I still trying to decide what to do to celebrate.

At the end of May, I’ll be speaking at Engage!11 :: Grand Del Mar with Harmony and Jasmine Star.

I’m so honored to be asked to speak again – especially with these remarkable women.

Ari is speaking at a big radiology conference in DC in June.  I’m so proud of him and I’ll be joining him there to cheer him on.  I don’t know if people cheer at radiology conferences, but I’m going to give it a whirl!   June, July and August will be photo shoot and layout madness time for V4 (Volume 4 of Southern Weddings), which drops in September.  We’ll be taking on two new full time employees this summer, too! We’re growing and I’m so excited about adding to our wonderful team.

All of this may seem like a lot, but it’s almost a tenth of the travel I had in 2010.  Yes, there’s more to be planned, but that’s all for now. Learning how to say no and work hard to clear my schedule has been incredibly powerful for my life.  I’m so excited about what’s ahead and very happy with right now.  You can stay up to date with my 2011 Travel Calendar here and find me every day on my personal Tumblr and the Making Things Happen Tumblr.

OK, lots of winners to announce…  Congrats to the business book winners, Amy Worthington, Pam Parker and April Walker!  Email me your mailing address and I’ll get your books to you ASAP!

Big congrats to the Making Brands Happen winner, Kelly Sauer!  Email me and Emily and I will get your mini sessions scheduled.  Everyone else who entered… we had the HARDEST time picking just one person for this.  You all could make huge things happen with more powerful branding!  SO, if you reserve your brand with us by this Friday, we’re giving you a $200 credit toward your new brand!  Every single entry was deserving, so we want to help make this happen for you.  Our schedule is getting packed to the max, so book ASAP if you want your brand completed quickly.  Due to high demand and the great success of this for our clients, we’ve expanded to offer three levels of service to fit your needs.  Just email me for all the details.  We can’t wait to help take your business to the next level! The process and results from this work fire Emily and I up to no end!

Oh you know I can’t do a post without another giveaway.  The fine folks at Adorama, who I love and adore, have given me a FujiFilm Instax Mini to give away!  We’ve had so much fun with Instax on the Making Things Happen Tour.  AND!  BONUS! Harmony and I are giving away ONE SEAT to The Total Package. A rad camera + the best marketing, branding, PR and business insight = Happy 2011! If you aren’t able to come to The Total Package, we’ll split this prize into two. So, just tell me if you are only interested in the camera prize.

Leave a comment here telling me about your goals for 2011 AND Tweet, Blog or post on facebook about this giveaway and link to it. Just leave a note in your comment that you posted about it and you’re all set!  Giveaway ends next Friday.  What are you making happen this year?

UPDATED: Congrats to Total Package winner Meg Perotti and camera winner Josh Ulmer!

A year ago this week, I made a big announcement from Breckenridge, Colorado.  I never dreamed that some of the names I would read would be my future best friends. Or that I’d be seeing them again in just ten days to celebrate a pivotal, powerful, life-changing year. 2010 has been the best year of my life for more reasons than I can count.

A risky blog post led to a 20 city tour led to over 400 new friendships that have brought me to today:  humbled, grateful, in awe of how God can change a life in such a short time.  We traveled to 20 cities this year to challenge people to conquer fear and harness their true potential.  Never in a million years would I have guessed the result.  I can’t take credit for what the MTH Alumni have accomplished since this first began 12 months ago.  They genuinely lived what I said: Feel the fear and do it anyway.   The feedback and the community support has blown me away.

One of the biggest factors in all of this success has been the community and fierce accountability from the MTH alum. The support I see every single day from past attendees is just phenomenal. There aren’t words big enough to describe what these people have done for each other to help one another conquer fear and make really big things happen in their lives and in business.

There have been countless late night phone calls, group Skype chats to offer encouragement, weekly meet-ups, a thousand encouraging texts, uplifting emails (I know all of this because I’ve been a recipient myself!), facebook groups that are active by the hour, Twitter messages to encourage and support, many tears, frustrations, hurdles, triumphs, and remarkable advances.

