About Me

I believe my sidebar has said "full bio coming soon" for about a year or so now. So here I am, finally getting around to fixing that :) 

I've been a writer for as long as I can remember, but I often feel like an impostor calling myself such. As a quick look at the archives of this blog will tell you, I write in fits and spurts at best. Somewhere after college, I seem to have misplaced my discipline and self-motivation, and that part of me sort of died. But as my favorite writing professor pointed out when I mentioned this to her a few years back: "Thankfully, we are people of the Resurrection!"

Still, in light of the dizzying number of bloggers like me out there--women who are more prolific, more business-savvy, more eloquent and have a far bigger platform--I often wonder why I feel compelled to keep this up. I've been writing on this blog for over ten years now (here's where the title came from, in case you were wondering), but I don't have a lot of followers or a significant reach; I don't bring in any side income for my family. Why do my words here even matter? Am I just one more unnecessary voice adding to the cacophony of internet content clamoring for your limited and valuable time?  

I don't know, but I'm realizing more and more that I *need* to be writing--even if I am not exceptional, even if there are a million other bloggers out there. As Jennie Allen so helpfully said recently, "Before killing your dream because someone else is already doing it, remember there are 7 billion people on the planet. I am just saying there is a chance that the other person is not reaching all of them." Point taken! Whether there are many or few who read my words here, it is a privilege to have even a single soul visit my little corner of the internet and consider what I have to say. I don't take that lightly.

Beyond that, I write for my own health. If I am not writing, I am generally not seeing, not preaching to myself, not mapmaking. If I am not writing, I am not thriving.

So I write to preach the truth to myself, and welcome you to listen in along the way. I write to reflect on the joys and trials of living in a testosterone-filled house. I write to process the challenges of pointing two impressionable little ones to Jesus (and the ways they point me to Jesus). I write to practice gratitude and remembrance. I write to capture and celebrate the extraordinary stories of ordinary people and the Grand Storyteller behind them all. I write to keep the Main Thing the Main Thing--to redirect my focus to Christ. I write to remember who He is, what He did at the cross, what He has done in my life, and what He promises to one day complete.

And I also write about random and/or frivolous things like my pen obsession (which, incidentally, is still the #1 most viewed and commented-upon thing I've ever written...keeps me humble) or grammar (I will freely admit to chronically overusing the ellipsis and the em-dash). 

A few more rooted, less lofty specifics: I grew up in Ohio, graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University, and married a boy I'd known since we were seven and loved since we were seventeen. We moved to the Nashville area immediately after our wedding, and I will be forever grateful to the South for introducing me to tomato pie.

When I'm not writing, you might find me making said pie and other kitchen messes, singing and snuggling and reading with my boys (ages 7 and 4), ballroom dancing in the living room with Mr. Wonderful, pretending to be a photographer, or working on one of our many never-ending home renovation projects. Or, OK, let's be honest: I'm sorry to say you're also likely to find me wasting time on Facebook and procrastinating from cleaning my shower.

At any rate, if you’d told me ten years ago that I would even think of mentioning cooking in a bio, I would have declared you certifiably insane…which helps me remember that God is in the business of changing people, even if the process is slower than my perfectionistic self would prefer.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you'll stick around...maybe even leave a comment...or subscribe via email or Facebook.

The Simple Woman's Daybook ~ 11.2.14

So it's Day 2 of NaBloPoMo, and I open my computer with twenty minutes until bedtime, having no idea what I'm going to write about. Off to a solid start.

I haven't done The Simple Woman's Daybook in over a year and a half, so I think we'll start the week with a little throwback... 


Outside my window...
darkness--but this morning was much more interesting. It wasn't even windy, but for some reason all the leaves on a huge tree outside our back door decided to let go all at once in a flurry of yellow, carpeting our patio and driveway. Strange and beautiful.

I am thinking... 
that I would rather be relaxing and reading right now, like my husband is next to me, than writing this post...but also that I'm super thankful to have a laptop now so I can be curled up in the big chair-and-a-half with him while I type.

I am thankful for... 
the above :) plus a hike with my guys this afternoon and sweet fellowship with friends over dinner both last night and tonight.

From the kitchen...
Steve made pumpkin pancakes for breakfast this morning, which sounded amazing but totally wasn't--we need a better recipe. The cinnamon cream syrup (a Pancake Pantry knockoff) was delicious. Tomorrow I need to cook a pork loin that's been in the freezer for almost a year, but I have no idea what to do with it. I also need to bake something for MOPS--probably something pumpkin-y, but I haven't decided. Scones? Bread? Muffins? Cookies?

I am wearing...
an old pair of jeans and a royal blue fleece sweatshirt with a white tank top underneath.

