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parenting at the end of a school year. bless us all.
It’s that time of year when, if you have children or are involved in education in any form from any angle, every bit of your life feels like a train running off its tracks, a snowball on its snowy descent down the steepest hill in town, a monkey spinning plates on a tilt-a-whirl. You get the idea. When’s the last morning my children ate a hot breakfast? It’s been cereal for far too long to admit over here. (I’m reminded of this old post from Jen Hatmaker that makes me laugh and feel understood every year about this time.) Last night at church, four of us parents sat huddled together…
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five finds friday (ankle boots, shaved ice, another great book)
We’re all doing the “school is almost over” happy dance this week at my house. Isn’t it always surprising how many other tasks can get accomplished when you remove one large every day item from your schedule? It’s been a happy week of slow mornings and wrapping up history lessons. Of finishing our geography studies and tapering off any novels and other books we are reading. The weather has been most cooperative and the mornings have felt like a true spring and a cup of tea on the deck in the cool of the morning is divine. funny I’ve probably already written about this show. You guys, I can hardly…
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May’s Grove Giveaway
*** This post is sponsored by Grove Collaborative but the opinions are always my own. *** Three sinks.Countless dishes.Five kids.Two dogs. Stuff gets dirty here. A lot. I’ve been embracing Grove Collaborative products for more years than I can count. What I loved about them when I first signed up is what I love about them still. Their products smell good. Everything comes to my door. The products they sell work. There is a wide variety of options – even more so now than when the company began. And, let’s be honest, I also like that when you shop at Grove through my link, it helps me pay for my…
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the burrow: a dining room tour
In progress. That’s my kitchen and dining room. But – mostly done. Of course, if you know me and my affinity for rearranging furniture and wall spaces and everything in between, then you know any home I live in will always, in part, be a work in progress. Despite the unstained shelves and the barn door that eventually needs stain or paint, I’m going to give you all a little tour. The best place to start is always the beginning. This is my house. (Pre new roof and pre new kitchen.) The plan was to enclose the carport and turn it into a dining room. My dear friend from Virginia…
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Scary Close: A Book Review (& some feelings this book unearthed as well)
It was just sitting on the shelf at the library when I was looking for something else. Donald Miller. Scary Close. I haven’t read anything by this author in ages. Last two novels I read of his – Blue Like Jazz and A Million Miles in a Thousand Years – felt like I read them in another life. Which – technically, I did. Impulsively, I grabbed it and added it to the stack. Books about the Grand Canyon, the National Parks, Nelson Mandela, the Empire State Building, Twilight (yeah, that’s what one of my kids picked up), drawing guides, a couple Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and this Donald…
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epiphany: the order of things
For the last four and a half years there has been a lot on my plate. What other cliches could I use? My hands are fullPlates have been spinning.I’m constantly putting out fires. For months now (possibly longer) I’ve been going to bed and I’ve been waking up with the same question. How can I keep doing all this? For months I’ve been having random, short conversations with friends and lengthy long internal conversations with myself. What can I drop? How can I manage my time better? There have been no real answers. When you homeschool in the state of South Carolina (or maybe every state – I don’t know)…
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rocks & roots
For YEARS we’ve been collecting rocks at random places. It’s the easiest souvenoir idea when you have lots of little kids. “You know what kids? Instead of a t-shirt or a toy that will break before we cross the state line, you can each have your very own souvenoir – that’s right. A rock!” Over the years some have been lost. Some have been left behind at other homes. Some have disappeared. But we still have a handful of them. Some with actual names and dates in Sharpie. On some the Sharpie has worn off. Some are so unique we actually remember the river from whence it originated. After our…
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the weekend ramble (1. a mouse 2. a race 3. a whine)
1. There was a mouse. It was deceased. The location of its demise? Under our stove. (Yes, please be horrified with me.) Its removal was necessary. The other day Otto asked me who my favorite child was. I think my answer is – whichever one of them gets that rotting mouse carcass out of my house. Turns out it was a team effort so now I have two favorite children. Their names are Mosely and Otto. I stand by that decision until another horrible task is set before me. 2. We ran the Swamp Rabbit 5K. This is a race we have been running since, well – since kids were…
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five finds friday (may is sort of mean, also there’s a lot about potatoes in this one)
May is a bully of a month. She’s bossy and demanding. She has lists upon lists to complete. She says – finish that math curriculum. Wrap up that history course. Better turn in that project deadline before your summer plans. But then. She’s all sunshine and temptation. She’s luring you out of doors and whispering in your ear to ditch all those pesky duties and to run with the breeze, to frolic in the field, to wade in the stream. And just when you give in to her siren call, you’re like a dog on a leash. You’re yanked back into reality with your deadlines and your grades to turn…
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45.
This morning, before I found the fortitude to crawl out from under the cozy covers my own age (that actual number) landed itself right in the middle of my mind. Plopped with a thudand sank deep. This isn’t mid life. That was five years ago. Maybe. If I’m a statistic. (And a lucky one at that.) This is the other side. And I have no idea what’s remaining(like all the rest of humanity) And I have barely an inkling of an idea ofHow to Get There. But I do know, deeply and profoundly, that I don’t want to miss it. This Life.This Adventure.Sunshine. Rain. I plan to enjoy my life.…
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tell me about utah . . .
We’re on a countdown, and like most of my life lately, it has snuck up on me. In less than a month (what? for real?) we will be heading out for our fourth (seriously?) Beyond Wildwood adventure to the happiest place on earth. (Nope – it’s not Disneyland.) To say I cannot wait is an understatement. The fact that we have the privilege to go back for a fourth year, to feel like regulars, to ride horses in the Pike National Forest, to let someone else cook for us and make our beds …. oh dear goodness, it’s amazing. This year – we have the joy of having my dad…
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morning song: a poem
The house is quiet. I can hear my own bare feet pad along the floor. Think my own clear thoughts. This quiet beginningCan never be the way the day stays. And that’s alright. Bookends are what I prefer – Quiet at the startQuiet at the finishCome What May in the middle And the youngest daughter awakens. Her hug still warm from her cozy sleep. A bed-warmed hug is the sweetest start. The sun is shining just warm enough to lure me outside to the deck for morning words. Rwanda tea with honey and creamhot in my clutch. Shine on, this beautiful morning. O Beautiful Warmth. The birds are trilling a…
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in between. it’s hard to be a teen. (and a teen’s momma.)
I’m trying to remember. Although I can’t honestly say that I recall it entirely. What it was like to be 12. Or 14. 16. At odds with my mind and my heart and my body. (I mean, I’m still pretty familiar with that in too many ways.) But I watch my kids. Long past the baby stage. Jetted right away from the toddler phase. My youngest turns double digits next month. We all have conversations about novels and crushes, heartbreak and Marvel movies. I watch their faces when they’re trying to get their way. Hear their arguments trying to convince me that staying up late is the best choice or…
