The gift of Clarity.

**big exhale**

Road trips have a way of helping me find my bearings.

Even though I love this place we call "home," while I'm away from it I tend to gain a little perspective ... a fresh view (that perhaps I'd lost over the longest. winter. ever.)

My adventurous spirit craved a change of scenery, a warmer climate, time spent with friends who speak with just a hint of a southern drawl. It was just what I needed for spring break this year, and lucky me! The weather timed things perfectly so that we missed the last of the snow showers while we were gone and the snow was almost completely melted from the yard by the time we got back.

While the kids and I were out in West Virginia visiting Steve last week we fell asleep to the sound of the peepers each night and woke up to birds singing every morning. It was heavenly. And sure enough, we're hearing them here at home now, too. Bliss.

This time around, despite the kids getting in a large helping of bickering during the days we didn't leave the campground, I came home feeling refreshed and with a renewed - or strengthened, maybe - sense of purpose. I have struggled over decisions made and directions chosen, but lately I feel like we're on track. I pray often for guidance - as a wife, a mom, a Christian, a friend, a steward - and while there is always room for improvement, today I have a sense of peace.

Dunkard Creek, near our campsite

We got some great family time in during our visit. We ate dinners together. The kids and I went shopping at the mall one day and Rachel finally got to spend her birthday money. I met up with and had a great visit with my girlfriend, Heather. One rainy afternoon Rach and I got hot cocoa and coffee and went on a book binge (lots of summer reading material!). We did a lot of chilling out, napping, reading (me), playing video games (the kids), and just enjoying the break.

My loves.

(This photo pretty well defines how different they are.)

 Camp chickens!

The girls were hanging out right around our trailer when we got there the first afternoon. Steve joked that he had them brought in specially for me, because he knew how much I'd love it.

 I did enjoy watching them scratching around all week!

Rachel enjoyed some quality time with our buddy's Basset Hound, Daisy.

Sweet ride, Sammy.

I'm always sad to have to leave Steve, but at the same time I leave happier because I have been with him. Back here at home I smile at some of the memories we made during this trip, and I look forward to being together as a family again when Steve comes home for Easter.

In lots of little ways I am continually reminded of what is important in my life - what is and what should be. And I am forever grateful that I am able to share my life - however unconventional our lifestyle may be - with these people I adore.

An 'accidental' tradition.

You can always assume that when we bring our Christmas tree in the house it will be about a foot and a half too tall. So what do we do? We hack away at it from the top down. 'Cause that's how we roll.

But don't fear, it really doesn't change the look of the tree all that much. It's still all limbs and as wide as it is tall, and taking up half the living room as if it's afraid someone might forget that IT'S CHRISTMAS!

This is my view when I look left while sitting in my favorite chair:

When Steve sits in his favorite spot on the end of the couch we have to look at each other through spindly branches and around homemade ornaments. The star at the top is cardboard, made by Rachel. We used to have an angel. She might still be in another box I haven't gotten out, but I kinda' like the star.

Our tree came from family property behind our house. We haven't always gone out and cut our own tree, but a few years ago we were pretty broke at Christmastime and didn't want to (or just couldn't) spend the money to buy one, so Steve took the kids out back and found one for free.

It was so huge, so wide. It seemed ridiculous that we would bring it in the house. But we got it covered in lights and as many ornaments as those wispy branches would hold up. It was perfect.

So in the years since then the kids have asked each year when dad would take them out to pick out a tree. Even the times I have quietly mentioned how I would like a tall, thin, perfectly trimmed and sturdy-branched tree ... from a Christmas tree farm, perhaps ... the kids have poo-pooed the idea in favor of trudging out to the woods with dad to pick a very natural, homegrown evergreen.

I will admit drooling a bit over the gigantic, lush spruce that stands at the front of our church. But our tree at home - our "aggressively festive" tree, as one friend calls it - is just as beautiful.

  This year's pick (and my lumberjack husband sizing it up):

This was the first year I went with Steve and the kids to pick out the tree. It was fun - and being out there in the woods is always inspiring but particularly so when everything is covered with about a foot of snow.

We actually didn't bring the tree home on the first round. Steve's chainsaw wasn't working right, so we made mental note of where it was and went back another day.

Rach and I threw a few snowballs while Steve did the work.

It's funny how things work out. That first year Steve and the kids brought the tree in it looked so ridiculous it felt like a joke. Then the next year when the kids requested the same thing I'm sure I rolled my eyes a bit, but decided we could work with it. Now the thought of spending money on something we could get from our back yard for free seems almost silly.

Sometimes the best traditions are the unexpected ones that just happen. I like this one.

Back to the grind.

You'll all be happy to know we have survived two full days of school and we are no worse for wear.

At least I don't think so.

The weather has been nice - perfectly fall-like - and I have been busy tackling stuff I put off all summer while we were gallivanting all over God's creation pretending like the laundry would do itself and summer would last forever.

Summer's over, people. OH. VUR. (I'm saying this to myself and my children as much as anyone else.)

And sadly, there is no laundry fairy. Hmph.

So while we all adjust to earlier mornings again and the kids settle into their school day routines, I get back on task here at home. There is much to do. It's no wonder I always felt frantic when I was working full time and the house was chaos. Now I'm here all the time and trying to do all those extra little home maintenance things that got put off because we never had time. Oh, and some fun stuff too. And raise a coupla' kids and a few animals and some fresh tomatoes along the way. And write. Because writing = breathing for me, and breathing is important.

Also important: daddy! Steve is going to be home for the weekend and I can hardly wait. If I could keep him locked up at home and all to myself I would, but the likelihood of that it pretty slim. And that would be pretty selfish of me anyway.

