The Ride

Tanner showed me a link this morning that showed a virtual rollercoaster. He was excited about it because he loves riding rollercoasters, but because of his heart condition  (CPVT), is unable to ride them anymore. At least he now has an option with a virtual ride.  In a virtual ride, he can stop anytime he wants to. Not so with the real deal. And it got me to thinking about my love of rollercoasters, and one of my absolute favoriteRead more
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‘she did what she could’

I hope this doesn’t sound morbid. If it does, my apologies upfront. But for years, I’ve told my kids to put, “She did what she could…” on my tombstone. I’ve always said it with a bit of a chuckle, but I’m dead serious. (Sorry. Couldn’t resist…pun intended!) So tonight, as I was searching for a specific book that I wanted to get for a young mom, I was stopped in my tracks because, guess what?  There’s a book called SheRead more
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…a few thoughts on front row seats…

My son called a few weeks ago with some exciting news and all I kept thinking as I sat there smiling on the other end of the phone was that I was thankful for the front row seat to so many cool things. And I told him so.  But as soon as I said it, I thought, well, that sounds pretty presumptuous.  But he agreed and was like “yeah, me too Mom…” And as I thought about wanting that frontRead more

… a few thoughts on clinging…

In the Spring, my mother-in-law gave me a beautiful mandevilla plant. It’s been growing beautifully and is filling up the trellis behind it. But one day, I noticed that a vine had reached the top of the trellis. And there was nothing close for it to cling to. Day after day, it grew in the same direction…seemingly reaching for something to cling to. It grew and grew and was just floating in the air, apparently searching for a landing spot.Read more

Mindset

Nothing like coming back into your classroom after a long day of teaching and wondering if anything you did, said, or taught made a difference…and then, then… seeing this. It encouraged me to the core, especially when it came as a sweet message from a little guy whom I have heard say, “too hard”, “I can’t”, and “I won’t” so many times. (And the one whom I have had to ‘redirect’ quite sternly and emphatically so very many times.) Yep.Read more
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…a few thoughts on fixing…

So, my son and I went to Verizon today. I usually dread it because of the wait time, but it was only a 15-minute wait tonight, so I just walked around and looked at the oh-so-upgraded phones that dwarf my little iPhone 4s (which I am a proud carrier of by the way.) Anyway, as I looked at one of the phones, it was kind of in the case catty-corner and so I tried to straighten it, to fix it….Read more

…a little solitude…

  So this one?  She’s at that place where there are lots of “life-changing” decisions.  There are lots of pressures to make the right choices.  There are lots of responsibilities and voices and people saying this and that, this and that and expressing their views.  And that’s all well and good for a time. I mean, it’s true.  But there are some things that we need to remember amidst all the voices and the noise of a world that oftenRead more
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…he said yes…

So, in recent weeks, I have heard reference to a story multiple times. It’s a story in the Bible of a man who had been sick for a long time.  I’m not certain of the infirmity, but according to scripture, he had been waiting to be healed for close to 4 decades.  Yep, almost 40 years of waiting.  So Jesus comes along and asks him a very obvious question. This is how John 5:1-5 tells the story…“After this there was aRead more
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Weekly Photo Challenge ~ Endurance

This little guy knows a thing or two about endurance.  He endured many a “time out” or two.  I endured giving many a “time out” or two.  Per day.  When he was between the ages of 3 and 4, he sat by trees, in chairs, at the edge of swimming pools, on stools, walls, and on the sidewalk. He was quite consistent with pushing boundaries, which as you mommas out there know, meant I needed to try to be consistent withRead more
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Ordinary things

Thankful for hands that help clean pots running water family gathered heat linen table cloths candle light sunlight through the window daughter who loves to cook sons who love to eat this moment in time Yes, I’m thankful for simple, daily, ordinary things that feel extraordinary when I step back to realize how very thankful I am for them.Read more