I am creating... 
a gallery wall for my dining room, after thinking/talking about it for five or six years.

I am going... 
to be getting two significant things in the mail soon: a final letter from the Compassion child I've sponsored for 14 years, and a packet of information about the new child we started sponsoring in her place. Love being a part of the ministry of Compassion International and excited to build a relationship with an older girl who's been waiting almost a year for a sponsor.

I am reading... 
Coming of Age in Mississippi, an autobiography about a woman involved in the civil rights movement of the 1960s; Jesus on Every Page; Extravagant Grace; North! Or Be Eaten (to the boys after school); The Boxcar Children (to Jude during lunch while Elijah's at school); Bittersweet. That's the short list of what I've had going recently. Bible-wise, I'm studying 1 John using Jen Wilkin's curriculum.

I am hoping... 
to start a Simeon Trust online course soon, after hearing a rave recommendation from a friend last night.

I am hearing... 
the exhaust fan in the bathroom and the white noise machine upstairs. We are big fans of white noise around here. Also, random bits of Taylor Swift songs running through my head after passing her on the trail at Warner Park this afternoon (for real!).

Around the house... 
y'all. I am afraid to say it out loud...but I have a solid prospect of AFTER photos this month!! My husband has been working hard. He measured and cut the rest of the oak treads for the stairs yesterday (half of them are already finished and installed). A little staining and varnishing, plus some nail-hole-filling and painting of the risers on my part, and we will be officially finished with the stairs, upstairs hallway and downstairs hallway!

One of my favorite things... 
the fact that my boys have terrible taste in candy, meaning they are content to enjoy Tootsie Rolls and Dum-Dums and Laffy Taffy while I eat all their chocolate. How anyone would choose a roll of Smarties over a Snickers is utterly beyond me.

A few plans for the rest of the week... 
my Monday starts with spending the morning at a friend's house, chatting and studying Genesis. Tuesday is our monthly MOPS meeting, with a friend and her girls coming over for lunch afterward. Wednesday night we host dinner (a weekly thing) with our small group. Thursday morning I volunteer at Elijah's school. And on Friday a couple of friends are coming over to finish watching the videos from The Gospel Coalition Women's Conference--we watched together live back in June, but didn't get to see any of the Sunday sessions. Lots of great stuff going on!

A picture thought I am sharing... 
my favorite superheroes: Spidey (Cowboy Edition) and Super E.

Would You Speak to Her That Way?

I was sitting at Chick-Fil-A with a friend last week when I looked down and noticed an earring-back lying on the table. My hands went to my ears, and I realized that one of the silver studs I'd been wearing was gone.

My friend and I scanned the table and the floor; I combed over my scarf and shook out my jacket. It was gone. And Chick-Fil-A was the third place I'd been since leaving home, so the earring could have been anywhere.

They were brand-new earrings, a gift from my parents. I had a pair of silver ball studs like these before, and I wore them almost every day until the cheap silver coating started to peel off. So my mom had gotten me a nicer, sterling silver pair for Christmas.

My inner monologue went something like this: "It's all your fault. It was so stupid of you to wear those with loose backs. You *knew* those backs were looser than they should have been. Why would you wear nice earrings with loose backs? Stupid. I can't believe you did that. And now it's gone."

It's not like they were hundred-dollar diamond earrings. And it's not like they were irreplaceable heirlooms handed down from a beloved grandmother. I tried to tell myself, "It's just STUFF...this isn't worth getting so upset about." But still I felt sick about it, mad at myself.

Given that earlier that evening, I'd just had my first counseling session, I journaled a little and asked my counselor if she thought that reaction was normal. [You're in counseling? Yes, yes I am. Truth be told, I think we could all use someone to come alongside us from time to time and help us grow in our ability to think biblically and love well...and it should be happening a lot more in the church, informally. No major crises in my life, just feeling "stuck" in the same old, same old struggles and sins. A friend of mine has been seeing this counselor for quite some time and has had great things to say. I feel blessed to be getting some help from her now, too.]

"Normal?" Pamela responded when we talked this week. "Well, it's not the way God would have you talk to His beloved daughter. It's not godly self-talk. God doesn't talk to you that way. If He admonishes us, it's not in a condemning tone. Romans 8:1 tells us that."

I was expecting, I suppose, some sort of analysis of my thought process. Instead, Pamela's simple, straightforward words sliced sharply through my self-absorption.  

Her comments have been on a loop in my mind ever since. Would I talk to the teenage girl I mentor that way? Never. Would I use this tone of voice with my best friend? I wouldn't think of it. Would I berate my sisters in the church like this? No, no, no. Even if I did think one of these precious women had done something dumb, I wouldn't dream of addressing her with the tone or the words inside my own head.

