At the Water's Edge

Full-Time Parents -- to Twin Toddlers!

2021-01-11T22:45:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! 2021 is off to a great start in our household. I can now officially say that we are full-time parents! If you know us well or have been following our journey at all, you know that we have struggled with infertility and after a rough go with IVF, we decided to pursue adoption from foster care. We got our foster license at the end of 2019 and had 11 kids through our home in 2020 for short term respite or emergency care. It was such a great way to get experience with all ages of kids before becoming parents ourselves.

Two of those kids were boy/girl twins who are now two years old. We knew when we met them that their case was headed toward adoption and our agency approached us about potentially being an adoptive home for them. We met them in September when we did respite care for a weekend and they are just the most amazing and adorable kids. It seemed like a dream come true. We had already had a few potential adoption scenarios not pan out, so I tried not to get too excited, but my heart just leapt at the idea of becoming the mama of these two darlings. We did a few visits with them before we were asked to become their formally identified pre-adoptive family in November. November and December were spent as half-time parents as we began to transition the twins into our care. Then on January 4, 2021 they officially entered our care full-time.

They will be with us on a foster care basis until the adoption paperwork is complete. We are told that can take around 5 months, though we have completed most of our portion of it already. The kids have to be in our home for at least 6 months before adoption can be finalized. In the meantime, we are not able to share many details, including photos, due to privacy reasons and foster care rules. But, I assure you that that they are adorable! Everyone who sees us says that if you didn’t know it, you’d think they were our biological kids, and it’s such a natural fit that we feel like they could have been. I have always wanted twins and I would never have imagined that God would have orchestrated something like this. It all feels so right and as soon as we met them we fell in love and felt like they belonged with us. We have been able to connect and bond quickly and easily. They are such fun and happy kids. Before we met them I was told by their caregiver and their social worker that when you think about the twins you can’t help but smile! They can truly make any bad day better just by being themselves.

Life is busy, and it will be very busy for a while with two toddlers! But, I couldn’t feel more blessed than to have the chance to become the mama of these two sweethearts. Lord willing, we will be able to finalize adoption this summer and they will officially be our kids and we will officially be their parents. We are so excited for what 2021 has in store. Tom is the most amazing Dad, and I love to see him love on our kids. I am growing and learning as a mom and appreciate every day. I will be going part time at work, which will be another big change, and we are blessed to be able to have our niece nanny for us while we both work from home.

I write this at a time when our nation is in turmoil. There is so much evil and chaos in this world and I pray that I can raise my kids to be lovers of all people and pursuers or peace, that they will be strong and courageous and seekers of truth all their days, that no matter what the world looks like as they grow up, they would be confident and grow to become the best versions of themselves — a blessing to the world as they already are to all who know them. We are so grateful for the chance to become parents and for the privilege and honor of raising these sweetlings up into adulthood. We are doubly blessed with two amazing kiddos. We know that the challenges will be many, but we also know that we will grow and learn and overcome any obstacles that come our way. Check in with us if you want to know more about our journey into parenthood, and we will share more as we are able. May your new year be as blessed and full of hope and life as ours!

Part-Time Parents

2020-10-28T22:04:00.003-04:00

It’s hard to believe it has been a year since we started our journey into the world of foster care, and yet so much has happened since then. Getting licensed to become foster parents is quite the process in itself. After completing huge stacks of paperwork, background checks, home visits with interviews that lasted a few hours and 36 hours of training, we finally got our license last December. It has been a rollercoaster ever since. We have been providing short term care for kids in foster care — as respite for foster parents, substitute care if foster parents are going out of state or somewhere they can’t bring the kids, or on an emergency basis if our agency is a pinch to find a safe home for a kid. We’ve also had several scenarios that we thought could be permanent and yet were not, which has just been a huge emotional rollercoaster.

The first two kiddos that we had in our care gave us a run for our money. They were 2 and 4 which are tough ages to begin with, but with what they had been through it was intense!! Even though we talked about what to expect in our training classes it does nothing to truly prepare you for the reality of helping kids who have been through extensive trauma. Trauma has a dramatic impact on brain development often leaving kids basically living in survival mode, in that “fight, flight or freeze” mode. That last option, freeze, was one I did not know about until recently, but learned with these kids that that is often my natural response to perceived danger. As the kids’ reaction was fight, I was left paralyzed not sure how to help de-escalate and calm them down. Tom and I both felt very overwhelmed, with a super high level of anxiety and just a dread of what we had gotten ourselves into. We felt like we were walking on eggshells just trying to prevent the next explosion. At this point, I really began to question whether we were cut out for this.

Little did I know that our first experiences would serve as a sort of boot camp to prepare us for whatever lies ahead. I wanted so badly to be able to help these kiddos heal and didn’t like feeling anxious, paralyzed and stuck. So, I did what I do. I dove headfirst into learning everything I could about trauma-informed care, the effects of trauma on brain development and parenting kids from hard places. Many of the best resources I found were based on the principles of Trust Based Relational Intervention, or TBRI. TBRI is a neuroscience based method of helping kids from hard places by first building connection, trust and “felt safety.” There is a difference between being safe and feeling safe and we have to help kids feel safe before they can ever get out of that survival mode in their brain to a place where they can think and make good choices. I am continuing to learn all that I can and what I’ve internalized so far has helped a ton — first by helping me learn to calm down my own brain and emotions when kids fly off the rails, and then to have some tools In my belt to help kids feel understood and soothed so that we can either prevent the meltdowns to begin with or get through them more easily. I’ve also had to adjust some of my own expectations as to what these kids are capable of. Many kids with a history of trauma have a developmental age that’s only about half their chronological age. It’s difficult for the adult mind to understand that a kiddo who was so mature in one moment or one scenario can be stuck at a two year old’s developmental stage when it comes to managing emotions or impulsivity.

Our second experience being part-time parents with kiddos in foster care was a complete 180 from our first. Not that we didn’t have some challenges, but we felt calm internally. The challenges we had were all very manageable, few and far between, and didn’t leave us with feelings of extreme anxiety. And, we had fun!! It was a really interesting time as we had a 5 and 6 year old right as the pandemic began to spike and on the first day of school closures. This experience helped to give me confidence and assure me that we were on the right track and that we could do this...and that we were meant to do this.

Since the beginning of the year, we have had 11 kids in our home for short term care, typically a few days to a week at a time. Our kids’ ages have been 2, 2, 2, 4, 5, 5, 6, 7, 12, 14 and 16! It has been a lot of fun getting to know each one of these children, to learn to look beyond the challenging behaviors that they may have and to see the beautiful and precious child that God created. They have each taught me so much and expanded my heart in new ways. There are so many things I cannot share due to privacy concerns, but I’d like to reflect on some lessons that I’ve leaned from each one of our temporary kids.

1. 4 year old boy: you taught me the importance of humor in parenting and that anger is just a defense mechanism meant to protect the sweet and precious boy underneath that armor. You also taught me to focus on the little victories and just how much kids are listening to and learning from adults.

2. 2 year old boy: you taught me the joy of being a mom — of caring for the physical needs of a child and how rewarding a simple act like comforting a little boy can be.

3. 5 year old boy: you taught me that I need to pay attention to the needs of the well-behaved kids, because sometimes they are struggling too, but turn inward rather than acting out.

4. 6 year old girl: you taught me the delight of a daughter and how much fun spunk and sass can be, and yet how being vulnerable truly opens the way for connection. You also spurred me on to believe in myself.

5. 7 year old boy: you taught me how hard it is for a young child to process the trauma that they have been through, and how kids try so hard and do the best that they can, even if their best isn’t what adults expect out of them. You made me want to find a way to help kids who have been through the worst.

6. 12 year old girl: you taught me how important original families are, even if it wasn’t a good family situation, and that kids can be so so brave.

7. 2 year old girl: you taught me to relish the simple joys, to smile more and increase my happiness factor — and that joy is contagious!

8. 2 year old boy: you taught me the wonder of toddlerhood and the amazing brain of a 2 year old that is learning so much every day! You also taught me how to appreciate the curiosity of toddlers and to view the constant getting into things as important learning.

9. 5 year old boy: you taught me how far I had come in my own growth and ability to help kids, how to help kids with a “redo", as well as the importance of physical activity!

10. 16 year old boy: you taught me the fun and frustration of having a teenager, the intense feelings that come with uncertainty and lack of a permanent family, and how far a little love and care can go.

11. 14 year old girl: you taught me how kind and mature young teens can be, even when they often make bad choices, and how thoughtfully they can make hard decisions that no kid should ever have to make.

While we have only been part time parents here and there we have gotten some really great experience across a broad range of ages, personalities and intensities of behaviors. We have also seen how much these kids crave love and attention and affection — as well as the benefits of our own in-home therapy dog! The needs are great and the circumstances are tragic, but instead of dread, I now feel a sense of excitement when we get a call from our agency about taking a kid into our care — because I have confidence that even a short term dose of love and fun and care in our home can go a long way and because I’m excited to get to know another precious child and find out what they have to teach me.

Ultimately our hope has been to be able to adopt a child (or two) who need a permanent home. As a family without kids, and the desire to be parents, it seemed like a great way to step in to meet a need and also grow our own family. It’s a complicated process with so many mixed emotions as any adoption stems from a broken family, and most of these kiddos have some significant challenges as they heal from their past. Our experience so far in part-time parenting has been great preparation for the journey into permanent parenthood that we hope lies around the bend.

Fostering Hope in the New Year

2020-01-01T13:27:00.002-05:00

2019 was a bit of a rollercoaster. And the ride has just begun! After a rough start to the year health-wise for me, things got even more intense as we navigated our journey with IVF. After that loss and the whole terrible experience (and poor results), we decided that that was the end of the road for pursuing biological kids. It took a long time to come to that end, and it was a painful end. But, it does feel good to finally have some closure. With that possibility off the table, it opened up another world of possibilities to us. We have room in our home and in our hearts, and a desire to make a positive impact on the next generation. So, this past August we decided to pursue becoming foster parents.

Becoming a foster parent is a daunting task in many regards! After completing an application, we had two home visits from licensing workers, had a textbook size stack of rules and regulations to read through, an in-depth interview about ourselves and our own upbringings, we got fingerprinted, background checked, submitted driving records, completed another giant stack of paperwork, and reorganized our home to meet all of the safety rules for foster homes. And then, we started classes. Two nights a week, 3 hours per night, for six weeks - plus homework. It was like an intensive college course! The classes were great, though, and we learned a ton. And yet, we still feel so unprepared for what may come!

And what may come, may come sooner than we anticipated. Our agency is required to have us licensed within 6 months (which would be in February) -- but everything was done and submitted to the state in early December. Top that with an opportunity presented to us on a potential foster-to-adopt scenario for two little boys, and BAM! Things just got real.

Even with all we have learned through this process, there's no way to really prepare for all of the unknowns of foster care, even with adoptive placements. Foster care is truly a wild card. Many times children are removed from unsafe environments in more of an emergency type situation, where a safe home is needed immediately. There's no time to get any background information. Foster parents are just presented with basic age/gender/number of kids and asked if they can take them. The call may come at any hour. And the children - they often have no idea what is going on. It's so confusing and scary to be taken away from the only home and parents they've ever known and taken to a stranger's house.

With the possibility of adoption presented to us, we are a trifle terrified at the prospect of becoming instant parents to not one, but two kiddos! We are grateful for our friends and family that are all super supportive. Everyone we have talked to so far is very excited for us. I think the one thing I want everyone to understand is that this is a situation that has been forged from heartache. There is a broken family out there. There are parents who lost their rights to see their kids. I don't care who they are or what they did/didn't do to get there - that is a devastating thing to have happen. And there are kids who lost their parents. And foster parents. And more foster parents. And may move yet again. Even if we bring them into a permanent home, the loss and trauma they will suffer from losing yet another set of caregivers cannot be overstated. So, while we are glad to be able to provide a safe home for kids, it's hard to consider it a purely happy occasion. Our children will have challenges and we will have challenges as we try to help them cope and heal -- on top of the typical trials of being first-time parents! The more we learn about the effects of trauma on the developing brain, the more it changes our own mentality. These kids will be strong and smart and resilient. But they will likely be operating in survival mode -- a state of hypervigilance, like a perpetual state of fight or flight. Love and trust will not likely come easily, with good reason.

But, we have hope. We have hope that we can work through the (many) challenges that will arise. We have hope that with time and love and compassion we can build trust -- a foundation to work from, a place where healing can begin. We have hope that the hard work we do as parents and the hard things they have experienced as kids will not be wasted, and that God will allow something beautiful to grow out of the ashes.

We won't be able to share many of the details of our journey with foster kids due to privacy reasons. Likewise, we are not allowed to post photos. Even upon adoption, if that's where this ends, our kids' stories will be their own -- to share if and when they decide to share it. We appreciate all of the love and support and encouragement we have received so far, and I'm sure we'll need it even more once kids are in our home!

In our state, there are about 13,000 kids currently in foster care, and about 300 who are unable to return home to parents or relatives and who are in need of a permanent / adoptive home. It was those waiting kids that really tugged at my heart and pushed me to pursue this path. If you want a good cry, visit the website for the Michigan Adoptive Resource Exchange to learn more. If you've ever thought about providing foster care and want to learn more, I'm happy to share what I know - though it's somewhat limited due to my lack of experience to date! Check out a local agency in your area to find out how you can get involved. Even if you are not called to be foster parents, there are still many ways to support kids in foster care. Join with us in fostering hope for 2020, for our future and for this next generation.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." --Galatians 6:9

Our Story Part 3: Pregnant for a Minute

2019-07-19T13:32:00.002-04:00

Our Story Part 2: My IVF Experience

2019-07-19T13:25:00.002-04:00

I counted 78 syringes that I used in the pre and post IVF process. Believe it or not, this was NOT the painful part!

My IVF cycle began on May 31, 2019. June 2nd is when I began my first injections -- two shots in the stomach every morning. I had a little trouble learning how to mix up the drugs myself, prepare the syringes and inject with actual needles for the first time (I do weekly injections for RA, but it's an auto-injector pen). Once I figured it out, it was no big deal, My stomach just quickly filled with pin prick bruises. I was in the Fertility Center regularly for ultrasounds, and they saw five follicles growing. That's not a lot, but I only have one ovary and I knew my egg quality and quantity were likely to be low, so it was expected. I also had five in mind as the "magic number" of eggs I wanted to fertilize, taking into account an 80% fertilization rate -- and there's also a high chance that not all of the embryos will survive. During this time, my estrogen and progesterone levels were being monitored through blood tests. I thought my first estrogen level was kind of low, but it was rising and the nurses said it looked good. I felt fine for the first several days, but on June 8th, my pelvic pain started to flare. I had bad pain the previous month, with no extra hormones, so I was not really surprised. The Fertility Center staff told me that most women do fine on the IVF injections because they are very targeted and precise. Well, if you haven't figured it out by now, I am not most women.

