Loving Life

Our family is not very big on traditions for some reason - probably has something to do with our inability to plan farther than two days ahead. There are only a few things we do every year at Christmas time and the annual graham cracker house construction night is one of them. I always feel a little weird shopping for it as I buy so much candy that I'm afraid to see anyone I know as I stand in the checkout line with my pile of candy, lest they judge me for my unhealthful ways. This year our neighbor girls got in on the action as did Grandma and Grandpa, who happened to show up right as we were in the midst of the fun. Here is everyone hard at work creating their masterpieces. I spent most of my time helping Scarlet with her house. She wanted to eat it right away, but I told her I had to take a picture of it first. She gave me this weird smile. A much more normal smile  Seconds after taking the official picture, demo-by-eating began. The house ceased to exis...

It's been almost two years since I last posted anything and it's high time I start back up again. I really enjoy writing and this is a simple way to keep in touch with family and friends near and far while giving me a creative outlet. My goal is to get back into the habit of posting once a week and if you'd like to follow along, feel free to subscribe by email up at the top of the page. For the past two years, I've been on a journey of leaning into my personal growth and not letting my fears get in the way of living life the way I truly want to live it. It's super easy to get comfortable and settle in with the flow, never stepping out because it takes too much work and it feels too scary to do the things I'd really like to do and live my life the way I'd really like to live it. That all began to change two years ago when I realized that I had gotten quite comfy in saying no to myself. You can read about that journey (I actually wrote about it!) here . T...

"Will you work on cleaning the house today?"  Those were the words my husband spoke as he left to go to work this morning. It's important to say this upfront that he was not being mean spirited when he said it. Yet I heard those words on repeat all morning long through my head. At first I was angry.  Just what does he think I do anyway? Every day I work on cleaning the house! Sometimes I make more progress than other days. Some days I get sidetracked. Some days I have other things to do that are not related to cleaning. Some days the kids (mainly one small one) undoes 85% of what I've done.  I thought out a number of angry retorts I could use when he got home. But nearly as soon as the anger came, it left, leaving a sad, melancholy, woe-is-me-I'm-a-loser feeling. You see, I AM a bad housecleaner. My house has piles. My house has clutter. Dirty dishes on the counter are the norm.  A clean and tidy house is not my strong point.  Here's proof: ...

Here's a post to catch you up on some pictures in my life. We'll start with something recent and then move back to a time when life was warmer. Aaron and I below enjoyed an evening with friends and ugly Christmas sweaters last week. We had a great time together celebrating all the upcoming birthdays and anniversaries. The whole group decked out in their finery.  Now back to summer! My peach tree produced peaches again this year. Not like my over abundant first year of peach production, but enough to give us a lovely taste of deliciousness. This year's peaches were huge. The peach on the right is a normal large peach. Most of my peaches were softball sized like the one on the left. So delicious!  Cousins came in summer and we had a great time with them. The kids spent a few nights sleeping at our house and they all transformed our livingroom into a huge fort for everyone to sleep in each night. I loved hearing all the giggles and fun that was going on. We went t...

This summer Aaron and I had the fantastic opportunity to take a sabbatical. It was such an amazing summer. We were able to travel more than we have in the past - I documented that in my previous two posts. We were able to spend more time doing the things we've wanted to do. But a lot of the time a sabbatical is about making space in your life to hear what God is wanting to say to you. I took a number of personal retreats. Through that and just making space for less stuff, I was able to remember who I am. I didn't purposely decide one day to stop acting like myself. It crept in. Slowly. Over time. It crept in everytime I said no to ideas on things I wanted to do for fun. I was too busy saying yes to everything and everyone else. I said no to myself so many times that I stopped asking. I stopped dreaming. I stopped seeking adventure. It was just easier that way.  This summer I became aware that the person I had become was not the full picture of who I really am. So I began t...