My two grandmothers are 87 and 97 years old this year, which is pretty amazing if you think about it.  They've lived through the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War, President Kennedy's assassination, the race to space, the rise and fall of communism, the advancement of the information era, the attacks of 9/11, Covid, and dozen other "once in a lifetime" events.  They remember when indoor plumbing was a luxury and yet know what social media is. They're amazing. I can't wrap my mind around the magnitude of what they have witnessed. They lived in real time what we can only read about in history books.  It's incredible if you let it sink in. Maybe that's why they're different...not just them, but their entire generation. They're not like us.   They don't give up when things are tough. They don't complain about hardships or the unfairness of life. They don't fold under pressure or cower when they face uncertainty.  They speak...

Spring has arrived here in Kentucky.  Vibrant green fields are sprinkled with wildflowers in brilliant shades of purple.  I'm told they're weeds, but it doesn't detract from their beauty.  Meanwhile, the trees are budding with with the stunning pastels of dogwoods, cherry blossoms, and red buds.  Even the maples and oaks are starting to show signs of life with tiny sprouts of foliage. Accentuating this scene yesterday was the sapphire sky and an early sunset that cast a harmonious golden hue over the landscape on my drive home. It was the most perfect scene for a Palm Sunday.  Except when I looked at it, I was reminded that the original Palm Sunday of Holy Week also seemed perfect with people lining the streets shouting "Hosanna," and proclaiming Jesus as their King.  Then came the last supper, the betrayal, the weeping in the garden, the suffering, the darkness, and the death. The week between Palm Sunday and Easter was one of waiting, and hurting.  W...

Today is Ellie's 11th birthday. As with each passing year, I have spent some time reflecting on things I want her to know as she grows.  Unfortunately, the most important lessons in life are often learned in the most difficult circumstances, but that's another story for another day.  As she inches closer to the teenage years, her friendships are becoming much more important in her life.  So, if I was imparting wisdom this year, it would be on the importance of surrounding yourself with good people. One of my favorite stories in the entire Bible is a tender moment that occurs in Exodus between Moses, Aaron, and Hur.  In it, the Israelites are fighting an intense battle with their enemies.  When Moses has his rod stretched out with his arms extended in the air, the Israelites are winning.  When he drops his arms, the they begin to lose. Eventually, Moses becomes so fatigued that he can no longer hold up the weight of his own arms.  It's in that moment th...

  I’m back with some words of wisdom for National Son's Day. Admittedly, I have no idea what I would want to know if I were entering manhood, so I could miss the mark on this one.   Nonetheless, I have a few truth nuggets that might prove to be worth sharing from mother to son.   1.       1. Life is hard.   I shared this one with your sister yesterday, and I haven’t changed my mind. Probably never will.   But it’s the truth.   Life is hard, but it’s also wonderful and beautiful, fun and frightful. I hope you have enough hard to keep you humble, enough success to keep you inspired, and enough adventure to keep your heart alive.   Most importantly, I hope you find joy in every season and in spite of every circumstance you face.   2.       2. Dream Big.   You’ll hear that a lot, but I want to add something that I wish someone had told me. Dream big, but don’t be afraid to change that dream.   People cha...

I saw on Facebook yesterday that it was National Daughter's Day.  I think we can all agree that in spite of the negativity around social media, these little made up holidays are kind of nice. Anyway...as I was thinking about my caption, I realized that I had much more to say than could possibly fit into a social media post.  So here, I sit a day late, pecking away at this keyword that I have once again left neglected for far too long.  I think the greatest gift I could give my daughter are some words of hard earned wisdom. 1. Life is hard...like really hard. But it's also wonderful and exciting, and confusing, and delightful, and absolutely, undeniably worth living.  So just let go, take a deep breath, and enjoy the ride.  2.Everyone has a story.  Everyone.  And if you're really lucky, they'll tell you about it.  Always take time to listen because in between the highs and the lows of their journey is life, and wisdom, and something worth sharing....

We started our first official day in Valdosta with just a short drive to Orlando.  After a quick breakfast, we gassed up the car and hit the road, arriving around noon.  For this trip we stayed at Disney's Yacht Club Resort , which was beyond amazing.  Of course, I will do a full review after I wrap up these daily posts!  But first, back to the recap... as we walked into the lobby we received a text notification that our room was ready, so we headed straight upstairs to check it out. After a quick tour of our room, we unpacked and headed for lunch.  Eager to swim, we settled on the quick-service dinning location at the resort.   The Market at Ale and Compass  was conveniently located near the elevators closest to our room, so it was easy access for food, drinks, and the gift shop.  Ellie had a chicken salad, and Eli had a ham melt on pretzel bread.  Eric and I both chose the Cuban sandwich.  I can report that we could have easily or...