I have a bunch of pictures from summer that I had intended to share, but in the interest of ... well, keeping things interesting ... I'll just post a couple of my favorites.

 Checkin' out Endless Caverns in New Market, Virginia.

Cool cavern pic.

Seriously, it was amazing.

 Pretty farm view. Just because.

This is what I picture in my mind when I think of Virginia.

 The kids taking in the view at one of the stops along the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park.

Butterflies and bumblebees. They were everywhere at this particular overlook.

My loves.

 

The story of my life. Blurriness and all.

I don't know why, this picture just cracks me up.

So there you have it - a glimpse at how we spent much of August. I have missed blogging and I'm happy to have a little more time to get back to it regularly now. Lots of little things I've been wanting to share just so I can remember them myself in a year or twelve. Onward!

Memories from Mackinaw. And "Mackinac." (Love those Brits.)

My house resembles a war zone. My dogs need some focused attention. The kids start school in a month and we're not even close to ready. I have half a dozen half-baked projects scattered all over the place. And I am just beginning to tame the laundry. Oh, and there may be things growing in the refrigerator that could be considered uncivilized.

But I wouldn't change any of it if I had to give up the weekend I just spent with my girl.

Rachel and I camped for two nights with her Girl Scout troop in Mackinaw City, and spent all day Saturday on Mackinac Island. It was Rachel's first time seeing the Mackinac Bridge and visiting the island, and I am so glad I got to experience that with her.

 

On a shopping excursion Rachel had her fortune read by the creepy-looking gypsy lady in the box. Part of her fortune said, "Your cool thinking sees you through a mishap with a Taurus or Leo ..."

I'm a Leo. Ha!

Fortunately we didn't have any mishaps over the weekend. Except that Saturday was my birthday, and I did get pooped on by a bird. At least it wasn't in my hair. Happy birthday to me!

Getting ready to board the ferry to Mackinac Island. Rach was a little nervous. She got over it.

One of the horses that pulled our carriage on the first leg of our tour. The tour company uses each team for only four hours at a time, and we were lucky enough to be able to watch the handlers switch our team for fresh horses. They are all very good - and quick - at what they do!

 This was the 3-horse team for the final leg of our tour. That's Wade on the right. He was moving a little slow that day, so the tour guide was fussing at him (good-naturedly). Look at that face ...

One of our stops was at the Butterfly House.

It was awesome. The girls loved it. And I had a new camera to play with.

Beautiful butterfly pictures!

Rachel pointed out that this butterfly looks like a fish. And there was a little pond just to the right ... so he looks like he's about to jump in! Can you see the fish?

 One of my favorites landed on Rachel's finger.

 

 And she had a couple land on her hoodie.

 I think this is my favorite photo. I love the blue of the butterfly against those huge, green leaves.

 The carriage tour also took us by the cemeteries. If I had a little more time I would have loved to walk around and take more pictures there.

 Military cemetery.

Another stop on the tour:

 The view from Arch Rock down the shoreline.

 After our tour, Rach and I rented bikes and just rode around for a while. It was SO busy on the island that day! We even got in a little traffic jam involving bicycles, horse-drawn wagons and carriages ... we decided to get off our bikes and walk them through that.

 We took a little loop that goes right along the shoreline and stopped for a few minutes to take in the view.

 Me and my girl.

 A view of the Mackinac Bridge on our way back to the mainland. It had been overcast all day and it was a chilly ride back in the evening.

We had a fantastic time. I always feel so blessed (and exhausted!) after we spend time with Rachel's GS troop. The girls all get along so well and I love spending time with the moms, too - several of us go way back, but I consider each of them friends - and we're a good mix of cooks, nurturers, planners, outdoorsy-types. And thankfully, everyone has a great sense of humor. Because when your dinner burns and the craft project doesn't work out as planned and the campfire is mostly billowing smoke, a sense of humor comes in pretty handy.

Of mornings and memories.

 Independence Day sunset on the farm.

Try as I might, I have never been a morning person. My body screams to stay in bed where it's comfortable and quiet, even on the most beautiful of mornings. I am coming around, though. I longed for the days when my children would sleep in so I could get a few more winks, but these days rather than snuggling back in after taking my four-legged alarm clocks outside, I make a cup of coffee and enjoy watching and listening to the world wake up.

I am blessed. As I drifted off to sleep last night after our annual 4th of July get-together at our friends' farm, I had that feeling of blissful contentedness. Happy. The only thing that could have made it better was if Steve had been here to share it with us. But I know he misses being here as much as we miss having him, and I appreciate the sacrifices he makes to provide for all of us. He will be home for a couple days next weekend and I can't wait to see him again.

On that note, here are some photos from when the kids and I visited Steve in Virginia a couple weeks ago.

Our trailer, and the morning view.

 

Mountainside.

One day we went to see the arboretum and botanical gardens at James Madison University. Sam said, "We have trees and flowers at home, why do we have to come here to look at them?"

Well. He did have a point. But I was inspired by the landscape, and it is a beautiful place.

 This little lake was pretty cool - lots of water fowl, turtles and fish.

 "Quack!"

 Rachel took the time to walk the entire labyrinth.

 

 Sam ... was not interested in walking the labyrinth.

 My girl. Always willing to take a picture with mama.

 The swinging bridge.

We missed the peak season for rhododendrons, but a few were still in bloom.

Tiered gardens. There were lots of roses here.

Lilies! So pretty.

Back at the campground, the Shenandoah River (or a branch of it).

 Kids deciding which lures will catch those trout.

 Fishin' from the riverbank.

 Fishin' from the river. 

Bless Sam's heart, he rolled up his jeans and borrowed Rachel's pink Crocs to wade out and untangle my line from some rocks.

Great memories.