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July Fourth – celebrating it all week long.
For the last 27 years I have spent July 4th at the farm in Virginia. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s my favorite holiday. (Well, I did miss one holiday gathering the summer I worked as a camp counselor at the YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park.) The party is traditionally the Saturday nearest to July 4th and this year that puts the party on July 7th. Which meant that we stayed in our own actual town for the official Fourth of July! It’s truly a best of both worlds scenario for us this summer – we get to celebrate our favorite annual tradition…
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I just want to say ……
You guys are SO nice. You all read the post yesterday about me buying a house and you came out in FULL FORCE to say congratulations with such generous and heartfelt words. I felt celebrated and you guys were cheering me on and it was all so sincere that it just absolutely made my day! Thank you. Because I’ve chosen to write this blog for more than a decade (what?!) you’ve been virtual witnesses to the rises and the falls of my life. I know for certain some of you have cried with me and for me. I know you’ve prayed faithfully. I know many of your have sent…
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official sort of news. hint – it’s about a house.
Telling a story is like reaching into a granary full of wheat and drawing out a handful. There is always more to tell than can be told. ― Wendell Berry This is a story that deserves a back story (and a rabbit trail or two) and it would best be delivered on a front porch with a breeze and a glass of lemonade. This is a story of waiting and of hope deferred, of generosity and community. This is a story of Not This, but That, second choice and different than expected. This is a beautiful story. It’s mine, but in the same way that we all come to…
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Five Finds Friday (T-shirts for a cause and Paul and I should order the cake – right?)
Summer days were definitely more exciting when I wasn’t working so that I could embrace the sleeping in and the spontaneous fun that found us. Don’t get me wrong – summer is still a slower pace than the school schedule, but it’s not such an anything-goes sort of free for all that it sometimes has been in the past. We’ve got some changes coming up that I’ll be sharing soon and some regular days too. I like regular days. And – July Fourth is just around the corner and that has me all excited for a trip to the farm in Virginia, the Motherland. funny I…
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That Time We Visited a Castle: Glen Eyrie, Colorado Springs
Over three years ago when we were preparing to make our first Lost Valley adventure happen, I was researching places to stay and things to do in Colorado Springs. Glen Eyrie popped up in my searches. It’s stunning – right? I’d heard of it before actually – probably from my dad. Many years earlier Dad and Mom had taken some of us on a journey to Colorado and Wyoming when my oldest brother was getting married in Wyoming. We visited the Flying W Wranglers and their home base was located right outside of Glen Eyrie. (The Flying W was since tragically destroyed in a fire, but…
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residual fall out from divorce and singleness: the bits I forget to talk about
There are many sides, facets, bits and pieces to the narrative of divorce. More layers and levels than the obvious and glaring parts. And there are plenty of aspects that I don’t talk about very often. At least not publicly. I’m not even entirely certain why. I’m an open book sort of person but some thoughts just don’t seem to make their way to the wide world. I carry a verse in my car – by the mirror overhead – that I’ve written down on a little scrap of paper. This weekend I referenced it twice in two different conversations with two different friends about two different…
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Five Finds Friday (gigantic earrings and painted furniture)
I don’t want to know how many miles I put on my car just driving back and forth to stuff this week. (I’ve already complained about that here so I’ll try to reign it in today.) I was thinking about the passage of time though and how life with kids absolutely goes in seasons. You’ve got the early years where you stay home a lot because nap time and routine are precious things no sane momma wants to mess with. Then you’ve got the extra hands on years where you are needed for EVERYTHING. Bum wiping and hand holding and shoe tying and you always have to…
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Little Time, Big Time, No Time
This week the girls are taking a biology camp. No, it wasn’t exactly their choice. But it’s a really wonderful opportunity for them to dissect things that need dissecting, to learn how to create lab reports and how to document their findings and to have a reminder of how to use a microscope accurately. These are areas that perhaps I have not emphasized enough at home. Or, you know, at all, when it comes to dissecting. I mean, they took another dissection lab earlier this year too so I make sure it’s covered, but I like to have alternate teachers besides myself cover these specific requirements. Because, well, it’s…
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East of Eden: A Book Review
Maybe it was November when I started it. I know I have finished a dozen other novels between then and now. I had to read about a hundred pages to really begin to get into this one. East of Eden. I am not exaggerating when I say this was a THICK novel. The longest I’ve read in ages. 778 pages. To be exact. Small print. (Every time I picked it up I thought, “Oh no. I guess I actually need reading glasses.”) John Steinbeck. I was on my routine of trying to read a classic in between my modern or non fiction reads. I’m not drawn…
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friday. but no number five.
I’m not sure I can even wrangle a Five Finds. Too much alliteration for me this week or something. It’s been a week of trying to get back into the swing of things. You’d think with the freedom of no school to teach that I’d be rolling in the free time and whipping out fifteen extra blog posts a day. For the love. But this is not happening. (As evidenced by my low output here.) It’s almost like having a lack of schedule has been too much freedom. I’ve long preached the incredible benefit of boundaries. I guess I’m going to need to reinstate some self-imposed boundaries…
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just the ramble, without knowing which weekend it is (or isn’t)
Y’all. I cannot get my act together. I don’t know what day of the week it is yet. Once you jump off the train tracks of routine it’s rather tricky to get back on that straight and narrow. I know I have stories to write and reviews to post and laundry to wash and bills to pay. I have school years to plan and curriculum to define and emails to return. I’m about 370 pages into the beast of a book that is East of Eden and now that I am actually enjoying it, I’d like to finish it. Also our lawn was a jungle when we returned home…
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The Weekend Ramble (the Lost Valley Ranch abbreviated bit)
Whiplash. That’s what it feels like to transition from a week of perfection to a laundry list of stuff that stacked up while you were not checking in. Not to mention the actual laundry. But let’s not focus on the 37 texts and the 490 emails that I’ll need to eventually wade through. (Although I am prone to it, that is not hyperbole.) Let’s just share a few photos from a week well spent at Lost Valley Ranch. We couldn’t even believe we were able to enjoy a third summer at the ranch. I don’t think a single guest was a new person so it truly felt…
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The Weekend Ramble (birthdays & packing)
School is out! And just in the nick of time. We’ve got packing and birthday partying to do this week. Seriously, whenever I am on a break from teaching I still find my days to be full and at the end of the day I wonder, how would I have ever found time to teach on this day had it been required? I’m grateful for a job that allows me to work on the road. Imagine how productive I could be if I was in the passenger seat – which will actually happen too soon so I’ll be patient. Also I get car sick when I read…
