• Coronavirus Pandemic,  Faith,  Family

    Stubborn Girl

    Written April 21, 2020 Picture this.  A little redheaded toddler crying and wanting to leave her daycare center.   Pretty normal right?  But no, she says she doesn’t want to come back. She refuses to stop crying until her mom comes to pick her up.  And when she gets home, she tells her dad she is not going back.    No, I’m not talking about my daughter.  I’m talking about my earliest memory.  I went to preschool a couple days a week when I was 3 for socialization (only child here) and I did not like that one.   I do not remember the logistics of why I did not like it, but…

  • Coronavirus Pandemic,  Family,  Hobbies,  Travel

    There is something about the Beach

    Written April 15, 2020 People write songs about it.  Movies are often filmed on it.   There is something magical about the Beach.  I didn’t go to the beach until I was 13 or 14 years old.   And then I didn’t go again for about the same number of years.   When I experienced the beach again as an adult, I couldn’t understand why anyone wouldn’t go as often as possible.   And since this quarantine, I’ve been craving that salty air and toes in the sand even more. Andy proposed to me on Pier 60 at Clearwater Beach so I will always have a special place in my heart for that particular…

  • Coronavirus Pandemic,  Faith,  Family

    Life after the Pandemic: Going back to “normal”

    Written April 4, 2020 I do not think we should go back to life as it was before this pandemic once we can leave our houses again.  Let me explain before you all throw items at me from 6 feet away. I realize we are closer to the beginning than to the end of this pandemic.  I already want so badly to see family and friends, go to concerts, go on trips, have date nights with Andy, take Hannah to the zoo, etc.  I could go on and on about what I want to go back to after this. But I think some things are better left behind. The majority…

  • Coronavirus Pandemic,  Family,  Travel

    Gatlinburg: My spirit place

    Written April 1, 2020 A spirit place is a thing right? Like a spirit animal, but a place.  Well I guess it is now haha.   And Gatlinburg is that place for me. We are all cooped up at home right now, staying safe from the coronavirus.  All this time at home has many people, including myself, daydreaming about trips far away from our houses.  We are hoping to go to Gatlinburg in the Fall and are very ready to get there again. We were on a schedule of visiting Gatlinburg every 6 months for a while before we had Hannah.  We have went once since she was born but she…

  • Faith,  Family

    The American Dream: Is it really for me?

    Written June 18, 2019 A house in the suburbs, a white picket fence and 2.5 kids tend to represent the American Dream.  I can picture the fluffy situation in my head. I’m pretty sure most family oriented commercials in the 90s used this scenario to sell their products.  I think the American Dream is a really great dream for a lot of people, but as I get older, I find my dreams to be a little different. Now don’t get me wrong, I might end up in a house in the suburbs with a white picket fence and 2.5 kids (oh boy, I think I’ll stick to one, but I’ll…