Want a peek inside the tour?  I made a new montage/video thing really fast.  I’ve only made one other montage/video thing in my life.  You have full permission to berate my montage/video thing skills.  I’m awesome at jumping moguls on skis and making muffins, so it all evens out.  Watch carefully for some new faces towards the end.  I know it moves fast, so get that espresso brewing!

Making Things Happen 2011 from lara casey on Vimeo.

It is with so much excitement and gratitude that I announce the first part of Making Things Happen 2011!  We will be visiting five major airport hubs this January for easy travel:  Tampa, Charlotte, Atlanta, Las Vegas (WPPI) and New York City!  We are looking for one more city to add to the tour, so please leave a comment and let us know where you’d like us to come.  Spread the word, because we need at least 10 people per city to make it happen.

The 2010 Tour completely SOLD OUT, so this one is sure to as well.   I wish I could visit more cities, but with my packed schedule – and a commitment to not be on an airplane so much in the new year – I can’t pack any more in.  So, jump on these places!  We purposely chose places that are easy to travel to so you can make it happen.

This workshop is not for the faint of heart, but for creatives who really want to change, grow, and harness their full potential in the new year. Are you ready to Make Things Happen?  Pull the trigger now, while there are seats.

Need help to make it happen?  Leave a comment here telling me what you want to make happen in 2011 (and which city you would like to attend).  Why do you want this? What is your passion? One scholarship seat will be announced January 1st!   I’m so excited about the upcoming year and can’t wait to kick it off with you! Life is too short to play small. PLEASE NOTE: The only cities offered for 2011 so far are Tampa, Charlotte, Atlanta, Las Vegas and New York. We are open to suggestion on one more city to visit.

My mentor list: my pastor, best friends, Ari and – among several others – my friend, Jeremy Cowart.  I love learning from his actions: creativity, humility, integrity, humor, passion for his family and an insatiable drive to leave the world be a better place than when he found it.  Voices of Haiti and Help Portrait are just two of his many ventures that started as “crazy” ideas in the middle of the night and turned into international movements. Jeremy never ceases to inspire. Help Portrait is December 4. Get involved in something powerful this holiday season:

I’ve loved getting to know him over the last two years since we first met when he was passing through NC on the road with Britney Spears.

We were so blessed to have Jeremy shoot our V2 cover and an eight page spread that I still can’t get over.

It was incredible to watch him work.

…and see the final product come to life.

Stunning. At our V2 launch party I also discovered something many of you may not know about Mr. Cowart: he is an insanely good breakdancer. No, really. Do not challenge this guy. He will win.

I’m not even a photographer, and I’ve never been so excited about this opportunity to learn what makes him tick. LifeFinder, Jeremy’s new educational DVD, is about to launch and he has given me two copies to give away! But first, the inside scoop from the man himself:

Why did you create LifeFinder? For 5 years now, ever since I started, I’ve been asked by so many people “Can I come on a shoot and watch you do your thing?”. I’ve always had to turn them down due to the complicated logistics involved. I wanted to finally put something out there to help people out.  My mission is to get people thinking about Photography again. I’m getting a little weary hearing people lose focus on the work itself. I mean, yes marketing is important. Social media is important, branding, logos, websites, etc.. But make sure your work is good first! It seems like this message is getting lost. I want to help people re-focus on creating amazing images.

If you could boil those 4 hours of footage down to your best advice for photographers and creatives in once sentence, what would it be? Well, in vein of the title, “LifeFinder“, I’d tell creatives to go find their passion and truly pursue it with everything they have. Life is too short to be doing something you’re not in love with. This may sound like a generic answer but it’s true. I get so sad when I see people investing 8-10 hours a day into something they’re not interested in. I was there once too. But I took the risk. I jumped. And I’ve never regretted it for one second.

