For the first time in 9 years, I have Christmas cards in the mail before Christmas Day! Woo Hoo! Christmas has been a struggle for me since my family was broken up. I know people don’t like to hear about that part, but it is completely normal for women to feel this way after abandonment– even 9 years later. This…
Tag: family
Healing Through Decluttering: Letting Go
Last month, I was sorting through a few things in our guest bedroom. Nine years ago, I shoved so much stuff in the closets to get it off the floor that the doors barely close. Some of it has just been shuffled from one shelf to another or from one closet to another. I donated boxes and boxes of books.…
Family Tradition: Picking Christmas Trees in North Carolina’s Mountains
Yesterday after work, we drove to the North Carolina mountains to pick a Christmas tree. Not far from the Blue Ridge Parkway is a place called Frosty’s. We are blessed to live so close to the Blue Ridge Mountains and to call North Carolina home. The last three years we’ve found small farms in North Carolina to find our trees.…
Creative Advent & Christmas Gifts – Family Traditions
Happy Thanksgiving! Can you believe that Advent begins Sunday! Where did 2025 go!? It seems to have flown by in the blink of an eye. It hardly seems like Marty and I have been married for just over a year, that is for sure. We’ve done so many fun, adventurous things in the last year and are looking forward to…
Saying Goodbye to My Beloved Malamute: Shadow’s Journey
Tomorrow is going to be a very difficult day. Lap of Love is coming to put Shadow to sleep. Even though I knew this day was coming, nothing could prepare my heart. Eight years ago, Sean and I rescued Shadow. Shadow lived with me while Sean was away at college. The lovable malamute became my best friend. Shadow came into…
Jeep Lift Kit Installation: Ready for Off-Road Adventure
Last weekend, Marty and Sean put a lift kit on my Jeep! This has been something we have been talking about for a very long time. On some of our adventures, we’ve hit dead ends, because we just didn’t have the clearance. One time, we left the chainsaw at camp, so we had to walk an extra mile to get…
A Baptist Boy and a Catholic Girl
The last two and a half months have been a blur. 3 dogs, 5 cats, 4 kids, and 4 adults in the same house. They closed on their new house yesterday and will be moved in by the weekend. While it has been nice to have the grands here, I am ready to get my house back. It’s been difficult…
One More Door
When my youngest was living here with me, he busted his bedroom door. When he moved out, I put a gate across the way and made it a room for the cats to hide from the dogs. Now they have the finished part of the basement to hide in. I have one really old cat, Valentine, who no longer tries…
My Little Red Bike 