Hello and Welcome -
My name is Cyril and I am humbly joined by my wonderful wife Dakota. Together we are striving to build a healthy and sustainable family. Our journey together began just over 3 years ago and I couldn’t be more grateful to have found a partner as interested as I am in spreading a message of hope-filled loving acceptance.
Over the past 3 years we began dating, cared for a our first foster placement together during a pandemic, got married (wooooo!!!!), helped our first foster placement reunify with their family after 18 months with us, become aunt and uncle to a well-loved 9-month old, cared for another foster child and helped them reunify with their family, all while we've been learning how to care for each other. Who doesn’t love trying to manage a family, multiple jobs, fostering, and starting a business in their first year of marriage!
We are more than a business, we are a family.
We are always working towards building a business that can help us help others while also listening to our bodies and spirits about what they need to sustain life. Personally I am someone who has always struggled with this work-life balance. I have 100% allowed work to squash my ability to care for myself well in the past and so in all honesty we may post occasionally or we may post often but we are always working. Working on our business is working on our family and working on our family IS working on our business.
Our dream: Both manage to be stay-at-home parents by making and selling art and gifts made by us and by other artists who share our message of hope-filled loving acceptance.
This is a judgment free-zone. Curiosity is welcome and encouraged through kind and respectful words and actions.
We have and will continue to step into dark places in our own lives and the lives of others to learn and grow and provide assistance the best we can to everyone who enters our home and/or our lives. We are not certified therapists nor will we try to be. We are humans who may make mistakes. We hope you’ll extend us the same grace we would extend you.
Out of darkness light can always shine and we will work towards offering ways for you to join us in that. Let’s celebrate life together. Let’s encourage one another. Let’s offer kindness and grace to one another first and always. And let’s be real, not every day has to be or will be a happy day but even in sadness, depression, disagreement, misunderstanding, and much more we support one another by choosing positive, constructive, and encouraging words and actions.
Due to the nature of foster care we cannot and will not share details that could endanger or harm the people we work so hard to care for. AND we long to share our journey as best we can to help encourage, uplift, and lift the veil on these aspects of society that are often neglected and pushed aside.
I am someone who often asks myself:
What did I do well?
What could I have done better?
Always in collaboration with one another these questions are a simple way that I can offer myself support and self-worth. (Yes, you can use those questions to put yourself down, but don’t, or try not to do that. Seek help if you need help. I don’t, you don’t, and we don’t have to tackle life alone.)
Overtime we hope to write and share about:
Foster Care
Living a low-judgment lifestyle
Being more than a business, being a family.
Creative projects and adventures: I’m a chef and Dakota is a potter among many of our other talents.
Trying to live a long sustainable and healthy life.
Creating space for hope-filled loving acceptance.
We hope that you will come aboard with us. Visit us in-person at one of our bus events or chat with us online. We may offer virtual and/or in-person support groups at some point to better build community. Everyone needs a place to belong, if this can be your place don’t hesitate to reach out, if this isn’t your place, that’s okay too thanks for stopping by.
Throughout the pandemic we had to make lots of difficult decisions like many of you around the world. For us, we always tried to make the ‘next right choice.’ Before we made any decision we probably over-thought it but we always tried to think before we acted.
This week, take a moment to think, or overthink if you’re like me, a single or many decision(s) that may even seem simple or common. Notice how you feel while you consider it, then notice if anything in your body/spirit feels differently once the decision is made. Our bodies can really be our guides to living a healthier lifestyle, take a moment this week to listen to your body. Listening to our bodies requires feeling, noticing, and sensing not what our brain says but what our body emotes naturally.
As this inaugural entry comes to a close, please consider whether signing up for our mailing list is right for you. Personally, I don’t like receiving emails so you may want to just follow us on Facebook or Instagram.
Either way we’d love to be in touch with you as we look to build a community where curiosity is welcomed and kindness is key.