So Every Day.

– embracing the ordinary –

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Ordinary work, which is what most of us do most of the time, is ordained by God every bit as much as is the extraordinary. All work done for God is spiritual work and therefore not merely a duty but a holy privilege.
- Elisabeth Elliot

  • Field Trip,  HomeSchooling,  Keiglets,  Prairie Primer Year

    Prairie Journey – Guess What’s Waiting For Us in DeSmet?

    June 6, 2014 /

    Prairie days are getting closer on the calendar. Last year this adventure seemed so far away as I was hatching it and hoping it would work out. Actually, this trip has been nearly a decade in the making. Yeah – life is moving quickly like that. As we were taking this same basic journey with a bonnet-clad fifth-grader Riley, I knew then we’d do this journey again some day if time and circumstance were on our side. And, so far, it seems they both are. The order of travel is The Big Woods, Walnut Grove, Plum Creek and then Silver Lake in DeSmet, South Dakota. For a large portion of…

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    Keep Reading . . .

    back to the grind . . .

    May 20, 2020

    hi.

    December 18, 2019

    Going to Guatemala

    January 3, 2023
  • Field Trip,  Framily,  HomeLife

    In the Heart of the Country

    June 4, 2014 /

    You know how much I love Virginia. We had this idea to share the love a little. And so we invited some friends to trek it up a few states and experience Virginia with us. Sadly, really truly sadly, not all of our buddies could make the journey up this time for a host of reasons. But one family was able to drive down that gloriously long driveway with us and bask in the beauty that is The Farm. I don’t want to gush too profusely – I love my friends who couldn’t make the journey with us too much for that. But I will say this – it was…

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    parenting at the end of a school year. bless us all.

    May 20, 2019

    the weekend ramble (it’s back)

    July 27, 2020

    Five Finds Friday (a lot of Otto and a little about a pipe bursting, also a bit about grilled cheese sandwiches)

    March 8, 2019
  • Field Trip,  HomeLife

    Keigley Campaign: Pisgah. The Camping Mecca.

    May 19, 2014 /

    When we first came up with our Keigley Campaign two years ago (What? Two years?) we wanted to simply find woods and to sleep there. The end. We all decided to focus on South Carolina state parks the first year. It seemed logical. It was definable. It made sense. It’s the direction we chose to run. Early on we struggled with the campsites not being exactly what we had in mind. We love Lake Jocassee but are always a little disappointed to share its beauty with so many strangers sleeping in plastic coverings so near to our own. But we did it. One full year. One new South Carolina campsite…

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    evening thoughts or why I can’t get it together this month

    April 12, 2021

    the weekend ramble (it’s back)

    July 27, 2020

    mid-week rambling.

    August 11, 2021
  • Field Trip,  HomeLife,  HomeSchooling,  Prairie Primer Year

    Walnut Grove. Plum Creek. Oh, the Places We’ll See.

    May 5, 2014 /

    Every time we’ve finished another one of the nine Little House books this year I’ve wanted to weep a bit. (Now that I’ve confessed that I’m a crier, why try to disguise it anymore?) For, you know, a myriad of reasons. I.  Love.  These.  Books.   I love them for what they are – a treasure of memories from a girl whose life might not have seemed to matter at the time she was living it but whose life, when viewed collectively, is a history and a recollection of an era and a family and a lifestyle fading into our country’s past. I love them for what they have brought to our…

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    five finds friday (ryder dresses up & good friends are worth everything)

    February 1, 2019

    Noonday Trunk Show

    February 11, 2019

    thoughts. on this fragile world.

    April 16, 2019
  • Field Trip

    On The Road: The Bruderhof Community

    April 7, 2014 /

    Until our trip to central New York I had never heard of the Bruderhof Communities. We went north because Kevin was going north.  And Kevin was going north to do video work for the New York Maple Producers.  Tim had made a connection with a Bruderhof Community that still tapped maple trees the old-fashioned way – using metal taps and not plastic hoses. When we arrived at a picturesque community after a short drive from the Highlights retreat center we were warmly welcomed.  We arrived at lunch time and were cordially invited to join the community gathering for a group lunch in the school’s tidy cafeteria. It was a little unnerving…

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    try this at home

    April 7, 2020

    sacred sabbath & rest for the weary

    September 9, 2019

    Losing Time: The Cost of Spontaneity This Week

    August 20, 2020
  • Field Trip,  HomeLife

    Does your home speak of hospitality?

    April 3, 2014 /

    Hospitality: the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. I like hospitality.  I think it’s a gift – and an often times overlooked gift in our current world. On our recent excursion north our family was able to be blessed multiple times by shows of incredible hospitality.  I tell you, friends, there are still hospitable people out there. Just one of those times found us on the end of receiving a generous reception at a very old farmhouse in central New York state.  (Older than our old farm house I’m sure.) Maybe it was the fact that the farmhouse was old that made me feel right at home. Maybe, but it was…

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    five finds friday. (celebrating two years in our home & pleated skirts)

    August 21, 2020

    This Week. Feeling ALL the Pressures.

