This post first appeared on my old blog a few years ago. It’s message resonated with me today, so I wanted to share it with you again. We planted it back at the beginning of summer. Along with the strawberries that never quite made it, and the sweet pea that bloomed in beauty. It was the first of the three …
Ready or not, Christmas is a comin’! The Big Day will be here in just 11 short weeks! That’s right, eleven!! No matter how I plan, some things about Christmas just seem to sneak up on me. Take, for example, my decision last year to use a brand new Advent eBook with my kids, Truth in the Tinsel. It was …
Have you ever been buried under such stress or grief or burden that you weren’t sure you could function throughout your own day, let alone care for your kids? I have. In fact, one day not too long ago I could barely breathe. I had no idea how I was going to get through the day. And I really had …
I have this dream. You gave it to me. I hold it here in my hands; close to my heart. This dream I used to carry buried deep in my soul I now clench tightly outside myself; willing it to fruition. The others…they come around me, reaching, grabbing. Trying to snatch it away from me. They think they can tend …
The theme for Five Minute Friday this week is: WIDE Five minutes, no stopping, no editing. Just. Writing. Start The cage of overcast, heavy clouds has lifted. The blinders of fog and mist removed. The sun shines out the brighter, and all things seem new. The world is glorious. A cotton-ball sky extends overhead, a brilliant azure blanket covering a …
I rounded the corner and something seemed off…different. Unable, at first, to put my finger on exactly what, I paused. Surveyed my surroundings and suddenly there it was clear as day… Had that tree always been there? Yes, I recognize the silhouette. And yet it’s so stark. So…bright. Yes! That’s it! The berries! That tree, bent with resignation against the years …
START Arms tremble, muscles burn as I lower my torso to the mat and slowly, shakily press back up. The foam fitness mat upon which countless others have sweated blurs before my eyes as the familiar sting of tears invades the privacy of a moment meant only for myself and my breath. I continue on in this mindless pattern; lowering, …
A lot of people are really intrigued by the fact that we live in an Irish-speaking area. Yes, that’s right, Ireland has it’s own language! In fact, Ireland has 2 official, national languages: English and Irish (aka Gaelic). Many people are surprised to learn that our kiddos’ school is completely taught through Irish. Not as some hip, cultural thing to …
If your kids are anything like mine, they always use their most polite tone of voice, words and phrases. They are never disrespectful, rude or selfish. And their speech always reflects it. HA! As our kids are growing, so is our repertoire of things tried (and failed) in attempting to raise them to be all those things above: polite, respectful, …
If you’ve got kids, you know what I mean when I say most days I’m pretty sure I learn more from them than they do from me. And the things these kiddos teach me…I tell you what, it’s some tough stuff! There’s one lesson that I’ve been learning throughout our nomadic lifestyle as a family has really been hitting home …