HomeLife
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. - Annie Dillard
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And Then The Cousins Came
We have been a busy little family. (“Little” is a word left open to personal interpretation.) After swinging a lot and enjoying Beth and her beautiful girls for a too-short visit I received a crazy little e-mail. It said something about a surprise and the name of our town and it was sent to me from my cousin Sherry. (Sherry was the flower girl in my parent’s wedding. I was the flower girl in Sherry and Willy’s wedding. Their daughter was the flower girl in mine and Kevin’s wedding. And we have plenty-o-daughters to be the flower girl in her Amber’s wedding.) But back to the e-mail. I don’t think…
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A Rite of Passage
Can it really be called a childhood if it does not involve a swing made of rope over a little creek?
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What It Looks Like
It’s good to be in the same state, the same house, right now, with my friend Beth. We’ve been friends a really long time. (Like 19 years. Or something like that. Yeah – we met when we were two. Exactly.) She rarely comes to visit without carrying a container full of the best tasting cookies known to mankind. Crunkles. We have so many things in common. We attended the same school. (Go Cumberland!) We shared the same ratty blue and white trailer featuring blue astro turf on our porch during our college years in Kentucky. We changed the radiator on my little white Tercel. (This is my greatest – and only…
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You Know What This Means
Piper Finnian is finally being allowed to climb into the loft bed in her bedroom. Do you know what this means? It means this little baby girl of mine is less of a baby girl today than she was yesterday.
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The View From Here
Most days, this is what it looks like when I look down.
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This Weekend
When you turn sixteen at our house the day might begin normally with a gift or two. But the day picks up momentum quickly. Add a dozen or more friends. An unfortunate parking job. (NOT to the right guys. Not to the right!) Throw in a summer staffer or two (or six or so), who are there specifically for the purpose of livening things up a bit, and things might get a little messy. This was one game (thanks Ben, Chris and Lauren) where the girls made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. With their bare feet. And then the boys? They ate them. Other games may or may not have…
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You Say It’s Your Birthday?
Sixteen. Pretty sure that number must be wrong. Seriously. There is no way that our oldest daughter could be turning sixteen (16) today. Is it possible to just ban a birthday altogether? Oh Riley. Beautiful. Affectionate. Optimistic. Dramatic. Master of Hyperbole. Friendly. Extroverted. Lover of Laughter, Cell Phones and Music. A Diligent Student. A Capable Chef. A Positive Spirit. What I want to say to you is this . . . Slow down. Slow down. Don’t act like how you think the world says a sixteen-year-old should act. Act like you. Dream a dream bigger than your weekend plans, your next paycheck or your first kiss. Oh Riley. Live child.…
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Baking Day
I’ve been pursuing schedule around here – you know? Chasing shalom and striving for order. Conquering chaos and choosing structure. (I have to keep working so hard at it because I keep struggling so mightily.) I made a list of topics/ideas/subjects that I want to teach the kids and I divided those ideas up and picked one or two to focus on each day of the week. (I really had to break this down into its simplest form for me to finally take action. I’m a Big Ideas person. I love The Dream. The Ideal. And I like to write it all down in impossibly tidy rows and schedule the…
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Receiving Good Gifts: Part II
Rain. It’s not that I really mind it. But some days, when I have to run errands in it, tote kids in and out of cars in it and drive sloshing around town in it, well . . . I like it a little less then. And some days, when I am already on a slope down, sitting on that edge, I think I let the rain just come right on inside and settle on my soul. I had one such day like that recently. Fox had a doctor’s appointment – just a routine well-child visit. But we have been struggling with locating a family doctor that we love, like,…
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Truce
The relationship between Piper Finn and Beckett has been turbulent since their first meeting. Their two years together have been filled with highs and lows. The highs – sweet photos, short hugs, occasional sharing. The lows – pushing, smacking, hitting, general lack of kindness. This weekend, a new level of understanding was reached between these young friends. While enjoying a taco together on a recent outing, Beckett and Piper sat beside one another. Beck leaned in and bumped his fist a few times at Piper. Piper leaned in toward him and whispered, “Beckett?” Beckett put down his fist and said, “Huh?” “No fighting today, okay?” Beckett responded, “Okay.” And their…
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How We Roll
Recently Mosely asked if she could dress Piper Finn for our day’s outing. I said yes. Not only because I like to encourage sisterly love and older sibling helping, but because it was a busy morning. Kevin was out of town. Breakfast had not been served. (Or, more accurately, breakfast had not been passed out in cellophane wrapped squares. Hey, I think they were organic pop tarts, does that make it better? Who cares – right?) I still had to dress Wilder. London couldn’t find her other Chuck Taylor and Bergen was not satisfied with the choice of button up shirts I had placed on the table for him to…
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Friday Morning
Friday morning. Remember our breakfast schedule? Now our muffins are dinsoaur-shaped. And this morning, London made them. (Almost) entirely by herself.
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Receiving Good Gifts: Part I
It’s fun to do things for other people. Mosely and I made my mom’s Snickerdoodle recipe this week. (The recipe card is actually in her handwriting. I like using that card.) And when we were done baking, Mosely wanted to give all of our cookies away. To Mandy and Jody and Nate and Lanier and Greg Boone and the guys who were cutting a tree down in our yard right then – Ben and Jim. So she put cookies in two cups and carried them to Ben and Jim. And she bagged some cookies for Nate and Lanier. (Apologies Mandy, Jody and Greg – not sure I remembered to follow…