What has been your most memorable experience as an artist? Gosh, these questions are TOUGH!! Well done. My first initial reaction to this question is my “Voices of Haiti” project. I’ve never experienced every emotion at once. That’s what Haiti was for me. I was in culture-shock, devastated, grieving, hopeful, joyful (for brief moments), worried, frightened, disgusted, you name it. It was a very, very surreal experience.

Which image is your favorite that you have created recently and why? Well, on that same note, I’d have to say this image from Haiti. (And hey, it’s a wedding photo! How appropriate :) It’s possibly the most powerful photo I’ve taken and it has nothing to do with me. I mean, for this young couple to stand there just days after the earthquake, amongst their destroyed church behind them (where they were supposed to get married that day), their home destroyed, their relatives missing and to send a message that says “Love Conquers All??? Are you kidding me? Whew. This photo gives me chills to this day.

What’s next? 2011 will continue my scattered ways of pursuing multiple things at once. I want to develop some iPhone apps. I want to hit the reset button on my photography career. I want to do a lot more fine art. I want to get started on a book idea that’s been on the backburner. I’d like to pursue a new idea with Help-Portrait. And most importantly I want to get in as much time with my family as possible. You know, just a few things haha.

See more of Jeremy’s work, follow him on Twitter and catch a glimpse of LifeFinder yourself:

LifeFinder DVD Trailer from Jeremy Cowart on Vimeo.

Thank you so much, Jeremy, for being such an encouragement to me and so many others. Life is definitely too short not to harness the passion we were created to share. Thank you for doing just that!

To win one of two copies of LifeFinder before it is released on December 14th, leave a comment telling us what inspires your creativity. What gets you fired up?

**UPDATED** WINNERS (chosen at random): Zachary Long and Carl Spring Photo. Please email me to claim your DVD’s! Thank you to everyone who entered! Such inspiration!

I’m excited to announce my partnership with Emily Ley Creative that marries effective, authentic, powerful visual branding with clear, purposeful, dynamic strategy: Making Brands Happen.  Emily and I saw a great need for creatives to be able to have a seamless, simple way to bring brilliant ideas and unique brands to life.  This partnership has been a long time coming and the second all the pieces aligned it was like fireworks. There are so many options out there, but none of them encompassed everything our clients needed …and got it done in an efficient time frame   …and for a fee that allows you to make it happen with confidence. Making Brands Happen is the answer.

We’re only taking 6 clients per month and we’re just about full for the next three months. So, jump on it if you want a new brand or a rebrand for 2011. Reserve your spot now before we are all booked.  The process is easy, fast and we’ve made it affordable with flexible payment plans because money is one of the biggest things that holds people back from making more of it!.  The results will blow you out of the water! 

The process begins with an in-depth review and strategy development sessions. Then, ELC comes in to develop and design a visual identity – including a new color palette, logo, fonts, patterns, graphic elements and collateral to tie your identity together. Just a few sessions – and four short weeks – later, you have a seriously strong, transformed brand and marketing strategy, as well as all of your design files and a Style Guide to carry your visual identity consistently across multiple platforms.

Some notes on branding: Your “brand” is the combination of your visual identity and your client experience. Most people think that having a great looking website, slick business cards and a few color-coordinated collateral items means you have a great brand. While those things are key, they are just your first impression. A great visual identity creates attraction, trust, and gets your foot in the door. An extraordinary client experience and brand culture create lasting powerful success. A great brand has a heart, integrity, purpose and consistency. A great brand anticipates desires and always OVERdelivers to the client. A great brand doesn’t sell you a product; it sells you a way of life. Would your ideal client want to live your current brand’s way of life? Is every aspect of your identity – website, business cards, social media, blog format, collateral, email correspondence, watermark, packaging, workflow, voicemail greeting – building up your brand, or are you just getting by? That’s what I’m here for – to help you evaluate where you are now and where you need to be to make big things happen in your business. Once we target the heart of your brand, what makes you tick and what will help your ideal client see your ultimate value, Emily steps in to create a visual identity that really sings. It’s pretty simple. Brand experience + brand image = powerful branding.

