Or better yet... create your own

I've always loved the famous quote by Robert Frost, "Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." I have given this beautiful quote my own twist and find myself using it with my kids frequently. I've often said, "Take the path less travelled... or better yet- create your own." This is the only way I can begin to describe our family and the choices we've made. I have three amazing children. In fact, we liked our oldest two SO much, that we decided to have one more, creating an almost 8 year span between our middle and youngest child. Our newest addition, Pax, is a fantastic joy and he too, will carve his own unique path in this world and it will be filled with triumphs and bumps- sometimes BIG bumps. Early on as a new parent, I found out that I was a "seeker". While there is not a thing wrong with taking advantage of the beautiful offerings life has right in front of you, I found myself continually peeking around the corner at schools, cities, programs and opportunities. Now having said that, I will also lament that raising a child is like a subtle dance. It's very hard to say whether the child is following the parent's lead or whether the parent is responding to cues the child is offering. I can't tell you exactly how we happened upon the life we currently lead, but I can tell you that it involved a lot of questioning, trying and change! Early on we knew that our daughter was a different sort of being. We heard from many that she was an "old soul", "observant" "lost in thought", expressive and so on. We got her involved in some drama and make beleieve classes while she was of preschool age. It was one of those things that just "took," and she fell in love with acting. Our move from Colorado to Phoenix, AZ brought us more opportunity in the acting world and even closer in proximity to LA. Kayla landed a local AZ agent and a Hollywood agent shortly after. She quickly booked voiceover roles on animated series as well as commercials. Her busy and exciting schedule required me to homes-chool both kids. For almost two years, we home-shcooled and lived in LA part time. Those were wonderful (and sometimes lonely) times filled with auditions, bookings, lots of laughs and some tears and disappointments. Both kids were working regularly and were in and out of their beloved charter school while we home-schooled as needed. We traveled, met a lot of people, read a lot, walked the beaches, read some more and tried new things. I wouldn't change that time for anything. During those years, I continued with photography, read and wrote. I started and nearly completed three books, and while I guided my children on their journey, I slowly began my own. Here I am at age 39 practically starting over with a new baby, a new cabin in the woods (which will be the perfect place to encourage me to finish those books and begin new ones!) and continuing on the awesome journey of raising my two eldest children and cheering them on their crazy paths.