You know when there’s something you should do but you keep putting it off? Other things come up and whatever ‘it’ is just gets pushed further down the line. That’s what writing has felt like to me the past couple months. When I begin to fall silent with recording my words, that’s usually when our day jobs and the work of this house collide into many long nights. But I’m happy to announce as of yesterday, a very big project is now nearly complete (more on that coming soon). But for now, Gavin’s been called in to plow and salt the roads the last two nights. I don’t know how…

Gavin and I drove to my parent’s house for Thanksgiving lunch yesterday. I’m becoming increasingly grateful for times like these. My work at The Salvation Army has opened my eyes to see first-hand that many aren’t as fortunate to have a good meal with loved ones. After we were done eating, Gavin & I were able to pick out a Christmas tree in my parent’s lot. Our second annual tree from there. My parents have been growing them for about a decade. It’s exciting that they’re tall enough to cut and enjoy for Christmas. When I got back inside my parent’s house, my mom said that Luke was getting ready…

I thought about titling this post “10 Lessons I’ve Learned” but that wouldn’t be accurate. That’d imply that I’ve checked them off like a to-do list but the truth is, these are things I continually remind myself of every day. So without further ado, here’s what I’ve been learning: #1 Good things take (a lot) of time. I used to jump into projects with all the novelty and excitement needed to propel me forward. Well, that eventually wears off and pure, hard work takes its place followed by a healthy dose of patience. And from experience now, I realize each project we’ve worked on has taken about 4x the amount…

My mom picked up my sister’s twins, Hannah and Alissa, from school & brought them out to the house today for a visit. They’ve grown since the last time I’ve seen them almost half a year ago it seems like. Their faces have lost the subtle baby-like features. They’re growing into beautiful young ladies, approaching eight years old by the end of the month. I think back just a few summers ago, putting their hair in lopsided pigtail poofies on top of their heads, dressing them in my old tie die shirts they wore like dresses down to their chubby little toes. My hippie babies. They bounded through the front…

Went to my brother & sister-in-laws house today with Gavin. They had a large oak tree that came down awhile ago in their yard. We could use the firewood and they wanted it gone so it worked out well for both of us. It was a blessing spending time with them and seeing my little nephew grow up before my eyes never fails to astonish me. It’s a wonder how much change can happen within a month or two. We saw him on his 1st birthday in late July and since then, he’s running and has learned baby sign language. We were asked when we’d like to have a child…