  Hello again! We just got back from the most magical vacation at our very favorite place, Walt Disney World!!  In order to get the creative juices flowing, I thought I would start with a daily recap of our trip, sorta like a "day in the life" post.  These will be high level and mostly for memory's sake.  Once I wrap them up, I will go back and do really detailed posts about where we ate, what we did, tips & tricks, etc! Before we get started, I just want to throw out a little disclaimer.  Ellie will be in a lot more pictures than Eli because he's a teenager who refuses to participate in the photo session fun.  However, I can guarantee you that he was indeed there and thoroughly enjoyed himself.  Now that we have that little PSA out of the way, let's go! Like everyone else, we are always looking for ways to save some money for future trips, and driving is one of the easiest ways to do that. With that in mind, we skipped the flight this time in favo...

Ellie and I have longstanding tradition of going with my mom to see Disney on Ice every year.  After a very long hiatus due to the pandemic, it was absolutely amazing to be back this year.  As always, Gigi came in clutch with front row seats.  We drove up to Lexington early on Saturday morning and made it just in time for lunch.  We were excited to visit with my family, do a little shopping with my sister and meet up with my sister-in-law and niece before the show. Ellie was practically beside herself as we were escorted down to our rink-side seats.  The view was absolutely spectacular, and the company was even better.  We cheered, and clapped and waved as our favorite characters took the stage, and the arena was bursting with energy as little voices sang right along to the familiar Disney tunes.  With scenes from iconic movies such as "The Little Mermaid," "Moana," "Tangled," "Beauty and the Beast," and "Frozen,"  we were wildly entert...

Tonight I felt drawn to this old space of mine.  The place where I documented the glorious yet overwhelming days of new motherhood.  The place were I introduced not one but two precious babies to the world. The place where I wrote about their every move and my every thought for many, many years. The place where I overshared and under edited.  The place that I gradually abandoned as the monotony of life found its way into the daily routines and the rhythms of our lives.  This place, it feels like home, and other than a few random "check-ins,"  I have been away for far too long.  Being here, pecking on this keyboard as fast as my little fingers can scurry, just feels right.  I knew when I walked away in 2016 that it was time. And until tonight, I haven't felt truly drawn to come back.   A funny thing happens as you journey through this life. It's called... life .  And, well, it's beautiful, and wonderful, and terrible, and glorious, and fu...

  Hello Again!! It's been a hot minute since I've checked in.  I've started about a half billion posts but haven't published any of them.  I think it's because I owe you a lengthy catch up, but I have no idea where to start.  There has been so much life lived, so many changes, so many new beginnings.  New schools, new job, a new home, and a new adventure, which is actually my reason for popping on here. If you've been around here for long, you know I love Disney World...like really love it! It started as just a fun, one-day place to visit during our annual beach trip.  Then it transitioned into our favorite place to make family memories. Through the pandemic and seasons that my world was turned upside down, it became an escape.   All along the way, I've had this crazy idea that I wanted to become a Disney Travel Advisor, but I never had the confidence to take the plunge.  Instead, I just watched from the sidelines and helped friends and famil...

It's hard to believe but somehow we muddled our way through 2020.  I think most of us are little road weary, nursing our wounds, counting our casualties and rallying what's left of our resolve as we head into the new year. I'll admit that while I have no have no room for complaint, this past year has been emotionally draining for me.  My family is healthy and thriving.  We're blessed to have our jobs, a new home, and so many adventures under our belts. Yet, there's been a heaviness that we can't seem to escape -fear, uncertainty, a sense of loss, a burden for those experiencing so many hardships. I once heard a saying something along the lines of, "Anyone can handle a crisis but it's every day life that's the hardest." I have found that to be true this past year. It's getting up every day and trying to explain to a tween boy why he can't hang out with his friends or why the sports season was canceled. It's watching your daughter cry...