Whether you know exactly what you want or you are just in the first stages with a new idea… whether new to the business with loads of questions or a seasoned pro that needs a branding facelift… whether photographer, planner, writer, designer, stationer, or any creative professional… let us know what you are thinking and we will help you fill in the missing pieces.  Just remember – all big ideas start somewhere.  No matter what path you choose, you just have to start.  ‘A year from now you will wish you had started today.’ Life is too short to play small.  Your dreams are too powerful to just think about them.  Act!  You never know where that leap of faith will take you.  All you have to do now is take that baby step to BEGIN.

Remove the word trying from your vocabulary.  You’re either doing it or you aren’t. – Ralph Marston No more excuses.  You have a choice to be remarkable.  We look forward to making it happen for you.

LC

To kick off this new year ahead (only 37 days left in 2010 – wow!), we’re giving away a mini Making Brands Happen package.  One session with me to dig deep into where your brand needs to go and one session with Emily to develop your brand board.  Start 2011 with a bang!  Leave a comment here telling us why you want this and what you want to make happen in 2011. Ends January 7th.

UPDATED to add: Congratulations to our winner! Due to the success of Making Brands Happen for our clients, we now offer three different levels of service. All the details: Making Brands Happen.

30 days, 30 planes, 30,000+ miles and I came home alive.  Alive as in AWAKE.   The Making Things Happen Tour – (preceded by travel to Salt Lake City, Palm Beach, New York, St. Lucia, Atlanta, Barbados, Trinidad, and Miami) took us from Raleigh to Houston to Phoenix to San Francisco to Los Angeles to Maui and back again.  It rocked my core.  My experiences gave me fierce clarity that I never thought I’d find.  You can read our complete daily adventures on the MTH Tumblr page, but I’ve pulled a few highlights for you here from my journey with two incredible women and 100+ new great friends.  “Friends” is a mild word for what these people are to me.  Everyone I have met in the last two weeks is family now – a deep part of my heart.  There were rivers of tears, triumphs, and bold moves toward joy and wholeness.   It was the best two weeks of my life so far and it keeps getting better!  The adventure continues in our daily lives back at home (and on our Tumblr page) every day.

November 4: Houston. I want to know Christ. I want to be rested. I want to find joy in simplicity. Joy in breath, running, laughter and letting go.  A year from now, you will wish you had started today. Today could be the day. The day it all begins. Begin anywhere.  lc  [video]

November 5: I am praying for Haiti. I am ready to face my fears. For once, I know exactly what they are today. A text message I never thought I’d get this morning has me feeling all sorts of things. I surrender all. A song from that won’t leave me: I give it all away… so You can use me.

November 5: ‘Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world…’

November 5: Houston. April, Jenae, Debra, Elizabeth, Amber, Angela, Cynthia, Danielle, Emily, Lauren, Judith, Lisa, Lara, Carrie, Caroline, Jenny – Yesterday was just the beginning. Today, now, in this moment you have the choice to be remarkable. Give yourself license to dream bigger, as you did together just hours ago. Make the choice to be remarkable. Life is just too short to settle for anything less than the greatness – giving, loving, creating – that you were created for. xo Lara, Emily and Gina

November 6: Houston Airport.  I am immersed. The last time I was in Phoenix was when Ari came home from deployment. He encourages me to love, to give, to forgive. Time to do something about what I uncovered yesterday. Thank you, new friends. I’m so grateful for yesterday. Time to act.  lc

November 6: ‘The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.’

November 6: Phoenix is warm so we dove in.  147 photos.