They had given me a prescription for Tylenol 3 the prior month, and since I couldn't take NSAIDs for pain, that was my only option other than regular Tylenol. But, it didn't work. The pain was still not controlled. It. was. terrible. By June 10th, it was so bad that I had to leave work and could do nothing all day but just try to breathe. It was like a constant knife stab in my lower right front and back, sometimes twisting and just taking my breath away. All of the injections I'd been doing were nothing compared to this pain. I'd inject myself all day long, no big deal. But this...this, I did not know how I was going to survive. Meanwhile, my follicles were growing really slowly. Only four were measurable, and the potential retrieval date kept getting pushed back. I knew there was a chance I could feel better after the retrieval, as the hormones would be stopped. But the longer that got delayed, the more despair I felt. Thankfully, my boss let me work from home (read: bed) that week, but by June 12th, the pain was more than I could bear. It was one of the worst weeks of my life. I had called the IVF nurses crying a couple times, and they felt bad because there wasn't much they could do. Eventually, the doctor agreed to prescribe Norco for me, in hopes that that would control the pain better than Tylenol 3. After three doses of Norco, I finally started feeling some level of relief, though the pain was still often pretty bad. Being on Norco also meant that I couldn't drive. Tom was so wonderful and supportive and found a way to drive me around to all of my appointments.

On June 14th, it was already past when I thought the IVF procedures would be complete, but my follicle growth was still lagging behind. I had my blood drawn that day, as well, and my progesterone levels came back as kind of high. I was informed that if that got too high, we would have to freeze any embryos and wait to do the transfer until the following month. Not what I wanted, but okay. I had my hormone levels checked again the next day, and the progesterone was fine, but my estrogen had dropped! That's supposed to keep going up until they retrieve the eggs. My doctor informed me that my body may be preparing to ovulate on its own -- we had been artificially keeping it from ovulating (with yet another daily stomach injection), but perhaps we had pushed it too long. If my body ovulated on its own, IVF would be canceled and we'd have to start all over again. After that pain, I told my doctor, "I am NOT doing this again." She agreed to have me keep on my injections through the rest of the weekend and we'd check my follicles and hormone levels again on Monday.

June 16th was our 12th wedding anniversary. I realized then that we had been trying to grow our family for half our marriage. I wasn't feeling great, but we went out to dinner anyways. At that point, I felt like I had come to the end of myself. I was on edge, wondering if we'd have to cancel IVF and give up. I felt like all I had left was God and the strength that he gives me. I kept thinking of the verse that says "when I am weak, He is strong." Then, I got a text from a friend of mine who told me that she was praying for me with her four year old and after she was done praying, he looked at her and said, "God is strong for Dana," then left the room. Wow! What truth from such a young child. And what encouragement!

Monday came and we went to the ultrasound, not sure what to expect. Well, my follicles were still in tact, meaning I hadn't ovulated! Moreover, when I got my bloodwork back, my estrogen had miraculously gone back up! We were in business! That night was a huge turning point, when I finally got to take my trigger injections, and I knew that we'd at least get our shot at IVF. The trigger injections also meant the first of many injections in my butt muscle -- which Tom, who has a needle phobia, has to administer. One was in the stomach and the other in the butt. Tom did great! I also got to stop taking my other injections the next day and just had a blissful day of waiting and no meds...other than the Norco I was still on for pain.

IVF Step 2: Retrieval and Transfer
The Norco had to be stopped that night, as the next morning was egg retrieval where they would give me IV sedation drugs. On the way to the egg retrieval, I was thinking about this roller coaster we'd been on and how unlikely it was for us to have gotten that far, given all of the circumstances. It reminded me of Gideon's army and how God kept whittling away their numbers, down to just 300 men, so that everyone could see that victory came from the hand of the Lord. I wondered if God was doing something like that with me -- stripping everything away until there was such a small chance of success that all would know that his child was possible only by the grace and power of God. That feeling only strengthened after the egg retrieval.

Four mature follicles means four eggs, right? Nope. It should have. Usually it would. But I'm not normal, remember? Out of the four follicles, I only had ONE egg. One! There was no choosing how many eggs to fertilize. We had one shot at this. They would attempt to fertilize my one egg that day and call me in the morning with the results. Talk about nerve wracking! The next morning, I got the call: the egg had fertilized and we had an embryo! I cried of joy and hope and relief. I knew the odds were still against us, but we had SO many people praying for this little life, and I kept praying that when my faith failed, someone else's would stand in its place! The day of egg retrieval, I was SO tired. I just did IV sedation, no anesthesia, but I came home and slept in a coma-like state until Tom force fed me water and made me eat something. I was literally knocked out all day. Tom was just amazing through all of this. Never complaining and always supportive. The next day I woke up to another miracle: no more pain! After stopping the hormone injections and doing the egg retrieval, plus whatever IV cocktail they gave me, the pain was completely gone! After a week and half of pure agony, it felt amazing.

June 21st, on the summer solstice, we went in for the embryo transfer, where they take a small catheter, guided by ultrasound, and place the embryo in my uterus. It's a quick and mostly painless procedure. When we got into the room, the doctor handed us a photo of our little embryo -- just four cells! She informed us that it was a "C" grade embryo -- which isn't what they want to see (of course, because that's how this how thing is going) -- but she also assured us that these embryos turn into babies all the time. We got to watch on the ultrasound screen as the embryo was placed, and a little flash of white indicated that it had been transferred. This was the first time in my life that I knew I had a little life growing inside of me! In a natural cycle, you would never know if you had a fertilized egg that never attached. It's possible that we'd gotten to that stage before, but there's no way to tell. So, that's a cool thing about IVF -- you know exactly what is happening! From the transfer day, it was 10 more days of waiting before I could go in for a blood test to check my HCG levels and find out if it had attached, if I was actually pregnant!

Each time we hit a milestone in this process, I felt kind of like I was leveling up in a video game. The whole process felt like a video game you had played hundreds of times before, but could never make it past the first level. Then, one day, you do. And then you beat the second level, and then the third! You start thinking, "wow, maybe I could actually go all the way and beat this thing!" Now we waited to get the ultimate level up.

Those were 10 long days, but I was feeling better and able to get back to my office to work at my desk! Tom also had to begin giving me daily shots of progesterone in my butt each morning, and I was taking estrogen pills twice a day. I was told if the pregnancy is successful, I'd be getting those butt injections all the way until I was 11 weeks along! They wait until the placenta takes over hormone production, just to be safe. It was weird to be back to a normal life, but I tried to take advantage and get some things done and have some fun. For the time, I was just grateful that we didn't have to cancel IVF, that we had our little embryo, against all odds, and we could give this a real chance!

Click here to read part three of our story.

Our Story Part 1: My Fertility Journey

2019-07-19T13:16:00.000-04:00

I have a story to tell. It does not have a happy ending. But, perhaps, it has no ending at all. Perhaps we are still in the middle of the story, and this is just the hard part. This is the story of the past seven years, which I will share in segments over a series of posts. This first post was an essay I submitted to The Fertility Center as a part of their "Fertility Diaries" contest. Though I did not win anything from it, it gave me the opportunity to write down my experience and it was therapeutic to recount our history. And now, I share it with you.

Life. Life was not a choice we were given. It was a gift. A gift and a treasure, set into our hands from a time beyond our earliest memories. Life is the greatest gift and to be a giver of life to others is the greatest of joys. That was my desire: to bring new life into the world and to raise up children who would make a positive impact in the lives of others. Life is hard, though, and we often find ourselves in situations we had not desired and that are outside of our control. Though troubles and hardship may come unbidden, we have but one responsibility. In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien, "all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." My time on this earth has been full of joy, but also full of hardship, pain and sorrow. This is a story of my life, of my desire to bring new life into the world and a peek into my journey as I daily decide what to do with the time given to me.

Life has given me a number of opportunities to learn how to live well in the midst of hardship, and I am no stranger to finding myself in unwanted circumstances. In 2003, at the ripe age of 18, just a couple of weeks before my high school graduation, I went to the hospital with excruciating pelvic pain. The result was an emergency surgery for a large ovarian cyst, which was contorting and cutting off the blood supply to my ovary. Much to my dismay, I awoke from surgery to find that not only had they taken the cyst, but my right ovary and fallopian tube, as well. "Don't worry," the doctors said. "You still have your other ovary and it will compensate for the loss of the one. You'll have no problem having kids someday." Though upset about losing an organ, I was happy to be pain-free and glad to know it wouldn't have lasting implications on my health.

Just a year later, a freshman in college, I presented with unusual, persistent and worsening pain in my hands and feet, followed by pain in nearly every part of my body. I was soon was diagnosed with rheumatoid disease -- a chronic autoimmune illness that attacks the body's own healthy cells. It has been a long journey with lots of ups and downs, but I am happy to say that my rheumatoid disease has been steady for several years now with minimal symptoms. My doctor assured me that we can work through family planning, and with my disease well under control, it shouldn't impact my fertility.

Young adulthood, despite these medical challenges, was good. I graduated college a year early and a year later married my best friend. My husband, Tom, and I met when I was just 16 years old. We started dating when I was 18 and he walked with me through the uncertainties in my health. In 2007, we were married and started our new life together. We always envisioned having children and had discussed potential complications given my health, but doctors said the outlook was good. Tom and I bought our first house together, he returned to school to finish his undergraduate degree and I enjoyed getting into my career in marketing. I started a garden, joined women's ministries at church and became active with a non-profit advocating for others with rheumatoid disease. Life was good. In 2012, once Tom finished his degree, we decided it was time to think about growing our family. I didn't want to be too old of a mom, you see. I thought I'd like to have a couple of kids in my late 20s and be done by the time I was 30. It was a great plan, I thought. And God laughed.

I had already watched friends struggle with infertility and despite the doctors' reassurances, I had always suspected that as a possibility for myself. So, I was not discouraged when we did not get pregnant right away. "Just relax, enjoy this time, and sooner or later it will happen," I thought to myself. After a year and a half, it hadn't happened. But, life got busy, life got stressful, and we decided it was time for a break from trying to conceive -- time to re-center our marriage and refocus our lives. We took a year off, and during that time, we adopted our first dog -- our first living being to love and care for together. It was wonderful. We took time for ourselves and explored several countries together overseas. We got back to a healthy place and decided from there to continue our journey to grow our family.

This time, I didn't wait long before going in to the doctor. After six more months of trying, plus a year and a half prior to that, I thought it was time to seek out options. My OB/GYN prescribed Clomid and progesterone to try to optimize my cycles. We tried this for several months to no avail. We had diagnostic tests. I was diagnosed with endometriosis. I had a laparoscopy. Our friends had kids. We lost our dog. We cried. We adopted a new dog. We laughed. We tried the fertility drugs again. We tried natural cycles again. Our friends had more kids. We cried some more. We laughed some more. And on it went. For four years. Some seasons were harder than others and there was occasionally a sense of being "left behind" as the lives of those around us moved into new stages and ours seemed at a standstill. But still I thought, "We need to just enjoy this time for what it is. If I can just be patient and keep waiting, it will eventually happen." And so we waited. And I hoped.

Hope. Hope is a fragile thing. Easily crushed. Quickly dashed. But it is a wellspring of life, and it is what we cling to when we have nothing else left. It keeps us going. Until it doesn't.

I hit my wall last November. I was on a mission last fall: to try three more cycles of Clomid and progesterone, to be as healthy as I could be, and to do one last push through the end of the year to conceive naturally. If nothing happened, I would consider other options I had been closed to before. But those three months did not go as planned. I began experiencing intense abdominal pain following my dose of Clomid. I took pain medicine. It did nothing. I endured, but my hope waned and I began to despair. My endometriosis, I assumed, had flared. It would calm down next month, wouldn't it? Negative. Progressive pelvic pain left me limping along, literally and figuratively, as I tried to navigate next steps. I did not want to do IVF. I could not endure this pain. I wanted to grow my family. Infant adoption was off the table. We were not prepared to handle an older child. What was I to do? I was trapped in a limbo of indecision and uncertainty. At some point in this time, I had started a simple journal -- not with my own thoughts, but with simple words of truth -- Bible verses that spoke to me and met me where I was at. As I began to focus on these words, to re-center my mind and calm my soul, the veil of despair slowly lifted, and I began to move forward.

I had already scheduled an appointment with The Fertility Center, which began our path to explore other fertility options. After more diagnostics and testing and appointments and questions and answers and increasing pelvic pain, we finally decided two things this spring. First, I was done trying to conceive naturally. I needed to take care of my body, do another laparoscopy, find out what's wrong and control the pain. I grieved, for this was the end of what I had really wanted. Two, we would proceed with IVF as our last chance at having biological children. I dared to hope, for while this is not the situation in which I wanted to be, we still have a chance to grow our family. Our procedure was scheduled for June. Having made the decision lifted another weight off of me. It is out of my hands. It will work, or it will not, and either way, I will be at peace. A door will open as a way into the life I had dreamed of, or a door will close, forcing us down a different, though not lesser, path.

I sit here writing this on the very day of my IVF nurse consultation. When we arrived home after the appointment, I saw in my front yard a bright yellow daffodil -- the very first one of the season. It was a perfect picture of the hope that has sprung up within me: the hope of new life. It reminded me also that my life is a gift, and that even if I do not become a mother, I can still be a life giver -- by pouring into people, by being an encouragement, a friend, a listening ear or a helping hand. My life is a gift as well as a responsibility. Whatever may come, my prayer is that I may I use my time on this earth to bring life to others.

Click here to read parts two and three of our story.

Trick Dog Training: Roll Yourself in a Blanket

2019-04-05T22:46:00.000-04:00

One of my goals for 2019 was to work with my dog, Copernicus (or Copper for short), on earning various levels of Trick Dog Titles. I did not know that Trick Dog Titles were a thing until recently and when I found out, I knew it was the perfect winter activity for Copper and me -- something to keep us busy and active even when it's too cold to spend much time outside. I have always enjoyed dog training and have thus far had two rescue dogs that I've trained in obedience and tricks. Obedience training is necessary to keep your dog safe and happy and to keep those around him safe and happy, as well. It' fun to watch a dog learn and progress in his manners -- though it's a lot of work! For me, the real fun starts once the basic obedience work is done and we can start working on tricks! It is amazing how smart dogs are and how much they can learn. With a little time and a lot of patience, you can teach your dog to do incredible things. It's good for them, too, as it challenges them mentally, works their brains and helps them get out some energy in different ways. You'll find that some of the "tricks" actually help boost obedience, too.

The American Kennel Club has Trick Dog Titles, but they require in-person reviews of tricks, and that seemed hard to find a certified trainer -- and to have Copper perform in a new environment. So, we opted for the original Trick Dog title organization, Do More with Your Dog, which offers certified instructor reviews online by submitting videos. The Do More with Your Dog (DMWYD) program was actually more rigorous than the AKC, with longer lists of required tricks to earn each level. But, by the time I discovered DMWYD, I had already been training Copper for nearly two years, so the first couple levels were pretty simple for him. Within the first month, Copper had earned his Novice Trick Dog Title and his Intermediate Trick Dog Title. The next month, he earned his Advanced Trick Dog Title, and now we are working on the Expert Level.

I've been sharing our submission videos online and some other short clips of the tricks we are working on and I always get asked how you teach your dog to do such things as "put your toys away" or "bring me a tissue when I sneeze" or "roll yourself in blanket." I could write for a long time on that topic, but wanted to share a few tips here and a video of one of our training sessions so you can see what it looks like. There are a few ways to teach tricks, and the methodology used depends on both the trick you are trying to teach and the dog and his or her natural inclinations. More advanced tricks will build upon the simpler tricks, so having a strong foundation of basic tricks will make the others come more easily.

Many of the basic tricks can be taught by either luring a dog with a treat or catching him in the act of one of his natural behaviors that you want to put on a cue. As an example, I used a treat lure to teach Copper how to weave through my legs in a figure eight. He will follow food wherever it goes, so I held a treat in my hand and swapped hands as I lured him in the figure eight pattern. We did this many times until he got the gist of the movement and could do it on his own. Once a dog figures out what you want him to do, he'll often start "offering up" that behavior in hopes of getting a treat! So, we ended up where if I stepped my legs apart on the floor, he would just start weaving!

