I love the beginnings of the New Year. I enjoy the fresh calendars, the new planners, the clean crisp notebooks, and the restructuring of my routines. I enjoy having some time for reflection and goal setting. In my time spent planning my next year, I have been thinking about 4 major topics. Ways to find…
Christmas is always a time of “extra things”. It is a level of busy that is unmatched in any other part of the year. Just thinking of all that goes into the space between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is exhausting. Multiple family gatherings, performances, end of the semester school events, finals and major tests, decorating…
I want to be fully present in this season. As I tackle the long list of all that must be done, I get discouraged. I begin to lose my energy and my enjoyment of celebrating the holidays with my family. I get through, make it special for others, I make all the special dishes. But…
We all come from generations of people who worked hard and then had lots of interests so that they could live abundant lives. They did not wait until they had all the knowledge or watch all the YouTube videos. They just tried stuff. When I think about all that my grandparents were able to do…
Why would we spend money, time, energy, and resources on going to new places with our families? Traveling anywhere is a lot of work. Is it worth it? These were the questions I asked for a long time. Travel with small kids felt heavy and difficult. I did not see the value of traveling anywhere.…
Wrestling With My Work- What I learned when I tried to write 1 post on Sabbath and it morphed into 15… It seems fitting that to write these articles about Sabbath I had to slow down. I needed to sit, read, take notes slowly, and reflect. I was not able to write the article by…
I read through these books looking for inspiration for my fall semester and the start of the school year. I hoped to find some reasons why I do this difficult work. Some motivation to continue on with fortitude and grit. So much of my work is invisible and long-term. It can be hard to see…
I believe that RV travel is the best way to make family memories. For a planner like me, you can prepare ahead of time for what you will need. For the homebody, you have your home with you everywhere you go. For the cautious person, you can make adjustments to where you are going and…
As an overachiever, I can be my own enemy. My own critic who raises expectations. I constantly move the finish line after I accomplish a goal or a difficult milestone. I do not stop and enjoy the achievement. I tell myself that I will. I say to myself in the hard moments when I have…
Travel with small kids is a lot of work. There is so much to think about it can be overwhelming. Running into travel delays, the unknowns, and bad weather was just inconvenient when I was in my 20’s without kids. But with kids along, it can be enough to ruin the trip. When my kids…
Photos are either taken by Mary Edwards or April Edwards.
Most are uploaded from the awesome site Unsplash.com.