November 7: I am refreshed. Sermon on forgiveness kicked me this morning. ‘Bless those who persecute you.’ I am so ready to take some big risks. Risk is the stuff real life is made of. Let’s do this Phoenix. lc

November 7: I want new. Ari said to me this morning, “So, I was reading pre-natal ultrasounds today and I was thinking I wish one was yours.” My heart melted. Being around Emily makes me excited about that. One day. For now, I want new life. I want to live what has been so clearly laid out for me with abandon. I don’t want to ignore it anymore. I want so badly to break through, to stop fearing the greatness inside of me. I want so badly to just. let. go. Currently listening to All Things New | Watermark. ‘Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old had gone, the new has come.’ 2 Cor 5:17

November 7: I want to take a big huge bite out of life right now. ‘For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.’ – 2 Timothy 1:7 My heart is so full from today. I wanted to freeze time. Thank you, new friends, for the real, raw, honest, unabashed love. You make me want to own my life without fear. Feel the fear and do it anyway. Risk big. Run fast. Love deeply. Do not sell yourself short. EVER. You’ve got this. There is no fear in love. You are powerful beyond measure. lc

November 7: Phoenix. Erika, Jen, Carlee, Tiesha, Heidi, Kara, Heather, Wendy, Melissa and Leah: Don’t ever forget those tears. You flooded the desert and sprouted new wings just hours ago. It’s just the beginning. Now it’s time to act. You owe this to yourself and everyone around you. Walk the plank. When you get to the edge, there are friends waiting for you in the water. Baby steps. Bold steps. Then leap!  [video]

November 8: I am useless when I’m tired. I need sleep and/or Pinkberry. Meditating on: ‘Come to me all you who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.’ Matt 11:28 When I’m spent, I focus on gratitude. So grateful that Ari is meeting me in LA on Thursday and cannot wait for dinner with my sister Kathy on Friday and spending the weekend with my grandma in Irvine before I leave for MTH Maui on Monday. Family is good for the soul. So grateful for the women who have changed my heart in the last four days. So grateful for the women I work with. Miss you KTW and EAA. So grateful for change. God is good. Time to fly. Time to rest. lc

November 8: San Francisco. I want to bathe in mayo. My skin is so dry from Phoenix, y’all. Then I want someone to walk all over my back and a cold shower. And the sugar in Emily’s purse. I need a Mentos moment.

November 8: Making a Chinese feast happen.

November 9: Good morning San Francisco. Today you have a choice: stay comfortable (aka stuck) or step out of your comfort zone and make things happen. Open, accept, give, act, forgive and choose to be the remarkable you that you KNOW you are. Don’t waste another gorgeous full day. Life is too short to wait for tomorrow. Start the wheels turning. Tiny steps build to big momentum and create new life. Make it happen. lc

November 9: San Francisco.  ‘I don’t want to be stuck anymore.’  Geomyra, Caitlin, Marin, Briana, Jen, Sarah, Ashley, Melissa: you are powerful beyond measure.  ‘Life is too short to do something that you hate all day long.’  Life is too short.  You are unstuck, my beautiful radiant udderly beautiful friends.  Make it happen.  We’re all together in this. [video]

November 9: Your friend is your needs answered. He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving. And he is your board and your fireside. For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace. When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the “nay” in your own mind, nor do you withhold the “ay”. And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart; For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed. When you part from your friend, you grieve not; For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain. And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit. For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.  And let your best be for your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill? Seek him always with hours to live. For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness. And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed. – Khalil Gibran

November 9: Today I had this picture in my mind of running on the beach. Running hard, fast, pushing. Breaking through. I’ve been carrying a deep pain by myself. Until today when I realized God is bigger than any pain I have. God has this. I cried. I sobbed. The well sprang up as I envisioned myself running on the beach, free from the past, fully present in the NOW. I’ll be in Maui in a week and I. Will. Run. Strong, hard, fast. I will break through. I will not settle for anything less. Thank you, friends, for believing in me. Thank you, God, for clarity. Thank you. lc