Putting natural behaviors on a cue can be harder, depending on what it is. I used this technique in part for teaching Copper how to yawn on command ("are you sleepy?") -- that was very difficult because I don't think he was conscious of the fact that he was yawning!-- and how to cross his paws ("pose"). Copper would very often naturally cross his front paws when he laid down in his bed. I would reward this behavior when I saw him do it by praising him and giving him a treat. Eventually, he figured out that he was being rewarded for something he was doing with his paws, and worked until he figured out the exact placement I was looking for.

I thought it might be helpful to show an actual training session so you can see what trick training looks like in real life. The video below shows us working on his newest trick -- rolling himself up in a blanket, which we are affectionately calling "Corn Dog." I've also added in some extras and outtakes from other sessions for good measure!

Trick Dog training is not only great for your dog, but it's great for you, as well! Tricks are a puzzle for your dog to figure out, but it also challenges you to be creative and think of new ways to get your dog to understand what you are asking. It's also oftentimes a serious lesson in patience, but also often very entertaining and a lot of fun! Training is a great bonding experience for you and your dog. If you've never tried trick training or if you want to take it to the next level, I highly recommend checking out Do More With Your Dog. They have books, videos and other great resources to get you started on earning your own Trick Dog Titles!

Already have your dog trained to do some cool tricks? Tell me about them in the comments! We are always looking for new fun tricks to try.

A Year in Review: Highlights of 2018

2018-12-26T16:59:00.001-05:00

As another year comes to a close and a new one begins, I'd like to take some time to reflect on 2018 and some of the highlights from my year. It seems that each year goes by faster than the last, and I think that makes it all the more important to reflect back and really soak in the things that happened. 2018 had its challenges to be sure -- challenges with work, with volunteer work, with health, with home life and family -- but we'll save those for another day! For now, I'd just like to think about the biggest lesson learned through those challenges, and that is about changing my own attitude. When I found myself in less than desirable circumstances, I found myself complaining a lot and stressing or worrying about the situation -- until suddenly a two-pronged lightbulb came on. Firstly, I realized that in all my complaining, I was not stopping to think about what I could do to solve the issue. Wouldn't my time be better spent strategizing and problem-solving (I supposedly love problem-solving!) than complaining and worrying? Secondly, and closely related, was that I needed at attitude shift. I didn't like where my mind was at. I could be more productive in trying to solve or better manage the situations in my life -- but I could not change other people. What I could change was myself. If I put forth the effort to do all I can to help a situation, I can rest content in knowing that I did all I could. The rest is not up to me, and I can choose to either worry or stress over the things I can't control, or I could decide to be content, hopeful an even optimistic about the outcomes. What I really needed was to recapture the joy in my life. A lot of that stems from reframing my state of mind and focusing on the good. There's a Sister Hazel song that includes the following line,

"If you want to be somebody else,
If you're tired of fighting battles with yourself
If you want to be somebody else
Change your mind"

In high school, I once heard this song applied to a Bible verse and it has stuck with me ever since:

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." --Romans 12:2

That's really what this verse is saying. To be somebody else, to be transformed, involves the changing or renewing of the mind. So that is my continued goal going into 2019 -- to change my mindset, to recapture my joy and to focus on that good. And, that is why I am here going to focus on and share 18 super fun highlights of 2018! Ready? Here we go!

1. Florida

Tom and I had the opportunity to do a long weekend in Florida in January -- to get a little sunshine break! We stayed on Sanibel Island for the first time and got a chance to visit some friends who live down that way who we hadn't gotten a chance to see in several years. It was cooler than we had hoped, but we still had sunshine and a great time!

2. Kitchen Remodel is Finished!

Whew! People had told me that a kitchen remodel is a big undertaking (even when you're hiring out most of the work!), and they were not kidding. Fortunately, we only had a few weeks where the kitchen wasn't really usable. It took a while for all of the finishing touches to come together, though. But when they did - wow! I had gotten so used to the 80s laminate cabinets with the strips of fake wood that were peeling off that I kind of tuned out how ugly and falling apart they were. What a transformation with some brighter colors and more functional features in our little kitchen space. I always loved cooking in the kitchen regardless of its appearance, but now it really is my happy place!

3. Rock Climbing Again

Right around the time Tom and I started dating (in 2003!) we went on our first rock climbing date. Tom actually got me all of the essential gear for my birthday. That year, we spent quite a bit of time at the rock climbing gym and I started learning how to do this really cool sport that I'd always wanted to try. A couple years later, after being diagnosed with Rheumatoid Disease, I wasn't sure that I'd ever be able to rock climb again. We had gone just a couple of times after my diagnosis, but after my wrists got bad, I really thought this sport was a no-go. Until a bouldering gym opened up in Grand Rapids last year. We decided to give it a try, and I surprised myself by actually being able to do quite a bit (at the beginner level, that is!) and by enjoying bouldering, where we had always done top-rope climbing. We went with friends and even had a couple of my aunts and my cousin come out to join us in our rock climbing escapades. Perhaps most fun of all was the Rabble Rouser redpoint tournament that I decided to join in on at the last minute. Tom had signed up and I was just going to watch, but when I found out there was a fee to spectate, I decided I might as well pay the full fee so I could at least climb while I'm there. I was nervous, but I challenged myself that day and did a couple of routes that I wasn't sure I could do. I started believing in myself and lo and behold I somehow ended up winning the competition for the women's beginner level! Maybe it had something to do with the fact that there were only three of us in that category, but hey, a win is a win! What a blast!

4. Copper's Canine Good Citizen

Somehow, against all odds, Copper earned his Canine Good Citizen certificate from the American Kennel Club. We had signed him up for an intermediate class to help him learn to listen and obey in the presence of other dogs. I was wondering if that class was too advanced, as he could not contain himself the first night. Much to my dismay, it was determined that there were too few dogs in the class, so they combined us with the next level up -- the Canine Good Citizen class. Now we were really in trouble. This is the second dog I've had who has been the total naughty boy in class. He made some progress, but each night was a challenge. On the final week of class, I assumed they would do individual tests for all the dogs who were going to test for their CGC. I was not planning on having Copper participate, as he was clearly not ready. However, it ended up being conducted as a group. So, I thought, why not see how far he can get? There were no treats allowed, which was about the only thing we could use to get Copper to pay attention. But that night, he was totally on point, and he did it! I don't know how, but he did it. He cleared all of the requirements to earn his Canine Good Citizen. Like any proud dog mom, I immediately registered him with the AKC and got a printed certificate mailed to me. He may be far from being truly attentive in public, but if and when he does get to the point where I think he's ready, he has the certificate to back him up! In the meantime, we are working on some awesome and fun tricks. Who knows, maybe he'll get his trick title next!

5. Brewski Festival

Okay, so I'm not really into beer. Or standing around in cold weather. But, the Brewski Festival at Boyne Highlands has become a fun tradition with my brother and his wife, whenever we are able to make it. This year, it was also my mom's birthday, so she came with us, and it was some fun family time up north.

6. Fun with Friends

We did a fun double date night out with our friends at a fancy restaurant. The meal was excellent, as was the company, and we also had some fun taking silly photos in the attached hotel. We've also started doing regular game nights with these friends -- which has been a dream come true. When I was a kid, my parents frequently played cards with friends and with my aunts and uncles. We'd get toted along to said friends' house and be set up with a movie, or if we were really lucky, be allowed to watch the game and try to learn. They always seemed to have so much fun that when I grew up, I always dreamed of having friends we could do regular game nights with. This year, it's been happening, and it has been everything I ever thought it could be!

7. Indoor Gardening

I was so excited to get a grow lamp for Christmas last year -- something that I've wanted for years. I didn't waste any time putting it to the test and seeing what would happen when I tried to grow tomatoes indoors in January! The result was a tomato plant that was bigger than I am before the ground had thawed! Just about as soon as I could get it in the ground outside, I did, and I had cherry tomatoes coming in from June through October! It was glorious. I also grew some greens indoors and started all of my seeds under the grow light. It was a give and take garden year with some wins and some losses, but the grow light gave me a huge advantage and my tomatoes were possibly the best they've ever been.

8. Traverse City Weekend

We got the chance to spend a long weekend with some out of state friends that we don't get to see very often We decided that we should go camping up in the Traverse City area and ended up staying at Leelanau State Park at the very tip of the Leelanau Peninsula. We toured the area and stopped off for hikes, lighthouses, cideries, wineries and restaurants. We spent one day basically just going all the way from the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula around the bay and over to the very tip of the Old Mission Peninsula (something I had wanted to do last year and we didn't have time for). We did a little hike on Old Mission Peninsula and when we got off the trail and were trying to find our way back, we stumbled upon an owl!

9. Boating with Friends and Family

We didn't get to use the boat as much as we have in years past, but we still enjoy co-owning a boat with our friends. We had a fun trip out on the lake with our "partners in boat" and also were able to take the boat up north to Ludington for Tom's birthday and tooled around Hamlin Lake with his family. I tried water skiing for the first time, but we'll just say that that was not a highlight of the year. Tom did great, though!

10. Paying off the House!

That's right, friends, it can be done! We were very fortunate in a number of ways -- firstly that we were given some good financial advice when we were newly married. Tom's parents introduced us to Dave Ramsey and his Financial Peace University CDs. We mostly followed the "Dave Ramsey" plan throughout the next decade. We were fortunate that when we were ready to buy a house, the housing market was near the very bottom, and since we weren't in a hurry, we were able to take our time and wait for a really good deal. We've been blessed with good jobs and were able to attack our mortgage with extra payments until we finally got it paid off this summer! This house has been a labor of love, and we've spent a lot of time and effort making it our own. Most of the 80s-ness is gone now. There are a few things left we'd like to update, but for now we will simply enjoy owning it free and clear!

11. New (Used) Subaru

I'm not usually one to get overly excited about cars, but we got a new (used) Subaru this year and that means that we now have two AWD cars that are adequately prepared for Michigan winters! Since I was usually the one driving the 2WD car, this is particularly exciting for me. It's extra exciting because Tom's letting me drive the Jeep most of the winter, which has a heated steering wheel -- best thing every for anyone with Raynaud's! However, it was a bit sad in that I had to let go of my beloved Trinity, my old Toyota Matrix. She was a great car and never gave me any problems. It wasn't her fault she wasn't the best in the snow. But, it was goodbye to Trinity and hello to Electra, our Subaru Legacy (Electra is one of the Subaru / Pleiades stars).

12. Ninja Warrior

This was the year of the Ninja if we ever had one! Tom really upped his game this year and has shown some amazing improvement in both skill and strength. He participated in the local Rockford Ninja Warrior event for both the Amateur Team and Individual Competitions. His team one the Amateur Competition, so he ended up getting to compete with the pros in team comp! He also achieved his goal of completing the Individual course, and he did so with a great time! What made Rockford Ninja Warrior extra special this year was that we got asked to host some of the pro ninjas that came in for the event. We readily agreed to host a couple, which soon turned into three, no four, no five ninjas! We had a blast getting to know them a bit and providing lodging during the event. What's more, I even tried my hand at a ninja course this year! I surprised myself with how much I was able to do, even with my bad wrists.

13. Iceland

We had the amazing opportunity to go to Iceland this year. What an incredible country. The landscape is so diverse across such a small country. They call in the land of fire and ice because of all of the volcanoes and glaciers, but they forgot to mention that it's also the land of waterfalls and rainbows and sheeps! Tom and I really enjoy adventuring together and adventuring in a new land is always incredible. This world is full of so many treasures, and I love uncovering more of them! We had a couple of firsts on this trip, including our first time picking up hitchhikers (I promise, it's safe there!), our first time seeing a glacier, and our first time ice climbing. Be sure to read my Iceland post for more details!

14. Goat Yoga

It was maybe a couple of years ago when I read about something interesting in a magazine: Goat Yoga. Yoga with goats. Because, why not? Goats are amazingly goofy animals and I keep saying that I want to get some someday. If you're wondering why anyone would want goats, please read this. In the meantime, I try to enjoy goats wherever I can and goat yoga just sounded amazing and hilarious. Imagine my surprise when I got a text from my mom about Goat Yoga near her house! I think she sent it to me as a joke, but I said, "we need to go!" Goat Yoga originated in Oregon, and I had no idea that they had a satellite branch in my own state. My mom and I went one Saturday and it was as amazing as I dreamed it would be. Goats hopping around and jumping on your back as you attempt to pay attention to the yoga instructor. It's about 1 part yoga to 3 parts goat therapy. If you ever get the chance: try goat yoga!

15. A Bridesmaid Again!

I know usually women get tired of being a bridesmaid (always a bridesmaid, never the bride). But, I was married young and a bridesmaid in a few weddings years ago, but with most of my friends married, I thought that would be the end of it. I always enjoyed being a bridesmaid and sharing in the bride's special day. I enjoyed being a part of the ceremony and honoring the vows that the bride and groom made to one another. I want to be a friend who supports her friends in their own marriages, and I was so excited this year when Tom and I were both asked to be in a wedding. These are friends who Tom met through Ninja originally! Over the past year or so we have grown close and have really enjoyed having them in our lives. What a special day it was to see these friends married and to be there with them! It was en extra special wedding, too, as it was at the same location where Tom and I had our own wedding reception.

16. Charity: Water

A life goal that Tom and I have had for a few years was to sponsor a community water project through a nonprofit organization called charity: water. This year, we were able to make it happen! We are so excited to be able to help provide the gift of clean water to a community in southern Ethiopia. If you did not get a chance to read my previous post about this project, you can read more here. We will learn more details about the project as time goes on -- it's a long process of preparation and construction before the project will be complete.

17. Supper Club

We are in our third year with our Supper Club group, and it is still amazing! These friends have become so dear to us and our monthly time together sharing conversation over a good meal is always a highlight. This year, things got really crazy one month when we did lunch instead of dinner, and paired our Peruvian meal with a trip down the Amazon... I mean... the Rogue River! Tom and I got to make an Icelandic meal for the last Supper Club we hosted. We have one more yet this year at the end of the month. We've even started scheduling some family hang out sessions with our Supper Club group so all of the kids can get together, too, and we can enjoy some fellowship in a more causal setting.

18. Babies!

While we still don't have children of our own, our friends are making up for it! Two of my best friends had babies about a week apart this year. It has been fun to journey with them through their pregnancies and motherhood -- one entering into motherhood for the first time, and the other growing her family. How precious are these little ones! I've enjoyed getting my crafting on and making baby gifts, and have enjoyed even more getting some baby snuggles! I look forward to watching these little ones grow and seeing who they become!

Wow, after going through all that don't let me tell you nothing interesting happened this year! In the middle of all this, Tom also started a new job, and the company that I've been working for since college was sold and acquired by a new larger company. Lots of changes, plenty of challenges, and more than 18 highlights, but I hope you enjoyed these! There are so many more wonderful things that happened this year, and as we go into 2019, I hope to focus on the joy of life each day and look forward to what the new year will bring! A happy and blessed New Year to you all!