So why do I think it's OK to talk to myself that way?

No brilliant, tidy conclusions to this post; I guess one of the things Pamela and I will be exploring is how to silence that harsh inner critic and replace condemnation with conviction. Just wanted to share some food for thought while I am still "in process," before I can tie it all up with a bow :)

Oh, and the earring? Pamela found it it in her office. It must have snagged and fallen out when I took my scarf off. The kindness of God, in the midst of my mess.

The Simple Woman's Daybook ~ 2.22.13

Because I find myself alone in a quiet house, because the blog has been quiet, because I haven't done one since before Christmas...a little Simple Woman's Daybook to end the week... 


Outside my window...
dark and quiet. An orangey streetlight, a tiny red airplane tower light blinking, the occasional car driving by.

I am thinking... 
that after I finish this, I should go curl up in the armchair in the living room and do some catch-up journaling/Bible reading. 

I am thankful for... 
two new moms who have shared with me recently that my vulnerability and honesty in talking with them about my struggles adjusting to motherhood has proved helpful and encouraging to them. It is still hard to put myself out there and have those conversations, but hearing tearful thanks from struggling mamas makes it so worth it. 

From the kitchen...
I almost never buy zucchini and summer squash anywhere but the farmers' market, in season, but it was on sale at Kroger this week so I picked some up. That sauteed with onions hit the spot for a side dish (to go with grilled salmon) at dinner tonight. Last night we had Thai chicken tacos, and tomorrow night I might try these similar-but-different black bean tacos. Tonight and tomorrow morning I'm doing some cooking for a friend who just had a baby. She needs breakfast foods, so I'm making zucchini muffins and bacon, egg and cheese cups. Steve's going to contribute our favorite oatmeal pancakes.

I am wearing...
I'm in sweats now; what I was wearing earlier was more interesting: a black button-down shirt; a red cashmere cardigan which has a giant hole in the sleeve that I pretend doesn't exist because I love the sweater so much; my first-ever pair of skinny jeans, which unfortunately don't fit right; and these red flats I'm in love with. I've wanted red shoes for ages and scored these before Christmas for less than $15 from Kohl's. So fun!

I am creating... 
digital scrapbooks, for the first time in my life. I've made a photo book online only once before, when I needed to write a social story to prepare Elijah for the birth of his baby brother. I used to be really into scrapbooking, but that fell by the wayside long ago. With the advent of digital photography, making books digitally, too, just seems so much more practical. Friends of mine make a book every year, and I love the idea but have never done it until now. I got my first one (January-April 2012) in the mail last week and I love it! It's nothing spectacular design-wise, but I'm thrilled to have all those pictures printed and captioned and preserved. Now Shutterfly is running another sale, so I'm uploading pics to work on the rest of 2012.

I am going... 
to two private school open houses next week. Our school decision is looming. Elijah will start kindergarten in the fall, and we have absolutely no idea what we're going to do. All options (public, private, homeschool) are still on the table, and we continue to think, read, talk and pray about what will be best for our family. 

I am reading... 
my old journals from college. Love looking back on my life, seeing how far God has brought me, thanking Him for the amazing people He put in my life back then, remembering answered prayers and fun experiences. I recently started 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess, which I think I need to read very slowly--like a chapter at a time, then put it down and let that topic marinate for a while, do some related fasting of my own. I finally picked up Charlotte Mason's Original Homeschooling Series but am totally overwhelmed (any recommendations on which parts to hit first?). And I was excited to find The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge--a book I've been wanting to read since our walk across the bridge last September--on a friend's shelf recently...but 140 pages in, I'm bored out of my mind. And since it's a 600-pager, I'm about ready to give it a tl;dr. Not at all impressed with David McCullough thus far. I also recently finished Going Public: Your Child Can Thrive in Public School, which I found helpful.

For my Bible reading, I'm in Exodus. I'm liking how I decided to flip back and forth with my reading plan: Acts, Genesis, Romans, Exodus, 1 Corinthians, Leviticus, etc.

I am hoping... 
to find someone to watch Jude a couple of times a month so I can volunteer at the elementary school where Elijah would go next year if we choose public school. I really hate not living closer to our families or our church family!

I am hearing... 
the oven buzzer, and blissful silence. Love late nights when everyone else is sleeping. Sadly I do not get to indulge my night-owl preferences very often. Just isn't good for me or my family, most of the time.

Around the house... 
I discovered some sort of teeny tiny bug in my dry-goods cupboard...gross, right?...so I get to spend tomorrow emptying the entire cupboard, figuring out what they've gotten into, throwing out tons of ruined food, cleaning, and repackaging things into airtight containers. FUN TIMES.