November 10: Just one week ago we started in Houston then off to Phoenix, San Francisco and now here we are in Los Angeles – exhausted in the best way and fired up like never before. More clarity was uncovered in one week than an entire year. I’m so excited for the women I’m with, how my marriage has already grown from this work opening me and for all that is ahead. This is just the beginning. I’m so crazy behind on work from being on this trip, but I’m suddenly grateful that my inbox resembles tangled spaghetti. My eyes are clearer, my heart is new and I’m coming at life from a perspective I’ve never had. I’m so grateful for this work and how all things are made new when we just let go – when we fully surrender. When we drop in. When we get real, face our shadows and see that we are enough – right now in this moment. I am enough. I am full, clear, free and I can do the hard things today. I can send the difficult emails, have the challenging conversations and I can feel this fear and act on it. As I picture every set of eyes I’ve looked into in the last seven days, I know I’m not alone. Life is too short to go through the motions. Life is too short to wait another day – another hour – to accept the fact that I’ve changed. Life is too short to play small. Let’s do this, friends. Watercolor, Dallas, Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, DC, New York, Atlanta, Nashville, Chapel Hill, UNC, Salt Lake City, Houston, Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles and everyone who has been a part of this Making Things Happen journey – whether you’ve been to the intensive yet or not – let’s DO THIS. Today is the only day we have. Strike the match in your life. It’s so time. Everything is going to be alright. I’m ALL in. Are you? lc

November 10: Los Angeles.  I want to run out of this hotel and straight into my husband’s arms. I can’t wait till he gets here tomorrow night. My intense sense memory kicked in the moment we landed in Los Angeles and got my heart all tangled. I did not see it coming. I like to be in control of my feelings. God instantly took me out of my comfort zone. Living here for three years, so many visits as a child to see family, work, Navy life, growing up, relationships and memories of my last trip here – staying at this same hotel, grandmother in the hospital, exhausted from too much travel, heart completely torn apart – instinctively made me want to run. Sprint. But, I’m here. Gina and Emily listen so well. Praying at dinner with them gave my heart courage. I’m feeling this fear. It’s not fun but it’s time to rewrite this memory in my body. I am so grateful that God makes all things new. All I have to do is let go and let God. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Cor 5:17

November 11: I am feeling all sorts of on fire today. Dealing with pain, facing fear and giving it up to God is where it’s at. So grateful to wake up energized, clear, ready to live life with all five senses. I am humbled and thankful beyond words for all of the inspiring friends we’ve met this week and will meet today. I am so grateful for this work and to witness people grow and break through. My eyes are wide open. My heart is so full. I’m ready to break out some hula moves with Em, Gina, Fred and Jory on Monday. For now, let’s do this, Los Angeles!

November 11: Make things happen, Los Angeles.  She believed she could, so she did.

November 11: Los Angeles. What a powerful, honest, life-changing day. Skip – the best guy in LA – Kate, Samantha, Katie, Helena, Elizabeth, Carissa, Melissa, Eve, Meghan, Amber, Tami, Carrie, Sharon, Katie and Kat – you are at the top of a rollercoaster that’s about to get awesome. All hands up!

November 12: I am so excited to be in LA with the man I love on a day that makes my heart sing. My grandpa Cecil – who left for Heaven 7 years ago today – was the most influential person in my life. He taught me who Jesus is. He lived a humble life – at one time selling flour and Bibles to farmers. He was a man of God, passionate beyond words to preach the good news. Father, farmer, tomato and eggplant lover, thick Alabama drawl, song leader, preacher and my grampa. He baptized me in our pool when I was old enough to listen and understand what it meant to be loved just as I am. Grandpa, I miss you, but you are always here. Every day. You are in my heart with the Christ you introduced me to so long ago.

