This cute little bear showed up on our doorstep on Christmas Eve. A week after my farmers mom met Jesus. Each one of the siblings received the same gift. A bear. The perfect reminder of a wonderful woman. Teddy Bears lined her stairway. They nestled in nooks and crannies in her old farmhouse. They adorned coffee mugs. Mugs filled with steaming coffee as we sat around her farmhouse table. A teddy bear room decorated to appeal to every youngster to enter the room. And so this cute little bear resides in the parlor that was once hers. 6 of her grandchildren and countless ... View Post
It’s Been Another Year
It's been another year. I can't believe it. 8 years. Where has the time gone? I saw a purple Nutcracker in the store the other day. I laughed. I would have bought it for you. You would have loved it. I can hear your laughter; even now. You made Christmas so magical mom. I've sat many nights in my parlor remembering our Christmas's on Putnam Street and then in your log cabin. Our tree resembles nothing of those tinsel, garland covered giants growing up. I loved coming downstairs and smelling the piney scent. I loved the stillness and glow of the colored lights. I will ... View Post
Sometimes the Naming is Hard, 30 Days of Thankfulness, Day 28
Sometimes the Naming is hard. 7 years and 4 months without our son, sometimes makes the naming hard. It still catches me off guard. The grief. The ache. The longing. A reordering of how life should be. There's room where there should not be. And the Naming of that for which I am grateful is work. Practice. A soul work. Because when the words do not flow and the heart hurts the desire to focus inward often trumps all else. I sit with the ache for a few days. It's Thanksgiving and there is food to make and pies to bake. And my heart just longs for a glimpse of my red headed ... View Post
Thankful Journal, 30 Days of Thankfulness, Day 18
On a whim, I sign up for an on line study. 1,000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp. A thankful journal. This was a few weeks ago. I have read the book and began counting my way to 1,000 - years ago. I start the study. It takes me most of the day to listen to the teaching. Most of it I have heard, or read. I find it refreshing. Naming the gifts we are thankful for. For 7 years I have recorded those gifts through the month of November, right here on this blog. Tonight. I wonder. When did I begin this naming journey? For a few moments I wonder. I head to the shelf for my 1,000 Gifts ... View Post
The Sounds of This Old Farmhouse, 30 Days of Thankfulness, Day 16
The sounds of this old Farmhouse when the wind blows is comforting to me. It started out low and slow. Then picked up. This old farmhouse shook and creaked. The shutters rattled and banged. The wind whistled through the windows. The farm boy looked around and seemed shocked. It's as if he were hearing the sounds of this old farmhouse for the first time. It's amazing as you watch your children become adults- How they begin to look differently at things. My farmer closed up the basement windows. We turned on the fire. The kids pulled blankets from the basket and snuggled in. The ... View Post
Unexpected , 30 Days of Thankfulness, Day 14
This unexpected, beautiful weather is heading out of town. I've so enjoyed these bonus days of warmth and sunshine. We've cooked out on the grill. A whole section of the old barn was repaired! We schedule the repairman a year in advance for a week. Grateful his week was so warm! There were many other things we wanted to get done and haven't. That's the way it goes. Each new day is filled with so much unexpected. Unexpected weather. . . . Unexpected coffee around the farmhouse table. I've written much about the unexpected. We need to embrace it. Not fight it. God works in those ... View Post
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 13
- Next Page »