One of my favorite things... 
Elijah being a kind big brother--and his eagerness to please his daddy, wanting me to tell Steve about how he was kind or how he obeyed. 

A few plans for the rest of the week... 
heading to a baby shower tomorrow afternoon; possibly having dinner with friends on Sunday.

A picture thought I am sharing... 
Clifford the Big Red Dog is Jude's BFF. As in, Jude won't go to bed without Clifford, insists that Clifford sit next to him at breakfast, and likes to read books to Clifford. It's irritating at times, but also really adorable:

The Simple Woman's Daybook ~ 11.29.12

Because I need more time to compose the next installment of our love story, a little Simple Woman's Daybook...

Outside my window...

darkness; all I can see is my own reflection and an orange streetlight across the way. The moon was gorgeous tonight though--full or close to it, glowing soft through clouds. 

I am thinking...

that I'm glad I kept a journal so diligently growing up. It's a blessing to be able to revisit my past and remember details I had long forgotten. 

I am thankful for...

grace to fight sin and win small victories. 

From the kitchen...

ruby chicken tonight, at Steve's request for "something cranberry." We're (okay, Steve is) going to smoke some turkey on Saturday, which will be delicious with some roasted cauliflower, and then I am eagerly anticipating using some of the turkey leftovers for turkey panzanella on Monday. I'm also itching to make some chocolate chip cookies. I can't even remember the last time I made those. 

I am wearing...

an old favorite pair of jeans that have always been too big in the waist, but which my sister-in-law took in for me last week; a pink Richmond Fire Department t-shirt from my brother over a white long-sleeved t-shirt; pink socks and my old worn-out suede sneakers. 

I am creating...

Christmas wishlists and gifts for family...or at least, I'm *supposed* to be creating those...

I am going...

straight to bed after finishing this post. Do not check Facebook, do not collect $200. 

I am reading...

the aforementioned old journals. It started with pulling out fall of my sophomore year of college, just for fun, but now I've backtracked to high school to research for my blog series about how Steve and I got together. Makes my runs go faster, for sure :) As far as published books go, I'm reading Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near-Death of an American City, which I am finding cumbersome because of the author's annoying writing style. I'm also in and out of Love Walked Among Us: Learning to Love Like Jesus, The Great Divorce and Knowing God. Soon I will be picking up an Advent book or two--I bought Behold the Lamb of God last year, and recently downloaded (for free, both of them!) Touching Wonder: Recapturing the Awe of Christmas and Good News of Great Joy

For my Bible reading, I'm in John and almost done with round two of Psalms. Still using my reading plan. 

I am hoping...

that Jude is miraculously well enough for all of us to go to church on Sunday. He's been running a fever the last two days, poor little buddy. Definitely don't want to spread germs around the nursery. After being gone the last two Sundays, I just hate for one of us to miss again!

I am hearing...

coughing, all the time. Elijah's nasty cough has hung on for a month now, and just when I thought Jude was out of the woods, he started in this week. Ugh. 

Around the house...

Christmas music playing 24/7 - I refuse to put it on until the day after Thanksgiving, and then I make up for lost time :) 

One of my favorite things...

the warmth of Christmas tree lights twinkling in the chill of the early morning, while I curl up in a chair with a hot drink and an afghan crocheted by my grandmother. 

A few plans for the rest of the week...

Tonight began and ended with beautiful women: mentoring with a teenage friend from church, and then calling my own mentor on the way home and catching up with her. Such blessings. Tomorrow I want to enjoy some time outside with the boys, since I think we're supposed to have another warm, gorgeous day. Headed to a friend's baby shower on Saturday, and then having my women's retreat planning committee and their families over for dinner on Sunday night. 

A picture thought I am sharing...
here's a preview of the upcoming love story series. Remember that eighth grade comment about how we always stand together in line? Case in point...here I was probably wishing it was "The Wedding March" instead of "Pomp and Circumstance" :)

 

Cringeworthy

The oldest of my diaries were in a box in my parents' basement until last week, so now that I have access, I dug out volume 12 yesterday afternoon. I wanted to refresh my memory about how exactly the next chapter of my long history with Steve unfolded, and as I read and copied excerpts from April-May 1996, I was cracking up. Oh, the teenage angst.

After we put the boys to bed, Steve wanted to hear what I'd been laughing about when he got home, so  I read aloud the relevant parts. And they were hysterical--truly. Almost immediately, I was both laughing and crying uncontrollably. It was a shade different from simply "laughing so hard you have tears streaming down your face," and I wasn't exactly sure what was going on.

