{affiliate links included} There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.~ Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol Christmas Day may be past, but the celebration of Jesus is never past. Never delegated to only one day. The celebration is in our every day and our everyday. We celebrated Christmas with […]
As 2015 Ends
The end of 2015…. It’s held… Ups and downs, good days, not-so-great days, smiles, tears, pain and fears, JOY, gratitude and giving, lots of living, memories made, hellos and good-byes, baking and farming, questions and answers, growing and changes, hard days, happy days, blessings abundant, FAITH and audacity, learning to live loved, embracing that I […]
In Which I Have a Microdisketomy Also Known as Surgery on My Back
In the above pictures, my microdisketomy had not started yet. Just in case you were wondering. This was the night before. After nine years and two months, I am no longer employed as a cleaning lady at the doctor’s office! As you can tell, this was an event worth celebrating! I can not believe I’ve […]
Memoir Monday {No. 99}
Hello to memories made! Last week started out with our beautiful fall weather continuing on and ended with winter debuting in a very real and icy way! We had a good week. We crafted. We made treats and cooked. We baked pies. We pulled out all the favorite recipes. We snuggled this baby. We gave […]
Romans 12:10
Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. NIV Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other. NLT Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. ESV Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one […]
We Make Cut-Out Cookies {And Recipe}
When my kiddos were small, making cut out cookies was something we did a couple of times a year. They enjoyed it. They’d pitch in and help and then get ready to go off to play before all the cookies were iced and I would finish a lot of them myself. I didn’t mind, because […]
Apple Picking Past
I found these pictures on my computer from apple picking at our neighbor’s last year. I don’t think I ever posted them and I like them. If I did post them, most likely if I can’t remember, no one else is going to remember either. And our autumn sunshine has been so pretty and […]
Our Dog, Cooper
Just a little dog. But a much loved, little dog. I didn’t know it then, of course, but these were the last pictures I took of our Cooper dog. My farmer man found him curled up over at the farm on Saturday evening. He looked like he was sleeping. In a sense I suppose he […]
Just a Good Book For Mamas {Hoodwinked}
Hoodwinked. What does the word, or in this case, Book Title, conjure up in your mind? A simple definition for hoodwink is to deceive or trick. A few synonyms that caught my attention are bamboozle, beguile, bluff, fake out, snooker and suck in. Read them again. Bamboozle, beguile, bluff, fake out, snooker and suck in. […]
Of Cake Pops and Party
In January, at birthday time, Renae told me she had an idea. She wanted to have a couple of her friends come over, not now, but in July at her half-birthday, and celebrate then with summery things like swimming and such. That was fine with me. She began to plan and would add ideas […]
Thank-you, Hatteras
This photo and the words below it are what I posted on Instagram as we left Hatteras. We just had so much fun. That sums it up. I’ve had several people ask if we had a good trip and I’ve replied, “We did! It was just so much fun!” I typed out details I wanted to […]
In Which We Climb a Lighthouse
The Hatteras Light! I’ve climbed it twice. Eighteen years ago with my brand-new husband. This year, with my husband-of-eighteen-years and my two half-grown children and my sister and her husband and my three, getting-too-big-and-grown-up, nieces. Eighteen years ago, it was free to climb it and there was a volunteer at the top to talk […]
In Which We Meet the Atlantic
Kansas is a long ways from the Atlantic. But we’d packed and prepared and prayed and looked forward to departure with much anticipation and expectation. We’d flipped through honeymoon pictures and remembered and we mapquested and traced routes on a real map. We’d lined up pet-sitters and buttoned things at home up as best […]
And Then There Were Mermaids
{these lovely photos are credit to my incredible sister at Sew a Fine Seam} The creative possibilities are endless on a beach full of sand and shells and an ocean providing an endless water supply for sand that needs dampened slightly to form and mold. On Friday evening the girls sculpted and crafted […]
Memoir Monday {No. 76}
I’m so happy to have flowerpots on my porch this year! I’ve been enjoying them. Last year, I didn’t feel good and couldn’t water them or even really get anything for the porch. We had some hanging pots and a couple out by the old garage, but that was more than enough to keep watered. […]
On Father’s Day
It’s Father’s Day. This family, this wife, this daughter, this son. We are just so thankful for this man. The one I call husband. And my Love. The one they call Dad. Or daddy. Or daddy-boy. The one they greet almost every time they see him, “Hey, Dad!” The one that for a while […]