We'll we've made it through the first full week of 2021 and it's been interesting to say the very least.  Let's review, shall we?  School is still virtual.  Politics are more heated than ever and I was diagnosed with Covid.  Yep, you read that right.  It's such a bizarre story actually.  Before I get to that part, I just want to say that I am fine.   Bored but fine. I have lost my sense of smell and taste, but that's been my only major symptom.   The whole thing started last Tuesday when I woke up with a very mild bloody nose.  This had been happening for several days so I thought maybe I was getting a sinus infection because that's typically how they start for me.  Not wanting to get quarantined with Covid-like symptoms, I went to the doctor during my lunch break to get an antibiotic. At first they told me that it would be a Teledoc visit because I didn't have any symptoms and they were already busy with Coronavirus testing.  ...

Well, I've found myself in the midst another unintended blogging hiatus.  I very much go back-and-forth on my vision for this little space of mine.  Some days I want to throw in the towel because I am so far behind that I'll never catch up.  Other days, I have grand plans for a complete redesign and more narrowly focused content areas.  Maybe I'll be a lifestyle blogger, or a Disney blogger, or a home decorating blogger.  I write these posts, delete them, change the topic and ultimately end up with a lot of "drafts" sitting in my box.  The thing is, nothing quite feels right. I'm just not comfortable marketing myself or my family.  I love all things Disney and have no doubt that it will be a regular topic for content, but that's not all there is to me or my family.  Same goes for home decor blogs. I read them daily, but there's so much more that I want to write about. Some days I want a big blog with lots of followers that brings in a little extra...

Tomorrow begins a brand new school year for us. Actually, we start on Tuesday "in-person" since our last name is in the bottom half of the alphabet, but the excitement is no less than it would be if we were walking through those doors tomorrow morning with the A-K kids. I sit here tonight among backpacks full of new supplies, first day outfits carefully selected and neatly laid out, and two sweet kiddos cleaned up and prayed up for what lies ahead.  In spite of the uncertainty and unrest of the past several months, this summer has been one of the sweetest I have ever known.  That's the beauty of this dance we call life.  It's not all good, nor is it all bad.  It's a tender mixture of both, and it's when we learn to accept the messy presence of each of these that we are truly living. The past few months have been hard - social unrest, economic hardships, an international health pandemic to name only a few- but these past few months have also been full of tender...

The pools here in Kentucky are closed and will be through the end of the month. Normally I wouldn't care because we would just swim in the back yard, but we are in the apartment this year.  We even picked one with a fabulous pool. Go figure! At first, I was super bummed out, but we've found the best little swimming spot.  The first time we went I didn't expect much because so many of these areas are packed with everyone else looking for a reprieve from the heat.  Luckily, I was very wrong, and we found a quaint little spot not too far where we live. We ran into one of Ellie's friends from cheer and spent the afternoon, just us, enjoying the sunshine and water. I'm sure we will make good use of the pool once it reopens, but in the meantime, I anticipate many, many trips to the creek. Hearing the laughter, and splashing and playing was so good for the soul. After working up a good appetite, we stopped on our way home for another summertime fa...

Throughout quarantine, Ellie kept talking about how she couldn't wait to go shopping once everything opened back.  No matter how may times I asked, she never once changed her mind, so once we were comfortable with new regulations, we ventured back into the world for a girls day. She wore her mask like a champ! We eased back into things slowly and were on a mission to get some cute clothes for our beach trip later this summer.  First we stopped at TJ Max, but there was a line just to enter, so we stopped by Wal Mart and Target instead.  We didn't have much success, so we headed to a little consignment shop where we racked up.  She shares my passion for bargain shopping. I have to say, that I very much enjoyed our girl time.  She was a pleasure to be around and we had some great conversations.  I really did have fun.  I look forward to many more days like this as she grows into a young lady and hope she will always let her Momma tag al...

It blows my mind to think that when the pandemic started we had just listed the house with a realtor, and now three months later, we are living in an apartment while our home goes up.  So much has changed in our world and for our family.  Going from almost two acres down to an apartment has been interesting, but we're enjoying being renters for the time being. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that we have plenty of space to run and play at the land when things start to feel a little tight. One thing that's been a constant for us during this season of crazy has been our bonfires at the land.  We burned a ton of stuff while we were moving and now we get to do the same with scrap lumber.  Last weekend when the kids got back from Nanna's house, we loaded up everything we needed for a bonfire and had the very best time listening to music and spending time together. The kids pretty much want to do it every weekend now. Even has the world...