My dad fully embraced his role as Grandpa during our Christmas visit to West Virginia. From the minute we arrived, Dad had an entire playtime schedule planned for the kids. He pulled out classic wooden toys from his childhood and was giddy with excitement as he shared them with Silas, Cooper, and Brynn. It was… Read More Playtime at Grandma and Grandpa’s
After five years since my last visit to the farm, a lot has changed. Now, all of my cousins are married with two kids each, and life with littles is busy (to put it mildly). My aunt and uncle have the most fully equipped grandparent pad. From their very own playground out back to a… Read More Eastern Shore Reunion
This is the farm on the eastern shore of Maryland where my mom grew up. In my mind, it will always be “Pop-pop’s Farm,” although my Pop-pop has been gone for over six years. I have many happy memories of this place. I remember the feel of the patches of velvety grass in the back… Read More My Happy Place
I didn’t realize it until I sat down to write this post, that we hadn’t been back to Indiana at Christmastime since we moved away to Arizona! Since my friend’s wedding was near my in-laws, it worked out beautifully that the kids could get some quality time with grandparents, aunts, and uncles while Stephen and… Read More Small Town. Big Hearts.
Happy birthday, my Silas Clark! This year Silas and I decorated his cake together. It was a team effort. Silas picked out the cake flavor and the frosting colors. Since he wanted a Transformer cake, I bought Optimus Prime and Megatron figures from the grocery bakery to stand atop the cake. While I won’t win… Read More Silas’s Sixth
The past few weeks have been fairly monumental for our family. Stephen and my mom share the same birthday, and they both celebrated milestone birthdays this year. Stephen turned 35, and Mom turned 60! We helped celebrate Mom’s big day with a photo book full of pictures of her visits with us and her grandbabies. Love… Read More Milestones
It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant… Read More Holiday at the Sea
July 1st was Move In Day. We filled up on waffles and coffee for breakfast and then drove to the Charlais neighborhood to get the keys to our new home. Our woodland cottage is adorable! It sits on a cul-de-sac that backs up to a greenway with a bike trail, community garden, and playground within… Read More The Day We Moved to The Shire
From Phoenix to Portland. Four days of driving. On the road to Oregon. The first day was exciting, reflective, and brutal in the desert sun. Thankfully, we landed in St. George, Utah where we were reunited with old friends. Pastor Greg and MerriEllen Wright graciously opened their home and their hearts to us. As always,… Read More On the Oregon Trail
Life crawled to a standstill in anticipation of our move from the desert. That’s one reason I haven’t posted in a while. Then life sped up to a crazy fast pace as we packed up and moved to the Pacific Northwest. That’s another reason I haven’t posted in a while. We counted down the days,… Read More Moving Out