Thirst and Living Water

2018-12-22T18:47:00.001-05:00

Have you ever been thirsty? I mean really thirsty. Parched. Cotton mouth. Where it’s painful to even swallow. How about in a situation where you had no water and didn’t know where to get some? Perhaps on a hike or other adventure that was longer or hotter than expected. Think about that moment of thirst. Then think about the moment when you finally got a sip--or even a whole glass--of water. How refreshing was that water? How wonderful did it feel? To a parched mouth, water is immensely satisfying. Indeed, there is nothing quite like water to quench a thirst. This past summer, Tom and I had the opportunity to visit Iceland and drink some of the purest water on earth -- fresh glacial melt. This is water that had been frozen as ice for about 900 years -- long before the earth was so polluted by mankind. As it melts, it runs in streams through the glacier, pure, fresh, cold, and refreshing to the core.

Falljökull glacier in Iceland - best drinking water was from little streams running through the glacier

But what do you do when it's not your mouth that is thirsty? Have you ever felt a thirst in your soul? A longing for more. A feeling that life should be more than working and eating and sleeping. Or just feeling worn out, beaten down, in need of refreshment of not just the body, but the mind or the spirit.

As we approach Christmas, I want to bring you to a story in the Bible that is centered around water and both kinds of thirst. In this passage, Jesus takes a rest from a journey beside a well. There is a Samaritan woman that arrives at the well and Jesus asks her to give him a drink. This is notable because Samaritans were hated by the Jews and they would not typically even associate with Samaritans, let alone “defile” themselves by drinking water from the same vessel as such an “unclean” person. But Jesus saw a thirst in this woman’s soul that echoed his own physical thirst and he had compassion on her. The woman was so shocked at Jesus’ request that she questioned him about it.

“Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.””
‭‭John‬ ‭4:10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Living water? What does that mean? I think this means that there is something even more satisfying than what can be drawn from a well or a river or a spring or, yes, even a glacier. Something that is also essential to life itself and indeed gives life.

Jesus goes on to explain to the woman:

“but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.””
‭‭John‬ ‭4:14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A water that will quench once and for all. Doesn’t that sound nice? The Samaritan woman thought so. A conversation takes place between Jesus and the woman where Jesus draws the truth out of the woman in the same way that the woman drew the water from the well.

The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” - John 4:15-26

The truth was that this woman was spiritually thirsty. She was living a restless life that left her unsatisfied. While she wanted living water that would forever quench her physical thirst, Jesus offered her something more: himself -- the living water that would quench her spiritual thirst.

Geysir - as the water explodes through the earth, so the living water wells up
in each of us, bursting through every facet of our lives

Centuries before the time of Jesus, God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah about this "living water":

““My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” ‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭2:13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I think we all have this spiritual thirst inside of us, but we often don't recognize it or don't really know what it is we are longing for. So we try all sorts of things to fulfill that longing. Some people run after possessions or status or careers. Some people expect total fulfillment from their kids or their families. Some run after adventure and excitement and the next wild thing. Some of those things are good, and some of them even offer a good degree of satisfaction, but it doesn't quite quench that spiritual thirst. These "cisterns" that we look to for fulfillment are broken; they cannot hold the living water that we so desperately need.

In his famed “sermon on the mount” Jesus speaks to those who are spiritually thirsty, saying:

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What is it that you thirst for? If we would only send ourselves after the right thing, we would be sure to be filled. With Christmas just a few days away, I want to spend some time thinking about the gift of Jesus -- not just the baby, but the Messiah, Savior, and Living Water who rejuvenates my spirit and refreshes my soul.

-----------------------

This post comes as a part of a series I hope to write over the next year focused on water, stemming from a project that we are funding through charity: water to bring clean, safe water to a village in Ethiopia. This project has encouraged me to think more about water and what it means to life. We have been very impressed by the work of this organization and are excited to be a small part of the solution to the water crisis. As we think about God as the "living water" and that water becoming a spring in us that wells up into eternal life -- I think that means us living the life God meant for us to live -- a life of loving others. As it says in the book of James:

"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." - James 2:14-17

If you want to do something to help provide the basic physical needs of people around the globe, I highly encourage you to check out charity: water. I cannot think of a better Christmas gift than the gift of clean water!

These are a few of my favorite things

2018-12-04T22:46:00.000-05:00

This week, I turned 34. It's hard to believe how quickly the years are starting to go by. One of the challenges I find in life is to not get bogged down by negativity. I've been talking with a couple of friends recently about recapturing joy and focusing on the simple things in life. I've said before that the little things are important, and taking the time to notice and appreciate all of the little joys and gifts in this life can go a long way to change your attitude and reframe your thinking. In fact, the Bible even tells us to focus on the positive. Right after giving instruction on dealing with worry and anxiety, God instructs us to set our minds upon the on the good things in life:

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." -Philippians 4:6

It is in that light that I am going to share, for my 34th birthday, 34 of my favorite things - many of them everyday things that bring me joy and make me smile. Peruse through my list, then tell me what makes YOU smile!

1. A clear starry night

2. The smell of burning leaves or campfires

3. The first flowers of spring

4. Snuggles with Tom and Copper

5. Learning something new

6. Popcorn

7. Playing games

8. Getting to know a person on a deeper level

9. Fresh cut flowers

10. Shooting stars

11. Growing things

12. A slightly cool day warmed by sunshine

13. Finding comfortable clothes that look cute

14. The smell of tomato plants

15. My goofball dog

16. A bright blue sky with puffy white clouds

17. A good whiskey drink

18. The farmer’s market

19. Cooking from scratch

20. A clean and organized home

21. Traveling to new places

22. A song that hits me right in my mood

23. Teaching Copper new tricks

24. Feeding people

25. Spreadsheets

26. Mountaintop views

27. Completing a challenging task I didn’t think I could do

28. Quality conversations about topics that really matter or just speculations about what could be

29. Staying up late with friends

30. Inside jokes that last a lifetime

31. Sheeps!

32. Solving a problem or puzzle

33. Peppermint mochas and chai tea lattes

34. Warm blankets and scarves

These are just a few of my favorite things! What are yours? What did you take notice of today that made you smile?

A Glass of Gratitude

2018-11-21T22:06:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. As we sit around the table with our turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes, many of us can think of a thousand things to be thankful for -- but that clear liquid in your glass is one great gift that is often overlooked.

Water. Clean water.

Did you know that one in 10 people lack access to clean and safe water? Imagine serving Thanksgiving dinner with water that looked like the glass on the left instead of the glass on the right.

For 663 million people, dirty water is a reality. They don't have to imagine it. It is life. Everyday. Not only that, but for many people, collecting this unclean water involves miles of walking each day, while carrying heavy jugs, then carefully selecting how to use their limited water supply.

But what if there was something we could do to change that?

Tom and I have been talking for a while now about what we can do to help others and what will make the biggest impact. Tom was the one who first brought up clean water. It's such a basic need that it's often overlooked, but it is essential to life itself. Several years ago, we chose a few charities that were focused on providing access to clean, safe water and began supporting them with some year-end donations. One of the charities stuck out to us -- an organization called charity: water. The first thing that stuck out was that they have private donors covering their operating costs, allowing 100% of public donations go into the field to bring people access to clean water. That's pretty cool. Secondly, we noted that they had an opportunity to sponsor an entire water project -- bringing clean water to a whole community. How cool would it be, we thought, to some day be able to do that?!

Photo taken from the charity: water Facebook page

Well, time went on and we found ourselves in a position this year to actually make it happen. By October, we had saved up enough money to sponsor a project. We contacted charity: water to find out where they would be working next year, and they actually let us pick the region where we want our funding to go. We received several PDFs explaining the different water solutions and regions where they plan to work in 2019. It was so hard to choose, but in the end we decided to support a project that will be based in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia. We chose this project for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, the areas they are focused on are very remote and thus not likely to be a priority to governments or other organizations. Secondly, this project just sounded interesting. Many times, bringing people a clean water source involves building a well -- either through hand digging, or drills where the water table is far below the surface. Other times it involves rainwater collection or BioSand filters. In the case of the community we will be sponsoring, there is actually a mountain spring that they will be using as the water source, piping it down the mountainside and installing a tap hand in a convenient location for the local community. It is estimated that this may provide clean water for about 400 people!

We will get updates several times throughout the project so we can learn how things are progressing. The project will begin with sanitation and hygiene training. They make sure that the community is involved and invested in making this water source a long-term and sustainable solution. The whole process may take a year and a half to two years, and we'll end up getting GPS coordinates and photos of where the water solution was installed. I will share updates here as we get them, and I am also going to try to provide regular posts here as I learn more about and contemplate the global water crisis.

Are you intrigued? Curious how you can help? I’d encourage you to check out the work that charity: water is doing. Just $30 can provide clean water to someone. Simply spreading awareness of the magnitude of the global water crisis is also crucial. Many of us are so far removed from the problem that we’re simply ignorant of the challenges people like us face every day. So I invite you to join us in spreading the word of this great need and to join us in the joy of giving the gift of clean water!

This Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for my own glass of clean water. I am also grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the solution for others, and grateful to charity: water and their local partners who work tirelessly toward the day when everyone on earth has access to clean, safe water.

8 Reasons You Should Visit Iceland

2018-10-02T20:41:00.001-04:00

My husband, Tom, and I recently returned from an 8-day trip in Iceland. Iceland? "Why Iceland," you may ask. Iceland first came on my radar as a potential vacation destination four years ago when we were planning our trip to England, Wales and Ireland. There are several airlines that have layovers in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, connecting the U.S. to European destinations. While it didn't work out for us to include Iceland on that trip, it remained in the back of my mind as some place that would be fun to explore. This year, we learned of some inexpensive airline tickets to Iceland, and indeed, as we considered vacation destinations in the western U.S. and Canada, we found that plane tickets to Iceland were only half the price of flying to Montana! (We discovered later that once you get there, everything is SUPER expensive. But, with a little planning you can find ways to keep your costs down.) So, without knowing a whole lot about the country, we booked a flight! Then came the research. Lots of research and planning. We had eight days to try to fit in as much of Iceland as we could, and I sure jam packed our schedule! We spent most of our time along the "Ring Road", highway 1, which circles the main part of the island -- with a couple days in the beautiful Snaefellsness Peninsula. If I can ever find the time, I hope to do a more detailed post(s) on our itinerary later, for anyone else who may be planning a trip. But, in case you need to be convinced to go there first, here are eight heavily photographed reasons that YOU should visit Iceland!

1. Waterfalls

Somebody in Iceland told us that there are 10,000 waterfalls in the country. I don't know if that's true, but I believe it! From giant thunderous falls, to multi-tiered cascades, to whispy streams plummeting off mountainside cliffs, there are waterfalls seemingly everywhere. There was a time hiking in Colorado where we joked about being sick of waterfalls because they were everywhere, and I wondered if we would feel like that in Iceland. But, we didn't. Each waterfall was so unique that it was a wonder all its own. My niece asked me recently, prior to our trip, what my favorite waterfall I'd seen was. I didn't have a good answer for her - maybe something in Hawaii. I'm not sure I have a good answer now, but it's almost certainly one of these beauties from Iceland. I will say, however, that some of the big and touristy waterfalls right off the Ring Road are not nearly as beautiful as the smaller random falls we stumbled across in our road trip around the country. Others, although touristy, were absolutely worth visiting! We visited at least 10 waterfalls that actually had posted names at the site, and saw countless others along the roadside from the car. Here are some of my favorites.

Dettifoss

Goðafoss

Gullfoss

Hafragilsfoss

Roadside Falls

Seljalandsfoss

2. Rainbows

There is definitely something about Iceland that tempts one to use the word "magical" when describing the place. From the unique landscape, dark rocks, green mosses and beautiful shorelines, it's easy to see why. But one of the most "magical" things about Iceland to me was that there seemed to be a rainbow following us around everywhere we went! This is the one benefit to the fact that it was often raining either where we were or somewhere nearby. We get rainbows in Michigan, and I've seen a number of beautiful ones, but nothing compares to the ones we saw in Iceland. Not only were they bright, but they would appear in the most picturesque settings. I could not have placed the rainbows better had I chosen where they should be. Arching over a mountain peak. Extending from a cliffside into the ocean. A full arch along the country pastures. They were stunning and perfect in every way. I knew there were often rainbows that would show up through the waterfalls, but no where did I read about so many rainbows in the sky. Perhaps we were just lucky.

Arnarstapi Cliff Walk

Random mountain peak in the south

Somewhere near the turnoff for the West Fjords

Taken by our hitchhiker friend, Rodrigo

3. Glaciers

Seeing a glacier has been on my bucket list since I was a kid. I'm not quite sure why I was fascinated with them, but I was. The glaciers carved out our Great Lakes and much of the landscape in Michigan, but the glaciers themselves are long since gone. In Iceland, you can see the effects of glaciers on the landscape, as well as the still frozen (and melting) glaciers themselves. One of the few paid tours we did in Iceland was a Glacier Hike and Ice Climbing on the glacier. We hiked up part of Falljökull (falling glacier), and it was probably even cooler than I imagined. The glacier ice is often blue, supposedly due to it being so compacted that there's not much air in it compared to regular ice -- and so it reflects mostly blue light. What a bright and beautiful blue! There are fresh streams of glacier water running through various places, and it may be the freshest, purest water you'll ever taste. We filled up a couple of water bottles along the way! The glacial marvels don't stop on the glacier, however. Tom's favorite place in Iceland was Jökulsárlón, or Glacier Lagoon, where pieces of glacier break off into a lake, creating a lagoon filled with icebergs and really cool ice formations. Just across the street from this lagoon is what is known as Diamond Beach, where the glacial ice chunks meet the ocean, and the waves recede along the black sand beach to reveal crystal clear diamond-like pieces of ice in all sorts of unique shapes. I don't know where else in the world you can see something like this! And, then, of course, was the famed Snæfellsjökull - the glacier volcano that was the setting for Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth. We had a view of the glacier form our last lodging in Arnarstapi, and you can actually drive up the mountain/volcano to just about where the glacier starts. It was a scary drive, but cool to see!

Ice Climbing

Diamond Beach

Falljökull

Jökulsárlón

Snæfellsjökull

4. Canyons

Perhaps not as well known among the geological features of Iceland are some really cool canyons. I had several on my itinerary, one of which was really off the beaten path, one that has become a pretty popular tourist destination (and you'll see why!) with marked walking paths, and one that was part of a national park. The first was Sigöldugljufur, located in a more remote and harder to get to location -- with no signs. You just have to know where to find it. We found it, but went the wrong way to the lookout point and ended up going to the bottom of the canyon first! It was indeed quite beautiful with a bright blue stream along the bottom and moss covered rocks strewn along the canyon floor. On section of the canyon walls has multiple waterfalls streaming down it, too. The second was one of my favorite spots in Iceland -- Fjaðrárgljúfur. Also, I was very proud that when I tried pronouncing this word to a native, he actually understood what I was trying to say! And he told me that it means Feather River Canyon (you'll notice most place names in Iceland are descriptors of the location and squished together into a single word, which is why the words are so dang long). It was just a short ways off of the ring road, easy to access and easily one of the most beautiful sights we saw there. The rocky walls of the canyon jut out in crazy formations along either side. The third canyon visit was quite different from what I expected due to my own error. We were headed to Ásbyrgi canyon, which is part of the Jökulsárgljúfur national park. It was part of a long driving day and I meant to go to this spot where there's a short little hike to a pond. But, unbeknownst to me, we parked in the wrong spot. We followed some trail for a while that was supposed to have a "pond view", but soon discovered a little path leading right up the canyon wall! Of course, we had to take it. They had a ladder and ropes to assist, but Tom didn't need them! (Don't worry, Mom. It was mostly safe and not that high.) It ended up being an awesome little hike with no other people in sight.

