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This Circus
Tell me the truth, am I the only one who feels like life with small children is more often a circus than anything else? Do these things happen only at our house? At your house do reusable silicone muffin wrappers fall out of your washing machine when you open the door? Do you walk into the kitchen to discover your toddler surrounded by piles of cornmeal, of which she is shoving into her mouth? And when you ask her what she is eating does she reply, “powder”? Do children sing Michael Jackson’s “Will You Be There?” with your husband while dancing around the kitchen using antique wooden rolling pins as…
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Brought To You By . . .
As I said in the last post, it’s no small task for both Kevin and I to leave the state of South Carolina sans children. But leave it we did, if only for an overnight journey to Atlanta for that U2 concert I was raving about recently. And our adventure was brought to us by some wonderful people we like to call Emma and Sally. Or Aunt E and Oma. Or “Aunt Eeeee-muh” if you are two. How do you get to claim the title of sainthood anyway? Do you have to be Catholic? Or dead? Well, if those are the two primary requirements then I guess Emma and Sally…
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(I love this picture of the four of us. It makes us look as if we are just extras in Jody’s life. And that’s funny to me.) I guess I owe a big fat thank you to my older brother Danny. Thanks, man. Back in the day (the “day” being the years he spent driving Douglas and I back and forth to school in the silver hatchback Tercel covered in skateboarding stickers), Danny introduced me to what is arguably one of the greatest rock bands ever formed. A little Irish group named U2. This was early on. As in, I still own several U2 cassette tapes. (Remember those?) Fast forward…
Keep Reading . . .
how do you do it?
Lake Jocassee with the Boys
The July Grove Collaborative Giveaway
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Heady Stuff
Coming out of her room many hours past bedtime, London explained to me that she could not sleep. “I keep thinking bad thoughts about scary things, Mommy.” “Well, try to think about things that are lovely and that are good,” I told her. Apparently, she had already covered that and moved on. “Mom, I have. Instead, I have been trying to think how God exists in three persons.”
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Try This
I think I have just discovered a breakthrough diet plan. Maybe even revolutionary. It’s low cost, convenient and it really works. (I can prove its effectiveness. I am not a paid actor. This is a true story.) First, you need a cup of something ridiculously hot. Steaming, in fact. Boiling couldn’t even hurt. (Something like, say, your own invention of a vanilla steamer made in your microwave.) The next step is the most important step. Place the cup in your hand. Do not blow on the cup’s contents. Do not! Raise the cup to your mouth And drink a full sip. (The bigger the gulp, the better.) There. Now you…
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What It Isn’t
I love my husband. I really do. But with each year and each turn and each milestone of marriage God is teaching me brand new things about love. What it is. And what it isn’t. And I have so many more lessons to learn. A number of books and wise counsel have taught me along this path, leading me to where I am now. Books like Love & Respect and Sacred Marriage. But no book teaches me more than God’s word. It strips away popular theory and is more relevant than any book claiming itself as the most relevant marriage help book on the market. Today our pastor was referencing…
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Confession
Maybe it’s time for a little confessional. Will this make me appear self-serving in your eyes? Maybe. But I’m going to risk it. I once wrote that I blogged to gain perspective on my days and my life in general. To remember to laugh at the mundane or pull extraordinary from what feels ordinary. That is still true. But more than one thing can be true at the same time- right? I also write this blog because, well, because I really like your comments. Really like them. As in, I check my e-mail in the morning just to see if anyone had anything to say and I get happy when…
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Do Not Conform
Wilder doesn’t really utilize his closet space right now. So I do. In it I store all sorts of non-Wilder things. A suitcase. My wedding dress. Outgrown baby clothing I am saving to give to Mandy (and Emma, if she decides to have just one more cute kid). A random can of paint. A silly amount of empty baby wipes containers – because they might just come in handy one day. And a load of items waiting to be sold at next weekend’s yard sale. (Next Saturday. Our front yard. Lots of treasures. Be there.) Apparently the smaller people living in our home recently discovered the yard sale stash. And…
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Otto Fox Wilder
If you want to see how absolutely gorgeous this little Mr. Fox is ….. please check out my ultra talented friend Emma’s website – Odd Dog Design & Photography. It’s linked on my sidebar. I cannot even believe my gene pool helped create this guy!
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Wasting Time
So I’m pretty sure God doesn’t like facebook, my blog or even the internet in general. Okay. I really don’t believe that. But it might be true that God is not okay with the amount of time I waste on facebook in comparison to the amount of time I spend studying Him. And I kind of doubt He appreciates the number of times I check my blog as compared to the number of times I seek His face. Or the amount of time I spend sitting at the computer compared to the number of times I get away from the computer and actually do the good deeds I am supposed…
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Grace
I didn’t write this. I don’t know who did. I just found it. And typed it here. There are no longer good days and bad days. There are only days of grace. There will be days where you will be given the grace to endure what’s going on around you. And there will be days where you will be given the grace to enjoy what’s going on around you. But from here on out, there are only days of grace.
Keep Reading . . .
mid-week rambling.
Parenting Teens: Say Yes
WWII Graphic Novels: A Timberdoodle Review
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What Does This Mean?
Perhaps I have allowed our children’s television viewing to get out of hand lately. Bergen asked Mosely a question. She responded . . . “For more information just log on to p – b – s – dot – org.”
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Life Is Wonderful
We took a little hike around the lake today. I heard Bergen singing this … “life is wonderful”. It is. Kevin is back in America. Fall seems to be loafing nearby. We’re all healthy. There is food in our refrigerator. Our kids are laughing. And walking on trails holding hands without being prompted. Ice cube trays and reusable ice cubes are written on my weekly grocery list. Wilder has learned how to chuckle and to grin in response to your grin. We enjoyed a delicious Mexican meal last night at a new-to-us restaurant. Life is wonderful. And I think it is probably all the more wonderful because it hasn’t always…