The diaries are funny on two levels: first, because I was so melodramatic. I was a very precocious child, the 14-going-on-30 type, and you can tell by the way I wrote that I was a reader. You can also tell that I read a mix of books with mature vocabulary, and magazines like YM and Seventeen that used words like "crushing" and "I dig him." OY. And second, because of the irony. It is hilarious because I know how the story ends, because 30-year-old me is reading it out loud to 30-year-old Steve, and our children are sleeping upstairs.

And yet on another level, they're painfully funny, with emphasis on the "painful." However ridiculous my words sound with a decade and a half of perspective, I was serious as a heart attack when I wrote them. I really did think that "the stakes are so high." I really did think that my life was pathetic because here I was in eighth grade and didn't have a boyfriend and probably I'd be single forever. It's silly in hindsight, but the emotions were deeply felt at the time.

As Steve and I lay in bed talking about it later, I thought about my tearful laughter. I realized that it's like, if I laugh hard enough, if I am first to ridicule her, then when you all laugh, you are laughing *with* me instead of *at* her (me). Part of me wants to share all these priceless gems with you, because they really are so stinking hilarious. Yet part of me does feel a little embarrassed putting 14-year-old me out there to be publicly humiliated. I laugh--but there are some tears mixed into the laughter, because I remember that awkward girl with her very real hurts. I kind of want to hug her and tell her it will all be OK.

So I wonder if it really is fair to hang her out and laugh at her, in part because while it would be extremely funny to my 20-and-up readers, it might hit a little too close to home for my younger teenage friends. You can laugh at someone else's teenage angst when your own is equally past and equally laughable (if not equally well preserved)...but can you laugh at someone else's teenage angst when you're in the midst of your own, and your own isn't funny yet? Is it insulting, instead of funny, to watch others laugh at a girl who lived sixteen years ago but was a whole lot like you are now? And, am I really able to simultaneously show compassion and patience toward teen girls while mocking the teen girl I once was?

I'm still mulling over these things (and would love your comments, especially any of you younger readers). Meanwhile, I am thankful to have this record of my life, cringe-inducing though it may be. It helps me see, in black and white, just how very far I have come and how much work God has done in me. And I hope it will give me better empathy and understanding for young girls in my life, whether my own daughters someday or other girls I have the privilege of loving and walking alongside. And also, in the end, it really is great for a laugh.


*The title of this post is a nod to Sarah Brown's Cringe, a book as well as a public reading series. From her website: 

Once a month, brave souls come forward and read aloud from their teenage diaries, journals, notes, letters, poems, abandoned rock operas, and other general representations of the crushing misery of their humiliating adolescence. It’s better and cheaper than therapy.

"Best Of" Choosing Hallelujah: A Blog Retrospective

While we're catching up on old memes...Zoanna is always a great source for them, even if I don't come back to them for a year and a half :)

This one involves looking back through your old posts--that means almost a decade worth, since I officially started my blog nine years ago today(!)--and highlighting some notables. I'm using the original seven categories plus adding one of my own, just because I can:

(1) Most Beautiful 
The series I wrote on Jude's birth is pretty dear to my heart--its finale, Jude's Birth: Pain, Peace, Joy, tells a beautiful story and features some of the most precious and beautiful (in my opinion) photographs I own.

(2) Most Popular
Well, this one is easy: Where to Buy Cello Silke Pens takes both this category and #5. The post, alternately titled "The Story of a Crazy Woman and Her Pen Obsession, Part 2," has gotten more than four times as many hits as the next closest post. I continue to get comments on it three years later (it now has more comments on it than my previously most-commented-upon post, which was the announcement of Elijah's birth). My top referrals are usually google searches for "cello pens" or "cello silke" or some variation thereof. I did title the post to maximize search hits, but I certainly never dreamed it would take off like it did. It makes me smile every time I get a note in my inbox from some new, desperate, pen-obsessive searcher who proclaims that I have just saved their life and they are headed straight to Big Lots :)

When it's this one and the gratitude lists that get the most positive feedback, you get a good dose of humility as a blogger, that's for sure :)

(3) Most Controversial
I'm stumped here--I don't tend to post about controversial things all that often, or if I do, people don't comment much. The only thing that comes to mind is that whenever I post about anger, I seem to get pushback from people who don't like my labeling anger as sin. The last time was two years ago, when I  said I'd work on a follow-up...no surprise that I still haven't gotten around to that, either. It's on my NaBloPoMo list for this month, so we'll see. At any rate, previous anger posts have included:
Angry Baby
Anger is Not Neutral
Anger: Being the Wrong Kind of Image-Bearer
Thinking Biblically About Frustration

(4) Most Helpful 
I guess that Cello pen post would technically win here, too, but I want to look at some other posts! I don't know how helpful this has been to others, but Grace is Like Manna has been hugely helpful in my life, and the lesson/concept it describes is one I regularly share with others in real life. In the same vein, Who Gets the Last Word is another one I have to preach to myself and others constantly (and since Zo, who tagged me on this, called this one "perhaps one of the best ever," I guess it should get a mention!).