Sigöldugljufur

Fjaðrárgljúfur

Ásbyrgi

5. Volcanoes

Certainly one thing that makes Iceland unique from most other places on earth is all of the volcanic activity. Besides seeing the volcanoes themselves (many of them topped with glaciers) and the volcanic craters, there is evidence of the volcanoes everywhere. From the geothermally heated water (and homes!) across the country, to steam vents in the ground that constantly spew out sulphurous vapors, to geysers. The volcanoes have shaped much of the landscape in the country and combined with the glacial activity, it is truly unlike anything I've ever seen. There are some places in Iceland that can only be described as otherworldly. I first had this sense that I was no longer on earth as we were driving from the East to the North of Iceland. We started at the base of a fjord and worked our way up into the mountains, back down into a small town and through some countryside...and all of a sudden...nothing. No more sheep. No more vegetation. Just black and grey volcanic rock everywhere you looked. It seemed like we had arrived at some barren, uninhabited rock planet. Then there's the Námafjall Geothermal Area where there are large puddles of boiling gray mud. Seriously. How are we still on earth? The mineral deposits from the volcanic vents make the ground a crazy red and white that makes me think of Mars. Because there's so much geothermally heated water in the country, many of the places we stayed had naturally heated hot tubs - no electricity! And we went to the Mývatn Nature Baths where the water is not just naturally hot, but full of minerals that are supposed to be very good for your skin. What a beautiful setting for an outdoor giant "hot pool" spa!

Geysir

Volcanic wasteland

Námafjall Geothermal Area

Krafla Viti Crater

In some places the ground literally cracked open

Mývatn Nature Baths

6. Rocks & Mountains

One of the things I was most looking forward to on our trip was a hike at Landmannalaugar. There is an awesome 3-5 day hike that a lot of people do in the region that we just didn't have the time or equipment for this trip, so I settled for a short 2-hour loop hike. We had to drive a crazy dirt road to get there (one of the so-called "F" roads) that requires 4-wheel drive. Tom navigated around many pot holes, but also these mud ~~puddles~~ lakes that took up the entire road! It was a cool drive to get there, but the hike was unbelievable. Again, the volcanic activity leaves mineral deposits, coloring the mountains in various shades of red and blue and green. The colorful mountains were absolutely beautiful, with snow-topped peaks showing even further in the distance. There was also a section of this trail that seemed to me like the road to Mordor! Awesome and crazy lava rock formations stuck out of the ground and there were steam vents that lent a bit of an eerie look. We drove through several mountainous areas, each one with its own look and vibe. Many of the peaks around Akureryi (the only other decent size city outside of the capital) in the North were covered in snow, and it's supposedly a great spot for skiing in the winter. If we had more time, we could have done some other really awesome mountain hikes, I'm sure. The rocky landscape all around is also amazingly beautiful. The volcanic rocks are often dark and provide a great contrast to the greenery and (if you're lucky) blue sky. Many areas have these beautiful basalt columns, as well, that look carved out rather than natural!

Landmannalaugar - Brennisteinsalda / Sulphur Wave Trail

Road to Mordor?

Landmannalaugar

Reynisdrangar - Reynisfjara Beach

7. Fjords

Fjords are one of the very unique features of the shoreline in Iceland. These sunken glacier valleys form crazy long arms of land that jut out into the sea, with a long, narrow inlet of water between them. It was a particular landscape feature that I was interested in seeing, and we got to traverse a few! While we didn't make it into the Westfjords (a peninsula of Iceland in the west that is in many ways off on its own), we did drive across the isthmus that connects it to the west of Iceland and saw some of the other fjords there, as well as in the east. What a beautiful coastline it is! Besides the coastline, moving inland from the innermost section of a fjord in the east also gave us some really stunning scenery. We were on dry land, but in that same glacial valley, making our way up. There were mountains on either side of us, with tiers or ridges along the way up, covered with green grasses, mosses and low growing shrubs, and with waterfalls streaming down the mountain walls everywhere. For those interested in going to Iceland, this is where we diverted from the ring road and took 939 inward and upward from the end of Berufjörður -- and I highly recommend this drive (though, to be fair, we missed what I'm sure were some other beautiful coastline along the Ring Road). If you have time to visit the Westfjords, I hear that is stunning, as well.

View from the car window - somewhere in the North/West

One of the first things we saw making our way up the mountain from the base of the fjord

8. Food & Culture

While we didn't get as much into the culture or meet as many locals as we would have liked, I enjoyed what we did experience. Iceland is a very safe country (safe enough for hitchhiking -- and we picked up several--another adventure in itself!) and people are very friendly on the whole. The language there includes many letters that don't exist in the English alphabet and sounds that my mouth is not quite sure how to make. I originally wanted to learn some phrases in Icelandic before we left, but when that proved difficult, I opted for just trying to be able to pronounce our destinations with enough degree of accuracy so as to be understood! It's quite a beautiful language, though, a softer tongue than I originally imagined -- and even when they are speaking English, as nearly everyone--thankfully--does, their words seemed somehow more rounded, less harsh than my American English. While tourism is now the dominant industry, the fishing scene is still lively and there are still many sheep farmers in the country -- one of whom we had the pleasure of staying with for a night. Most of the country is sparsely populated and dotted with small towns and villages -- and lots of sheeps. It's lovely. We stopped at a few small town cafes and stayed in small towns most nights, outside of one night in Reykjavik and one night in Akureyri. Yet, wherever we went, we were able to find good food! You should know that everything in Iceland is very expensive (hey, what do you expect on an island just south of the Arctic Circle?), and food and drinks are no exception. We bought groceries and gas station sandwiches (they were actually quite good!) for most of our breakfasts and lunches. But each night, we ate out for dinner. As you might imagine, they have a lot of seafood and lamb -- and it's all amazing. I'm not normally a huge fan of either, but when it's fresh and well prepared, even cod can be amazing. From fish soup, to lamb stew, to reindeer sliders, we tried quite a bit that was out of the ordinary for us! The dairy is also wonderful -- we had some deliciously creamy homemade ice cream and tried skyr -- the Icelandic yogurt-like soft cheese. They whip it up with sugar for dessert dishes, and make skyr cake like a lighter, fluffier cheesecake. All delicious, and I even tried my hand at making some of my own once we got home! On the whole, I loved Iceland. Though a little too cold and a little too remote to want to live there, I'd love to go back to visit and would highly recommend this trip to anyone who loves an adventure!

Geothermal power is also big there - check out this power plant!

View from one of our rental homes

Skyr dessert

Cod dish

A lovely cafe in Hellnar

Surf 'n Turf - Lamb Chops & Langoustine

My favorite road trip snack from the gas station!

Bonus: Cool Animals!

I cannot go without mentioning the beautiful animals that dominate much of the landscape. I love seeing sheep dotting the countryside, and the Icelandic horses are truly a special breed. We did manage to see a few puffins and seals as well!

I mean, seriously. Best. Horses. Ever. Plus, they tolt!

Sheeps!

My horse for the hour

Most photogenic sheep in Iceland

This guy wanted to come with us!

Goodbye, seals! Goodbye, Iceland - we miss you already!

Three Ways to Use Chimichurri Sauce

2018-06-08T20:05:00.002-04:00

I was introduced to chimichurri a number of years ago, and immediately loved it. At its core, it's a bright green sauce, made with herbs (typically parsley and oregano) , garlic, olive oil and red wine vinegar -- looking akin to a pesto. I don't make it often, but I should! There are so many variations you can do, depending on what herbs you have on hand, and it's very versatile, working as a wonderful way to bring extra flavor and kick to a dish. Nothing makes a meal better than the addition of fresh garden herbs!

I typically think of chimichurri as an excellent sauce to complement skirt or flank steak. In fact, that's what I made it for initially this year. I had grown some parsley as a part of my basement garden experiment, and thought chimichurri would be a wonderful use for it. I really like a chimichurri that pairs parsley with cilantro, so I used this recipe for my last batch. Unfortunately, my cilantro wasn't growing in my garden yet last time I made this sauce, but it's up now! Guess that means I'll be making another batch soon...especially since I found a few new ways to use it!

Chimichurri Avocado Burgers

Oh my. This meal was delicious. It was a cool and rainy day in May, when I had planned to make these burgers on the grill. I was protesting the unfavorable weather, though, and decided to fry up the burgers in a skillet. They were delicious! Pairing with cheese, chimichurri, arugla and avocado - these were the best burgers I've made in a while, even if they weren't cooked over a flame!

Ingredients:

A batch (or partial batch) of chimichurri sauce
1lb. lean ground beef
1/2 medium white onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 avocado
4 oz white cheddar cheese
1 cup baby arugula (loosely packed)
burger buns
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine ground beef with onion, garlic, salt and pepper, working it in with your hands. Form four round burger patties and fry in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat, turning once, until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F and each side is browned. If you don't have a good digital thermometer, stop what you're doing, and buy one now. I promise, it's a huge help to improve your cooking so you don't overcook your meat! Anywho, as the patties are frying, slice the avocado and cheese. Once the patties are done (or almost done), top with cheese and cover until the cheese melts. Place patties on buns, then top with chimichurri sauce, arugla and sliced avocado. Then, bite into deliciousness. You're welcome.

Sliced Chimichurri Chicken

This was as super simple quick dinner I made for myself with some of the extra chimichurri sauce (and avocado!). Simply grill up some chicken (you can marinate it if you want, but it's not necessary once you add the chimichurri!), the slice it into 1/2 inch thick pieces. Slice up a tomato and avocado, and alternate slices on a plate. Spoon chimichurri over top and enjoy!

Avocado Chimichurri Chicken Salad Wraps

Unfortunately, I forgot to get a photo of this last one! However, you'll notice that I'm reusing a lot of the same ingredients, which makes for efficient use of groceries.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of chimichurri sauce
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled and chopped
1 avocado, mashed
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
4 radishes, sliced
1 tomato, diced
Flour tortillas

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except tortillas in a bowl, stirring until well combined. Scoop mixture into tortillas and wrap / roll up for an easy and delicious meal! This makes a great lunch or picnic meal. We actually had some of the leftovers on our boat, as we took it out for the first time this year! Great for a hot day, and super easy if you already had the chicken grilled up from the night before.

There you have it: three delicious ways to use this delicious green sauce known as chimichurri! Experiment with your own green sauce based on whatever herbs you have on hand. It's bound to be delicious. Enjoy!

An Experiment in Growth: A Winter Garden Tale

2018-03-22T23:17:00.000-04:00

Spring is officially here -- hooray! My crocuses are up, the robins are back and I'm ready to come out of hibernation. Spring is my favorite season. Don't get me wrong: I love summer and fall, but spring has the distinct honor of being the first season that is classified as "not winter." And "not winter" is really my favorite season. Spring brings along with it sunshine, longer days, refreshing rain, and the hope of new life. What once appeared dead is now alive and blossoming into something beautiful. Spring is a season of dreams and possibilities. For me, it's also the start of garden season. Well, normally. This year, I got a grow light for Christmas, which I have been experimenting with in my basement. I tried growing basil, parsley, lettuce, chard, arugula, cilantro, spinach...and just for good measure: tomatoes. Of course the primary intent of my grow light is to start seedlings, but I wanted to see what I could actually get to grow indoors -- hence the focus on greens and herbs. And, I got an early test for my tomatoes by planting a few seeds. And let me tell you...I have never grow a tomato seedling as strong and vibrant as this one!

A tomato plant, started from seed in my basement in January - a little over two months ago

However, not everything grew so well. In typical fashion, I planted about twice as many seeds as my grow light can really support, so that's my caveat. While everything germinated quickly, some continued to grow strong and others did not. I got an organic fertilizer to feed the plants since they were all sitting in pots, and they were all fed evenly. The real shocker came when I was transplanting tomatoes. I had let two seedlings grow in the same pot for a while, until it became clear which one was going to be dominant. The very slightly smaller plant, I took out and re-potted. The original seedling took off immediately and became the huge, lovely specimen above. The other hardly grew.

Watch my garden grow over the first six weeks!

There are only a few factors here that could be making the difference. Firstly, because the one tomato had gotten so big, I had to raise the light more than the recommended 2-4 inches above my other plants. It's angled, but still leaves some of them too far away. The spinach and parsley didn't seem to mind. In fact, I'm pretty sure this is the best spinach I've ever grown. The controlled climate keeps it from immediately bolting like it always wants to do outdoors. Parsley quickly outpaced the other herbs, even though it was planted later. The basil remains stunted. The arugula hardly grew large enough for me to thin and then it bolted. The lettuces and chard are growing reallllly sloowwly. So, what gives? I started looking at my plants and realized that I had used two different soils. Don't ask me what they were -- but I know I bought some soil and had some on hand. One has more of what looks like wood mulch in it and the other finer soil seems to be producing better plants.

Wintertime basement garden under a grow lamp - herbs, greens and a couple of tomatoes

I've had some pretty bad snafus with soil in the past, and I still don't really do the recommended seed starting medium, etc., as I've not had good luck with it. But I did decide to do another little experiment and put a couple of soils to the test. I purchased two different potting soils to start off my garden this year: an organic potting soil sold under the Whitney Farms brand, and a cheaper Ace Hardware brand potting soil, to see if the soil really made a difference. The organic one has more of the wood mulch in it, so I'm curious to see if the seeds don't grow as well because of that -- as seems to be the case in my winter garden. So many things can make a difference in how plants grow, but the soil cannot be overlooked. Poor soil was likely the cause of my lackluster garden last year. And, it got me thinking...people aren't much different.

The things that we allow to penetrate into our hearts and souls form the soil of our own selves and affect how we live and grow. What are you adding to your soil? What are you feeding your soul? Are you mixing in worry and anxiety? Are you adding jealousy and envy? Or are you nurturing wisdom and stockpiling truth, fostering joy and faith? It reminds me of what we know as the Parable of the Sower, in which Jesus describes four types of "soil":

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” --Matthew 13:3-9

I want to cultivate good soil -- in my garden and in my heart. Good soil is rich in life-giving nutrients, is free of rocks, allowing the roots to penetrate deeply, remaining firm and granting the ability to grow strong. As a gardener weeds her garden to prevent unwanted plants from choking out her crop, so should we work to root out the negativity, doubt and lies that have taken hold in our own hearts, lest they distract us, cripple us, and prevent us from growing and blossoming into our true potential. So, this spring I will consider what I am planting my seeds in, and what I am rooting my life in -- seeking out ways to learn and grow in love and joy, as well as in vegetables and herbs!

A little parsley harvest from my basement garden!

Book Review: Rheumatoid Arthritis Unmasked

2017-11-08T17:26:00.000-05:00

You guys: this is important! This is exciting! This is not an ordinary book review! This book review is special in two regards: 1) it was authored by a dear friend, Kelly Young, who worked tirelessly and put countless hours into creating this powerful and compelling resource, and 2) it conveys the most important information that needs to be communicated to improve the lives of people with rheumatoid disease -- including myself, my stepdad, several friends, Kelly herself, the online #rheum community that has meant so much to me, and countless others who live with this disease.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Unmasked: 10 Dangers of Rheumatoid Disease takes a comprehensive look at the illness commonly referred to as RA (rheumatoid arthritis), with each chapter underscoring the inadequacy and dangers of referring to this disease as a "type of arthritis," with facts about the dangers of this disease that often exist in the extra-articulate (non-joint) aspects (heart, lungs, vascular system, eyes, etc). Kelly walks readers through a brief history of our knowledge of rheumatoid disease (or, RD - the preferred term for the disease by many patients and rheumatology professionals), then takes a careful look at what RD is and what RD isn't. The book proceeds to outline the serious dangers of rheumatoid disease, the systemic nature of the illness and multitude of symptoms and manifestations that patients may experience outside of the commonly associated joint symptoms.