I was just at lunch in West LA with Ari and my mother in law and I couldn’t help but tear up – and look up – when the waiter brought out grandpa’s favorite… boiled peanuts. Amazing. So grateful that grandpa Cecil lived the life he lived. Tonight I’ll have dinner with the sister I hadn’t seen since I was 8. Late tonight I’ll play in the city with the two women below who have opened my heart wide. Tomorrow we’ll spend the day with Cecil’s beautiful bride – Grandma Bunny. God is good. Today, I stand in awe. lc

November 12: Dinner with my half-sister, Kathy, who my dad hadn’t seen in almost 20 years until recently.  An email to Dad: Just letting you know I’m hanging out with Kathy and John this Friday. Ari is flying out and meeting me in LA and we’re all having dinner on Friday at a place she said she took you. I’m so excited! Then we’re headed to grandmas. I just wanted to say that I’m so happy you pushed through and tried for so long to be close with them despite their initial resistance. It was so worth it and I’m grateful to have more family. I just wanted to say thank you. Love you! It was one of the most memorable nights of my life.  God is so good to bring us together.  I love you, Kathy.  Thank you for making us, dad.  All that heart ache was worth it to get us to today.  I love you.

Grandma Bunny from lara casey on Vimeo.

November 13: We all visited Grandma Bunny in Irvine. Such a special day.

At 92, she is who I want to be when I grow up.  Heart explosions!

November 13: Gina photographed Ari and I.  More heart explosions.  I’m so grateful for how our love has grown.  The greatest work of my life thus far has been on my marriage.  The photos from today day are my favorites ever.  Thank you, G!

November 14: Church in Irvine with Gina, Em, B man and Grandma Bunny. Lots of grateful tears as we sang Amazing Grace and reflected on the last week. It has been a powerful time in our hearts. ‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears released.’  I don’t think I will ever forget watching Emily – full with new life in her tummy – walk down the church aisle to take communion.  We were all so humbled and floored by God’s work in our lives.  That night we all had dinner with my aunt, uncle and cousin in Laguna Beach.  It was a magical weekend, but it left my heart torn in ways I didn’t expect.

November 15: Back in Los Angeles.  I am in the hotel lobby waiting to see great friends – Harmony Walton and Steven Taylor. I am joyful yet nervous to write this. I feel happy – and at the same time – broken. Like my good friend Jen said to me, broken is a good place to be. Hard, but it means there is clarity and strength on the other side. For the first time in her 92 years, my grandmother showed her age. Amidst great laughs and some good conversation this weekend, she was oddly difficult and senile. It was hard for me to cope with. I felt angry and not like myself. It showed me how weak I am and, like Gina said below, how much I need God to direct my steps. I didn’t want to talk about it or deal with it, but the second we got to our hotel last night the tears bubbled up. It’s funny how tears start as one thing and, when we let go, they flow for so many others. I cried about loss and lots of hurt endured this year, my own weakness, being overwhelmed with so much work from traveling so much, exhaustion, missing my parents, open family wounds that Ari and I had to heal this weekend and I cried for grandma. Ari hugged me and wiped away my tears. This tour has been wonderful in more ways than I can describe, but honestly I am in need of stillness and rest. I have so much joy in my heart to give. I need the peace that passes all understanding. Time to make rest happen. Boarding a plane to Maui soon. I can’t wait to feel the ocean lapping over me. Stepping off that plane to smell the plumeria in the air will be a turning point for me. I’m ready to take that deep breath in. Currently listening to Captivated // Watermark.

November 16: Woke up with the Maui sun with two women who make me want to be my best me, in a place I never dreamed I’d visit, about to do the work that makes my heart sing. I am so proud of Emily and Gina for the power they’ve owned in their lives in the last ten days and the authenticity they have uncovered. I’m so fired up by a long conversation we had on our five hour flight last night…

I’m also really grateful to spend time with Fred and Jory here to renew our friendships. I just can’t believe we are here…

