“This is the first year that I can remember NOT wanting fall to arrive” -Charlie, the proud owner of a boat on a lake that’s getting progressively colder. It feels like the summer boating season ended abruptly last week. Suddenly, no one’s eager to go in the water because they know they’ll have to get [...]

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See Scruff. Scruff and Steph are friends. Scruff loves Steph.   See Steph. Look, Scruff! There is Steph! See Scruff see Steph. See Scruff jump on Steph. See Steph kick Scruff (more like a foot shove, really).   Scruff is not happy. Scruff wants to sit on Steph’s lap. Scruff wants to sleep in bed [...]

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The other night, Charlie and I were sitting out on the deck. Dinner was finished and the kids were doing the dishes. So we were just chillaxing. But after we’d been there 4-5 minutes, things started falling on us. At first I thought it was rain, because it was SUPPOSED to rain all day but [...]

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LC, Hannah and I were driving home from their Wednesday night middle school worship time, when we started talking about childbirth. (Doesn’t every family talk about that in the car?) “Mom, did you have any of us the regular way?” asked Hannah. Me: No, you were all C-sections. LC: You tried to get ME out [...]

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Last night my friend Sherene tagged me in something she’d posted on Facebook. It was language-related, and she figured I’d enjoy it since I’m a word nerd. (She was right. I loved it.) It was a list of funny analogies, supposedly submitted by high school students to their English class. One of those things that [...]

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I sit at the kitchen table with my laptop, listening to the incessant drumming of the dryer, paired with the sloshing of the washer. LC told me that Tess the Puppy scared herself on his drum kit this morning. Her wagging tail apparently hit the bass drum, making her jump and whirl around. I’ve got [...]

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I’m sitting in my office, looking out the front window on a dreary day. The sky is white with the cloud cover, and I’m just a little chilled. Thinking of putting on some socks. Suddenly, the other reason I’m considering socks scurries across the floor. It’s rather big bug. We have a lot more bugs [...]

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The sun is shining and a gentle breeze is blowing. The temperature is in the low 80s. I’m sitting outside on my shady back deck, gazing at the lake and reveling in the perfection of this day. I can’t believe I get to enjoy this. I wonder why I’m surprised. And then I remember… POLLEN. [...]

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My blog’s stats counter broke about a month ago. So for a few weeks, I had no way of knowing who was visiting my blog or why. Not knowing if anyone had read my infrequent posts made me feel all empty inside. (Okay, I know I could’ve done the work to find another stats plugin, [...]

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So. Tired. Just got home from Florida. Two four-day conferences. Ten evening receptions (2 per night, for 5 nights). Nice to meet fellow conference staff and attenders. Fun to give advice on social media (based on my work for John Maxwell). One dinner out. One movie afternoon (Cowboys & Aliens, meh). A visit to a [...]

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