With a plethora of footnotes and references to existing research, Kelly has truly done her homework and makes it easy for the reader to find follow-up readings. Rheumatoid Arthritis Unmasked is a must-read for anyone who is affected by rheumatoid disease -- whether you have the disease yourself, have a loved one with RD, or are a professional involved in rheumatology. Kelly does a fabulous job of balancing the content so that it is relevant and properly documented for healthcare professionals, yet is also comprehensible to the layperson.

For those not familiar with many of the medical or scientific terms used in this book, there is a very helpful glossary in the back. She encourages people to not be discouraged if they don't understand every term used: the important information will still be evident. It would be a great reference resource for patients and caregivers to be able to easily look up more detailed information about this disease -- and arming them with the knowledge they need to advocate for better care. There are so many aspects of rheumatoid disease that I did not know existed when I was diagnosed. This book can help patients connect the dots between seemingly unrelated symptoms, and can help detect disease activity early, so that patients have the best chance to get early treatment (which is also the best chance for positive outcomes). It's informative for both the newly diagnosed and those with longstanding disease. After living with this disease for 13 years, and being involved in disease awareness and patient advocacy, I still learned a lot!

I read the Kindle version of the book, then ordered a paperback! It just arrived on Tuesday!

The book is available for sale on Amazon (paperback or Kindle): http://bit.ly/RAunmasked - get your copy today! The physical book is awesome, but the Kindle version is really neat because you can do a search. So, if there was a topic that you wanted to come back to, it's really easy to find. You can also do digital highlighting and save those to reference back to!

If the content of this book is taken to heart, it has the potential to truly change the landscape for rheumatoid patient care -- even saving lives -- and to improve the outlook for this disease, providing some powerful action steps that we can take right now. I hope that everyone who reads this book recognizes the need for a name change so we can finally drop the "a" word (arthritis), unmask the true nature of this disease and increase public awareness for RD. This is a huge part of what the Rheumatoid Patient Foundation (RPF, of which I am currently the Vice President and Kelly is president and founder) is working toward. I'd encourage you to also follow the work of RPF and help support our mission of improving the lives of people with rheumatoid disease (PRD).

A big congratulations and THANK YOU to Kelly for doing the impossible and publishing this phenomenal resource -- I am so grateful for her and her leadership in spearheading this movement to uncover the truth. I hope that my friends and family will take the time to read it and gain a better understanding of this disease that I will live with for the rest of my life (unless we should be so fortunate to find a cure in my lifetime). Misunderstandings abound and knowledge is truly power. Thank you to all my friends and family, and especially my loving husband, Tom, for supporting me and encouraging me on my health journey.

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Help Spread the Word!

Please help us spread the message that rheumatoid disease is a serious, even life threatening illness, and not a type of arthritis.

Below are a few of my favorite excepts and facts from the book. Please read consider sharing these or the images in this post on your own social media profiles to help unmask RA and get the truth out about rheumatoid disease!

Quotes from the book:

"Lives can be saved by simply recognizing that extra-articular disease is not rare and that rheumatoid disease exists beyond arthritis." (RA Unmasked, Chapter 11)

"No other single action could do more to advance public understanding of what the victims of this disease endure than to call it by what it is: a disease."
(RA Unmasked, Chapter 11)

"The question is, if patients do not have 'articular RA' (articular arthritis), what do they have? Since 'articular' means 'related to joints' and 'arthritis' literally means 'inflamed joints,' Mikuls et al. seem to state that the patients studied have arthritis that is not articular or 'non-joint joint inflammation.'" (RA Unmasked, Chapter 4)

“Patient complaints of extra-articular symptoms often go unaddressed, one reason that the mortality rate of RD has not significantly improved. Patient care could be improved if medical professionals were made more aware of the need to address extra-articular disease.” (RA Unmasked, Chapter 4)

#MakeoverMonday Data Visualization Challenge

2017-09-26T21:10:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago, I came across the #MakeoverMonday challenge on Twitter -- which is a weekly data visualization challenge put out by Eva Murray and Andy Kriebel. The aim is to rework an existing dataset and visualization (viz) into a new creation -- as a way to learn, grow and think about how to communicate data more effectively. It really piqued my interest, as this is an area that I've been trying to grow in. Although most participants use Tableau to create their visualizations (vizzes), I decided to use Excel because it's what I am most comfortable with and use most often at work. I have dabbled with Tableau just a bit -- usually only using it for some mapping features -- but looking at some of the awesome vizzes people have created, it looks like a really great interactive tool for presenting data. In my professional life, I'm more often presenting a snapshot of data via PowerPoint or even a snip via email, so I haven't gotten to really play around much with interactive options (other than some crazy, nerdy fun with pivot tables, of course!).

This week's #MakeoverMonday challenge was of particular interest to me, seeing as though it relates to people's dietary choices, and I work in food and beverage where these sorts of trends are frequently discussed. As such, for my creation, I decided to focus on how the data relates to labeling a (potentially new) product.

Click here for a link to the original source visualization, found on page 8, or view the viz below:

I kind of liked this visual to begin with. It's pretty simple and easy to understand with neat little icons. It's also a lot of information to digest. For my example, I wanted to focus on what the most important information would be for somebody looking to launch a new food or beverage product. What nutritional considerations should be made when developing the product? Which on-pack nutritional callouts will be most impactful? Well...as it turns out, that depends. Although fat and sugar content are of concern among a good percentage of the population globally, there are some definite variances in dietary preferences by region. So, I decided to focus on the top three nutritional claims per region that would be most impactful for a new product or product label.

Here's a little snapshot of my viz, or you can download the full file here (be sure to actually download and open in Excel for full functionality).

I allowed this to be text intensive to allow someone to easily look into the data a little deeper or to skim the highlights of what the data tells us. The right half is more of the "viz" portion, featuring an interactive tool where you can select the region where your product will be sold. This will then update the map icon, top three callouts and regional percentages. The idea is that this would give someone a quick look at which nutritional aspects are going to appeal to the widest audience within the given region.

I decided to do the data table on the left as a heat map. I've seen some pretty cool vizzes on this data, but sometimes a simple matrix/grid format is the simplest way to look up a particular point of interest (e.g. % of Vegetarians in Latin America). The heat map adds a little indicator of intensity or importance without being too distracting. I wanted to do something more creative, but nothing I tried seemed to work well! I thought about calculating each diet based on an index, doing some sort of scaling bubble chart or even a crazy bar chart -- but I decided to stick with the KISS method.

I also got to learn/relearn a few things in Excel by putting in the changing image for each region. I think I'm going to need to revisit that, though, as I had to do a sort of workaround when I couldn't get the formula to work the way I wanted it to. You'll probably notice lots of other things in the Excel document that could have been done more efficiently -- but that's why I'm doing this -- there's lots of room to improve. I tend to operate on the principle of continuous improvement -- so I'll probably find lots of things later to make this better (already fixed one thing since starting this blog!)

Here's to my first (and hopefully not last) #MakeoverMonday! It was a fun challenge and a good opportunity to learn, test and try out new skills. Thanks to Eva and Andy for organizing this challenge!

Little Beauties: Finding Joy in the Small Things

2017-09-17T12:49:00.000-04:00

Last year, Tom and I took an amazing trip out to Colorado. After visiting with some family in Denver, we rented a car and drove in a big circle clockwise around the state, stopping in several little towns along the way. My favorite was Ouray. This little mountain town booms at 4th of July -- and not just because is the fireworks (though those were amazing). Nestled in the San Juan mountains, it's a beautiful area and a neat place to experience. My favorite part of the trip, however, was a little ways south of there, closer to the town of Silverton. We did the most amazing mountain hike -- starting at about 9,800 feet and going to almost 13,000. With steep switchbacks and thin air, the hike was a real butt kicker for us flatlanders!

Despite that, it was the most beautiful place I've ever seen. I kid you not, when we came out of the woods about a quarter of the way through the hike and the path suddenly opened to this huge expanse of a mountain glade, with peaks above and sweeping views of the San Juan mountains below, I literally almost cried. It was that beautiful.

From there, it just kept getting better and better. Entering the lower mountain basin, we came across countless waterfalls, rushing down into streams of fresh snow melt. There were so many waterfalls that we joked of being sick of them. After the fifth or sixth one they kind of become commonplace and lose the excitement that first few had.

There was a steep climb after that to our destination: Ice Lake. An alpine lake that sparkles with Caribbean blue water, surrounded by 13,000 foot mountain peaks and still has snow around it in July -- this place was truly amazing.

But, that was not all. In addition to Ice Lake, there was another lake just another 20 or so minutes up the mountain trail: Island Lake. While, compared with Ice Lake, Island Lake was just "mediocre", the best part of the trip was coming down from Island Lake, offering sweeping views of bot the upper and lower basins of the hike we'd just done -- with an aerial view of Ice Lake!

Photos cannot do this place justice. The experience as truly ineffable. But, there was something else that I was interested in on this hike, besides the grand waterfalls, majestic peaks and sweeping panoramas: wildflowers. I kept my eyes peeled for these little gems of color, and somewhere along the hike I had this thought: "Don't miss the little beauties amid the grandeur." Amid everything else, there was a whole other world of beauty if you took the time to look around, look down and notice the little things. And, I thought, that's a lot like life.

It's easy to go chasing after the next big thing--to live your life with this constant need to reach the next milestone. We tend to focus our lives around big events -- or even just living for the weekends. We seek that "high" from a big experience, and often we feel like next time it needs to be bigger and better. But, most of life is not made up of those big special moments. Most of life is...well, mundane. It's made up of a lot of routine tasks -- make the bed, brush your teeth, make a meal, sweep the floor. Your work may or may not be exciting, but even in a job I love, there are mundane activities (indeed, many people would see almost my entire job as a painstaking chore; I happen to be a data nerd, so I'm perfectly content with most of it!).

Exotic Vacations, exciting hobbies and that big promotion are all wonderful things that should be celebrated and enjoyed. But they are not everything. If we don't pay attention, we can so easily miss all of the little details each day that make life so special. And the little details are beautiful. That extra hug from your spouse in the morning. Snuggles with your kids (or, if you're like me, your dog). The taste of a rich cup of hot coffee in the morning. The smell of the autumn air. These are beautiful and wonderful things, too -- if you take the time to notice them. Enjoying life includes taking pleasure in the big events, but more often it means finding joy in your everyday life. Each moment is a gift -- embrace each day!

“This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalms 118:24).”

Grilled Chicken, Strawberries & Apricots with Balsamic Glaze

2017-06-23T22:52:00.000-04:00

So, I have this thing where I'm not a big fan of cooked fruit. At least, I have claimed that as my basis for not liking most pies. Now, I've come to enjoy berry pies (especially when they include fresh berries), and I've always liked blueberry muffins. But recently, I've been getting into more cooked fruit. Specifically: grilled fruit. I've made grilled pineapple several times recently, serving it on hamburgers, alongside pork, or atop tacos. I've also found it's delicious refrigerated and eaten the next day! So, I decided to branch out a bit further. Through strawberry picking, store sales and our CSA, I have a plethora of strawberries on hand. And, I had a bag of these delicious apricots, which will not stay good for very long. So, when I saw a photo on Pinterest of grilled fruit with balsamic glaze, I was in. The recipe I saw called for peaches and watermelon to go with the strawberries, but I chose what I had on hand. I skewered the fruits and grilled them alongside some chicken (ahem, sorry, Tom grilled them for me -- thanks, Tom!). Add a little balsamic glaze and some herbs and you have yourself a tasty summery dinner.

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
12 Strawberries, hulled
6 Apricots, pitted and sliced in half
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. green onions, diced
2 Tbsp. fresh basil, chopped
Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

Preheat grill, then add chicken and cook until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F (digital meat thermometers are your friend! They really help prevent over cooking).
While chicken is cooking, add strawberries and apricots to wooden skewers, alternating them.
Heat balsamic vinegar in a small sauce pan over medium heat until it begins to simmer. Watch closely and stir occasionally while it simmers and remove from heat once it has visibly begun to thicken.
Add fruit skewers to the grill and cook for a few minutes, then rotate and cook for a few more minutes.
Arrange cooked chicken and fruit on a plate. Drizzle with balsamic glaze, then sprinkle on green onions, basil and, if desired, Parmesan cheese.

I served this with a side of sauteed snow peas -- my garden is going nuts! The Parmesan didn't really seem to add that much to the dish, so I think it could easily be omitted if you want to avoid dairy. The fruits were very soft and almost made for a sort of sauce for the chicken. This was a sort of last minute idea and didn't take long to pull off. It's great for a healthful, summery meal without a lot of effort! If you try it, let me know what you think! I'm planning on using some of the leftover grilled fruit on a salad -- maybe with some leftover chicken. It was good hot, and I bet it will be good cold, too!

As Iron Sharpens Iron: 10 Years of Shaping a Life Together

2017-06-16T05:00:00.000-04:00

June 16, 2017 marks our ten year wedding anniversary. Crazy. A whole decade of life, lived together. It hasn't always been easy, but it has always been worth it. There is something about two imperfect people coming together and committing the rest of their lives to one another that is at once beautiful and a recipe for disaster and conflict. It's a romantic thought: spending the rest of your days together. But the reality is that two people trying to merge their lives together is difficult. I I've been a conflict avoider my whole life, and so has Tom. So, it's not surprising that we brought those patterns into our marriage. Avoiding conflict may make for the sort of relationship that looks great on the outside, but it means we aren't dealing the inevitable differences, disappointments or failures. Over the years, we have learned the hard way that not having those conversations that *gasp* might lead to conflict, may only create greater issues down the road. Having the hard and uncomfortable conversations is what allows two lives to merge into one and creates the path for open communication so that we can truly do life together. Quality conversation, and yes, even conflict, can help each of us to become better people.

I want this to be a picture of our marriage. We rub off on one another, and, even when we clash, if we are constructive in our conversations, we can help shape one another into better people. I am a better person for having met Tom and for having lived with him for the past 10 years. Learning to see things from his perspective and to understand another's point of view has helped me to be more open-minded, accepting and supportive of other people -- even in disagreements. Our commitment to working through any challenges that come our way means that we've learned better communication skills that can also serve to deepen friendships, strengthen family relationships and even add value to our professional roles.

I see our marriage as an ongoing process of learning how to do life together and learning how to do it well. I had a conversation with a younger, unmarried friend recently who made a comment about finding a way to keep a marriage the way it is at the beginning. I understand what she meant -- keeping that romance alive, which is important. But, I told her that, actually, I didn't wish that we could remain in that first year of marriage. Not that it was bad -- some people claim the first year of marriage is the hardest, but that wasn't true for us. However, we were still young and in many ways immature and even naive about what it takes to build and maintain a good marriage. I don't want to be stuck in that first year, because we have grown and matured so much since then. Instead of capturing that feeling of a new marriage, my goal is to continue to build a better and stronger marriage, so that each year is better than the last. I'm so grateful for the lessons that we've learned and for the love that we've allowed to grow and deepen over the years.

We have been blessed to have a lot of really wonderful times in the past decade, with lots of fun shared together. God has also been faithful in bringing us through the challenging times and helping us to use those challenges as opportunities to deepen our relationship and grow in our character and love for one another. Whatever life may bring, I am grateful to have Tom by my side, through it all. There's no one else I'd rather share the adventure of life with, and I hope for many wonderful decades of marriage yet to come!