Changed from ten days ago. I almost can’t let myself enjoy this. Sometimes I hold onto moments so tightly so I can’t feel them. It’s just too much clarity and, if I let it wash over me, I know it would change me. My honest [irrational] thought: I don’t want to let go of the pain. I catch myself feeling like I deserve to carry this burden on my heart, as if I don’t deserve forgiveness or joy. I know full well that isn’t true, but that plays in my head for a moment as I gaze out at this ocean, recounting the last year. ‘Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, it is that we are powerful beyond measure.’…

How did I get here to this place in my life? Why? What do you want me to do today, Lord? I’m open. Currently listening to the song that won’t leave me: Mutemath // Odds. And now… to act on the little grain of truth I discovered in San Francisco. I’m ready to run on this beach, hard and fast, and just let go. I’m ready to break through. Here goes… lc

November 17: I have been in full on dance party mode since I woke up at 6am. As we go through this process, peeling back the layers of fear day by day, feeling the fear wash over me, I have started to find a new clarity. Clarity breeds action and acting on fear – breaking through – brings immeasurable joy. But, it first takes getting real with yourself, putting the fear out there, surrendering to it and letting whatever emotions come up wash through you. It takes dropping in and seeing yourself as whole, no matter where you are, no matter what ‘mistakes’ you have made. There are no mistakes, only lessons. It takes brutal authenticity. Brutal because sometimes it means you aren’t pretty or perfect or right. I am so grateful. More than ever. God is so good and my heart is so full. So much to celebrate today, starting with the 91 new friends I have made in the last 10 days. 91 because one of them is me. Dance party ON! lc

November 18: Maui changed my life forever.  Friends, you are powerful beyond measure.  I will never forget this day.  God is so good.

November 18: Came back to the room to discover a note tucked in my laptop that changed my heart. A river of grateful tears. Just hit purchase on my life.

November 19: Last day in Maui, reflecting on 14 days of Making Things Happen.  My heart has never been so full!

November 19: Emily and Gina, I never imagined in these 10,000 miles we’ve traveled together that you would become part of me. Genuinely part of me. Me that I never thought I’d see again – or for the first time. I love you more than my heart can express, but you already know the depth of that. I feel it from you too – unabashed, authentic, real, new love. Thank you. See that thank you written on this Maui sky, because words will never hold my gratitude in the magnitude I feel it.

Through big belly laughs, baby kicks, grateful tears, bittersweet sadness, intense fear that we pushed through together, enough adventure to keep my heart happy for a lifetime, and the hope in things unseen – the hope and faith in Christ that we were gifted by unending grace – I have seen you and in-turn seen myself. Broken and whole in Him.

The change I’ve seen in you leaves me speechless. Do not play small. Ever. You have this. The authentic, whole you has this. Gina, dance it out and feel your immeasurable beauty. Emily, be still and know. You aren’t leaving for another 10 hours and I’m already so sad this day has to end. So many memories in these 14 powerful days ingrained on my heart.

No matter where we are in the world, we are together. IT’S JUST THE BEGINNING. No goodbyes. Go and do. All my heart, Lara

And today: There is only one word big enough to explain what we experienced in these two weeks: God.  God worked in my heart, in Emily and Gina’s hearts and in all of the 110+ people that we had the pure joy of knowing on this journey.  I couldn’t be more full of gratitude this Thanksgiving for all that was, is, and is to come.  Thank you, Gina, Em, and everyone who is a part of my life for making me look UP.

Many thanks to Gina for most of the images you see here.  To see all of the photographs from the whole tour, click here.

A year ago today, I took a big risk and wrote this blog post. Hitting publish on that post – feeling the fear and doing it anyway – is why I’m here today. Maui marked my 20th city doing the Making Things Happen intensive.  So grateful for that leap of faith.

Happy Thanksgiving.  Go and do. (Thank you, brilliant Natalie, for that!)

Love,

[a very happy, grateful, joyful] Lara

P.S. Want to make things happen in 2011?  Join us for the last 2010 Tour stop in Watercolor (we just opened 5 more seats for those of you who just can’t wait!) OR leave a comment here telling us where you want us to go next. Here’s to a brilliant new year!