Last April I mentioned four words that are providing focus for who I want to become. This journey of seven months has already taken surprising twists and turns. Here’s a benchmark of where I started, where I’m walking, and where I’m heading. These ideas of living a present, simple, inspired, and intentional life not…
Thoughts
A Season for Running
In March, Phoebe and I began running three times a week pushing our two kids in the stroller. My pelvis was still sore and my muscles weak from the months of recovery of c. diff and a physically difficult pregnancy. We walked every hill and took frequent breaks while I built up some strength and…
From Minimalism to Lifegiving and A Fall Dinner Celebration
Growing up I always had this conviction that I didn’t want a lot of stuff. We moved a lot and I viewed my things as a burden to pack and unpack, yet each item was filled with sentiment. After my freshman year in college I decided it was time to lighten my load, so I…
A Little Bit of Everything
I vaguely remember Emily wanting to take a picture and Andrew helping her, but I was surprised to find a picture of me on the camera. It has been a long time since I sat down to write a blog post. I’ve done a mediocre job at keeping with with major things, and that’s about…
First Lesson in Earning, Saving, and Spending
Emily has talked about getting a bike for a long time. Christmas was too early and with her birthday not until October, we felt we had to come up with another option besides gift or freebie. When Amazon had a gold box deal last week for a balance bike, we jumped on it and quickly developed…
Enriched in God’s Grace
This past week I’ve found myself in some incredibly uncomfortable situations, some volunteered for and others blindsiding me. My inadequacies and lack of skills were on display, on repeat. I felt like I was eight years old, twelve years old, fifteen years old, twenty years old with all sorts of memories bubbling up and compounding my…
We Move Forward
For about the last year I have been completely disconnected from the news. Occasionally I’ll run an errand by myself and listen to NPR or Andrew will tell me about a major world event. When we were in Utah I talked with more people were aware of current events and was surprised at what I heard….
Dabbling in Potty Training and Committing to Cloth Diapers
Between high school and my sophomore year in college, I was a nanny for two different families who both went through potty training. Based on my observations from that era, I decided that I would let my child decide when they are ready to use the bathroom. No marathon juice weekends, little toilets, or setting…
This Season
I’m amazed in this era of life how quickly the seasons of survival, chaos, figuring, norming, and thriving cycle through and change. Right now we are bouncing around the norming phase on our way to thriving (I hope!). I’ve jumped headlong into a huge list of projects and Andrew has stepped in to help make things…
We Made It
Andrew’s semester officially concluded today at 11:30 when he arrived home for lunch. The last few weeks have been brutal with a never ending list of deadlines topped off with a baby that won’t sleep in decent stretches. Last night Andrew worked on his last paper until 3am and woke up by 8 to finish…