My husband and I have spent a LOT of time together lately….and we haven’t tried to kill each other! Which is quite impressive, considering we’ve spent our time together two very different ways. Rewind almost two weeks, to Thursday afternoon, as I left work to go to my hair appointment. I had scheduled the appointment on that day because our five year anniversary was the next day, and I wanted to look snazzy! Since our anniversary falls so soon after Christmas, Brandon normally ends up doing a lot of the planning for it. I love him, and love celebrating our marriage; but my mind is kind of shot after the…
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Tree Snobs And Mountain Dew
As a kid, Christmas officially began on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Boxes and crates were dragged from the basement, and the red and green takeover began. It was great fun to embarrass my brother over his ‘pouty angel’ homemade ornament each year. And just maybe my mom would trust me enough to help with the invaluable nativity set that her mother painted. But I believe that my most favorite memories involved our Christmas tree each year. You see, my parents were proud ‘real tree’ snobs. We picked out a fresh tree every year, looking down on those who pulled one out of a box each year. For a while, we…
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Camping Buddies
“There’s a group of us that planned on going camping this weekend, would you guys want to join us?” The question was posed to a sweet young couple with three little kids. The couple had never been camping, and they had none of the necessary equipment. But they were assured that all they needed to bring was a tent and some food…..everyone else would pitch in and help out with the rest. Not normally the spontaneous type, they debated, but decided that it sounded like fun. So they bought a tent, went to Kroger, and packed up the kids and headed out for the weekend. This couple was my parents….almost…
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To All Who Are Weary….Rest
My personal journey over the last several years has been a difficult, yet rewarding season of life. Through a lot of hard work, pain, and grace, I feel like a fog has been lifted. Literally. I’ve been able to take back control of my mind and my time, and use the assets God gave me for His glory and the good of those around me. Before, I’d see an unattainable list of things that a good American woman ‘should’ be able to accomplish, and I’d just shut down, doing none of it. Now, I can prioritize better, and really devote energy to where it needs to go, and see real…
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What Nana Would Say
Earlier this week, I sat curled up in a chair thumbing through my phone, Googling something I never thought I would Google. “How to write an obituary”. Search. I was sitting in the hospital room where my husband’s grandmother was lying, slowly waiting for the end of her life. She was 88 years old, and had been battling dementia for a year or more now. Her health had taken a quick turn, and she was able to communicate very little any more. She’d surprised us in the past. There were at least two separate occasions where the doctors warned that “this might be it”, but she was back at home…