    December 28, 2020

    Dear Child,

    July 20, 2020
  • Field Trip

    On the Road: Highlights Retreat Center

    March 24, 2014 /

      Last week our family was on a journey. But you kind of know that already, thanks to several posts about Piper’s funny on the road quotes and a couple of reviews of Gettysburg (thumbs up) and Hershey World (thumbs down). Our ultimate destination was central New York but we stopped here and there on our way north. After our fabulous and relaxing stay at our cousins’ home, our next overnight was a rendezvous with a friend and business partner near Honesdale PA. Tim is a talented illustrator with a prolific portfolio. One of his several claims to fame is as a Hidden Pictures artist with Highlights magazine. He’s created…

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    Grill. Master.

    July 7, 2020

    five finds friday (lemon trees, Noonday parties, toasters, homemade mittens)

    February 7, 2020

    love. via sour dough bread.

    July 25, 2019
  • Field Trip

    On the Road: Hershey’s Chocolate World: A Public Service Announcement

    March 20, 2014 /

    I like to think this blog is occasionally helpful. Today’s post should certainly qualify as such, potentially saving you time and energy and money. All valuable things, can we agree? After Gettysburg but before our next stop, the highway practically delivered our suburban right to the doorstep of Hershey, Pennsylvania. When Riley was an only child, our itsy bitsy family of three (!) made a business trek to New Hampshire to acquire new equipment for the television studio where Kevin worked. On that journey we had visited this famed town of chocolate. To our recollection it had been a pleasurable stop and we anticipated the same for a second go-round.…

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    love. (for a concert and a band.)

    February 20, 2019

    A Heart’s Home: Lost Valley Ranch

    June 21, 2020

    what day is it? a day late weekend ramble. I guess.

    March 19, 2019
  • Field Trip,  Piper Finn Willow

    Taking the Piper Show on the road.

    March 19, 2014 /

    Traveling with kids is generally amusing. It’s always about perspective. Piper Finn has been especially entertaining the last few days. Upon entering the handicap accessible bathroom at one night’s lodging her eyes grew very wide – “What?” she proclaimed with a shout and a pointing finger. “A chair in the shower? You can sit down in the shower? That’s awesome!”

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    Keep Reading . . .

    five finds friday (lemon trees, Noonday parties, toasters, homemade mittens)

    February 7, 2020

    A Reason for Handwriting: A Timberdoodle Review

    April 15, 2019

    Beyond Wildwood: The Ranch (Tuesday)

    June 19, 2017
  • Field Trip,  HomeSchooling,  Prairie Primer Year

    On the Road: Gettysburg

    March 18, 2014 /

    You could easily spend an entire day there. But we just had an hour or two. And it was snowing. And 30 degrees. But the national park and museum were literally only minutes from the highway and we’ve been studying the Civil War in history this year along with our Prairie Primer so it just seemed irresponsible to not stop for a glimpse. We entered the wide hall area at the museum where you have to decide whether you want to buy tickets, arrange a bus tour, donate blood, watch a movie, take a guided auto tour, purchase museum tickets, adopt a dog. Okay, two of those weren’t real choices…

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    Keep Reading . . .

    Five Finds Friday (a new look, a story that stands the test of time, a t-shirt London designed)

    May 15, 2020

    current plans. current mood.

    January 2, 2020

    … typing therapy …

    June 4, 2023
  • Field Trip

    They’re worth it

    March 17, 2014 /

    Worth driving for: Cousins enjoying one another’s company. Little girls baking bread together. Laughter. Catching up. Stories of the farm and growing up. Trampoline chaos. Board games. Soccer games. Food served endlessly. It is a lovely bit of magic to be related to such wonderfully fun human beings.  

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    Keep Reading . . .

    tuck in

    August 5, 2019

    this train of thought ….

    June 29, 2017

    The Deal With Me & Low Cost Flights

    November 24, 2022
  • Field Trip,  HomeLife

    The Christmas Chain Took Us To Bethlehem

    December 9, 2013 /

    It’s hard to focus on school this month. This Christmas season feels shorter since Thanksgiving landed later in November. The kids and I just want to play and craft and bake and we don’t want to add or memorize or diagram sentences. (And this gloomy cold rain is not helping our (I mean, mine) attitudes either.) But we keep trying to persevere anyway. Only a few days late, we hung up our traditional Christmas chain. And so far we’ve watched a Christmas movie with snacks, decorated our tree (finally!) and this weekend we whipped up those infamous monster cookies and took in a new local event to our family –…

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    current plans. current mood.

    January 2, 2020

    Quarantine Made Me Do It

    March 26, 2020

    five finds friday (ankle boots, shaved ice, another great book)

    May 17, 2019
  • Field Trip,  HomeSchooling,  Prairie Primer Year

    Field Trip: Native American Festival

    November 22, 2013 /

    Last weekend we attended a Native American Festival at a nearby historic mill. It was a great experience for us to connect a few of the things we’ve been reading about in our Little House series The kids had read that Laura and Mary had received horehound candy as a treat once so when we saw horehound sticks for sale for a quarter we figured it was the perfect opportunity to try this old-fashioned candy. They liked it so much that Bergen spent another quarter of his own money to buy a stick for later. We munched on traditional fry bread, watched dancing and listened to drums playing. We walked…

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    Keep Reading . . .

    love. (for a concert and a band.)

    February 20, 2019

    Snap.Shot.

    July 14, 2022

    that musical everyone loves.

    July 13, 2020
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