Happy Anniversary!

Rabbit & Gnocchi Stew

2017-05-02T20:38:00.001-04:00

I know what you're thinking: rabbit? How can you eat rabbit?! I know, I know. They are cute and furry, and that is hard to get over. However, our CSA farmer raised rabbits for eating last year, and I decided I wanted to give it a try. Did you know that rabbit is one of the healthiest meats out there? It has a really high protein content and the lowest percentage of fat among typically available meats. How does it taste? I don't want to say that it tastes like chicken...but it's not all that far off. I think it's a sweeter meat with a milder flavor. I've only had rabbit meat a few times -- once in college, and one time last summer in Colorado -- it was the special at this restaurant we went to in Glenwood Springs, and it sounded so unique that I just had to try it. It was AH-mazing. I told Tom that it was one of the best meals of my life. It was that good. Seriously. So, of course, when I found out I had access to locally raised rabbit meat, I decided I had to try to replicate it. Having no idea what was in the "broth" base, I recalled as best as I could the ingredients I remembered and made up the rest. The resulting "stew" (I'm hesitant to call it a stew because there's not much liquid) didn't taste just like the one at the restaurant, but I still really liked it. And, actually, I thought it tasted even better on day two after the flavors had a chance to meld a little more!

Rabbit & Gnocchi Stew

Ingredients:

1 whole rabbit (I think mine was roughly 3-4 pounds)
1 cup beer (I used one of Tom's home brews -- an amber ale would be good)
Salt and pepper
1 package of good smoked bacon, chopped (pancetta would be good here, too)
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
2 cups cooked gnocchi (I used this recipe for Butternut Squash Gnocchi)
3 roma tomatoes, diced
1 bunch Swiss chard, chopped

Directions:

Place rabbit in a Crock Pot or slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper and add beer. Cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. Pull the rabbit meat apart with a fork and set aside (it should fall right off the bone). Cook bacon in a deep pan and remove when crispy. Add onions and garlic to bacon grease and cook until slightly browned. Add some of the leftover cooking liquid from the Crock Pot to the pan. Add back in bacon, and add in cooked gnocchi, tomatoes, chard and rabbit meat. Add more of the cooking liquid to the pan to create a sort of broth and stir everything together. Cook until the Swiss chard is wilted and the aromas meld fragrantly. Add any additional salt or pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

In hindsight, this meal would have been perfect for a themed Lord of the Rings marathon or something like that! Tom had a bit of a hard time getting over the idea of eating rabbit. However, I thought this dish turned out amazing. I will make it again if others are willing to eat it with me!

Simple Beef & Barley Soup (Slow Cooker Recipe)

2017-05-02T19:48:00.000-04:00

About a year ago, Tom and I were at my aunt's house and she fed us this amazing meal with a homemade beef and barley soup. I had never had anything quite like it and, since it was delicious, I asked for the recipe. I've been meaning to make it ever since, and recently started making my own beef broth -- which I thought would be perfect. However, enter Sunday evening when I realize that the recipe is fairly in-depth and really isn't well suited for a Monday night meal, I went in search of an easier cop-out option. I decided to take the really lazy route and just do a "dump and go" Crock Pot meal, based on the ingredients I had on hand. So long, roasted garlic paste and sauteed mushrooms. *Sigh* Another time. I was convinced that my dump and go recipe would be a failure. Basically another mediocre beef stew with barley thrown in. But, it would be dinner, and it would be something warm on a rainy day.

In the end, not only did my lazy Beef & Barley Soup feel like just the nourishment I needed on a dark and rainy day, I actually really liked it! It may not be my aunt's heavenly stew, but for a simple Monday night meal, it was perfect. I did end up using my homemade broth, and I honestly think that made a world of difference. If you've never tried making your own broth, give it a go! It's super simple in a slow cooker (add soup bones, onions, carrots, herbs, salt and pepper - fill slow cooker with water and cook, cook, cook -- 9-12 hours). It freezes great, and then you'll have it on hand to make this recipe on your next rainy Monday!

Simple Beef & Barley Soup

Ingredients:

1 1/4 lbs. beef stew meat (we got 1/4 cow from a local farm this past winter and the meat has been amazing!)
5 cups beef broth (homemade is best!)
3 small yellow onions, diced
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
6oz red wine (I used one of those mini 187mL bottles)
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. dried tarragon (could easily substitute thyme or oregano)
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. pepper
3 cups of cooked barley (I used the quick-cook barley and just added it at the end)

Directions:

Dump all ingredients except the barley into your Crock Pot or slow cooker. Cook on low for 8-9 hours. Stir in cooked barley just before serving. I had the quick-cook barley on hand, so I just made that right when I got home from work, then added to the soup. You could also make that ahead of time and refrigerate it until ready to use in the soup. I'm not sure how it would turn out if you added regular barley for the whole cooking time...but if you try it, let me know!

Serve this soup with a nice warm slice of crusty bread! Yum!

Grief and Joy: Part Two

2017-01-25T20:16:00.000-05:00

In part one of this blog series I focused mostly on the grief side, with the loss of our first dog, Happy Gilmore. While we are still sad and miss him dearly, we've also been able to experience new joys with the new dog we adopted a couple of weeks ago. Meet Copernicus -- or, Copper, for short. We adopted Copernicus from the Humane Society shortly after a visit there to get registered as volunteers. We will soon be helping with special adoption events around town. And, I'll be able to do so all the more enthusiastically now that we have our own new rescue dog!

The night we brought him home

Copper is a one year old male American Staffordshire Terrier Mix. The Amstaff, or "Staffy", as it is often called, is one of several breeds commonly referred to as "pit bulls." Copernicus was considered a "hard to adopt" breed, and from what I can tell, spent at least a few months between a couple different shelters. His history before that, we do not know. Pit bulls tend to get a bad rap and many people are so misinformed. It makes me sad, as Copper is one of the sweetest most loving dogs I've met. While there is a lot of abuse that goes on with pit bulls, and it's important to know and be prepared if you are going to adopt a dog who has that sort of a background, there are many who are simply "unwanted" dogs. Taking in an abused dog requires special attention and I would say you really have to know what you are doing to properly rehabilitate a dog. But, for the majority of pit bulls out there, there is no reason that they could not immediately become a new loving member of your family. I did a lot of research ahead of time, as I was not that familiar with Amstaffs -- and what I have read seems to be true for Copper so far: they are loyal, loving, intelligent dogs that make great family pets.

Family photo!

Copernicus LOVES pets. He loves attention and scratches. He loves playing, especially tug-of-war. He is also very food motivated and eager to please, which has made his transition into our home a pretty smooth one. We learned a lot through our training with Happy -- who was a pretty willful and excitable dog -- and it has been a big help to all of us to be able to start training Copper right away. When we got him, the only command Copernicus knew was "sit" -- and he would do that eagerly enough. Copper is spending his first weeks learning his manners, basic obedience and house rules -- plus, Tom already taught him how to do "shake" and "high five." Within the first week, he already learned how to sit and wait nicely before eating his dinner, before going outside and after coming inside so we can wipe his wet and muddy paws off! He learned "off" decently well and is already really good at making eye contact with us. We are working hard on "release," "drop it," and "leave it," as he's interested in picking up, chewing or eating so many things. He LOVES sticks and I hope soon he'll be able to play with them without trying to eat them! "Come" and "stay" are also a work in progress, but so far he's doing great!

Look at that sweet pup!

Copper is a very goofy dog. If you sit down on the floor, he thinks it's play time, so we're working on that in order to avoid him trying to play with little kids on the floor! He will roll over and get all excited and try to bury his face in your lap. Once calm, he'll sit or lay in your lap while he enjoys scratches or chewing on his toy. He absolutely loves his rope toys and will play with them all on his own, tossing them in the air and chasing after them. When Copper gets really excited, his tongue gets long and lolls to one side, hanging out of his mouth. He totally reminds me of the hyena from the Lion King!

Look at that tongue!

See the resemblance?

So far, Copernicus is pretty good on a leash. We're working on proper leash manners, he's learning to take his cues from our body language and learning to walk on a loose leash. He doesn't pull nearly as much as Happy, and a harness really helps. I attribute most of it to Copper not having the hunting instincts that Happy did. Happy was waayy too excited on a walk or new environment, always trying to sniff out the next chase. Copper loves sniffs and smells, but he'll be more of a digger than a chaser, I think. We tested him out with our friends' cats, too. Happy wanted to eat cats, which made it difficult to bring him to certain houses. Copper nicely sniffed and licked the kitty, but was easily redirected and, when directed, would sit nicely, looking at me and ignoring the cat. Perfect! There's a whole new world of potential pet-sitters now! We are also hoping it means that he will be able to use the invisible fence rather than requiring a physical tie out.

Copper's first walk to the lake!

So, you might be wondering about the name. Well, it took us a bit to decide, and his name is multi-faceted. Firstly, we are keenly aware that dogs have a propensity to live up to their names -- so, name them wisely. Our family dog growing up was named Barker. And he was a barker. Happy Gilmore was a very happy dog, but also had a bit of the stubborn streak seen in Adam Sandler's character in the movie. We knew we wanted a smart dog. Most dogs are probably smarter than we give them credit for, but some learn better than others. Tom threw out the name "Einstein" -- which not only was a man of great intelligence, but was also the name of Doc Brown's dog in the Back to the Future movies. However, I'd recently heard of another dog with that name, so wanted something a little more unique. It wasn't a far leap from Einstein to Copernicus. Not only is Copernicus another extremely intelligent scientist, but he's also the name of Doc Brown's other dog in the Back to the Future movies -- the dog Doc had in the 1950s. While he made an appearance in the first film, he had a larger role and was actually named in the third Back to the Future movie.

Although I liked the name, I think it's good to have a shorter name for a dog so it's easier to call him and give commands -- no more than two syllables. Enter his nickname: Copper. It's an intuitive shortening of Copernicus (who sometimes spelled his name Coppernicus -- among many other spellings), and it also matches the beautiful brown color in his brindle coat. "Brindle" was a term that was relatively new to us -- but it's the term for the striped markings on Copper's coat. It gives him a very unique look, and he's already gotten a lot of compliments!

Meeting him at the shelter

Copernicus is adjusting well to life in his new home, and we are adjusting well to life with a new dog. In some ways, it's difficult, because I'm constantly reminded of Happy. In other ways, it's wonderful, as I truly enjoy training and teaching dogs, and I love the bonding process. We are still getting to know Copernicus and the idiosyncrasies of his personality -- and he's still getting to know us. But we already love each other and are so grateful for the opportunity to give another great dog a happy home. We determined that Happy and Copper would have LOVED one another and would have played great together. I can't quite put it into words, but Copernicus even has these aspects of his personality that make him seem like the "younger brother" -- whereas Happy seemed more like a "first born." I think Tom hit the nail on the head when he made a comparison to Lord of the Rings characters -- saying Happy was Boromir and Copper is Faramir. For those unfamiliar with the book or movies, these were two brothers -- the older of whom was a bold fighter, his father's favorite and a little headstrong. Although he repents in the end and is really good at heart, Boromir dies after his own desires get the best of him. The same thing happened to Happy. The brothers loved and respected each other dearly, but the younger Faramir was often left in his brother's shadow and disregarded by his father. Though he was bold and courageous in his own right, Faramir was more gentle natured than a fierce warrior. Likewise, Copper is a gentle soul -- a playful, energetic puppy still, yes -- but, a true lover by nature.

He's a lap dog!

We are looking forward to getting to know Copper better and continuing to work on his training so that we can all enjoy lots of adventures together, especially as the weather warms up this spring and summer. There's nothing quite like puppy love, and we are so glad that we could give Copernicus a forever home.

Grief and Joy: Part 1

2017-01-24T22:10:00.000-05:00

This past Christmas was a hard one for us. We had to say goodbye to one of our best friends and companions -- our dog, Happy Gilmore. It was all the harder because it was a sudden and unexpected death. Happy was a well trained and good mannered dog. He wasn't a bolter by nature, but he was a hunter. He had a very strong hunt / chase instinct and his prey drive was the one thing we could not train out of him. You can't really train out an instinct. He had made progress, but deer were still his kryptonite. On the 22nd of December, I stood in my sun room in front of the open door doing what any other normal person would be doing -- throwing the rest of my fall gourds into my garden. Happy approached, and as I tried to shoo him back, he must have caught sight of a deer in the field because he suddenly bolted for the backyard. I grabbed for his collar, which he was not wearing, and he slipped right through my arms. I called after him, but he was deaf to the world, going full bore after that deer. That was the last time I saw him alive. By the time I put my boots on, he was already out of sight. He was so fast. I called Tom to come home from his errands and we scoured the woods and the neighborhood looking for him. I finally posted "lost dog" online on a few sites, and it wasn't long before someone cross published a post about a found dog. A dog found dead. On the side of the road. A half mile from where we live. I knew it had to be him. I called Tom sobbing and he went and found him. He had been hit by a car, and from what we could tell likely died very quickly. Tom quietly picked up our lifeless dog and brought him home. It was one of the worst moments of my life.

He was not around for Christmas, but Happy tolerated one last Santa hat photo earlier in December.

Happy was not a person, but he was more than a dog. He was part of our family, our constant companion, part of our ka-tet. Our days revolved around his schedule and he went with us wherever we could take him -- including hiking, camping, and even to Canada! He was a dog dog, full of life and personality. He lived each moment to the full, with unmatched enthusiasm. He loved everybody and every dog. He played full force until he was utterly exhausted. He was smart. Really smart. He learned lots of cool tricks and had more in the works (my largest ambitions being to teach him how to play tic-tac-toe and how to do the Cha Cha Slide). He was my snuggle pup and loved to curl up with us on the couch with a blanket. Saturday morning family snuggles were the best. Happy lived up to his name and, though not without his share of stubbornness and challenges, was the best dog I ever met.

Happy lived up to his name!

I was always an animal person. We had pets in our family as I grew up, and I loved playing with them. But somehow, after I moved off on my own, I managed to go 10 years without pets. I couldn't have pets in college, and then Tom was allergic to cats, and we were on the go so much we said we didn't have time for a dog. Then, one day, something changed. Tom turned to me one Saturday afternoon and simply said, "The Humane Society is open until 4 today." He didn't have to twist my arm. And thus began our search for a dog. It took a few weeks, but we found Happy at a shelter about an hour away. We pretty much knew from from first sight that he belonged with us. And he did.

My favorite author, C.S. Lewis, takes an interesting view on animals and their 'self':

"Man was appointed by God to have dominion over the beast, and everything a man does to an animal is either a lawful exercise, or a sacrilegious abuse, of an authority by Divine right. The tame animal is therefore, in the deepest sense, the only ‘natural’ animal—the only one we see occupying the place it was made to occupy, and it is on the tame animal that we must base all our doctrine of beasts. Now it will be seen that, in so far as the tame animal has a real self or personality, it owes this almost entirely to its master. If a good sheepdog seems 'almost human' that is because a good shepherd has made it so...it seems possible that certain animals may have an immortality, not in themselves, but in the immortality of their masters...the man will know his dog: the dog will know his master and, in knowing him, will be himself." -- C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

Like Lewis indicated, I truly believe that Happy took on a little bit of each of us in himself. I've never known a dog with so much personality, and as he became a part of our family, I think he truly became the fullest version of himself. Perhaps it is for this reason that losing him was so difficult. Tom and I both took his death very hard. I didn't know I could love an animal that much. It was like losing a part of ourselves. The house didn't feel right. My routine was all wrong. A part of my life was missing. And so suddenly and so tragically. Happy was only three and a half years old. We were looking forward to many more years of adventure together. Our time was cut short.

