Looking Behind and Ahead
It’s New Year’s Eve, and I can’t believe it’s already time to put away the Christmas decorations, clean the house, get my boys ready to leave for another semester of college, and start my daughter on…
The Wait is Almost Over!
For those of you who started your Christmas decorating right after Halloween, I know that you must be desperate to get the wait over! Christmas is only one day away! Hooray! Actually, it’s today for my family. Tomorrow…
Putz Houses
For the first time this year, I signed up for a volunteer shift at the Junior League of Jackson’s Mistloetoe Marketplace as a Sustainer. I figured, “Why not?” I loved my active years in JLJ, but I guess…
The Joy of Giving
On Monday, I finished crossing off everyone on my Christmas list--family, friends, teachers, and church ministry. Then I contacted someone I’d met last year about this time and asked her about the current needs in her special…
The November/December Juggling Act
How was your Thanksgiving? I hope it was memorable in some good way! Yes, you’re right: I did not post anything to the blog last week. I was hosting Thanksgiving, and although it was a relatively quiet dinner…
Pre-holi-DAZE Bustle
It’s been a fun, but extremely busy October-November, pre-holiday season so far! Is it extra busy for you, too? Maybe the joy of waving goodbye to the shutdowns of last year have added additional anticipation of this year's…
Funding a Book Lover’s Missions Trip
My daughter has been eagerly anticipating an American Youth Corp (AYC) trip since her older brother took one to Costa Rica the summer before his freshman year of college. If the truth be told—she’s not much of…
Learning to Cook the French Way
This past weekend, I had the honor of hosting a cooking class with Chef Justin Ward, a professional French chef who is based in Paris. He also happens to be from Texas and is a missionary with…
Hey, there, Little Red Riding Hood!
There’s nothing like waiting until the last minute to decide that you need a costume for the youth group’s Fall Party on the Friday night before Halloween. My dear sweet 17-year-old daughter has been lazily considering cosplay…
The Dog’s New Mattress
Do you remember that post about repurposing a memory foam mattress? Well, I have been slowly dismantling my old iComfort mattress since the beginning of September when I replaced it with a Dreamcloud hybrid mattress. I’ve been…