Disappointments and Limitations: Starting a New School in a New State

School started back yesterday.  This was an exciting event that I’d finished in high gloss and framed in my mind as a victorious day ushering in a new era for me. Without a single pre-schooler following me around I will have a spotless house, serve gourmet dinners, volunteer at their school, and run wild and free through grassy meadows. Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! High expectations. I love to do that to myself. Three years ago, my heart began to give me […]

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The Voyage of Life: My Favorite Art Works in D.C.

We lived in D.C. (both inside and outside the Beltway) for 5 years, and during that time we always had at least 2 preschoolers, sometimes 3. If it wasn’t at the ‘Space Museum’ or the ‘Dinosaur Museum’, we couldn’t stay long. Art museums were terrifying to even attempt with them, so like most parents, we just didn’t. One year I sent the boys to stay with their grandparents for a week, and I had the rare opportunity to wander the […]

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The Weight of the Choices that We Make

Wow! What an election year, eh? Alan got to be in Washington, D.C. for election night, but it was not just me and the boys here. Nana came over too! We had an “election party”, which is basically where we feed the boys Oreos and let them fill out the electoral map with red and blue markers as the results come in. Of course, most of it had to wait until the morning. I always stay up as late as […]

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Life Lessons I Learned from Our Years in Monterey

golden life lessons from our years in Monterey

There are 3 things everyone should do the week they are moving: So that’s what we’ve been doing. We’re officially under contract on a house I’m excited about too. Wahooo!!!  It has ZERO carpet in the living and dining areas. The master bathtub is gigantic, and so is the fenced backyard, so let me tell ya. I am happy. Am I sad to leave? Nope! There ARE lots of people I loved here, and I will miss you all. I’ve […]

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Life gets really fun once you get over yourself.

Life is so much more fun when you quit worrying about what others think of you. It’s not about “me” anyway. The other week I sang a solo at church. It used to make me ridiculously nervous. Why does it make us nervous to do something we love in front of other people? Because there are people! And they are watching! And what if your hair is messed up, or there’s lipstick on your teeth, or you miss a note? […]

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Hey, It’s Okay to be an Undecided Major!

I was a freshman at the University of Alabama. Back then it felt like I was undecided about EVERYTHING. That was the semester we helped our friend Jason try out for Big Al, and he made it! That was the spring they fired Alabama football Coach Mike Dubose, after he had an affair with his secretary. I went from “14th floor girl” to an off campus apartment dwelling sophomore. I had no boyfriend, yet I still managed to get my […]

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You Can Change Your Life By Changing Your Thoughts

“You can change your life by changing your thoughts.” —Denise Cunningham I’m still benefitting from my retreat. In fact, look at me. It’s been a week, and I’m STILL talking about it. This thought-changing lesson is one that God is really drilling into my brain lately. First, it came up in the book I’ve been reading, Unglued, by Lysa Terkeurst. Then Denise brought it up at the retreat. The importance of our thought life cannot be overstated. It will change […]

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Two Important Life Lessons I Learned From Getting Lost

Last weekend, Alan and I drove to church separately. We do that often since I rarely wake up early enough to leave on time, which bothers Alan. He so badly wants to be on time. Oddly enough, I needed to be extra early to work the nursery that morning, so it was just J.D. and me in the van, and we were even earlier than Alan.  I was doing well, zipping down the highway. I didn’t have the radio on, and […]

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Why it is So Important to Focus on the Big Picture Rather than Our Daily Difficulties

Today the boys and I had to walk all the way to the mini-mart, which is all of 1/2 a mile. I put JD in the double jogger, that way I could put the milk I needed in the empty seat. How did we let ourselves run completely out of milk? Families of six cannot do such a thing! I didn’t let anyone ride bikes, so Caleb ran most of it. One of Daniel’s biggest wishes is to beat Caleb […]

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11 Reasons Personal Interactions are Better than Social Media

The biggest change of the year for me has been that I’m so busy with people who I can actually see that I can no longer keep my blog updated or read my Facebook feed. My online life–Is that a thing??– is seriously taking a hit! Yes, I still go on Facebook to check my messages, so I still see the “top story” or two, but that’s about it. Last year, I spent so much time alone in the house […]

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