(5) Most Surprisingly Successful
See #2 above.

(6) Most Ignored 
I know I've had countless posts that I felt great about posting and then didn't get much (or any) feedback, but no specific ones come to mind. My comments section is generally not very lively, and I check my statistics very rarely, so I really don't have a sense of what actually gets read and what gets ignored. Sometimes I feel like I am just shouting into the void :)

(7) Most Proud Of
I'm running out of blogging-time here, so I'm going to cop out on this one and refer you to my "Favorite Posts" list in the sidebar. I'll go ahead and link here to a more recent post that's not listed there, What We Forget; What He Forgets--since ultimately my goal is to boast only in the cross, and if there's one thing I want to do here, it's point you to the beauty of Jesus.

(8) Most Vulnerable/Hardest to Write
Without a doubt, it was Crushed by Mother-Guilt, the beginning of a four-part series about my difficult and painful adjustment to motherhood. It was even harder after a couple of negative comments I got on part three--but I'd still like to think that this series could fall under the "most helpful" category, too.

I'd love to hear from you, if you have a favorite post or something I've written that has really struck a nerve. And I'm not going to bother tagging anyone on this, but if you want to participate, feel free and give me a heads-up in the comments section.

Fabulous Blogs

Day 2 of NaBloPoMo and I am already posting somewhat last-minute...this is a rough start. Oy!

Part of this month will be playing catch-up with things that have been in my drafts folder for months (or in some cases, years). Back in July, the lovely Zoanna of A Penchant for Pens honored me with a "Fabulous Blog Award." I thanked her then, but am just now getting around to participating in the accompanying meme.

Zoanna is one of the delightful women I have come to know and enjoy through blogging, but have yet to have the pleasure of meeting in real life. Someday, I hope! I appreciate her sense of humor (especially her knack for puns), her love of good grammar, her honesty. I'm also glad for what she brings to the blog-world in terms of wisdom and life experience. It's so easy to surround ourselves with women who are in the same season of life as we are, and while that can be valuable and encouraging, we miss so much if we are not seeking out and listening to the voices of women who have "been there, done that." So stop over and check out her blog!

Next I'm supposed to give you a few lists:

Five fabulous moments in my life...

1. hearing Steve recite wedding vows to me
2. seeing Jude pink up after his beautiful birth and several moments of a gray, motionless baby
3. my first stuff-block in junior high volleyball
4. giving my testimony as a college ministry team member at the youth camp where I got saved
5. listening to a high school girl I'd informally mentored over the years read a tribute to me as an influential person in her life

Five things I love...

1. my kids' belly laughs
2. the anticipation of beginning a new journal/the satisfaction of filling one up
3. long talks with kindred spirits
4. photo Christmas cards all over my refrigerator
5. having my hair played with

Five things I hate...

1. typos and other errors in official, published works
2. misrepresentations or distortions of my theological beliefs
3. seeing my kids sick and feeling helpless
4. doing things I suck at
5. olives

And then, as is usually the case with unofficial "blog awards," I am supposed to pass it on. Like Zoanna, I too feel a little goofy passing the award along because, as she said, "Some folks don't feel so much honored as pressured to reciprocate." So I'm going to link you to five blogs I enjoy. If you see yourself below and you want to participate, have fun playing along--and if you don't feel like it, just know that I think your blog is fabulous, and enjoy the tiny bit of extra traffic I may drive your way!

All This Every Day
I met Robin at the aforementioned youth camp, when I was a senior in high school and she was a freshman (I think...right?). We were then at college together for a year before I graduated. The more I read her blog, the more I wish our time at college had overlapped more--or rather, the more I think I'd enjoy spending time with the lovely and interesting woman she has become! At her blog, you'll find foodie posts, beauty reviews, travelogues and poignant reflections. I loved the letter she recently wrote to her 14-year-old self--in fact I may end up riffing off of it later this month.

A Passing Glimpse
Jenny and I were acquaintances in college; one of her best friends was my senior-year roommate. I have so enjoyed hearing her heart and getting to know her better in the years since via her blog. She writes with piercing beauty and grace--first about her painful journey through infertility and pursuing adoption, and now about her precious new son Tedy, who I think is the cutest baby I have ever seen other than my own. Jenny hasn't been a mom for very long, but she definitely convicts and inspires me! The perspective she has gained through the long wait and the hard road to motherhood have, I am quite sure, made her a uniquely wonderful mother--Tedy is a blessed little guy.