Amidst the sadness, we are grateful for the times that we had together. We had Happy for nearly three years, and he taught us so much. He taught us about patience and love and joy. He taught us about being goofy and silly and enjoying the little things in life. And, honestly, I think he was a great blessing on our marriage. Without kids, Happy was our first thing we had to love and care for together. Working together to train him, teach him, love him, take care of him, and play with him was also a great way to build up our own relationship. And even now, he is teaching us: about loss and grief and to be grateful for each and every moment, because we don't ever know what lies ahead.

The loss of Happy triggered in us the desire to be more involved with dogs. We signed up as soon as we could to start volunteering with the Humane Society by helping out with their special adoption events. Of course, a trip to the Human Society necessitated a visit to the dog kennels to see who the currently adoptable dogs were. And, yes, it happened. We fell in love again. I watched Tom interacting with this beautiful brindle dog through the kennel fencing. They looked at each other, and there was a spark there. We left the Humane Society, not feeling ready for another dog yet. Or, were we?

No dog could ever replace Happy. He was unique and completely irreplaceable. But, I was reminded of a conversation with a friend about grief and loss and joy. A new joy never compensates or makes better a prior loss or grief. But new joys can still be had. It doesn't fill the hole, but it does expand the heart in new and unique ways. And, so, a few days later, we made our way back to the Humane Society -- just to "look" -- of course. But, this sweet, loving dog made his way into our hearts and we took him home that very night. And, so, I introduce you now to the newest furry member of our family: Copernicus "Copper" Symons.

We still miss Happy very much, but Copernicus has been lots of fun! Look for Part 2 of this blog post, all about Copernicus and the joys of a new dog. For now, I leave you with a bit more of Happy.

Our friends had this amazing pencil drawing done of Happy! He is framed in our sun room.

Happy loved drinking out of the faucet! Spoiled puppy...

Happy's last fall portrait.

Just messin' around

K-9 Explorer!

My last selfie with Happy. He had just discovered the joys of a saucer sled -- or, as he saw it, a giant frisbee!

Happy's birthday hot dog! One of his greatest joys in life.

Birthday Post: 32 Things I'm Thankful for this Year

2016-12-19T20:45:00.000-05:00

For the past couple of years, I've started a tradition where I write a post near and around my birthday. It started when I turned 30, with my 30 Life Lessons, then last year I focused on 31 Proverbs, or nuggets of wisdom. This year, I wanted to take some time and focus on 32 things that I'm thankful for now that I've completed 32 years of life.

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." -- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

God makes it clear in the Bible that was are to give thanks always, in all circumstances. When anxious, when in trouble, when in despair, when things are going well, when you feel blessed, and even in the mundane. I always wonder about that last verse. I used to think it meant that whatever circumstance you're in -- that's God's will for you (his good, pleasing and perfect will" [Romans 12:2]). Perhaps that is what it means -- as we cannot know the mind of God and what good may come out of even the most tragic of circumstances (look to Jesus on the cross for a case in point). But, I wonder now if it means that it is God's will that we give thanks always -- because of, or in spite of, our circumstances. Perhaps it means both. What is clear to me is that rejoicing in the blessings you have instead of focusing on what you have not is the better way to live.

So, as a part of an attempt to do that, here are 32 things that I am thankful for in this past year -- in no particular order:

1. A supportive and loving family who always accepts me, no matter what (and yes, that includes my in-laws!)

2. My dog, Happy Gilmore.

He adds such joy to our household and is the best snuggler. The house now feels empty and alone if he's not here!

3. New friends who are close and close by.

We went through a long stretch where we felt like we had very few close friends, especially that lived near us. We have been blessed immensely through new friendships this past year.

4. Old friends.

Old as in we've been friends for a long time. Although, we are aging. We had some great time spent with long-standing friends this year, including a couple of out-of-state visits. There's nothing like the familiarity of an old friendship.

5. Good food.

I love good food. Cooking it, and eating it. I recognize the ability to cook and eat pretty much whatever I want, any time of the year, as a great blessing. Also, Supper Club may be the best thing ever.

6. Neighbors. I feel like we've gotten to know some neighbors better this year, and having a better connection with them has been great. Our neighbors are pretty awesome. We even met a few new "neighbors" from the other side of the neighborhood!

7. Nine Years of Marriage.

What a privilege to be married to Tom for 9 years. We have learned so much and grown so much. I'm grateful for each day that we've had together.

8. Mountaintop experiences.

We did our first "real" mountain hike this year, going up to nearly 13,000 feet above sea level (gaining ~3,500 feet) to not one, but two, alpine lakes. The experience for me was surreal and ineffable.

9. Vacation and travel.

We have had the opportunity to do a lot of traveling, both near and far. I love experiencing new places and am so glad we've been able to explore our state and country a little more this year.

10. My job.

I celebrated 10 years at my place of employment this year. That's a decade of my life, people! And it's been wonderful. I'm grateful for not only full-time employment, but a fantastic employer, boss and co-workers. Oh, and I actually love my job itself, too.

11. The little things Tom does to take care of me and our home and our cars is also something I am so grateful for. He does so many things that I either don't even realize or don't know need to be done! It's nice to know that maintenance is taken care of without me even having to think about it.

12. Good health. With only minor health issues this year that are more of a nuisance than anything else, I'm really grateful that my rheumatoid disease has held steady and not significantly flared up for the past several years. Also, this means I can wear (not-so) high heels again! At least, in small doses.

13. The Night Sky.

I've always enjoyed admiring the stars, galaxies, moon and planets. This year, I got my telescope back out and the night sky did not fail to amaze. Even Happy enjoyed looking through the telescope! I also introduced a friend to star gazing.

14. The boat.

2016 was the year of the (yet nameless) boat, which we purchased with some friends of ours. It brought lots of summertime fun and allowed us to really utilize the beautiful lake that is in our neighborhood.

15. Random fields of wildflowers -- and right behind my house, nonetheless!

Each time I walked through the field behind our house this spring I encountered a new field of wildflowers -- daffodils, irises, poppies, and sweet pea! It was so beautiful and all the more so because it was so unexpected.

16. Summertime.

I'm pretty sure there's not much on earth that beats a Michigan summer. The weather is perfect, and it really was wonderful weather this year. I'm so glad we got the chance to enjoy summer both locally, in other parts of the state and other parts of the country (Colorado summers are pretty awesome, too).

17. Heating steering wheels. For anybody with Raynaud's, this is pretty much the best invention ever. Really. Amazing. I never thought we'd own a car with this feature, but the Jeep has it! My hands have never been so happy.

18. Our country.

We all know it was a crazy and unprecedented year on the political front in the U.S. -- but, despite the insanity and all of the things that are wrong with our country, it remains a great place to live, full of opportunities and freedoms that most other countries simply don't have.

19. Modern appliances. I like cooking, but I'm not a fan of most other housework (including dishes, of which I dirty plenty). I'm so grateful for the convenience afforded me by a dishwasher, clothes washer & dryer and the like. I'll even throw the Crock Pot in there as sometimes I want an easy dinner!

20. Babies!

I'm not sure what was in the water, but so many people I know had babies this past year, particularly in February. Included in that baby boom was my new nephew! I'm so grateful for the chance to get to hold and get to know all these little bundles of joy (who are not quite so little anymore!).

21. New carpet.

We finally replaced the rest of the carpet in the main part of our house this year. Yes, replaced the original 1988 carpet. It was glorious. My feet are grateful for the extra cushion and I am thankful that I no longer have to stare down at mysterious spots and wonder what could have possibly made that stain...

22. Detroit.

Despite having grown up in the suburbs, I haven't done much exploration of Detroit in my life. But, we took two trips there this year, staying overnight both times -- once for a hockey game and once for a wedding. It gets a bad rap (and yes, has it's problems and scary parts), but I really enjoyed the city and am glad I got the opportunity to experience a little bit more of it.

23. Cold Brew Coffee. Have it hot. Have it cold. It's ready to go with a smoother taste and less acidity. What's not to love? It's been a worthy addition to our routine over the past year or so.

24. My garden fence.

This was the first year since I've had a garden that I haven't had to worry about bunnies and deer eating everything before I get to it -- thanks to the nice fence Tom built me, using the heavy duty fencing the neighbor gave us. It was so freeing to be able to just let my veggies grow without crazy fortification tactics.

25. The dog park.

We have a wonderful dog park right in our town. It's a great place for Happy to burn some energy and play with other dogs. It's a beautiful setting near the river. And, it doesn't hurt that there are wild raspberries growing nearby.

26. Foraging for fun.

Speaking of raspberries, it was a great year for foraging them! Both at the dog park and in the field behind our house. We also helped some friends forage for wintergreen. It's a lot of fun when you're not dependent upon foraging as a food source. So, I guess I'm grateful that I get to do it because I want to, not because I have to!

27. An amazing autumn.

I love all of the seasons, and oftentimes fall in particular. This year's long-lasting warm weather allowed me to really enjoy and appreciate the beauty of the season with some fall hikes. There was also lots of apple picking from our friends' own orchard, amongst other fall festivities.

28. Growth.

And I mean that in every sense (except maybe our waistlines!). I love watching things grow from the earth, which is not unlike the way our own character can develop over time. I'm grateful for growth in personal relationships this year, too.

29. Lazy Saturday Mornings

God knew what he was doing when he told us to take one day each week to rest. Rest is good for the soul and I've thoroughly enjoyed lazy weekend mornings with Tom and Happy, complete with coffee and snuggles.

30. The Mundane. I'm grateful for the everyday things and tasks because they are often connected to greater blessings. It's also the mundane, everyday moments that make the special moments stand out.

31. Grace from God and the grace we allow one another. Grace is something that I am most grateful for throughout my life, and this past year is no exception. Grace allows relationships to thrive.

32. Another year of life.

Life is a gift and I'm grateful for the 32 years I have been given. I hope that this next year of life will be full of more love and learning and growth and gratefulness.

Trick AND Treat! Dog Tricks & a Dog Treat Review

2016-10-24T18:55:00.001-04:00

Halloween is just around the corner! Our dog, Happy Gilmore, has been known to dress in costume and get into the Halloween spirit, but he has one complaint about the holiday. Why does it have to be Trick OR Treat? Shouldn't it be Trick AND Treat?

Happy was Thor for Halloween last year...

Lucky for him, Trick AND Treat is the rule in our household. With that in mind, serious dog training requires serious treats for extra motivation. When we enrolled Happy in puppy classes shortly after we got him, I noticed that he listened to our trainer far better than he listened to us. Now, I know this is partly because she is truly a Dog Whisperer, but I also noticed that she was using freeze dried liver as reward treats -- way better than whatever lame treat we were trying to use. That said, when I had the opportunity to try and review Stewart® Pro-Treat® Freeze Dried Liver Turkey treats, Happy and I were both grateful!

Here's a little bit of information from the manufacturer:

Made in the USA without additives or preservatives
Only 1 Ingredient - Perfect for dogs with allergies or those who are on limited ingredient diets
Stewart® Freeze Dried Liver maintains the aroma, full-flavor and nutritional value of 100% raw liver
Fresh, conveniently freeze dried and diced into reward size treats
All natural Stewart® Freeze Dried Liver has been the preferred choice of trainers for over 40 years due to its convenience and palatability.
We guarantee that your pet will absolutely love our treats!
Check out all of the flavors here.

They say the treats are already "reward" size, but I tend to be a bit stingy on the treats, so I break them up even more. They are very easy to break apart and super lightweight. They smell great to dogs and they really don't have that strong or offensive of an aroma to me. These are high-quality treats that provide actual nutrition for your dog -- instead of just rewarding them with "junk food". Treating has been one of the best methods for training Happy -- for both obedience and fun tricks. I'd tell you more about how much he likes these treats, but I'll let him show you instead.

Happy Trick AND Treating!

*Note: I received this product for free in exchange for a review with my honest opinion (and Happy's opinion, too!).

At the Water's Edge

Full-Time Parents -- to Twin Toddlers!

Part-Time Parents

Fostering Hope in the New Year

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." --Galatians 6:9

Our Story Part 3: Pregnant for a Minute

Our Story Part 2: My IVF Experience

Our Story Part 1: My Fertility Journey

Trick Dog Training: Roll Yourself in a Blanket

A Year in Review: Highlights of 2018

1. Florida

2. Kitchen Remodel is Finished!

3. Rock Climbing Again

4. Copper's Canine Good Citizen

5. Brewski Festival

6. Fun with Friends

7. Indoor Gardening

8. Traverse City Weekend

9. Boating with Friends and Family

10. Paying off the House!

11. New (Used) Subaru

12. Ninja Warrior

13. Iceland

14. Goat Yoga

15. A Bridesmaid Again!

16. Charity: Water

17. Supper Club

18. Babies!

Thirst and Living Water

These are a few of my favorite things

1. A clear starry night

2. The smell of burning leaves or campfires

3. The first flowers of spring

4. Snuggles with Tom and Copper

5. Learning something new

6. Popcorn

7. Playing games

8. Getting to know a person on a deeper level

9. Fresh cut flowers

10. Shooting stars

11. Growing things

12. A slightly cool day warmed by sunshine

13. Finding comfortable clothes that look cute

14. The smell of tomato plants

15. My goofball dog

16. A bright blue sky with puffy white clouds

17. A good whiskey drink

18. The farmer’s market 19. Cooking from scratch 20. A clean and organized home 21. Traveling to new places

22. A song that hits me right in my mood

23. Teaching Copper new tricks

24. Feeding people

25. Spreadsheets 26. Mountaintop views 27. Completing a challenging task I didn’t think I could do

28. Quality conversations about topics that really matter or just speculations about what could be 29. Staying up late with friends 30. Inside jokes that last a lifetime 31. Sheeps! 32. Solving a problem or puzzle 33. Peppermint mochas and chai tea lattes 34. Warm blankets and scarves

A Glass of Gratitude

8 Reasons You Should Visit Iceland

1. Waterfalls

2. Rainbows

3. Glaciers

4. Canyons

5. Volcanoes

6. Rocks & Mountains

7. Fjords

8. Food & Culture

Bonus: Cool Animals!

Three Ways to Use Chimichurri Sauce

Chimichurri Avocado Burgers

Sliced Chimichurri Chicken

Avocado Chimichurri Chicken Salad Wraps

An Experiment in Growth: A Winter Garden Tale

Book Review: Rheumatoid Arthritis Unmasked

Help Spread the Word!

Quotes from the book:

#MakeoverMonday Data Visualization Challenge

Little Beauties: Finding Joy in the Small Things

Grilled Chicken, Strawberries & Apricots with Balsamic Glaze

As Iron Sharpens Iron: 10 Years of Shaping a Life Together

Happy Anniversary!

Rabbit & Gnocchi Stew

Rabbit & Gnocchi Stew

Ingredients:

18. The farmer’s market

19. Cooking from scratch

20. A clean and organized home

21. Traveling to new places

25. Spreadsheets

26. Mountaintop views

27. Completing a challenging task I didn’t think I could do

28. Quality conversations about topics that really matter or just speculations about what could be

29. Staying up late with friends

30. Inside jokes that last a lifetime

31. Sheeps!

32. Solving a problem or puzzle

33. Peppermint mochas and chai tea lattes

34. Warm blankets and scarves