Joy in the Journey

 “Breast-fed babies are such a blessing.” I posted on my Facebook Wednesday afternoon, “Because it takes longer than bottle feeding, they make you take the time to stop and rest and drink your water and focus on them. I know bottle-fed babies are a blessing, too, all babies are a blessing! But today I am especially thankful, because I am a workaholic and would probably have someone else feed the baby while I worked in the yard and miss out on this sweet time if I wasn’t breastfeeding. ❤️” And I posted this picture: My heart was so full and thankful. As I’ve shared before, my breastfeeding journeys have always had struggles, but I have always toughed them out and the result was well worth it.  I have been working hard this week uncovering my poor, neglected flower beds. They have spent the last nine years of my chronic pain when taking care of babies and basic housework was all my body could handle most of the time fighting their battles with the weeds. It has been thrilling to be able

 When I was 21 years old, I was walking down the road in the little community I grew up in, which is where I’ve always lived, and someone hollered out their window as he was driving by, “Go to college!”. I knew who it was. I had went to school with him since kindergarten. Apparently he didn’t think I should still be in this small town. Apparently he thought I should be pursuing a career. It’s not the first time I had heard that, and certainly not the last. He didn’t know that I was newly married and living the life I was called to. Out to breakfast a few years back, I ran into a former school teacher. He looked at me and my four kids and said, “You know, I always thought you’d be teaching other children.” As if to indicate that I was wasting my teaching ability by just homeschooling my kids. Someone at my church once told me, “You are an incredibly intelligent woman. Don’t waste that.” I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that one. I think I said that I wouldn’t. He came back later an

 Hey mamas! Can you believe it is June already? I am writing this on the 7th, and I'm having a hard time believing that we are already a week in. I know that summer doesn’t officially begin until June 21st, but we are starting our summer routine anyway. We have been working in the yard a lot and have been doing more informal schooling. And this weekend we are going camping! Photo from two summers ago. I can’t believe this baby will be turning three next month!  Summertime is always a fun time of the year, but I am especially excited about this year because this is the first summer in my mama career that I am not either working and/or in heavy chronic pain. Mamas, this is so huge! You have no idea what a difference it is. Last week I was weeding my asparagus/strawberry patch and started tearing up. Over the years I have not been able to keep on top of the weeds and my asparagus has suffered and I've lost some, but that wasn't why I was crying. I was crying because if things

 It’s been almost a month since I posted about my friend passing . It was been a whirlwind of a time for me: we had a trip out of town, we got sick, my dad had a really scary week of bad health, we got a lot of yard work done, and we completely flipped around the front rooms of our house. Lots of ups and downs, very busy and exhausting. And then I went to my friend’s memorial service today… I’m honestly surprised that I am feeling just as sad now about her passing as the day I found out. I just miss her so much! The family and friends that made it to her service completely filled the room. I"m sure there were more who wanted to come who could not make it. It was very touching to hear all the stories from people during the sharing time. There was a resounding theme to all of them: she knew how to love well. One story took place when she was in high school. The man who shared the story was having a really rough time and my sweet friend found him where he was hiding behind the school