Glory Itches
Ali is married to one of my husband's many wonderful cousins. Steve has such an awesome extended family! Unfortunately we rarely get to see or spend time with Josh and Ali, since they live so far away, but I am glad for the glimpses of Ali's heart through her blog. I definitely think that if we lived closer, I would be wanting to spend a lot of time hanging out with and learning from her!

Ten Thousand Things
I just stumbled across Megan's brand-new blog a couple of weeks ago, and I immediately subscribed. Her title comes from a fabulous John Piper quote: "God does ten thousand things in every deed. Perhaps we know a dozen. Maybe two. But not enough to judge before He's through." I don't know Megan at all, but she's been through a whole lot of heartbreaking trials in the last few years--and she writes about them with vulnerability and grace.

Dancing By the Light
Danielle is another blog-friend whom I hope to meet someday. I don't remember exactly how we got connected, but we've followed each other through the last five years or so--her twin boys are just a couple of months older than Elijah, and her baby girl is Jude's age. She doesn't blog all that often, but I love her "slice of life" style--slowing down to notice the simple things; looking for Christ in the everyday moments. You can also count on finding gorgeous photography (she has a side business) at her place. I think of her and wonder, WHY has God scattered all my kindred spirits all over the country?

Ladies, your blogs are fabulous :) Everyone else: Happy weekend reading!

The Simple Woman's Daybook ~ 10.31.12

For my only non-gratitude-list post this month (good grief), a little  Simple Woman's Daybook...

Outside my window...

just a few yellow leaves stubbornly hanging on to the branches of a big old maple that has dumped most of the rest of its leaves all over our back patio, and the sky is the kind of crisp fall blue that's my favorite. 

I am thinking...

that I hate deckle-edged books. Does anyone really like them? Why do they make them that way? Annoying. 

I am thankful for...

opportunities to meet and connect with the moms of some of Elijah's preschool friends. 

From the kitchen...

I took Smitten Kitchen's brown butter brown sugar shorties to Elijah's preschool party this morning. Like Deb warned, they are a hard sell on a dessert table full of colorful cupcakes and frosted cookies, but those who tried them raved about them. Browned butter, sweet + salty, only four ingredients...you kind of can't go wrong. You can go wrong, however, with her chicken noodle soup recipe, if you use an old stew bird that takes hours and hours to get tender, rather than the 20 minutes the recipe prescribes. Thankfully I was able to pull something out of the freezer on Monday night and we ate the soup yesterday--and Jude, who usually isn't a soup fan, asked for fourths or fifths (I lost track). Pretty sure I could have put the broth in a cup and he would have happily chugged it. 

I am wearing...

an old favorite sweater--light blue cashmere 3/4 sleeve turtleneck. I would wear cashmere all winter if it weren't so stinking expensive; this one I scored off-season at an Ann Taylor outlet years and years ago for a ridiculously cheap price. And the only pair of jeans I own which fit me well and don't have any holes in them. Plus some brown suede sneakers that I've had for at least three years or so and are looking pretty worn out. Mama needs to go shopping. 

I am creating...

a plan for blogging every day next month. Stay tuned!

I am going...

to get my Christmas cards ordered this week. I think. 

I am reading...

Downtown: My Manhattan, a NYC book that's part-history, part-memoir, and much more interesting than the last NYC history book I read. I recently finished Grisham's The Associate, which started out promising but left me sticking to my belief that he lost his touch after his first four bestsellers (I loved The Client, A Time to Kill, The Pelican Brief and The Firm and haven't really found one of his novels satisfying since). I recently picked up Paul Miller's Love Walked Among Us: Learning to Love Like Jesus, and I'm almost finished with The White Umbrella: Walking with Survivors of Sex Trafficking. A dear friend and I are still slowly plodding through Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline, and next up once I finish one of these will probably be The Great Divorce and From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

For my Bible reading, I'm in Luke and Psalms. My reading plan continues to be critical for keeping me on track. 

I am hoping...

that my pocket camera can be fixed :( The lens cover randomly stopped working last week, but I was still able to take photos with it, and then all of a sudden Saturday I couldn't take pictures anymore, either. 

I am hearing...

the Downton Abbey soundtrack on Spotify. So nice to be able to preview albums before you buy them!  (And I am dying for season three to come out!)

Around the house...

unpleasant things, including a you-know-what hiding somewhere upstairs. Apparently both Steve and Elijah actually spotted it over the weekend, but Steve spared me the knowledge until Monday afternoon. As of yesterday evening it was still on the loose, but we're not seeing any evidence in the kitchen or anywhere else. I am fervently hoping it either went away on its own, or it is in one of the traps and Steve will find it when he gets home tonight. *shiver*

One of my favorite things...

yellow gingko trees in the fall. Do they have those up north? I never noticed or knew about them until we moved down here. 

