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The hill was just the right level of difficulty for my 10 year old self. Steep enough to be a thrilling coast down, but not so terrifying to worry about skinned-knees. My sisters and I would ride down this hill again and again over the next few days. Our favorite campsite was just a lessContinue reading “Biking the Camp Loop”

The nights would be sticky and humid, and the cicadas chirping away. The sun was still high in the sky after dinner, and my dad and i would begin our weekly trek to grandma’s. On these nights, I got out of dishes-and-sweeping duty. For many summers until I graduated high school, I would join myContinue reading “$5 and a Watermelon Slice”

Not much about 2020 and 2021 feels “simple.” Not much about parenting feels simple! But I recently I stumbled upon the aptly named “simplicity parenting” style, and I’ve been trying to implement the ideas into our family life. This method should be called “common sense parenting.” The counselor and educator, Kim John Payne, works withContinue reading “The Simplicity Parenting Style”

Anything that gives light must burn. As I was returning a stroller-full of books to my library this week, I began chatting with a stranger about the work of parenthood. He had commented on my double stroller- a contraption he hadn’t seen before- or perhaps not noticed before. He had spent the last 10 monthsContinue reading “Light”

My toddler is not quite three years old, so I suppose many would say he’s in the thoroughs of the terrible twos. But are they so terrible? Some days, I would say yes. But as we are closing in on his upcoming third birthday, I’m more often like to say: Terrific twos. This age bringsContinue reading “I ate your crackers all.”

As parents, we are striving to teach our kids right from wrong, virtue from vice, how to pursue the good, even when it is time-consuming, less comfortable, and downright hard. But how do we do this? And what sort of exceptions should we have for them? If we expect our kids to clean up afterContinue reading “Growing up, Expectations, and Mercy”

Tables of books, dusty and old yet full of wonders, treasures untold. Will I find an old Bible? Or Robinson Crusoe on his raft? Or if I search really hard, an entire set of the 1970’s ChildCraft. For only one dollar- I can’t believe my victory! The 3-disk DVD collection, of Anne of Avonlea! Oh,Continue reading “Ode to Library Book Sales”

My husband selected this book for me at our local library book sale. “I felt you would like it,” he remarked. Indeed, I do. It is a young adult novel, and is not a complicated plot. A young orphan girl lives in Vienna, raised by two maids. As the story unravels, young Annika lives aContinue reading “Review: The Star Of Kazan”

Book Review: A Lantern in her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich I am a member of a delightful facebook group that discusses all things quality books and literature. My “to-be-read” list grew and grew after joining the group, but that is a delightful problem to have. In a thread about books that have a “strong senseContinue reading “Review: A Lantern In Her Hand”