We Need to be in Nature…
This Summer, can I challenge you to turn off the screens and spend as much time as possible outside? Go TV or computer-free for a week or two. Plan trips to local lakes, rivers, waterfalls, and farms. Turn off the cell phone and just be outdoors with your children.…
Having Fun with Snow
The snow is blowing around outside our kitchen windows, it’s freezing, and I’m getting tired of Winter. If you live in a wintry wonderland, I’m sure you might be feeling the same way. We’re all longing for Spring. Here are some activities I did with the kids last week,…
When you run out of words…
Lately, I’ve run out of words. Oh, the words are there – somewhere – they’re in my head, heart, or jumbled up somewhere deep, deep in my soul. The words are there – but only God sees them. He’s revealing them to me slowly, richly. Writing them down and…
When the impossible, isn't.
Seeking beauty we trekked down country roads and up steep hills and over rocks and moss-covered landscapes. One goal in mind – get to the bottom of the falls. Our six-year-old spoke the dream a week ago and my response was an automatic, ‘that’s impossible’. This falls is over…
Enough
I pass two dead baby racoons on the steep hill to our little home. Their bodies are shattered on the painted white line. I wonder if they are the same ones whose eyes stared at me through the night. I carefully swerve around the furry creatures, lives smashed so…
Worry and Truth.
I’m so angry and worked up, I pitch a pair of sunglasses at the back of my husband’s head as he walks away. Luckily, my aim is horrible and I mostly miss. Shame burns my cheeks as I slam a door and fight back tears. My heart stirs and…
See
Our bikes skid down a narrow gravel path as we approach the newly re-landscaped green space. I never understood why they dug it up to begin with – we loved it just the way it was, all wild and natural. Rocks dropped everywhere, toads and fish under every surface.…
The Only Kids in the Creek
It was a pretty normal morning. Our three children and I were wading through a close-by stream, searching for little creatures. We were quite the sight – large rubber boots, nets, and nature jars in our hands. But we had success – a toad – croaking loudly. As we…
Opportunity
The Spring breeze tickles the leaves and the sun warms my cheeks. My toes are brown with soil and it’s only 8am. We munch cereal in the grass as the children chatter about who swings best and who jumps higher. Above us, birds sing a symphony of morning glory. …
Identity
I find myself in a gentle stream where birds chirp above, minnows scatter below and the fallen trees bounce in shimmering water. “Homeschool” at its richest. My boots fill completely with icy water while I desperately chase a Spring frog. I laugh hard – right out loud, so…