Our collective gaze is directed toward the western North Carolina mountains. Places I’ve known and visited as a child- Chimney Rock, Lake Lure, Black Mountain- so recently devastated by a storm that should have never reached their borders, were caught completely off their guard. When Helene stalled out over the Smokies after several days of …
No More Stumbling in the Dark
Our younger son, Jacob, recently renewed his hunting license in time for bow season. He has two small tree stands on property we own that had fallen into disrepair, but just before Helene, he and his dad replaced the tether straps and made them ready for deer season. He placed trail cameras which quickly confirmed …
Accustomed To The Dark
Our power was out for a week in the aftermath of Helene. My husband and I, and of course Jake, our Great Dane shared our space with my daughter and her boys whose neighborhood in the North Carolina foothills was hit harder and also at times with my son’s family who lives locally but was …
Why Timothy?
What do you do when your third grandchild doesn’t settle to the same bedtime songs as his older brother and cousin? You reframe Jesus Loves Me, Jesus Loves The Little Children, and This Little Light of Mine to the tune of Hey Diddle Diddle. There are several soft crinkly baby books in my Lolly Bus …
I Hear You
My newest grands, Timothy and Ezra, are at ages where they recognize and respond to familiar faces and voices. Ezra began following his dad with his eyes and Timothy had just started sitting up independently before our recent beach trip. My parents accompanied us and we spent time with my sister and her family while …
My People
Three married children, who made their vows before God and many witnesses, means our family is now eternally intertwined with three others exponentially. His and hers, mine and yours, ours and theirs can become quite confusing, especially since we now have two sons who use the same given name. (It happened in my family too …
An Unqualified Yes
On Wednesday, March 24, 2021, five months into my cancer treatment and three-quarters of the way through my chemotherapy, my website, http://www.afittingreply.com went live. I chose the longest possible commitment period- ten years- and paid in advance to secure my website. I committed to posting twice weekly. There have been days like today when I …
No More Wasted Time
When our kids aren’t sleeping or eating appropriately, we look at what’s going on in the moment to try and find a reason. The problem, however, most likely stems from something further back than we tend to look. Maybe they were exposed to a germ last week that has been working against their little systems. …
I Cried
As I backed the Lolly bus from the garage, I looked up to see if Thomas’s little face was pressed to the window below the blind upstairs. He sleeps in his race car bed in the room above the garage when he visits and he had just told me the previous morning that he peeked …
Let The Walls Fall
Amelia stood in the booth next to me singing Jesus Loves Me at the top of her little lungs. We were waiting for our pizza and her power nap in the car and the sugar from her lemonade had officially kicked in. She and Thomas are practicing to sing together during our family lunch following …