A few plans for the rest of the week...

nothing much going on; last week was our crazy-busy week (a visit from my parents, a trip to Warner Park, Elijah's last two soccer games, a playdate with a preschool friend, a trip to Cheekwood, a trip to Cowboy Town...WHEW!). I am very much looking forward to Saturday, though--two friends/fellow women's retreat planners and I are taking a day trip to Fall Creek Falls State Park to explore the location for February's retreat!

A picture thought I am sharing...
my boys were firefighters for Elijah's preschool party this morning, in honor of Uncle Josh :)

The Simple Woman's Daybook ~ 9.27.12

I have so many things I want and need to blog about...today, to get me back into the groove, a little  Simple Woman's Daybook. 

Outside my window...

all wet from overnight storms, but sunshine now. I love how the trees are just starting to turn orange in a few spots on the edges. Looking forward to seeing our neighborhood turn brilliant colors over the next several weeks. 

I am thinking...

that I really need to do some journaling after I finish this blog post. A big jumble of thoughts running through my head this morning that won't get sorted out until I verbally process. 

I am thankful for...

the opportunity to speak to a group of moms and daughters this past Monday. My mentor, Diane, is part of a "Keepers at Home" group, and this year, their theme is gratitude (they're reading through Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts). Diane asked me to come do their kickoff meeting, and it was a gift to be able to share my heart with the women and girls. 

From the kitchen...

after being gone the last few days, our fridge is pretty bare! I made sausage gravy last night and pulled some Smitten Kitchen biscuits out of the freezer (can I just say, I am so sad that she is not coming to Nashville for her cookbook release tour?!). Lunch was SK's zucchini bread pancakes, since I had milk and zucchini to use up and no leftovers to serve the boys for lunch anyway. (For topping, we used an adapted version of the fabulous cream cheese topping from her carrot cake pancakes, which are also delicious.) And dinner will be white chicken chili, also from the freezer. I need to make a new meal plan...but we needed to be using meals from the freezer anyway. Have I mentioned how much I love freezer cooking?? SO BRILLIANT.   

I am wearing...

a white skirt (gasp! after Labor Day! it didn't occur to me until after I'd already put it on), a purple shirt (the one from the photo in the top right corner, incidentally), and black and white flip-flops. 

I am creating...

a travelogue from my recent NYC trip...or at least, I'm *going* to be creating one, soon...

I am going...

to my alma mater for homecoming this year--to sing in the alumni chorale with the Gaither Vocal Band! SO EXCITED!

I am reading...

I just joined Goodreads, and it struck me earlier this morning that my "currently reading" list is unusually reflective of my life and interests right now. It's not always so balanced and diverse, but at the moment, it says a lot: American Metropolis: A History of New York City (picked up at the Strand when I was in NYC, reflective of my love for the city); Washington Square (an 1800s novel set in NYC), The Invisible Line: Three American Families and the Secret Journey from Black to White (an audiobook reflecting my growing interest in reading history books); Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline (I must admit I'm not *actively* reading this one for several weeks--but I have every intention of coming back to it); The Explicit Gospel and Mockingjay. Fiction and nonfiction, contemporary and old, gospel, history, and parenting. Nice. 

For my Bible reading, I'm in Matthew and Psalms. My reading plan continues to be critical for keeping me on track. 

I am hoping...

to go to Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God concert this December. I so love that album but have never made it to the live performance--have heard it is just amazing. 

I am hearing...

the white noise from Jude's monitor, and the clinking sounds of Lego construction from Elijah at the dining room table. Also trying out The Decemberists for the first time on Spotify. I don't usually listen to music while I'm sitting here, but a friend recommended them on Facebook the other day so I finally remembered to give them a listen. 

Around the house...

I still haven't completely unpacked from our trip. Laundry is piled up waiting to be done. The kitchen is piled with last night's dishes because I helped Steve bottle his latest batch of wine instead of cleaning up after supper. And yet I sit here blogging...

One of my favorite things...

black and white damask. 

A few plans for the rest of the week...

Soccer practice tonight, and then a nice low-key evening at home tomorrow after what has felt like several chaotic weeks. We'll make up for it on Saturday. I'm hitting my favorite annual used-book sale in the morning, meeting a friend for coffee afterward, and then taking the boys to Cowboy Town as a belated birthday gift to Elijah. 

A picture thought I am sharing...

Diane and me at her house earlier this week, after the Keepers meeting. LOVE HER!