columbia
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what i learned this spring.
Happy Memorial Day and (for us) Happy Summer, dear blog friends! By way of catching up, I thought I’d share with you some bits and pieces of what I’m learning right now. I’ve learned that I spend a lot of time in the van. It’s the season, of life, I know. What blows my mind is that we played no sports this spring and my kids aren’t in traditional school, my mother-in-law helped me one day a week with various drop-offs, and I still felt like I spent gobs of time in the van all school year. I seriously don’t know how you do it, who juggle multiple sports…
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february 2023.
February is probably my least favorite month (January being a close second); the Dark Month, as I’m liable to call it. But there were plenty of sweet things that happened in spite of the cold weather. That’s what I love about this blog. It always, always reminds me of the good in spite of hard seasons of life. For instance, we held our second annual Louise Penny breakfast at Small Sugar, to discuss her latest novel. Why do we choose Small Sugar? First of all, have you ever eaten there? It’s incredible! (and the owner is nominated for a James Beard for her three restaurants. We are so proud). Secondly,…
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january 2023.
2023 started off with a sinus virus that several members of the family passed around. No fun. Being home sick is a good time for organizing new Christmas gifts. Noah was eager to take pictures of his growing rocks and gems collection and to show his friends. Rainy, sick days at home are also good for puzzles. We’ve been doing some fun ones lately, loaned by my parents and friends. I say the word “we” loosely, because I never do puzzles if I can help it. I’m a happy flipper-over of pieces when it first comes out of the box, though. After we got healthy, a group of…
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august.
I’m playing catch-up here on the blog, so here’s August, half-a-month late! A friend generously let us use his pool for a couple of weeks. It was blissful. Amie and I spent the summer learning different ways to propagate our plants. We’re enjoying sharing them with friends. We loved celebrating Alyssa’s birthday at Sakitumi. Favorite book of the summer. Please read it! It will break your heart, but in a good way. We spotted the biggest moth we’ve ever seen (a Polyphemus moth), dead in our driveway one morning. We’re sad it died, but if it had to, Noah was very happy to mount it…
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july.
I reread Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series in its entirety this summer, and decided to go out to breakfast to celebrate. You were invited if you’ve also read the entire series, which is no small feat considering there are 17 books (with one due out this fall, hooray!). Linda, Cheryl, Beth and I met at Small Sugar for cafe au lait and croissants and spent a solid hour and a half talking about the series. It was blissful. Nina’s Retirement Party My Mom (known to her grandkids as Nina) retired this month from working at CIU for 24 years. She started out in Residence Life then spent the bulk…
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june.
The month of June felt wonderfully, blissfully, like summer. I did a whirlwind of homeschool work at the beginning: reporting, purging, and organizing work from last year, as well as registering us for the coming year. And a little co-op planning as well. Then I was very ready to put thoughts of school aside for a bit and enjoy a slower pace, being with friends and family. Our church is doing a 6-week women’s and men’s Bible study on the book of John, so David and I have been going to that Tuesday and Wednesday nights. I’m also in a book club with a group of women that my friend…
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may.
We started off the month by finishing homeschool co-op for the year, playing the last game of the soccer season, and coming down with Covid. Most of us had a fairly mild case — congestion and fatigue — but David had flu-like symptoms for a whole week. Jump Off Rock Half Marathon Judah and David had finished their training program right before they got sick (actually David realized he ran the 12 miles while he was sick), and we were all a little worried they wouldn’t be able to get their strength back one week later for the race. They drove up to Hendersonville the night before, and…
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april.
April was full of pollen, warm temperatures followed by 45-degree days, pushing through school work amidst spring fever, and Easter festivities. Two of our friends that Amie babysits for gave her a gift card for a manicure, so I took her and Caroline the week before Easter. It was Amie’s first manicure! That same evening, we hosted some of the girls from church to help fill eggs and gift bags for our church Easter egg hunt. This is becoming a very fun annual tradition. We had a Good Friday church service, then the picnic and cookout Saturday afternoon. The weather was perfect; it was my favorite of…
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march.
March is one of my very favorite months, because it’s the month of Daylight Savings time, and typically the month when I can start wearing flip flops again. We had a great New Members’ class and the trampoline miraculously held up yet again with a dozen or so kids jumping (this is always a fear of mine when we have guests). Here’s what else we were up to: Celebrating Kelly’s birthday with charcuterie, wine, and gluten free cupcakes. Noah has been asking me to teach him to iron. I have a great ironing hack. Actually it’s a great make-your-husband-wear-all-his-work-shirts hack. I only iron once a month or so,…
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october.
Visit with Christi and John David posted this to Facebook after we met up in Greenville with the boys’ birth mom one morning this month, and we mean every word: May my boys always know their birth mother, know her fierce love for them, her courage to carry them to term and bear them into this world, and do the impossible to give them another life through adoption. May they love her all the more for it. And may we find our way together in this blended family God has knit together in the unlikeliest but most beautiful of ways. David turns 40! It was…
