Family

  • "Life" Books,  Family,  Friends & Neighbors,  GRANDparents,  Grief,  Memories,  Siblings

    A Resting Place.

    How do you release your grip on something that is so close to your heart, soul, and holds years of memories? Letting go of the Physical, Holding on to the Memorable. Loosening our grip on material things, especially when there are memories attached, I find is an extremely difficult thing to do. It is bigger than the place or the object, it’s the things and the people we remember that are connected. This summer is the first summer in my entire life that I have not visited the lake house pictured above. For many reasons my parents decided to sell this lake home this year, and as hard as it…

  • "Life" Books,  Children Come,  Family,  Friends & Neighbors,  GRANDparents,  Jesus,  Pass it On...

    Learning Alongside

    I’m Back! Today, I have some statistics and some general ideas that I have gathered in my love of history and longings for my generation and the generations to come. I’m not one to dwell on the past or look to far into the future, I tend to focus on the present or near future, simply because life has dealt me experiences to remember this is all we are guaranteed. That’s a fact and a discipline that doesn’t come naturally to my body or brain. However, I do love seeing where we have come from and the hope of where we can go and the impact we can have. Disclaimer:…

  • "Life" Books,  Consider This...,  Family,  Let's be Real,  Pass it On...,  Uncategorized

    High Five for the Mundane!

    Give people high fives for getting out of bed. Being a person is hard sometimes. Kid President Getting out of bed. Being human. For some people that’s it. They have no second thought, no hesitation, no shaking. They are up and going with seemingly no effort. For some, getting out of bed and facing being a human, in a human body, in a human world, takes great effort. There are lots of reasons and circumstances – health, relationships, home environment, financial, loss, etc.  I tend to have more days that require great effort. It’s how I am wired, woven together, and it’s my story. Health, loss, and life events have…

  • "Life" Books,  Chronic Illness,  Family,  Jesus

    Life Markers

    “You normally have to be bashed about a bit by life to see the point of daffodils, sunsets and uneventful nice days.” Alain de Botton Oh how I love this quote I discovered recently! Not until life is interrupted do we slow down to appreciate the lilies of the field and the birds of the air… I have mentioned in previous posts that by nature I am an avid documenter, on the edge of being an information hoarder! 😂 Truly! I love to keep articles on news, places I’d like to visit or places I have gone and want to go back to- it’s a issue I am learning to…

  • Aunt-ing,  Children,  Family,  Friends & Neighbors,  GRANDparents,  Memories

    Wacky and Wild Mail

    13 ounces or less. The wonderfully wacky things you can mail! Last week I wrote about my love of good ole fashion snail mail, and included that I would write about when I did a “out of the box” mail camp with my niece. Well, I can usually pat myself on the back for documenting things with photos. However, I remember sweating and being stared down by a postal worker while I attempted this fun adventure with my then four year old niece, who by the way was and is an excellent child! I believe the worker was perturbed that my mom and I would engage in such silly business.…

  • "Life" Books,  Aunt-ing,  Children,  Family,  Friends & Neighbors,  GRANDparents,  Memories

    Smiles Delivered

    “When I see a mailbox, I see a friend. I see something that can connect me to the people I love. I see an entity that can take my words and send them, in reliable snail speed, across the planet. Sure, email and social media are faster, but they’ve got nothing on the magic of a physical object arriving in my hands from thousands of miles away.” The Year I became Snail Mail Superstar by Sara McNally Oh what joy it is to find happy mail among the bills and advertisements, can I get an Amen? I can remember vividly as a child receiving mail. We had a post office…

  • "Life" Books,  Aunt-ing,  Children,  Family,  Friends & Neighbors,  GRANDparents,  Mommy,  Pass it On...

    Be Alert. Gather the Facts.

    I laugh at this photo because if only the parenting know-it-alls knew what was coming for parents, would they have been so hard on my parents for allowing a black and white antenna tv in my room when I was sick for long periods of time? I mean how much could a little Lambchop or Skidamarink looping up and down with periods of black and grey lines do to me? And pacis, they already gave up on those – I found those as soon as they tried to hide them! (fun fact- never had to have braces!) Recently I had a conversation with a friend about the amount of “alert”…

  • "Life" Books,  Children,  Family,  Friends & Neighbors,  GRANDparents

    Clean Underwear

    “Make sure you wear clean underwear in case you are in an accident and they have to cut you out of your clothes.” That’s what my grandparents would say. Or if not an accident, you never know when you might get stuck in traffic, or have to go to the hospital, and the list went on. Matter of fact, my grandma was so sure this was going to happen that she always had an extra pair with her in her purse! Why do I share this? Simply because I was watching the View this week and this came up in conversation, and it hit me – this really was a…

  • "Life" Books,  Chronic Illness,  Family,  Friends & Neighbors,  Jesus,  Migraines,  Pass it On...

    You are Loved.

    Eighteen days into 2024… And what a year it has already been! Maybe your beginning of the year hasn’t been eventful, or maybe be it has been very eventful, even milestone marking eventful! I know a brave little girl who has made tremendous literal steps in her journey this new year, and I am over the moon for her and her family – many prayers spent on knees, tears, hard perseverance and truly leaning hard on Jesus has brought them this far and HE will continue to supply and sustain, I truly believe!!! New life has come. And some have gone. Good news has been reported. And tough news has…

  • "Life" Books,  Aunt-ing,  Children,  Family,  Friends & Neighbors,  GRANDparents

    Who Knows What the Children May Become?

    If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn. If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight. If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy. If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty. If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient. If a child lives with encouragement, he learns to have confidence. If a child lives with praise, he learns appreciation. If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice. If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith. If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself. If a child lives with acceptance…