KEEPing Perspective In The Midst Of Mom Life

Today the kids and I drove down to my parent’s farm in northwest Iowa. It’s about a four hour drive from our house in the eastern side of the Twin Cities, which isn’t usually a huge deal. But today, it was. Jake was already down there on a business trip, so I had to pack up the kids and blaze the open road solo. I woke up this morning, got my workout in, and was feeling awesome. I actually remember thinking to myself, “This shouldn’t be too bad. We’re just going for the weekend. I’ll pack up a few things and we’ll be out of here in an hour tops…”

Three hours later, we were still at home. Two steps toward the door, four steps back – the whole morning long. I was running around with a kid on my hip the whole time trying to find this or that and throw it in the laundry basket, which has become our new suitcase. Between making progress I changed diapers and broke up fights. After I had almost everything packed, I finally convinced the kids to get out of their pajamas, and loaded them into the car. Requests for milk, toys, blankets, snacks, and everything else under the sun. I’m pretty sure I ran back and forth from the garage into the house at least 150 times. I made one last trip to the bathroom, them yelling for me simultaneously, and we finally took off, while they were complaining about the DVD player not working. DEEP breaths. We made it out of the house. That’s all that counts at this point. I felt like a wounded soldier, but gosh darn it we were going to get to Nana & Papa’s house.

As I was driving out of my neighborhood, thinking about the mess I left my house in and how frazzled I felt, I looked down to grab for my water bottle and noticed my wrist. Last week I received some of the most meaningful pieces of jewelry I could have possibly wished for. I was recently introduced to KEEP Collective and the heart of the company spoke deeply to me. Their motto is: “What is your story?” I love that question because oftentimes when I’m getting to know someone, that’s the question I ask to get beneath the small talk and on to the real stuff.

Everyone has a story, and each of our stories are unique to us. No one can take your story away from you. I strongly believe that each of us were put on this earth to share our story with others. We were created for community and vulnerability. We were created to lean into the adversity and focus on the blessings.

So there I was this morning, absolutely wiped, worn down, and overwhelmed with the amount of things I didn’t accomplish this week. And I looked down at my bracelets, and it was all put into perspective.

In an instant, I was reminded that I chose to include the things on my bracelets that represented the blessings in my life. On the blush/champagne leather band, we chose to include mom of four, with a rose gold pave disc for the “O” along with two hearts to signify being a twin mom.

On the gold mesh bracelet, we chose the turquoise geo key because I LOVE this color and it’s said to have uplifting and calming properties. YES, please.

On the double leather band we chose to have a gold time key because I wanted a watch and also wanted to remember just how quickly time passes during this season of life. When I look at it, it reminds me to slow down and be in the moment.

On the second part of the leather band we chose a cross to remind me that His grace is always enough, even when I don’t feel worthy. We also chose to include “mrs” to remind me just how blessed I am to be married to the love of my life. And lastly, a turning points symbol, to remind me that something great is always around the corner.

The reason I say “we chose” is because I had a personal designer who helped me design every last detail. I’m not a fashionista. I don’t have an eye when it comes to these kinds of things. I can look at something and think, “That’s so cute!” But coming up with the idea is not my strong suit. It was such a fun process to be able to tell her my story, to share my life, and then for her to be able to come up with the perfect way to tell my story through pieces that felt like “me.”

Here’s where it gets even neater. All the bands I have were created to be worn more than one way. I told my designer that I wanted to have pieces that I could wear with any look, because let’s face it most of the time I’m running around in leggings.

The leather bands are irreversible! I often wear black leggings and the fact that I can wear the black side of the band really helps me to feel a little more put together even on the days when I throw my hair up in a messy bun. The fun thing about all this stuff, is that the keys slide on and off really smoothly and quickly, so you can easily change up your look at any point. For example, I didn’t have the K or the A in my first pictures, but I simply slid them on. I wanted to remind myself of my passion to help my fitness clients, so I included those letters since they represent my team, Koinonia Athletic. The green quartz wishing stone is said to prepare the heart for healing and strength, which is the heart and soul of my business!

I’ll admit I don’t get dressed up all that often, but I wanted the option to have a dressy look as well, for those times we’re headed out the door on a date and I “don’t have anything to wear…” (Please tell me I’m not the only one who complains to my husband about this.)

Just like that, I have a black band for my time key! And wearing the gold mesh bracelet dresses it up quite a bit, don’t you think?! (By the way, you’ll notice in a few of my pictures that the end of my mesh bracelet isn’t secured tightly. Rookie mistake. My designer told me about the fasteners and now it stays on perfectly!)

Okay, let’s chat about the necklace with the brushed gold pendant peeking through! I used my green quartz wishing stone again, and in the next picture I added a rose quartz wishing stone which means unconditional love.

I seriously had so much fun working on this post. I’ve become very selective with the companies I partner with. I never want to promote something I wouldn’t use myself. And I just knew I had to tell you guys about KEEP. It has felt like such a treat to wear this jewelry everyday. Sometimes amongst the mundane, day to day, we just need to be reminded that we’re special, and I can’t think of a better way to do that than through jewelry that we see all day long reminding us of our blessings.

I’m so excited for you to order some of this for yourself that I’ve decided to host an online social with my designer! Her name is Ashley Hoheisel and she is an absolute professional and so talented. Last week she was chosen to be the designer of the week out of her whole company! I’m telling you, if you want the perfect look, you want to work with Ashley. We had a phone consultation to figure out exactly how to tell my story. Afterward, she was able to use their design tool and send me pictures of the ideas. I could then choose between different options and know exactly how they were going to look before I committed. Here’s one I plan to get in the future! Shout out to all my twin momma friends in the house – how precious is this?! By the way, they also make silicone bracelets that are perfect for little girls! I’m planning to buy my twin girls some for their 3rd birthday that’s coming up and adding meaningful keys as they grow!

Here’s the thing about stuff like this. Either you love your experience or you don’t. I want to make sure you LOVE it. I want you to have as much fun as I had, so I’m giving away my hostess gifts to the people who place orders in my online social. The last time I hosted a party we had such a great turn out that every single person who ordered got one or several things for free! You can order here: Amber Kuiper’s KEEP Collective Online Social. The first 10 orders will get double entries for the giveaway items! You can order now through January 29th!

If you have any leftover Christmas money, or want to give your husband a hint for the perfect Valentine’s Day gift, this stuff is worth your money! The quality is exceptional and it comes with an amazing Delight Guarantee which means they stand behind their products if anything goes wrong with it besides normal wear and tear.

Here is Ashley’s contact information! Her favorite part is to help you tell your story, and you will have so much fun doing it. Honestly, she’s amazing!

Ashley Hoheisel

ashleymariez@hotmail.com

Ashley’s KEEP Website: https://www.keep-collective.com/with/ashleyhoheisel

Amber Kuiper’s KEEP Collective Online Social

You can follow her for design ideas on Facebook: Keep Collective with Ashley and Instagram: @keepingitcharming

I’m so excited to see what you guys end up putting together! Please tag me and Ashley on Instagram (@AmberMKuiper & @KeepingItCharming) so we can see how adorable it turns out!

You deserve something for YOU!

XOXO,

Amber

P.S. For more reflections on parenthood and life, follow us on Facebook (Hun Let’s Run) and on Instagram: @ambermariekuiper and @jakekuiper! We’d also love for you to subscribe to our Hun, Let’s Run Podcast! For more info about joining our fitness community as a customer or coach, please email us at amber@mommysmetime.com!

This post was sponsored by Ashley Hoheisel and Keep Collective. All opinions are my own.

Photo credit: Rachel Marthaler Photography