Now is not the time to mention the “s” word.  Nobody wants to hear it!  We have received and read the garden catalogs.  We have ordered new plants for the garden.  We ARE SO READY! Now I remember my grampa’s advice.  Don’t plant anything before Memorial Day or you will be sorry.  Patience is not one of my virtues. What to do now that my green thumb is itching?  I guess I can … [Read more...]

I’ve gotten pretty good at stumbling through the darkness. In one of our machine sheds, there’s a door on both ends but a light switch on only one end. If I happen to come from the switchless end of the farm, I will always choose to blind squirrel my way through the tetris-like machinery rather than take the long way around to the light switch. Some days it works better than … [Read more...]

In the valley Times can turn out to surprise us. They can lead us to broad meadows, a flowered beauty, or raise us to the top of mountainous splendor. Yet there are days that unexpectedly reach out to us and guide us into a valley shadowed by uncertainty, frailty, or sorrow. One just never knows what the morrow will bring. A common comment I have heard this winter season … [Read more...]

You might want to sit down for this. What if your kids asked to get out of bed early to happily clean and organize the house? I’m fully aware I sound crazy. I never thought my kids would do it. But they are (some days) and it’s rocking my world! “How does this work?!!!” Thanks for asking - I’d love to share. Recently, I was introduced to Paul Akers’ “2 Second Lean” book … [Read more...]

I am a Godlilocks weather person.  Winter is too cold and snowy.  Summer is too hot and humid.  Spring and fall are just right.  The moderate temperatures plus the scents of the seasons and the colors make me happy and more productive.  The smell of mud and fresh green grass is intoxicating while the color of fall leaves and smell of bonfires makes me sigh with joy.  Since … [Read more...]

With a big yawn, I exclaimed, “I dreamt I could fly!” I remember the weightless feeling of levitating like Superman into the air. From the time I was young, I have dreamed of flying both nocturnally and in conscious thought.  My brother and I would always see how much air we could get. I remember packing snow up over the old stump in the middle of our sledding hill to make a … [Read more...]

February, though a short month, has signaled some important dates of the year.  Birthdays for important individuals, such as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, my brother, two of our daughters and one grandson, are remembered this time of year.  Some Februarys make for snowy, frigid days.  Others flirt with springtime temperatures.  With Christmas in the rear-view mirror, it … [Read more...]

What if “I do” wasn’t about taking? FamilyLife Today sends a daily marriage tip to my inbox. The subject never fails to give me pause. “I Do Every Day,” it reads, followed by whatever topic is being covered for that day. The first “I Do” I said on my wedding day in response to the long string of intense questioning about having and holding, forsaking all others, in sickness, … [Read more...]

Have you ever had a project that grew and grew?  Perhaps it was a job that had to be dealt with eventually, but you just did not have the right amount of time to get to it?  Does that sound familiar?  I had such a job awaiting my attention.  Fortunately, I had set it aside in a remote room in my house.  The saying, “Out of sight, out of mind” fits the situation.  My job of … [Read more...]

Sneaking down the creaky stairs of my old farmhouse, I popped my earbuds in for a few quiet minutes of the Family Life Today podcast before my kids were roused. I wasn’t expecting what I heard but it was exactly what my marriage needed… maybe yours does too? (I’ll share it below!) My husband and I are actually doing something new in 2023. We’re making a vision board for our … [Read more...]