Vacations are what summers are all about! I mentioned earlier that my family planned to take an extended camping trip vacation exploring our national parks. Today, I finally sit down to try to collect my thoughts on some of our amazing journey. I thought about doing a post for every week Read more…
Have you ever felt your mind simmering on a subject? Not like retreading, going over and over it, but new inventive thoughts that hadn’t occurred to you? I want to challenge you to ride the imagination train with me today. So we’ve ridden the train down track “how long“, which Read more…
One of the best perks of being a teacher is the ability to take an extended summer vacation. This year, my family is embarking on a three week whirlwind tour of eleven different national parks and monuments. Our oldest daughter is a fourth grader and thanks to the “Every Kid Read more…
Do you find yourself tired of hearing the phrase, “I wonder what’s going to happen next?” Are some of your friends programmed into the continuing saga of the “terrible”? Sometimes it seems that there is constant chatter which revolves around tragedy, sickness, poverty etc. I’m in search of some good Read more…
A wise bear once said, ““How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard”. If that is true, then I am indeed lucky, blessed in fact. Two years ago, my family moved to the Austin, Texas area because my husband had accepted a teaching position at Read more…
I mentioned in an earlier post that I was part of a book launch team for the book “Messy Beautiful Friendship”. Well, the book has launched, and now I’m “launching” my book review. Christine Hoover, the author, is a pastor’s wife in Charlottesville, VA. In God’s providence, I was once Read more…
I’m taking a bit of a rest because I’ve just completed a 2 foot by 4 foot painting that will be at a benefit auction for Grace Academy in Georgetown, just outside of Austin, Texas. It’s a sizeable painting and I am excited to be able to share it with all Read more…
Webster defines friendship as “the state of being friends”. Unless we are clear on what a friend is, that definition is not particularly helpful. Webster here provides a more helpful definition of “one who is attached to another by affection or esteem; a favored companion“. So we can say that friendship Read more…
Alas our wonderful rooster Max died a couple of weeks back. I’m learning that chickens just do that, sometimes for no reason. At any rate, the ladies of our hen house, now number 6 (Trixie, Greta, Lucy, Ethel, Eenie, Meenie) and they needed a rooster! Enter Max II, a feisty Read more…
I am a serious fan of procrastination. I probably shouldn’t admit that – and I certainly wouldn’t advocate procrastination as a way of life for my children or my students. But alas, procrastination has been my pattern for decades; you can ask my thesis advisor how that worked out for Read more…