Lessons learned in the past two weeks: There’s this thing called photography…  Starting January 30, our GREAT friends Simon and Ally have been visiting from England. I say GREAT friends because they’re really more like family. We love them. We love their kids, who are close to the ages of their kids. Our kids love [...]

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So over the weekend, I made another recipe for pumpkin bread, and it was also delicious and cake-like. Unfortunately, it also totally fell in the oven. I haven’t baked something that could fall in, like, EVER. So it was a surprise. Let’s just say that it was a little DENSER than it was probably supposed [...]

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It’s Sunday afternoon, and I’m enjoying my usual spot on the couch, next to my football-watching husband. With the noise of the game in the background, I read the paper, visit Pinterest, Tweet, and write. It’s relaxing, in a strange, noisy way. Today, for most of the 1:00 game, I wrote in fits and starts. [...]

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“I’ll get down the par-FATE glasses!” called Abby. We were making pudding – proving that by measuring out two cups of cold milk, I am indeed a domestic goddess and SuperMom. “They’re actually pronounced par-FAY,” I said. “I like to call them par-FATE. Par-FAY sounds stupid.” “It’s French. They don’t always pronounce the T at [...]

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I’m not feeling very thankful tonight. It’s not that I’m grumpy or ungrateful, exactly. More like I’m too busy. We’re all home for Thanksgiving break, and today has been a day of boredom. And whining. That, in spite of yesterday’s outing to see Megamind, I “never spend any time with” the kids. What is it [...]

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The other night Charlie and I were watching Design Star on the HGTV. Which we normally view between The Ultimate Fighter and What Not to Wear. Except during football season. (Our viewing choices, they are schizophrenic.) At the end of this episode of Design Star, the network aired a commercial for a new show. At [...]

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With the kids home from school, I’ve been questioning my parenting even more than usual. It got me pondering, and I started to write something new. But then I remembered and reread this post from May of last year. And I decided it said most of what I was feeling AND offered me some encouragement. [...]

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What is it about the spiritual disciplines that I so strongly resist? I’ve been a Christ-follower for over 30 years. I know how much I benefit from keeping a regular appointment with God. It’s the only reason I get up at 5:30 a.m. every school day — ostensibly to give me time alone to pray, [...]

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We Interrupt this Post with an Important Announcement: I wrote 1698 freakin words of my very first novel for the first day of NaNoWriMo!!!! That is all. Please resume reading. This here is a repost, since today I’m traveling to New York City. Every time I say that in my head, it sounds like the cowboys [...]

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I hope you can forgive the absence of an original post today. I just finished six uninterrupted hours of data entry. Which reminded me of exactly how much I despise data entry. This afternoon, it seems like a good time to bring back one of my favorite posts from this blog’s early days. NOTE: You [...]

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