Blog Posts

Summery Summary

Summer sped by in a blur of baseball, beach trips, and barbeque… Firstborn spent another season working hard & playing hard, juggling full-time hours at the local amusement park with

Pep Rally

Well, that’s a wrap on the school year for our Junior, Freshman, and 4th-grader. I’m exceedingly proud of each for stepping into a new school model with nary a hiccup–

Birthday Buddies

Beginning 17 years ago when our first baby was due on his birthdate, Handsome Husband has graciously shared his birthday. Firstborn arrived late, but they’ll forever be birthday buddies. This

Forever Fixin’

I affectionately refer to my hubby as The Juggernaut, of comic book fame, because the guy NEVER. STOPS. MOVING. Running his business is demanding and tends to strap him to

Homecoming

Now that they’re “traditional school” students, my kids are enjoying some new perks of their education. Most recently, our girls attended the highschool’s homecoming dance. Dates were obtained, dresses were

Christ Mas Wrap-Up

I’m a touch tardy in uploading our recent Christmas memories, but that’s only because it was a joyous season full of festivity that stretched out for weeks. ‘Twas a happy

Mouseketeers

We’ve just returned from a wee little piggyback onto my much older sister’s family Disney vacay. They’re hard-core Mouseketeers and do a full week in the parks, but we joined

Beachy Keen

Towards the end of summer, Handsome Husband and I decided to tackle another big project. We purchased a fixer-upper at the coast as a getaway for our family and almost

Halloweenie

I felt a tiny bit like a homeschool mom again, this past weekend– traipsing through a pumpkin patch, costuming, crafting, and carving… Our Halloween estivities were simple and dispersed, but

Work-Life Balance

Snapshots of my vocational life. Work continues to keep me busy, which is a blessing since now my kids are at traditional school all day and I find myself with

Aloha Anniversary

Twenty years ago I promised to have and to hold this handsome fella. Score! We were young and madly in love, and after the officiant proclaimed “you may kiss your

Camp Gramps

For Christmas, my sisters and I gifted our folks a preplanned Memorial weekend trip camping together with all of our husbands, kids, and dogs. We originally booked the lakeside campground

Resurrection Day

Resurrection Day is the holiest day of our liturgical year, Easter Sunday being the metaphorical Superbowl of our faith. We observed less-than-traditionally this year, skipping in-person church service for a

Making Spirits Bright

‘Twas a very merry Christmastide, indeed. The sum of our hijinks and revelry has certainly made the season bright. We are grateful for this annual blessing of festively acknowledging humanity’s

Praised Be

Feeling especially grateful for the abundance of blessing in our lives this year, we opted to celebrate Thanksgiving not once but twice. My youngest, newlywed sister (alongside her groom) hosted

Autumn Equinox

Chlorophyll lacking, flamboyant kaleidoscope– foliage ablaze. (An impromptu haiku-collab during a recent excursion through a particularly picturesque tree-lined street. The Willamette Valley’s amazing, come autumn; eat your heart out, New

Be True to Your School

We’re back at homeschool for our eighth straight year– now with a working/driving highschool Sophomore, an always-dancing 8th-grader in braces, an exceedingly tall (and inquisitive) 3rd-grader, a perpetually befuddled teacher-mom

Summer Vale

It was the briefest of summers. From tardy arrival due to viral pandemic to abrupt, early end from raging inferno and the suffocating ash of a million smoldering acres. Simple

Wolf Pack

This summer’s been a weird one, with limitations on where, when, and how we can travel, but I think our family’s done a fine job of adventuring within the metes

Girls’ Getaway

Recently I was grateful to sneak away for an adventure and rest-filled girls’ trip to Central Oregon with Handsome Husband’s sister and mother. At the suggestion of my youngest brother

Level Up

We had the simplest, Covid-compliant birthday celebration for Little Man recently. He turned eight, and (like pretty much every boy his age) all he wanted to do to celebrate was

The Big Easy

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. My mom is the best at this. After her work conference was canceled due to COVID constraints, my generous mother kept her reservation

The Princess Bride

My beautiful baby sister got hitched over the weekend. Ever since she was little she’s loved all things girlie and is 100% a princess. Though, in all fairness, she’s a

Golden Girl

Center Sister celebrated her Golden Birthday over the weekend– she turned thirteen on the thirteenth and officially became a teenager. We hosted a simple outdoor movie night (in the garage,

Quarantine Quinceanera

Our first baby turned FIFTEEN this week. A birthday in the midst of a global pandemic is hardly a picnic… isolated from friends and family, and the DMV, the bulk

A Quarantined Easter

He is risen! Though this year’s festivities were socially isolated, due to Coronavirus mandates, we celebrated simply and remembered our hope is in our Savoir who triumphed over all sin

How We Quarantine

We’ve been working from home and homeschooling since before it was cool/government-mandated. Five years in Montana conditioned us for seasonal hibernation and social distance– stockpiling necessities, staying in for long

Operation: Relocation

Because I’m too fatigued to even type, please enjoy our move, in snapshots: Okay, fine, a quick story to explain the last photo… This is my favorite escrow officer, whom

On the Move

I’m awash in a sea of boxes; up to my ears in contractors, inspectors, and paperwork. T minus 19 days until we move and we’re working our tails off, all

Yes to the Dress

Their big day is still months away, but Baby Sister and her Saintly Fiancé are hard at work planning every detail of their upcoming nuptials. Generously, they’ve asked all five

Christmas Keepsakes

This Christmas, two of our little elves worked away on an extra-special, top-secret project to bless our extended family… After our beloved Grandfather recently passed, I swiped a stack of

Heaven & Nature Sing

Joy to the world, the Lord is come– let earth receive her King! “They drank healths, told stories, sung songs, “reminisced,” as the old folks say, and had a thoroughly

Evergreen Boughs

In Oregon, one does not simply select a Christmas tree from a parking lot… One must traipse through the woods (or, ahem, a tree-farm) wielding a saw, chop down a

Pilgrim’s Progress

“… set apart the last Thursday of November next as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.” – Abe Lincoln Our extended

Fakesgiving

T minus 8 days until Thanksgiving! We’re ready-freddie. My extended family’s busy mixin’ up some inventive stuffing variations in preparation for next week… this year, we plan to shake things

Best Man

My Grandpa passed away a few weeks ago; we laid him to rest as a family and then this past weekend his loving wife (of 62 years!) hosted a public

Costume Dept.

I love dress-up. I just do. I’m not sure what it says about me, but I’m glad my kids love it, too. The night before Halloween, Firstborn received a last-minute

School Snipits

Our school year’s off to a solid start. Activities are in full-swing and I’m racking up the mileage on my Jeep to prove it. Still, I’m grateful the bookends of

Camp Champs

We managed to squeeze another teensy camping trip into our fleeting summer by hijacking my next-door [much older] sister’s recent family getaway. I suppose living 50 yards apart just isn’t close

In the Garden

And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground– trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food… This summer we took a

June Birthday Parade

June’s always a busy birthday-month in our house, rivaled only by April… In addition to marking our anniversary and Father’s Day (we celebrated both in Prince Edward Island), we also

Tweenager

Center Sister turned TWELVE today and I can’t get over how she’s growing before my eyes. On her first birthday she perched atop my hip delighting in the live baby

Garden Party

How’s a family to bless a hip Grandma on her birthday when it seems she’s already got everything she needs? Why, slave labor in the garden, of course! Our fearsome